1. I'm a senior citizen about to buy my first PC. Will your company work with me, or do you only work with corporate clients?
2. I can tell from your name that you install computers. Do you also sell and service them?
3. I see that your corporate headquarters are in Manhattan. What are your trip charges to Tinton Falls, N.J.?
4. My hard drive has failed. I've been told it will take 2-3 hours of shop time to replace it. How much do you charge per hour of labor?
5. Why doesn't Installations Plus+ post a schedule of fees, rates, and prices on its website for all to see?
6. Can I arrange for private tutoring in Microsoft Word 6.0?
7. I have a 3-year old Macintosh computer that I'd like to upgrade. Can you help me with that?
8. Help! I've followed the directions carefully, but I just can't get this GAME to run properly on my computer. How much do you charge to debug a computer game?
9. My hard drive has just crashed so that I can no longer write to it. Can I order a new one from you by mail?
Client base.
We would be pleased to have you join our growing list of satisfied clients. Installations Plus+ got its start working with individuals and small, home-based businesses. We continue to focus on that market, although we now serve corporate clients as well. Return
Products and services.
Installations Plus+ sells, installs, services, repairs, upgrades, and maintains personal computers systems, and that's only a part of what we do. Our first name -- Installations -- got us started; our second -- Plus+ -- tells the story today! Return
Trip Charges.
At Installations Plus+, there are no trip charges within our service area, which we define as those parts of N.Y., N.J. and CT. that fall within a 75-mile radius of midtown Manhattan. Return
Labor Charges.
At Installations Plus+, we charge by the job, not by the hour. At present, a new 1.2 gigabyte hard drive costs $200 installed. Return
Fee Schedule.
We don't post a fee schedule on our website for the same reason that doctors, lawyers and accountants don't post fee schedules in their anterooms. As professionals, our first concern is with meeting your needs not with filling our pocketbooks. Once we understand your requirements, we'll gladly offer informed solutions at prices we know you'll be able to afford.
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Software Tutoring.
We don't offer tutoring in Microsoft Word 6.0 or any major off-the-shelf applications. Here's why.
- Off-the-shelf sofware applications from major manufacturers like Microsoft, Lotus, IBM, Corel, etc. were designed to be used by "the average" user straight out of the carton. In fact, most applications are so "user friendly" that experienced and/or intuitive users just simply install the software and "go to work".
- Today's software comes with online tools including complete instructions (usually duplicating the printed manual), cue cards, coaches, tips, topic-specific help, tours, and troubleshooting. These electronic teaching tools are almost always sufficient to take the user from the novice to the expert level without additional help.
- We will gladly arrange introductory training sessions on topics like "How to use Windows 95", "How to use the Internet", "How to use database software". These are sessions designed to teach you how to navigate and how to learn. After that you should be able to handle most major applications on your own. Return
Apple and Macintosh service.
At the outset, Installations Plus+ decided not to service Apple/Macintosh products because they account for less than 8% of all PCs in use but would cost us as much in training and supplies as we spend to stay current on IBM-compatibles, which make up more than 90% of the market. In hindsight, we think that was a good decision and moreover we encourage potential clients with older Apple/Macintosh products to give serious consideration to switching over to an IBM-compatible. (Read Lou Bruno's remarks about Apple in Technology at the Millennium). Return
Making computer games work.
In our experience, the reason that many computer games don't work as expected is that they are badly written! Although it is sometimes possible to get around the problem by creating machine-specific fixes or workarounds, this is not a service offered by Installations Plus+ at present. When you can't install a game, or can't make it work properly, we think you should contact the manufacturer for help, and failing that, for a refund. The only way to stamp out bad games is for the consumer to make them unprofitable for the manufacturer.
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Mail order purchases.
Installations Plus+ is primarily a consulting and service company working with clients within a 75-mile radius of midtown Manhattan. Although we sell everything from complete systems to parts, pieces, and accessories, we only sell installed, never "over-the-counter" or by mail.
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