I needed work done to my firewall and had a bid from a company we normally use charging $225 per hour. They estimated the work would take 1-2 hours. I found this company online and they only charged $100. Anwar told me when I talked to him that money was not his concern, just satisfied customers. My boss told me not to use them since I had never heard of them but I took him on his workd and since they could be out the next day, I went ahead trusting them. I had forgotten my password so the whole firewall had to be reset (if I had used my original company it wouldnt have been an issue since they had built in a login for themselves but i admit this is my fault for not preparing). They had to take the unit back to their office which I think did add another hour or so to the bid.
However, they did have to make an third visit on to fix things that were not set up correctly and, while the tech was very helpful, he was having to google things and read tech files becuase he was not experienced using this device. When I called initially I was told their techs would be able to set this up so I assumed they wouldnt be reading lots of help files — I could of done the same thing on my own. My tech also emailed me a few days later by step instructions, maps, graphics, and other extra perks which I never asked for but I thought it was nice he went above and beyond.
When I got the bill howeveer, and saw that it was for 10 hours of work for what should of been a 2 hour top at tops, I was not so happy. They agreed to reduce the price by $250 but felt that all of the extra time was justified. I told him that the whole reason I used them was to save money and even if their guy did extra stuff, it still cost me more than I should of spent on the project.
I got sick of arguing so I finally cut a company check for $390 (which is what it would of cost me with the other company after they offered to do it for a previous customer rate of $195 per hour) and I used a personal check for $360 to cover the rest so that my boss wouldn't know that I got screwed because I would of never heard the end about how I used them after he said not to.
I learned that the hourly rate doesnt matter when the job takes 10 hours instead of 2 for the same work.
Addendum: Today I realized that one of my ports that I specifically asked to be left open on my firewall was not left open. Not only was I ripped off, I didn't even get the work done that I needed and now I have to pay someone else to complete the job.
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