cockroaches in the power supply
This is probably the worst job job I’ve ever had to do.
Customer say her PC stopped working. Something popped, and there was a burning smell from the PC.
Sounds like a straightforward power supply replacement.
When I get there, the living rooms looks quite sparse… seems like a lower-class house (not that I care about class).
The PC (it looks very new… its just out of warranty) is in the corner of the living room, on a wooden bench with a tablecloth. Customer has broadband internet.
A few quick checks, and I see the power supply needs changing. I go to the car, get a new power supply, and test it to make sure it works. The new PSU works well, so I tell the customer I’ve found the cause, and I can easily fix it..
She asks how much I reckon it will cost in total. I tell her, and she says she will need to go the the auto-teller, to get the cash.
So I’m left alone in the house (with 3 young kids… I suspect they should be in school). It seems a bit odd.
Anyway, I complete the PSU change, start the PC, and notice the keyboard and mouse don’t work. I get my cheap KB and mouse from the car, and can finally login.
Since I’m waiting for the customer to return, I sit down and start checking the antivirus, etc… as the PC seems a bit slow.
I start to notice movement out of the corner of my eye…
Its a cockroach, climbing up the PC speakers.
As I continue working, I notice more of the critters “exploring” the table… Since I’m no longer making a lot of “noise” from changing the PSU, they seem to decide to start exploring… All up, I’d say the table was a host for about 10 or 20 cockies of various sizes… all exploring the PC, speakers, widescreen LCD monitor, etc…
As I work on the PC, I find I need to flick away the ones that get too close to the keyboard or mouse… Now I think I can see why the power supply failed…
My mind starts to play tricks on me: I think I can feel something in my hair… on a few occasions, I imagine something crawling up my pants leg… but there isn’t anything there.
The customer eventually gets back, pays me, and I’m relieved to be out of there.
LOL that was a great read!
I once had a job where this woman wanted me to fix her computer, so we agreed on a time. I arrive, and 3 little kids answer the door. I asked if the woman was home, to which they replied “nah she’s out and wont be back until 5pm”. I asked if there were any adults there, and there wasn’t.
I left my card with the kids and asked them to let their mum know when she gets back that I came over but she wasn’t there. So I called her back later that night, and told her what happened, and we arranged another appointment for the next day. The same thing happened – kids were home, no sign of the woman.
It’s really disturbing that 3 very young kids were at home all by themselves (I would say they ranged from 1-3 years of age)
It’s also made me realise that I should bill people who don’t call to cancel an appointment.
Some times I go to people’s houses and they have dogs that jump all over me. This one dog scratched my leg, and I got ring worm from it! I couldn’t believe it! Luckily with some treatment it cleared up quickly.
Oh the perils of this line of work :p
I just checked my books, the job was for a power supply replacement.
Could it be the same person?
Hilarious. Very well written. Still, makes you appreciate living in this country, when we think that’s a “bad” living environment. It would be luxury in many countries.
I don’t think you’d want to be a computer technician in the jungles of New Guinea. (Probably wouldn’t get very rich, either!)
Would they even _have_ computers in the jungles of new guinea?