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Apple Tech Training
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Madison
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Location: Hanson, MA
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Mar 24, 2007, 10:53 AM
 
Hi all,

Have been thinking for a LONG time about buying this ($299) to learn how to diagnose/repair desktops and portables. I've always thought of doing it "on the side" from my regular job. You know, ad in the local town paper, that kind of thing. Geek Squad, etc, charge HUGE money for the simplest tasks. Anyway, my question is this, Is this course something that I could use even though I've never had a computer course? I've been using Mac for 13 years, from System 7 on. I've replaced drives, processors, RAM, pci cards, etc in G5s, first gen. iMacs, powerbooks, etc.

Sorry to ramble, but I guess I'm worried that I'll buy it and be UTTERLY lost and wish I hadn't thrown my money away. I looked at the sample questions, and while some were hard, others were not. Oh well, please give me your $.02.

Thanks,
Tom
     
Macola
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Location: Madison, WI
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Mar 24, 2007, 01:17 PM
 
Geek Squad charges huge money? Around here, they have put several independent computer consultants out of business by undercutting rates (e.g., "install your network for $99").

Examine your local market carefully, and check out the competition before investing money in this field. It can be extremely difficult to make your business profitable, assuming you want to do this full time and not just as a hobby. You can certainly do it without certification, but it helps (even something basic like A+). Also. make sure you have a good liability insurance policy (usually about $1200 per year).
I do not like those green links and spam.
I do not like them, Sam I am.
     
Railroader
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Mar 24, 2007, 02:18 PM
 
Originally Posted by Macola View Post
"install your network for $99".
Isn't this their charge for just installing your $30 Linksys router? To me, that is outrageous.
     
Madison  (op)
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Mar 24, 2007, 02:33 PM
 
I was referring to these prices...

Geek Squad - On-Site Services


They seem outrageously high to me.

Tom
     
Railroader
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Mar 24, 2007, 02:42 PM
 
Originally Posted by Madison View Post
I was referring to these prices...

Geek Squad - On-Site Services

They seem outrageously high to me.

Tom
They are high, but people will pay them. But from a marketing standpoint, if you charge much less, you will be considered inferior and will not have many clients.

I would charge similar fees as them, but I would over-price on the tasks that are uncommon or I wouldn't want to perform, and a little less than them for more common tasks or easy to perform tasks.

Including software licenses with your services adds value to what you are doing and makes the service seem more valuable to your clients.
     
swarmofkillermonkeys
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Mar 25, 2007, 06:26 AM
 
Dunno how much my advice is worth but you get it for free anyway:

Don't spend the $300 if you really can't afford it. Seriously, if you aren't prepared to walk away saying, "Well, I still don't feel prepared to start up shop right now, but it doesn't matter -- that was cool" then wait. Also consider that if things DO work out, you will want to pick up a few other certifications and courses to move up-market ASAP. It will add up very quickly.

I know nada about Geek Squad, but good people are ALWAYS in demand. Even better if you're a competent technician/diagnostician. But especially on your own the real effort will be in "managing relationships". There will be clients that try to take advantage that you will have to deal with, but you must be friendly and professional to every client you meet. Find a large accounting/tax/boring business in your area and take the inhouse geeks out for a beer (if you're of age, nach). See if they will throw you some of their "problem" user's at-home business. Trust me, they will probably view it as a favor and those clients will probably tip VERY well. Once you've established reputation, peer contacts, and client relationships price will almost take care of itself.

Finally, if you've never done tech support professionally, when you're one-on-one it is mostly psychology. I'm not saying manipulate people, or be fake, or fail to be professional technically. Just remember that their happiness is what they are paying you for, and not feeling stupid (feeling in control of technology) is a large part of their expectation whether they realize it or not. So comforting and education is part of your job quite often.

You are a craftsman, not an assembly-line worker. A few long-term relationships in the right circles will pay far more than doing a zillion one-offs. This is even more important if you are competing against an industry player, the bigger they are, the less able they are to respond personally and thoroughly. Who would you trust, the fix-it guy that's been personally helping your accountant (that he raves about and tips well) for years, or Russian Roulette with some large company phone-bank support?
     
Y3a
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Mar 25, 2007, 10:43 AM
 
You don't get SQUAT for warranty repairs. You may benifit from the AASP training stuff, but go for the ACHDS cert, and later the server stuff.
     
Angus_D
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Mar 25, 2007, 01:51 PM
 
I wouldn't do the technician training unless you have a potential job lined up at a Mac repair shop, tbh. You only need the certification to perform warranty repairs, and you can't do that on your own.
     
kylemacr
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Jun 5, 2007, 12:21 AM
 
If you have the portable technician certification, can you do warranty repairs at your house? Without a AASP business? Even if it's been more than a year and you don't wanna pay $300 to renew?
     
chipchen
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Jun 5, 2007, 02:23 AM
 
The Apple Technician Training is not worth the $300. It is full of out-of-date information.

