We’ve all seen it before; a know-it-all IT technician appears at your company, either because they’ve been hired recently or because you’ve outsourced an IT-related job and they start to raise red flags before they’ve even started on their job. A phoney IT technician is much like any other untrustworthy contractor–they’ll claim to know a lot and talk like they understand what they’re doing, but sooner or later, they’re going to ruin your office and cause problems that could bring down your company.
It’s far less common nowadays to see phony IT technicians and unqualified engineers, but if you’re going to put your business’s life into the hands of someone that you haven’t gotten to know yet, then here are some of the signs to help you spot a phony IT technician before they’re able to do any damage.
They’ll start recommending “alternatives” for the software you use
The first sign of a know-it-all phoney IT technician is when they start shaking their head when they see your computers or hardware setup. Unless hired specifically to help you optimize your hardware or software, there’s no reason for your IT technician to recommend you spending money on replacements or upgrades unless absolutely necessary. Careful for these types, because they might take you for a ride and sell you software such as anti-virus programs that are absolutely not needed.
You’ve hired them from a relatively shady or unknown company with few reviews
This should be an obvious red flag, but there are cases where relatively unknown companies are just trying to get exposure and only have a couple of reviews, hence why they’ll take any job they can. However, you should always be on your guard when there’s a new company around with few or no reviews, or incredibly high ratings that seem too good to be true. Approach these companies with caution because they could send out unqualified IT technicians that will recommend poor choices to you and slowly ruin your company or reduce its efficiency. If possible, always rely on a reputable company such as Sabio Information Technologies, Inc. to help with your IT needs. They’re guaranteed to deliver excellent service and often strive to create solid working relationships with you to become your go-to tech support company of choice.
They take forever to do anything without communicating with you
If you’re repairing something like online services for your business, then it’s important to get everything sorted and fixed as soon as possible because your business depends on it. If your IT technician fails to repair something quickly and fails to give you an estimated time, then there’s a good chance they’re either stalling to get more out of their hourly pay or simply don’t know what’s wrong. Any good IT technician can diagnose a problem quickly and efficiently and relay everything to you so you understand what’s going on and what’s going to happen.
Some final words
As mentioned before, it’s not as common to see untrained IT technicians and engineers out in the field, but a few do slip through the cracks and they can inflict heavy damage on your business if you’re not careful.
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