RSSCategory: Uncategorized

Thumbtack.com Reviews

| January 27, 2013 | 0 Comments

Are you a Thumbtack user? I mean, have you logged in and put in a request and received service? I am wondering how your service job went. Can you take a moment and comment below? I have my reasons for wanting to know. I am using Thumbtack to help support our marketing and I’m not 100% sure if I’m into it or not. It seems like a bidding war and the client may end up not getting the best company that fits their issues, just because of price. When it comes to computer repair, there are many levels of repair and who is doing the repairs. I’ll explain.

If you go on a service bidding site such as Thumbtack.com, you ask for quotes and let’s say you get one for $20, $40 and $60. If you go with the $20 technician, you are really going for the price, or did you review the company and check out their website, read other reviews and put time into hiring this company? When I go out shopping, I try to go by the price too, but I have learned the cheapest service is not always the best. Been burned I guess, and I have learned! I pay a higher amount of money to my credit card processing company for two reasons…Easy to use and easy to call in and get support. Those two things are super important to me.

My computer support and repair company is not the cheapest in town, but are far from the most expensive. We have a responsive fast customer service team and deliver results. I believe this makes us worth a bit more because of “expected results”.

I guess what I’m getting at is that I don’t know if want to keep paying on bids for jobs and give Thumbtack.com more and more money…to not win the lowest price jobs. What are your thoughts on this?

Consumer and service companies opinions welcome.

The Java exploit explained and what you should do about it

| January 21, 2013 | 0 Comments

Most simple blog in the world, if you are concerned about your Java allowing in viruses, please update it! Or disable it, or uninstall it.

Updating it is what Oracle, Java recommends. That’s the simple answer to this. Here is their release…http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/alert-cve-2013-0422-1896849.html

Here is where you can download it.

http://www.java.com

According to Oracle, the owners of Java…

Java SE 7 Update 11 Released

By Tori Wieldt on Jan 13, 2013

Oracle has released Java SE 7 Update 11, containing important security fixes. See Oracle Security Alert CVE-2013-0422 to learn more. Oracle strongly recommends that all Java SE 7 users upgrade to this release. Read the Release Notes for additional details about this release. Download Java SE 7 update 11.

–>Now some stories from me in regards to this nightmare of a security hole.

Java…everyone by now has probably heard of the latest Java Exploit  (the security hole that could allow malware and viruses into your computer). It started a couple of weeks ago and I have been reading online about it and wasn’t sure if I should newsletter this or not, or even blog about it. This happened last summer too and I actually put out a newsletter about it and it caused somewhat of a social media panic. Some folks got hit, but the majority DID NOT.

Yes, it’s very important to keep your software up to date. But what happens with a 3rd party software app like Java or Adobe (that you need on your computer to help it just run nicely) have holes and security issues? You have to spend time to remove them, disable them or reinstall them. And with not many realiable news sources, it’s hard to keep track of the “Official things to do”! Even from a “Professional Technical Point of View”.

So you go to the Java website http://www.java.com  there is NOTHING about this exploit on their main page.Then you have to go to Google and see what’s going on. I Google “Java exploit” and I found this”

New Java exploit sells for $5000 on Black market (this tells me as the end user of Java nothing really)

What??? Ok, so it’s selling now and still…what are we to do with the damn thing? Doesn’t tell us. So I hit on Mashable and found this dated Jan 13th…..

http://mashable.com/2013/01/13/java-exploit/

How come I have to find out about this from Mashable? What about on the Java.com site! This frustrated technician is somewhat concerned about the message delivery methods from Oracle (who owns Java). Btw…it also took me 4 links deep to finally find the official security release on this exploit. haha…they didn’t of course send you back to the java.com site to just do what you should do, Update your Java to the newest version! It’s really a bunch of techno mumble jumbo, it’s not easy for me to even read through the tech talk….so how will the average computer user read it?

 

iPhone Training and Assistance Minneapolis Twin Cities

| December 15, 2012 | 0 Comments

If you are in the Minneapolis or Twin Cities area and want help with your new or current iPhone 3, 4, 4s or 5, we can help!

Welcome to Call That Girl’s iHelpdesk

Is your iPhone not doing what you want it to do? Or maybe you are getting frustrated with new technology and keeping up? Stop by our St. Louis Park shop during office hours for one-on-one support!

Hours

  • Monday-Friday
  • 9:30 am to 5:00 pm (we are open until 6:00)
  • Ask for Jim!
  • Call before you stop in if you like to confirm we have time
  • This is an open helpdesk, there may be someone ahead of you

We will show you how to maximize you iPhone’s potential, so you can get more out of that personal “pocket computer.” Learn how to personalize your apps so you get only the information you want out of them. Get help with managing your social media sites and tying them together on your phone. We can even show you how to copy/paste/and post things from different apps and sites.

More about our support:

  • We offer walkin helpdesk for iphone help in minneapolis
  • Iphone mobile helpdesk remote support available to synch with Gmail iPhone app help
  • iPhone application help and training
  • iPhone synching with Outlook and iPads
  • iPhone email setup help
  • iPhone Help Desk and Service Desk
  • Mobile App help for Minneapolis
  • New iPhone setup for email, Gmail or any email
  • Special training

 

Some questions our clients have asked

  • Can you retrieve old email from certain contacts like in Outlook?
  • Google apps for business don’t always work like it did on Android
  • What capabilities can be ignored on the iPhone?
  • What are the iPhones business features?
  • People are overwhelmed with the apps, can you help me understand it?
  • What do all the gadgets do?

