Drove an hour for a repair only to find a loose cable - my whole Monday wasted

Got a call from a small dental office in Beaverton last week saying their whole network went down. I packed up all my gear, drove 45 minutes through traffic, walked in and checked the server closet. Turns out the main switch just had a power cable that got knocked loose by the cleaning crew. Plugged it back in and everything came right up. I mean, I still charged them the service call fee but I felt kind of ridiculous. Has anyone else had a job where the fix was embarrassingly simple but you still had to bill for the trip?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera_campbell2mo ago

Oh absolutely, I had one where I drove 40 minutes for a "broken computer" and it was just the power strip was switched off. The client watched me flip one switch and I just stood there looking like a genius who charges $85 for that. You kind of have to own it though, the trip is the trip even if the fix is two seconds.

sean_johnson162mo ago

So @vera_campbell, how do you usually handle that awkward moment when they're standing right there watching you? Do you just say something like "yep, that was definitely the issue" and move on, or do you try to explain in a way that doesn't make them feel dumb?

the_patricia1mo ago

Flip one switch and charge 85 bucks... that's the dream and the nightmare all at once. I always try to spin it like "hey, at least it was an easy fix, the alternative would've been a whole lot worse." Makes them feel like they dodged a bullet instead of wasting my time.