Snakebit Friend (Rant)

[aja8888]

.......... Where do I find these people?

Looks like they are finding you.

Time to change your phone number/eBay I.D./Facebook settings/etc....?

 

[omni550]

Looks like they are finding you.

Time to change your phone number/eBay I.D./Facebook settings/etc....?

And....just a reminder, "No" is a complete sentence.

omni

 

[Bestwifeever]

This is a sitcom writer's dream. I can't wait to gear what happens when snakebit's friend refers you to someone else!

 

[braumeister]

How about
"You know, people keep telling me I'm good at this, so I've decided to start a small, part-time "fix-it" business. But I'm afraid if I charge too little I'll be swamped with requests. And if I charge too much, people will think I'm taking advantage of them. So I'm going to settle on a simple $50 an hour (or fraction thereof). Sound right to you?"

 

[scrabbler1]

Some more updates on my snake-bit friend and his friend.

SB friend told his SB friend not to call me with any more PC problems. SB friend's friend responded to him that did not understand why I felt that way because he thought he had compensated me adequately (pizza lunch). I told SB friend that it wasn't compensation but the fact I did not want to be a go-to person for his (SB friend's friend) dumbass PC problems and make more housecalls for things which he could have discovered on his own. SB friend's friend said he sorta understood.

Last night I was at SB friend's place and guess what? His TV wasn't working. All he had was static and he wanted me to look at it. The first thing I saw was his cable TV descrambler box was off. No power light and no digital display of the time which what appears by default. I push its power button and nothing happens. What could that possibly mean? DUH, the descrambler box is not plugged in! But I did not have to start moving the dresser away from the wall to see back there. Instead, the power cord had become unplugged from the descrambler box itself and was laying on the dresser in plain sight about 2 inches away from the box! I yelled to SB friend and pointed to it and the lack of any digital display on the box. He gave me a DUH and I plugged it in and after the box rebooted all was fine. I told him he was turning into another [SB friend's friend name]. He told me at least I did not have to make any special visits (which was not the point, it was his increasing ineptitude on anything remotely mechanical). Unreal LOL!

 

[aja8888]

Some more updates on my snake-bit friend and his friend.

SB friend told his SB friend not to call me with any more PC problems. SB friend's friend responded to him that did not understand why I felt that way because he thought he had compensated me adequately (pizza lunch). I told SB friend that it wasn't compensation but the fact I did not want to be a go-to person for his (SB friend's friend) dumbass PC problems and make more housecalls for things which he could have discovered on his own. SB friend's friend said he sorta understood.

Last night I was at SB friend's place and guess what? His TV wasn't working. All he had was static and he wanted me to look at it. The first thing I saw was his cable TV descrambler box was off. No power light and no digital display of the time which what appears by default. I push its power button and nothing happens. What could that possibly mean? DUH, the descrambler box is not plugged in! But I did not have to start moving the dresser away from the wall to see back there. Instead, the power cord had become unplugged from the descrambler box itself and was laying on the dresser in plain sight about 2 inches away from the box! I yelled to SB friend and pointed to it and the lack of any digital display on the box. He gave me a DUH and I plugged it in and after the box rebooted all was fine. I told him he was turning into another [SB friend's friend name]. He told me at least I did not have to make any special visits (which was not the point, it was his increasing ineptitude on anything remotely mechanical). Unreal LOL!

Sounds like the experiences I used to endure when I had my computer service business (which I sold after 5 crazy yeas). I used to wonder how some of those people got dressed in the morning and found their way to work.

 

[MRG]

Sounds like the experiences I used to endure when I had my computer service business (which I sold after 5 crazy yeas). I used to wonder how some of those people got dressed in the morning and found their way to work.

I w*rked with some like that. I swore some had maps of where their cube was located.
MRG

 

[scrabbler1]

Would you believe that snakebit friend's friend called me last week and wanted me to make ANOTHER house-call to try to fix his PC again? Thankfully, I wasn't home to take the call but after what happened last May I had no desire to talk to snakebit friend's fried again. Instead, I wrote my snakebit friend and told him what happened (including what I wrote to him last year after I made the house call) and asked him to straighten this out. Snakebit friend's friend called me again and I let the answering machine take the call. Snakebit friend's friend still can't figure out why I won't help him even if he pays me to fix his PC. Did he forget (accidentally or intentionally) the aftermath of what happened after I made the house-call?


I really want nothing to do with snakebit friend's friend. I don't want to be his go-to person for every little PC thing which arises. He could have fixed his own PC based on my instructions over the phone last year but instead wanted me to come over. As I reminded my snakebit friend, I wanted to nip this thing in the bud and avoid creating a cycle of dependency but it didn't get nipped.


