Computer Technician Work Process

I would like to share with you my (and many other technicians) process of working on a computer and dealing with a client. I have built up this process over many years after making many mistakes of my own and putting extra steps to make sure they don’t happen again. This is my process:Ask What the Problem IsWhen I first answer the phone, I will try and determine what the problem is as much as I can before I go onsite to make sure its something I can fix. However, what they say on the phone can often be wildly different to what the problem actually is. Once I arrive at the clients location, I ask what the problem is again and ask them a few extra questions to help pinpoint what the problem could be. Depending on the problem, I would ask something along the lines of: Did you install any new software or hardware recently? Was the computer making strange noises before this happened? Was there a power outage recently?
Inspect the ComputerIf they leave the computer at your location, physically inspect it with them watching and look for any cracks, scuffs or any other sort of damage. This will save you tons headaches down the track if they say you damaged the computer while it was in your possession, even though the damage was already there when you received it.