How much to charge for computer cleaning? NEED Help! :)

[gumbob3]

How much is reasonable for a high schooler to charge to dust & optimize a customer's desktop computer for them? GeekSquad charges $149.99 to Optimize & Clean someone's computer, which I feel it's way too much. Or $129.99 for Optimization, but no dusting. Ray's Mobile charges $75 (+$25 additional PC) for just dusting. And $50-$75 for Optimization (Depends on drop-off or on-site). Considering these prices, how's much do you think I could charger for a similar service? ALL answers are much appreciated! Thanks!! -High school student living in fairly small town

 

[PandaButtonFTW]

20 bucks, the 'professionals' are just ripping people off and doing things any user could do, its better to get yourself a reputation as offering an honest and good value service.

 

[USAFRet]

Depends on what you mean, specifically, by "dust & optimize"

5 minutes blowing the dust out? $10, but only if you come recommended by someone I know.
What is in your 'optomization' realm?

 

[Ryan_78]

come on just get some brake cleaner, as Tech Yes city uses, or a can of compressed air. then run CCleaner to clean PC hard drive of junk.

 

[USAFRet]

come on just get some brake cleaner, as Tech Yes city uses, or a can of compressed air. then run CCleaner to clean PC hard drive of junk.

"brake cleaner"? I can think of 18 ways that will go badly wrong.

 

[gumbob3]

As in running ccleaner, cleaning temp. files, history, cookies, optimizing start up time, running AVG scan, removing OEM bloatware, reducing unneeded visual effects (if necessary), defrag HDD & maybe check HDD health.

 

[PandaButtonFTW]

lol, yeah 10 bucks sounds good in my opinion, just clean out the dust bunnies and then clean the harddrive of crap and make sure they have no viruses/adware/generic shizzle mah nizzle

 

[gumbob3]

I have some brake cleaner, but not sure if that's what I want to use to clean out computers...

 

[USAFRet]

As in running ccleaner, cleaning temp. files, history, cookies, optimizing start up time, running AVG scan, removing OEM bloatware, reducing unneeded visual effects (if necessary), defrag HDD & maybe check HDD health.

At least 3 of those things people will yell at you for doing.

Cookies? "But now, when I go to my favorite site, it doesn't know me !!"
OEM bloatware? "I use that picture application EVERY DAY!"
unneeded visual effects? "But I LIKE that aero thing"

 

[sammy sung]

At my shop we charge $100 for a PC Tune up which includes the following

Ccleaner - removing obsolete files and fixing some registry files. Disabling unneeded start up items
Junk Removal Tool - removes various potentially unwanted programs
Defraggler - analyze then a quick defrag, which fixes fragmented files 5mb and smaller
Manual Browser reset for all installed browsers

And depending on the client we'll often do a quick MBAM scan and removal. But that among other things are typically reserved for our $169 virus removal.

For "internal case cleaning" we charge $25 for laptops as in some instances it can require a full disassembly to do a complete job. Whereas towers we just charge $15. We use an actual compressor with appropriate fittings to do an exceptional job of blowing things clean within a minute or less.

 

[PandaButtonFTW]

As in running ccleaner, cleaning temp. files, history, cookies, optimizing start up time, running AVG scan, removing OEM bloatware, reducing unneeded visual effects (if necessary), defrag HDD & maybe check HDD health.

At least 3 of those things people will yell at you for doing.

Cookies? "But now, when I go to my favorite site, it doesn't know me !!"
OEM bloatware? "I use that picture application EVERY DAY!"
unneeded visual effects? "But I LIKE that aero thing"

One could always try to explain to the customer the potential benefits of doing such things?

 

[gumbob3]

Good points... Are there any things I missed that I should also do?

 

[gumbob3]

Sammy Sung, I assume you uninstall the programs like Ccleaner, etc. when you are done? Or do you leave the programs installed on the computer? Thanks

 

[PandaButtonFTW]

you uninstall them for repeat business and maximum wallet leeching

 

[sammy sung]

Good question

I have several thumb drives that I've installed dozens of utilities I use everyday. I've also written batch files that will create a folder on the C: drive of the client's computer and copies all the aforementioned utilities there. When I'm finished working on the computer I've also written a batch to remove the tools but leave the folder itself behind with a link to my website as well as a team viewer icon for potential remote situations in the near future. I like to always give a client that was recently in my shop a good five minutes remotely if needed.

 

[gumbob3]

Sammy Sung, how long does the defragmentation usually take? I know it depends on the amount of fragged files, but what's the average time? Also do you choose defrag or quick defrag? Thanks!