Snakebit friend's friend did not try to call me again so it appears it has been nipped now. Or it had better be nipped LOL!

 

[W2R]

Good idea to avoid his phone calls. If backed into a corner, I'd be tempted to respond with, "gosh, I don't know, that is way, WAY over my head.... maybe Best Buy's Geek Squad will come out and fix it for you?"

 

[Redbugdave]

Yes, I have put up with one way "friendships" like that. It gets old after awhile. But, it is your own fault and he is playing on your inner guilt. I would wean him off by telling him the problem is above your level and you don't know how to fix it. Then tell him of a good place he can take it to. A few times of that and your friend will get with the program when it starts costing some money and inconvenience.

 

[scrabbler1]

Yes, I have put up with one way "friendships" like that. It gets old after awhile. But, it is your own fault and he is playing on your inner guilt. I would wean him off by telling him the problem is above your level and you don't know how to fix it. Then tell him of a good place he can take it to. A few times of that and your friend will get with the program when it starts costing some money and inconvenience.

Last April and May, as I described in earlier posts, I drew the line with major repair issues and he had someone else handle the repair issues because they were indeed above my level of expertise. They would also have taken way too long and I didn't want to spend most of the time at his place working on it. For little items which take little time and effort and not special trips to his place, I'm okay with that. He knows I won't hesitate to tell him it will take too much time and effort and won't try to fix it.

As for his friend (the one who called me last week asking me to make another house call), I have no desire to get involved with him and his PC no matter how easy it turns out to be or how much he wants to pay me. I've already weaned him off my help so I doubt very much he will be calling me again.

 

[easysurfer]

Maybe you need to tell him you only know how to use a Mac or Linux?

 

[ERTX]

Tell him to stay off porn sites.

 

[target2019]

Last April and May, as I described in earlier posts, I drew the line with major repair issues and he had someone else handle the repair issues because they were indeed above my level of expertise. They would also have taken way too long and I didn't want to spend most of the time at his place working on it. For little items which take little time and effort and not special trips to his place, I'm okay with that. He knows I won't hesitate to tell him it will take too much time and effort and won't try to fix it.

As for his friend (the one who called me last week asking me to make another house call), I have no desire to get involved with him and his PC no matter how easy it turns out to be or how much he wants to pay me. I've already weaned him off my help so I doubt very much he will be calling me again.

Throughout the years this problem came up a few times. It takes a few reminders about the Mac store in their area, but eventually they stop asking. You'll also have to respond to their questions about the repair bill from the Mac store. LOL.

 

[aja8888]

Last April and May, as I described in earlier posts, I drew the line with major repair issues and he had someone else handle the repair issues because they were indeed above my level of expertise. They would also have taken way too long and I didn't want to spend most of the time at his place working on it. For little items which take little time and effort and not special trips to his place, I'm okay with that. He knows I won't hesitate to tell him it will take too much time and effort and won't try to fix it.

As for his friend (the one who called me last week asking me to make another house call), I have no desire to get involved with him and his PC no matter how easy it turns out to be or how much he wants to pay me. I've already weaned him off my help so I doubt very much he will be calling me again.

I used to go through this crap when I closed up my computer repair business a few years ago. I had a stream of neighbors and relatives asking for all kinds of help. I finally just told them all (one at a time) that I just don't work on computers anymore. I also told them where to take their computer to get it fixed. Eventually, this nonsense stops if you stay firm.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

The behavior of your friend and his friend is strange to me, because I HATE asking people for favors. I'd much prefer to pay a professional to come fix something than bother my friends or family (never mind an acquaintance).

I'm usually happy to help other people out, but I don't like feeling like I "owe" someone. These guys have no shame.

 

[easysurfer]

The behavior of your friend and his friend is strange to me, because I HATE asking people for favors. I'd much prefer to pay a professional to come fix something than bother my friends or family (never mind an acquaintance).

I'm usually happy to help other people out, but I don't like feeling like I "owe" someone. These guys have no shame.

I'm the same way as I don't like asking people for favors.

Independence is a good feeling

 

[Redbugdave]

The behavior of your friend and his friend is strange to me, because I HATE asking people for favors. I'd much prefer to pay a professional to come fix something than bother my friends or family (never mind an acquaintance).

I'm usually happy to help other people out, but I don't like feeling like I "owe" someone. These guys have no shame.

Me, too!

 

[Fishingmn]

My in-laws called 2 days ago with their latest PC issue. The screen image was upside down. They didn't like my initial tongue in cheek response to physically turn their screen upside down. A quick review on getting to their screen properties showed it was flipped for some reason - a 2 minute fix.