You need to get the Peachpit Press Apple Training Series. They write these books to almost fit the real Apple stuff word for word.

The first step on the Apple certifications scale is ACHDS: Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist

For that you need a Mac OS X Help Desk Essentials. For that test you need: Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Support Essentials - $43.99

You also need either Apple Certified Desktop Technician or Apple Certified Portable Technician or both. And for that you need: Apple Training Series: Desktop and Portable Systems, 3rd Edition - $47.99

You can take the tests at Prometric.com (first tests must be taken at Prometric locations... other tests are online).

Good luck.
     
goMac
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Jun 5, 2007, 03:46 AM
 
I would skip it. It's only useful for doing warranty repairs, which people can get done by Apple for free. It's actually useful where I work because we maintain thousands of laptops and like to repair them on site without sending them off the Apple.

Make money doing out of warranty repairs. Pick up spare parts for cheap and install them yourself. People love local service that is personal and will try and honestly keep a persons data (as opposed to Geek Squad who seems to wipe the machine first thing).
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Angus_D
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Jun 5, 2007, 08:18 AM
 
Originally Posted by kylemacr View Post
If you have the portable technician certification, can you do warranty repairs at your house? Without a AASP business? Even if it's been more than a year and you don't wanna pay $300 to renew?
If it's been more than a year and you haven't bought AppleCare, it's an out-of-warranty repair.

You cannot do a warranty repair if you are not an AASP. Also note that you have to be an AASP to purchase replacement parts from Apple.
     
Angus_D
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Jun 5, 2007, 08:19 AM
 
Originally Posted by goMac View Post
I would skip it. It's only useful for doing warranty repairs, which people can get done by Apple for free.
If you're an AASP and you carry out a warranty repair, it's also free for the customer. Apple supplies the parts, and I believe reimburses you for the time.
     
Y3a
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Jun 5, 2007, 10:54 AM
 
Or get an account with Pre-Owned Electronics and replace unwarranteed items with parts that are used but checked out.
     
Kenneth
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Jun 23, 2007, 06:57 PM
 
Originally Posted by chipchen View Post
The Apple Technician Training is not worth the $300. It is full of out-of-date information.
How is it out-of-date? The box comes with an activation code and all the training materials are online.

This afternoon I took the 'Mac OS X Service and Support Exam (9L0-060)' at one of the Prometric test sites. It's pretty straight forward and I passed. My next step will be Apple Desktop Hardware Exam (9L0-005) and Apple Portable Hardware Exam (9L0-207).
     
dowNNshift
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Jun 23, 2007, 10:22 PM
 
It is very current -- updated constantly.

It is a better resource than any book. Just be ready to cozy up to the screen for a few hours, because all of the material is online only.
     
goMac
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Jun 23, 2007, 10:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by Angus_D View Post
If you're an AASP and you carry out a warranty repair, it's also free for the customer. Apple supplies the parts, and I believe reimburses you for the time.
The parts are only free if the computer is under warranty. If the computer is under warranty, the repair would be done by Apple completely free. If the computer isn't under warranty, the customer is going to get charged for the parts and labor whether or not it's under Apple warranty. Sure, you might be able to undercut Apple's labor fees by a few bucks, but it's probably not worth it.

I'm not sure how much Apple pays you for your time. Where I work we just fix our own gear. I've never heard of a dedicated Apple repair shop though, they're always retail/repair places.
( Last edited by goMac; Jun 23, 2007 at 11:00 PM. )
8 Core 2.8 ghz Mac Pro/GF8800/2 23" Cinema Displays, 3.06 ghz Macbook Pro
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chipchen
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Jun 24, 2007, 01:23 AM
 
Originally Posted by Kenneth View Post
How is it out-of-date? The box comes with an activation code and all the training materials are online.

This afternoon I took the 'Mac OS X Service and Support Exam (9L0-060)' at one of the Prometric test sites. It's pretty straight forward and I passed. My next step will be Apple Desktop Hardware Exam (9L0-005) and Apple Portable Hardware Exam (9L0-207).
Ahh.. well, then they changed it. Because it used to come with a CD in the kit, and it was like.. at least a year old info. Glad they changed it then.
     
Angus_D
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Jun 24, 2007, 08:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by goMac View Post
The parts are only free if the computer is under warranty. If the computer is under warranty, the repair would be done by Apple completely free. If the computer isn't under warranty, the customer is going to get charged for the parts and labor whether or not it's under Apple warranty.
Isn't that exactly what I said?
     
   
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