Rates: Introductory Prices

  • $20 for 15 minutes (most issues can be resolved in just 15 minutes!
  • $30 for 30 minutes
  • $40 for 45 minutes
  • $50 for a full hour

Special Help Available!

  • Would you like a private appointment?
  • Would you like to sit down a group of your friends and have a session together? We can accommodate for groups, call for a special rate for groups up to 10.
  • Do you need something more not on this list? Call us and see if we can help!

 

Stop by our store in St. Louis Park, MN at 2316 Louisiana Ave or to book a private scheduled appointment, please call 612-865-4475 or email info@callthatgirl.biz

 

 

Computer Classes Minneapolis

| December 7, 2012 | 0 Comments

Classes are coming soon! Check back to see our online schedule and appointment time openings.

Soon we will have classes for

Windows 8

iPhones

Outlook

What are the top five issues the computer repair industry faces?

| December 6, 2012 | 0 Comments

It was recommended from a newsletter I received that I should blog about my industry and let my social media followers and Google finders see other points of view I have, outside of just my IT knowledge. Makes sense right? I am a real person with real issues too. I do! You just don’t know them or see them.

Let’s start with #1

  1. Technology changing quickly. Yep, you would think that we would love this, and we do…but when technology advances so quickly, that means we have to double step, do repairs and keep up on the back end on how to fix the issues you will have soon. So when I say “I have to work tonight” chances are good that I am testing or playing around or learning more about your issues you’re going to have with your “technology need of the day”. I’m always on high alert and always learning. Let’s put this this way, I’m earning my own Masters Degree. My head is spinning, but I love it. If this business stayed stagnant, I would probably be bored. I still enjoy troubleshooting to this day and figuring out why something broke and how to fix it.
  2. Pricing. Pricing is so important. We all know our value is high for the work we do and knowledge we have, but finding that perfect sweet spot is very difficult sometimes. Many of my competitors are much higher in price and one of my well known competitors is almost double  with onsite prices, it’s hard for me to even think about pricing that high and we know we are worth it! We need to be in the place that the common person will pay to get their computer repaired and earn enough for us to stay afloat and hopefully make money. So when it comes to raising prices, it’s always a bit scary. I usually do price adjustments at the end of the year.
  3. Competing with the next guy. Yes, this is a huge concern for many smaller shops. We all check on each other and figure out what services they are not offering and how can we offer more or get more clients than the next guy. If you are in a service industry, you know your competition better than most probably. With everyone having most every service on their websites, nothing is left to the imagination almost. I admit on checking on the competition, but for the most part….seems my competitors have fairly static sites and nothing seems to change front of house.
  4. Being too busy or not busy enough. Ugh…it’s never win win. It’s the best curse to be super busy and for weeks on end, but then eventually everyone burns out and you decide to hire, then of course, it slows down! Since our business relies on people having computer problems, we have to play this game. It’s not a game for the faint of heart either, you’re either a risk taker or you’re not. If you’re not, then you may want to structure your business for retainer work and not cash flow.
  5. Having great support in place. If you’re a one man shop, then you are your best support person! Or are you? If you don’t think so…here are a few tips on how to be the best support person. Be sure that you check your voicemails everyday and return calls the same day. Also be sure to check your emails often and return all emails same day. Keeping up with these two communications are key to doing great support. People like responsiveness and fast service. Even if you can’t service them today, let them know and get them on your calendar. If you have a front of house person doing the intake and phones, then make sure they know your procedures and processes well enough to answer basic questions and turns those calls into hot leads in your shop. If they have a bit of a sales background, you will be much happier to have that in a support person.

 

 

 

Technology Consulting Minneapolis

| December 6, 2012 | 0 Comments

Looking for technology consulting and you are in the Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs?

We can help! Sometimes getting a second opinion is all you need to confirm what you’re buying, or maybe you need to just ask a few questions about your current IT situation. Here are a few ways our current clients get great consulting and technology assistance from us.

  • Would you like help with buying your new computers? Having us helps, saves you money and time.
  • Is technology confusing you lately? We understand, there are a lot of changes going on, it can get confusing!
  • Is Comcast Business Class getting you down? Tired of no one understanding you and not getting your requests done? Let us help, while we sit on hold and get passed along from queue to queue, we do other things and do not charge you for “hold time”.
  • Maybe you just need someone to play “Technical Liaison”, or middle man to help you with talking to  CenturyLink or other technical software companies. We do that too.
  • Finally, it’s just nice to have someone to call and talk to about what’s going on. Letting us listen to your needs and issues will let you get to getting back on track faster.

We do offer a free consultation or can you hire us for as much time as you need to fully reconfigure your IT solutions from one past provider to our service plans.

Read more about our company below and feel free to contact us to schedule an appointment to discuss what you’re looking for.

Call That Girl offers technology, computer  and IT consulting, home and office onsite visits, remote support and has local retail stores for tech support and computer repairs in the Twin Cities area including the western and southern suburbs of Minneapolis, St. Paul and Rochester. We offer fast and responsive technical expertise and troubleshooting for home and business computer problems. In addition, we also offer other IT Services including cloud application help, hosted exchange, Google apps, virus and malware removals, tune ups, data backup and recovery, printers, smartphone and iPhone help, hardware parts, screen replacements, laptop repairs, Outlook, synchronizing email and much more! If we don’t have it on this list, go ahead and ask…we may support it!

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