I have no idea though how they get themselves in these situations but they've done so many things for me over the years I have no problem helping them.

 

[scrabbler1]

My in-laws called 2 days ago with their latest PC issue. The screen image was upside down. They didn't like my initial tongue in cheek response to physically turn their screen upside down. A quick review on getting to their screen properties showed it was flipped for some reason - a 2 minute fix.

I have no idea though how they get themselves in these situations but they've done so many things for me over the years I have no problem helping them.

With some but not all of the things I have helped my snakebit friend over the years, I have asked him, "Why do these things happen to YOU all the time?" Your screen image problem is like the time years ago when his taskbar moved from the bottom of the screen to the right side of the screen, something I had not seen before but was fairly easily fixed by going into screen properties or something similar. He gets viruses and malware installed on his PC all the time but despite all the times I have showed him how to run antivirus and antimalware programs, he still has no clue how to run these things himself so he prefers to wait until I come over, often leaving without decent internet access for days. (These are the things I have been trying to wean him off my help because they take so much time to fix.)

 

[LoneAspen]

I would have no problem dumping people like this from my life. I have little to no tolerance for needy clingy people.

People who can't figure things for themselves, or who can't learn after being shown a couple times...I'd give them the boot.

 

[scrabbler1]

My snakebit friend is at it again.


A few weeks ago, he had a PC problem I had never heard of and had no idea how it happened. The PC booted up to the desktop but along the way a message "Keyboard error" appeared. His keyboard didn't work and he had no mouse arrow. I had him try switching the USB ports the two devices were plugged into and rebooting. It didn't work. Another friend of his (Bart, I never met him) tried helping him out but couldn't find a solution.


The next time I came over, I brought a spare keyboard and mouse and rebooted the system. Same thing happened. I suggested he get Windows reinstalled. The next time he came to my place, he told me he hadn't done anything else. He has a smart phone so he can still send and receive his email. I have a Windows 10 thumb drive and I sent it home with him (in its original box), as it also has a repair facility which might fix the problem, even for Windows 8.2 (his OS).


I found out a few days later he went with Bart to buy a new PC and they were getting him set up. I got an email from him yesterday and he told me he might have thrown out my Windows 10 thumb drive by mistake. He will replace it, of course (it costs about $110), but I am just stunned that he could be so careless with it. He doesn't know if he left in his old PC (which he still has) or the cleaning woman threw out the box with the thumb drive in it. (His cleaning woman often seems to throw out things she isn't supposed to throw out.)


I mean, can't I ever lend him something he won't be so stupid and careless as to not lose it? When I sent it home with him, I made it clear this was a valuable item and NOT to lose it or misplace it. But that is exactly what he did.


Rant over.

 

[Souschef]

Couple of things-
First was an embarrassment on my part. My copilot and I were at a meeting out of town. When I got back home my wife told me that one of the detectors started chirping at 3 AM, and she could not reach it to silence it.
I then replaced the batteries in all the detectors, and put a note on my calendar to change them at DST. I will use Duracell or equivalent batteries no CVS or dollar store.

#2
Guy calls tech support saying that he has no cursor. Tech asks if he has a display. Guy says no. Tech asks him to see if it is plugged in.
Guy says he cannot tell as it is dark.
Tech asks why is it dark? Guy says because we have a power failure.
Tech asks if the guy has the original boxes the PC came in. Guy says he did.
Tech tells him to put the PC in the box and take it back because he is too stupid to have a PC

 

[Sunnymar]

I got an email from him yesterday and he told me he might have thrown out my Windows 10 thumb drive by mistake. He will replace it, of course (it costs about $110), but I am just stunned that he could be so careless with it. He doesn't know if he left in his old PC (which he still has) or the cleaning woman threw out the box with the thumb drive in it. (His cleaning woman often seems to throw out things she isn't supposed to throw out.)

I mean, can't I ever lend him something he won't be so stupid and careless as to not lose it? When I sent it home with him, I made it clear this was a valuable item and NOT to lose it or misplace it. But that is exactly what he did.

When people tell who they are, believe them. Why do you keep trying to make him someone he is not.

Rant at yourself for trying to make someone fit your way into your life. Look at yourself to understand why you keep him in your life, this will teach you more about you than him.

 

[redduck]

My snakebit friend is at it again.

I got an email from him yesterday and he told me he might have thrown out my Windows 10 thumb drive by mistake.

Sounds like you're the one that's snakebit. I would suggest that you stop petting the snake and save yourself a lot of agony.

I mean, can't I ever lend him something he won't be so stupid and careless as to not lose it?

And, the correct answer to your question is...?