JimmyTech Customer Handbook

Business Hours

I am generally available 9am-5pm Pacific (Noon-8pm Eastern), Sunday through Thursday. I take my weekend Friday and Saturday so that I can accommodate customers on Sunday who might not be available during the week.

Contacting Me

The most efficient way to get time with me is to book an appointment on my website. I prefer communication via email or phone.

Though you can text, it's best used for things that are not emergencies such as letting me know you are running late for an appointment. I cannot set up auto-reply for text messages, so if you text me while I am on vacation, I might not see it for a week or two, and you wouldn't know why there was no response.

Tips for asking effective questions

When emailing me with a question, it helps if you can provide all of the appropriate information up front.

For example, simply emailing that you can't print doesn't give me much to go on. By "can't print," do you mean that you don't remember how? That the print button is missing or doesn't respond? That you receive an error message (and what does it say)? That the printer goes through the motions, but the paper comes out blank or illegible? What does happen is just as important as what doesn't happen.

It's also useful to know what device you are having trouble with. Are you trying to print from your iPhone? Your iPad? Your Mac? What app is the problem with? Printing from Google Chrome is very different from printing from Safari or Word. What is your printer model? What version of macOS or iOS are you running?

Additionally, it's also useful to know what things you have already tried to do. Did you restart your computer? Did you restart your printer? Did you restart your router or modem? Did you remove the printer from System Settings and add it back? Did you try a head cleaning cycle?

Also, a picture is worth a thousand words. Any photos or screenshots that you send me can be very useful and may include details that you didn't think to mention. Avoid zooming in so close that I can only see the part you think is relevant; sometimes, there is other context on the screen that is useful.

If all of that is too much or you have no idea where to begin, it's probably too big a problem for me to solve by email. I suggest booking a Zoom call so we can discuss.

Emergency Contact After Hours or On Vacation

After hours or when I am on vacation, I turn my work phone off and disconnect my work email. I do protect my work/life balance. Though I understand that sometimes something comes up, so I always try to have a way you can get in touch with me if needed.

If you have an emergency, the best thing to do is to call me. If I am on vacation, I will change my outgoing message to let you know that. I charge time-and-a-half for calls on my time off.

I recommend you do not keep my emergency number saved in your phone so that you don't call my emergency number when it's not an emergency. You will be able to find this number here on this webpage, under the umbrella icon I set up on your Mac, and I will always have it on my email autoreply and on my regular voicemail.

Appointments

Booking an Appointment

Book an Appointment

You can book an appointment through my online booking system, which you can access through a web browser on your computer, iPhone, or iPad. I don't take appointment requests by email or text message because my schedule changes very quickly and too often my calendar changes while we are having a back-and-forth.

I offer two types of appointments: Remote Calls and House Calls.

If you don't know how much time to book please send me an email with your to-do list.

Remote Calls are the most common type of appointment for my clients. Many people prefer the flexibility of being able to book an appointment no matter where they or I are. I use Zoom not because I like video calls, but because it has a built-in feature that allows us to share screens on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. On Mac, I can even take your mouse and keyboard to zip around and fix things myself.

I have a 30-minute minimum for Zoom appointments, and I bill in 15-minute increments.

House Calls are also available, but my calendar is a bit more limited. My San Francisco customers will easily be able to find appointments on my online calendar, usually within the next few days, unless I am on vacation or out of town. My DC customers will need to watch out for my email newsletter. I visit DC about once every six to eight weeks, and I announce it in my newsletter usually 1 to 3 weeks ahead of time. Those appointments are usually booked within a day or two. House calls are better suited for things like help with printers and WiFi problems.

I have a 1-hour minimum for house calls, and I bill in 15-minute increments. If it's a long drive, I might insist on more than a 1-hour minimum.

Canceling or Changing an Appointment

If you need to cancel or change an appointment, it's not a problem at all! I just ask that you do it sooner rather than last minute. My calendar system makes it very easy. Just look for a confirmation or reminder email for your appointment. Toward the bottom are the cancel and reschedule buttons. If your appointment was inserted automatically into your calendar, you'll see the links on the event as well. If you are unable to locate it, just send me an email and I'll cancel it for you.

Joining a Zoom Appointment

You will get a Zoom link by email when you book your appointment, as well as a reminder an hour before our appointment. Usually, you should join the call from your computer. Zoom on the computer allows us to jump between screen sharing all of your devices. If you join from iPad or iPhone, you can only share that single device.

If, for some reason, you are unable to join the Zoom call, you can call me on the phone. If you don't join our call within a few minutes, I will call you at the number you listed in your appointment booking.

Payment

Payment by credit card or ACH Bank Transfer is preferred. You can do either of these through the link in your email invoice. The Bank Transfer option will take you to your bank's website, where you can log in for verification.

If you wish to pay by another means, please add a $10 service charge. I strongly prefer paying through the invoice because it reconciles in my bookkeeping software and reduces errors, saving me a lot of work.

When paying an invoice, you have the option to keep the card on file. This is completely secure, and I cannot see what your card number is. For future appointments, I will just run that card, and you will receive an email receipt. If you need to change the card after the fact, just let me know, and I'm happy to refund and then invoice you so you can use a different card.

Self Service

Some common troubleshooting techniques

Try restarting your computer, iPhone or iPad, router, modem, printer, etc. A good number of times this will fix any problems you are having, even if you think it is unrelated. Also, make sure your software is updated. Sometimes a problem you are having has already been fixed by Apple, you just have to install the fix. Here are links to some of my blog posts and Apple's support articles to fix many common problems:

For support from Apple

You can contact them at getsupport.apple.com or download their app for iPhone or iPad.

For support from other companies

You can locate them on GetHuman. Be cautious when searching the web for support because oftentimes you'll reach a tech support scam. GetHuman is a great curated list of support phone numbers with an explanation of how to get to a live person fast.

If you believe you have been hacked

The most important thing to do is to remain calm so the adrenaline doesn't cause you to make decisions you wouldn't normally make. The vast majority of times that people are told they have been hacked, it's really just a scam. The more urgent it seems, the more suspicious you should be.

Why do I have appointements in Washington DC?

It may seem strange that even though I am in San Francisco, I make reference to customers in DC. I used to live in the DC area, and in 2019, I moved to San Francisco. I am still working with many customers in DC, both via Zoom and with regular visits back east. I initially intended to start winding my East Coast business down, but the pandemic sped up the acceptance of remote technology. So as far as I'm concerned, my DC customers are here to stay!