Seems like wherever you look, there is a company out there willing to fix your computer.  In fact, it is such a big market industry that big box retailers like Best Buy, Walmart and even Costco are getting into this.  Best Buy bought out a small company in Minneapolis called Geek Squad.  Circuit City had a division in there called Firedog and Costco even recently started doing remote support for customers who purchase computers.  But before you run to a big box retailer, get to know the basics!

Computers are manmade things and it's not a matter of how/if but WHEN the computer will break.  Whether it is something as basic as a software fix to something as catastrophic as a motherboard breaking, you want to find a company you can work with. 

You turn around and see stickers on cars that say PC REPAIR, FLAT RATE, Certified in this and certified in that.  A Geek running here and a dork running there.  Your head spins as you see an incredible mix of technicians running around on just our island alone!  Since we all have super fast Road Runner internet and good computers, its worth having a reliable computer technician you want to work with. 

Of course getting a certification does say something about level of knowledge a computer technician will have.  But what if they run around and say that they are Microsoft Certified?  Do you know if they are certified in Servers? Data? Software? Win7????  You see what I mean?  There are a ton of certifications out there.  Would you take your baby child to go and see a neurologist when they have a cold?  Or would you go to see a cardiologist when you have a bowel irritation?  Exactly.  Knowing who you are going to see is a good thing.  This is one of the reasons why working with a company and a mix of staff is always better than a single person running around!

A few more tips.  After all, the value of your computer might not be too great but the information on that computer can be your most important thing other than your home and car!

• Listen to your friends and family.  Do that have a particularly good experience working with someone?
• One man shops are good.  But what happens when they get busy and cannot give you the attention you got the first time?  Besides, there is something to be said about a company which has much more cumulative knowledge than one person running around too right?

• Get a quote for everything every time.  Does that company you work with offer you free quotes for any work or hardware?  Do they charge you to just get a quote?  There are a lot of companies that offer free quotes so go for those first.  Then get a second quote.  You would be surprised how much it can differ.  The reason is simple.  Some companies are constantly bringing in their own supplies and inventory while others will go and run to Radio Shack to get you a part.  See the difference?
• Price your parts online.  Sometimes, you will see an amazing difference on the price of parts.  Will your technician allow you to bring in your own parts instead of buying parts from them?  Paying 10-12% more for parts vs what you find online is acceptable.  But once you are paying more than that, time to see if you can bring your own parts into the shop.  BUT, if you do go online to order your parts, best to make sure you understand the refund and return policies.  I am for supporting local but ..within reason and price!  But understand online ordering isnt much easier all the time.
• Chain stores and Big Boxes are focused on getting your sales.  Of course they have a IT support desk and center but once everything is said and done, they would rather sell you a new computer than fixing your old one.  Go call a local technician before taking it to a Big Box.  Unless you want to see your computer go away for up to 2 weeks at a time, data gone or paying half the cost of a new computer, go local.
• Is it time to purchase a new computer?  Does the company you want to work with give you kind advice?  Do they offer you options such as enclosing your existing HD, taking it out and telling you to get a new PC or??
• Do they offer warranties on what they do? Most companies will easily offer you a “We are not Happy until you are” kind of notice.
• Are they reputable?  Do they have associations with larger companies or organizations?  http://tinyurl.com/yfjd9uz this is a good place to start!
• Are they insured to enter your home?  You don’t want to have a technician enter your home and knock over things and before you realize it, that $50/hour guy cost you new furniture!
• Read the micro details!  Are they really only $30/hour?  What about a driving charge, minimum of 5 hours?  What about for work they do after hours.  Ask the right questions so you don’t get caught blind!
• Just like how you are with hiring a licensed contractor, make sure you hire a company and not a person.  There are a lot of companies out there that are one man shops.  But make sure that they are at least a company.  Go here and check it out to see if they are a real company.  Trust me, if something happens, you want to know that the State of Hawaii can try and help you out. http://tinyurl.com/yh38vub
• And finally, whats the policy if they cannot repair your PC?  Most companies, like ours, will charge a one time $50/cancellation fee.  If for example, a Hard drive goes out, gets repaired, then a bunch of other items breaking get noticed and soon becomes too expensive to fix (meaning not worth it), then we offer alternatives such as data back up and if nothing, we charge a $50 cancellation and that’s it. 

Getting your computer repaired shouldn’t be as stressful as a repair on your house.  But on the other hand, you have a great deal of data on there as well as personal information as well.  Is that something you want to just hand over the keys to cause they are cheap?