Odd Jobs In The Electronics World

Be forewarned, this is a rant.

Being employed by an electronics store, I am occasionally given the opportunity to do side jobs for customers. The company I work for has a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy when it comes to these things and the generally speaking is understanding of the fact that most of its employees have these odd jobs from time to time. The only thing they ask is that we make sure that the services provided are stated as being on behalf of ourselves and not on behalf of the company (therefore it is a bad idea to wear a work shirt on one of these trips).

The tasks can range from menial work, such as delivery of purchased goods, to technical tasks, such as home network setup or component installation. Each task carries its own risk—a delivery will never balloon into anything other than a delivery, whereas anything computer related carries with it a high probability of expectation past the initial visit in the unfaltering and earthquake-proof workability of whatever it is that you may have touched whilst having completed your task.

Case in point:

A gentleman not very well versed in computers had asked me to complete the first boot-up of his brand new notebook computer at his house, installing all appropriate software and making sure everything was in tip-top shape for a computer that was not originally purchased at our store. No problem. During the installation process, I had informed him of the dangers of Internet Explorer as being a main portal to the Internet and installed Firefox for him, stating that it would be best to use it if he wishes to keep a clean computer free of viruses and malware that target Internet Explorer. Everything was in perfect working order when I left, I made sure of this by running multiple diagnostic tests on the notebook (including a burn-in with SiSoft Sandra, network stability etc. [for the technically inclined]).

The next day, I receive a call: "My Internet is not working, I am sure it is something you didn't finish in your haste to leave yesterday. I think it is this FireFox, my brother says it is conflicting with Internet Explorer, I want it deleted." Sigh. Another trip to his house revealed that his Bell provided router had gone haywire and needed to be reset. I explained this calmly, but was again confronted with blame, due to the installation of FireFox. I tried explaining the actual problem again, but eventually just uninstalled FireFox to keep the gentleman happy and myself sane. Forty minutes of my life, pro bono, because of an invisible contract that the man thought I signed that chained me to his computer problems until further notice. I kindly informed him of the absence of this contract and left on good terms.

I cannot complain too much though, the jobs pay well, no matter how menial or involved. I can't stand all the Internet Explorer love though.