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Best Results From Bartering Computer Services?
silicon not in the v writes "Last night I was over at some friends' house. They had cable modem with no firewall and tons of spyware, etc. on their system. They complained about all the popups and how bad it was that they were afraid to let their kids on the computer, so I set them up with ZoneAlarm, Ad Aware, and Firefox to get it cleaned up. In return, the husband, who is a chiropractor, gave my wife and I a free adjustment. What other interesting services or benefits have people been able to get by bartering IT/programming services?"
Better watch out for the IRS. You have to claim barter on your taxes!
You've bartered some useful systems support for some potentially dangerous new-age quackery. You might as well stock up on homeopathic medicine, have a tarot reading and schedule a phrenology consultation.
Chiropractor?, if you'll take the services of a chiropractor, I'll give you a job in trade for some healing tonics, a deku leaf, and I'll read your future.
I'll start with the fortune telling. I see that you are very gullible and have resently been taken for a fool.
In return for my services in fixing friends and family's PCs and printers I have recieved:
Beer
Free labor on replacement of my water heater.
Free server hosting
A kitchen faucet (a nice lifetime warranty Moen one, but not the kitchen sink to go with it)
Discounted closing on my home mortgage
Supper
More Beer
Lots more food, including gift certificates to nice restaurants
Duris MUD - The best pkill MUD. Ever.
I have one of those shirts, but oddly enough everytime i wear it, I actually get more requests from people to fix their computer problems..
I've had waitress's ask me computer questions while I was waiting for food to arrive because of that shirt. All it does is tip people off that you know about computers.
since bartering income has to be declared as such on your tax return. But the cost of preparing your return is deductable but not in the same tax year usually. Otherwise it'd cancel out quite nicely for you but not the accountant.
Try a little tact... you're not bartering - you're helping.
I have one, it was bought for me. Many people who know me, know I've no problem at all if people ask if I can help, nearly every one has offered me something in return. (A couple bucks, a 6 of beer, a pizza, some home-made cookies...).
But there are too many people out there who -DEMAND- that you help them, and not only have no intention of saying thanks, or even "Hey, what do I owe you?" but "You get paid for this? All you did was press keys."
You're right. I've had total strangers in the grocery store, read my shirt, and you can -see- the "Maybe he can help me/No wait, he looks like he'll tear my arms off..." conflict. The ones that I see, I -do- offer my services to...
I get paid quite well in my 9-5 to repair computers, servers, you name it. When I am home, the last thing I need is to hunt down nine hundred copies of "Gator" and so forth because they clicked "Yes" on every gaim window and so forth.
The chiropractor in the above, wouldn't crack and pop my back into place for free... He, like I, have bills to pay, food to eat, beer to aquire... For friends and family, always free. Total strangers owe me guinness and a promise to never, ever, click "Yes" on those "trust content from...." boxes.
Geek installs worthless security snake oil software and a buggy beta quality browser with well know serious security issues on some decent guy's PC.
Decent guy - who is a chiropractor - chiropractices Geek Attitude Improvement Treatment with the help of a baseball bat.
Geek ends up in hospital for 42 months...
"I fixed up my pastor's PC, and in return he has saved my eternal soul. "
I know this is a joke, but I still feel compelled to say that only God can 'save' you. No pastor or priest or anyone else on earth can do it.
It's called discretion...don't ask don't tell.
Maybe we DID take the blue pill. You wouldn't remember anyway.
God can 'save' you
Moderation: -1 Fairy tale
-Colin
Now these are people I've known all my life. One time I discussed, with a third-party friend, the possibility of offering my services for a fee. We both agreed,"Look, if you try to charge them for it not only will they decline, but they'll redouble their computer complaints, everyone will have to listen to it, and you'll be lucky if they offer you a beer next time you're over to watch the football game."
You'd think this would be common sense, but unfortunately for some, it isn't.
Unless doing so would significantly set you back financially, you NEVER CHARGE A FRIEND FOR WORK. If he or she is a real friend, they will find ways to pay you back for the favors you do for them. If they don't, they aren't your friend and you need to stop pretending they are. If all of your friends are like this, then you're a push-over and need to straighten up and find new friends.
So I cleaned their computers and set up their wireless AP with full WEP and MAC filtering for free. Sure I got a few beers and a chicken dinner out of it but it's still a bit of a kick in the pants. I save them $200 and I get the luxury of watching the football game with them?
This is both short-sighted and egotistical. Like I said above, if they were *real* friends, they will find ways to pay you back. These ways might be very subtle, too. Little things like paying for the booze during get-togethers. Or by including you in good times and experiences that you wouldn't have had otherwise. Or referrals to jobs or projects that DO make you money. These things add up.
I've probably saved my friends and family thousands of dollars just on computer help, manual labor, and advice alone and I've no doubt that I'm a lot better off in my life than I would be without them. But I've also encountered more than a few people who obviously just trying to be my buddy so they could borrow my things. Those people aren't counted among my friends and I tend to avoid them wherever possible.
But my real friends, those are the ones I stick with. If I asked my friend for some help with something I couldn't do on my own, and then he started itemizing the number of hours that he worked versus the cost of a bucket of chicken, he would be out the door, pronto.
People like people who like them. This shirt says that the world pisses me off, and you're part of that world. Therefore, i'm pissed off at idiots like you who can't tell that my time is too precious to spend fixing your broken PC.
If you're too busy to fix someone's PC just tell them so, nicely.
That's respecting yourself, AND others. (ok that sounds like an after school special but it's true).
Photos.
That shirt is a big fuck you to the world. If you want to say fuck you to people who -DEMAND- they help you then by all means go ahead. I'm just saying that the shirt in question makes you seem like a dickhead to everyone, even the nice people. That shirt makes it seem like even asking is wrong. It reeks of snobbery, and anger. That is the message it sends.
Photos.
How can you maintain your GPA if you get high?
Umm, by being really smart??