Arrogant computer guys really bother me. I try very hard not to be a computer guy who thinks he knows everything.

The problem with this is that I am sometimes competing with computer guys who convince people that they do know everything. When I try to straighten out the situation, I get the line, "but the guy at Best Buy said that Norton is the best." or "But my son who has worked at HP for 20 years says that Vista is much faster."

When I try to explain using experience and logic, they don't want to listen. Logically, wouldn't it make more sense to listen to someone who isn't trying to sell something. Even better, someone who deals with problems in real-life homes and businesses every day?

Stereotypically, computer guys are known for their bad attitudes. I am beginning to figure out why this is so. Computer guys have a lot to be grumpy about. The following list is not a list of complaints as much as it is a list of truths that explain why computer guys can be a little edgy sometimes.

1. Most people think that computers should be easy to understand and that any problem they have is a rare problem.
2. Most people think that most computer problems have a simple solution.
3. Most people think that they should know everything about their computer.
4. Most people think that computer businesses are a scam - a secret cult of guys who are withholding answers and refuse to give them up unless they pay an outrageous price.
5. Most people think that if you pick 10 people out of a room, they would be the ones who know the least about computers.

How does this add up to a grumpy computer guy? I will illustrate with the following story. It is actually not a single event but a story of actual events that took place in one day, in one room very recently.

Picture a convention setting. Many people in the room. It was not a computer convention, nor did it have anything to do with technology. Most of the people in this room know that I am a computer guy by trade. As I walked across the room, I was stopped seven times. It took me an hour and a half to get across the convention floor.

• "Can I ask you a quick question?"
• "Say, Here's one for you..."
• "Do you have a second, I have a really fast question."
• "Aren't you the computer guy?"
• "My daughter said that you would be the guy to answer my question..."
• "My kids did something to my computer and now It keeps giving me error messages, what would cause that?"
• "I have PeoplePC and I can read my email, but I can't view web pages, can you write down some notes of what I should check?"
• "My computer keeps telling me I have a virus but I don't open any emails from people I don't know, how do I get rid of it?"
• "How do I get pictures from my camera to my computer?"
• "My printer only prints out one page then stops, what is causing it?"

In every case I tried to nicely point the people to HelpMeRick.com, I gave them a few ideas of what they could try, I even wrote down some notes amd these were the responses I received:

• "That sounds too complicated."
• "I don't know how to do that."
• "Where do I find that."
• "I don't know if my computer has that."
• "My email doesn't have a password."
• And my personal favorite, "Can I do that?"

I explained that I have a business where I do house calls and solve such problems and teach such processes and thus received this chorus of replies:

• "I knew you were going to say that."
• "That's what I was afraid you'd say."
• "Do you do senior discounts?"
• "That's almost as much as a plumber."

In every case, I told explained that it was up to them, but I charge money to fix problems.

Most of them thanked me but acted like I was holding back a secret fix in order to extort money. A couple of them stopped short of calling me names.

I received a call on Easter morning, (which I didn't answer, but listened to the message today.) the caller said essentially, "I am having problems with my computer and will be home all day today if you can stop by."

I will end this article with a few secrets:

• Computers are not easy to fix. Even for me. There are no secrets to fixing computers, only years of experience piled on day after day.
• Everyone else doesn't know more than you do about computers. Actually, the fact that you are here, reading this website, means that you know more than 90 plus percent of those you hang around with.
• A good on-call computer guy is worth more than a good a good doctor, mechanic or plumber, yet most of them charge much less than those professions.

I do not want to be mistaken for an arrogant computer guy, but I do hope that this article makes people think about what it's like to be a computer guy in a world where every other profession, most hobbies and even civilization depend on good computer guys.

Rick's editorial comments:

Great article Adam! I whole heartedly agree, and would like to add to your last paragraph that when a doctor, plumber, or lawyer walks across the floor at a "convention", they would never get seven or eight questions...often no questions at all! After almost 13 years of operating my business, I am just now starting to understand the value of my knowledge and expertise. In fact, I will be arrogant and say that I believe there is not one person in the state of Colorado and possibly the United States of America, and possibly the entire planet that can troubleshoot, fix, and explain what I did to a computer as quickly or as thoroughly as I can.

Because Adam and I have worked together for a number of years, I think he follows as a close second to me because he has grasped the importance of being able to relate to the common computer user and include them in the process.

Adam and I both have an intense desire to teach and spread our common sense knowledge of computers. We work tirelessly here at HelpMeRick.com to give anyone who visits the advantage of our experiences and expertise. We know that computer users who heed our advice and practice our common-sense approach to computing save themselves money and are happier more productive computer users than those who don't follow our advice. We know because we see it and experience it every single day.

Please use our site and spread the word about it.

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