Frequently Asked Questions

#1 Customer apps tips:

COVID-19

Our technicians help keep you, themselves, and your home or office safe from Covid-19 by doing the following before entering your premises:

(The technicians who do not have hand sanitizer carry a large cooler of water with them in their vehicles for washing hands and gloves).

And while on your premises:

Additionally:

By following these procedures, we can help avoid spreading covid-19 inside your premises.

If you require additional safeguard procedures, please discuss these with your technician during the messaging session before the technician begins traveling to your location.

REV day (Sundays)

Q: What’s up with this REV day thing ??? There's fewer techs online, and prices are $0 ??

A: We call this REV day (short for REst and Volunteer). On Sundays, most of our techs take a day off to rest. But a few technicians volunteer to  make themselves available to give free tech help to charitable organizations and to people who need technical help but are unable to pay. We set all labor and travel rates to $0 on REV day. It's our company  way to set aside a day of REst and Volunteering.

We ask that people only use the service on REV day if they are a non profit organization or genuinely cannot pay. We don't ask anyone to prove this, but it's up to each technician to decide who they want to help.

If a technician helps you on REV day it would be kind of you to give them a 5 star rating for their help.

Send A Geek to help a Friend, Family or Coworker? 

Q: Can I send a geek to help someone else? Who pays for it?

A: Absolutely! On the first screen of the app or our website, Instead of HAILaGEEK here, choose Different Location. You can put in the address, who to meet onsite, how to find them, etc. The rest of the process is the same as hailing a geek at your own location.

You'll manage the whole job yourself, on behalf of whoever the geek is helping.

You'll be paying for the geek's services, so it will be up to you to arrange for your friend or coworker to reimburse you.

Prepaid Geek?

Q: Can I gift a geek? (Prepay) For example, for my mom, or for my college student to he able to get tech help while they're attending college in Houston?

A: Yes. Send in a check to our primary office, along with the email address AND cell # of the person you want to gift a prepaid account to. Or, you can do this on our website using the "Prepay / Gift Accounts." Please allow 3 days for processing.

No Credit Card

Q: I don't have a credit card, how can I pay?

A: There are several ways:

Geek Q: Why don't I get / hear alerts when new jobs come in?

A: On Android: The HAILaGEEK geek app may need permission to display alerts on the lock screen, for some alerts to be seen and/or heard. Check to make sure HAILaGEEK has permission to display alerts on your lock screen.

Another thing you can do (on Android) to make sure you never miss the alerts:

A: On iPhone / iPad: we haven’t heard any occurrences of this so we will add notes about how to resolve the problem when we see the problem

Geek Q: I never received my email invite to skills testing, how do I get it resent?

A: One way is to go in to your account settings on the Geek App and go to My Services >

Add a new service (even if it’s one you might not qualify for). This will re-trigger the exam system to send you an invite to get certified.

Another way is to request with level 1 support to send a request to 2nd level tech support who will send the skills test invitation email back out to you again.  

Why are so many of these geeks’ skill #’s so low? Are they any good?

Keywords: “skill level” “lacking skills”

Q: When I’m finding geeks available near me, their skill levels are shown as 1, 2 or 3 out of 5. Are these geeks any good? Why are their skill levels shown so low?

A: A level 1 tech knows enough to solve many typical problems in a particular area - problems that are common and come up often. A level 5 tech is an expert among experts - the one other techs go to when something comes up they've never seen before and can't figure out!

Our skill level measurements are actually very tough. The average customer would receive a skill rating level of 0; a skilled customer would probably receive a skill rating of 1, or occasionally, a 2.

Most geeks with a rating of 2 or higher in a skill area can solve most problems in that skill area, but a level 3 or higher tech could probably solve it faster.

A very complex and unusual problem in a particular tech specialty area, that has stumped even a customer who is skilled in that area, probably requires a technician with a skill level of 4 or higher, in that area, to solve.

Customer needs a different Technician

Keywords: “in over head” “too difficult” “not getting the job done” “can’t solve this” “lacking skills”

Q:  Scenario: A Geek is attempting to implement a solution to meet the customer’s needs, and realizes that a higher level of skill or different skill set is required to implement the solution. How should this be handled?

A: The Geek should refer the customer to a “specialist Geek.” A specialist Geek is simply a Geek with a high level of skill in the particular area that is needed. (Specialist Geeks are not marked “specialist” in the app, they just have a high level of skill in a particular area). The proper procedure is:

  1. Geek: explain to the customer that the diagnosis or solution requires specialized skills and that you will be referring the customer to a “specialist Geek.”
  2. Geek: mark the job as completed.(Why? Because the job description has now changed to determining what specialist is needed to implement the solution).
  3. Customer: agree that the job was completed successfully. (Why? Because the Geek has determined what specialist is needed to implement the solution and is going to help you find that Geek).
  4. Customer: your customer app is now ready to request a new job.
  5. Geek: stay with customer and help them find an available Geek with the skill set required to complete the diagnosis and/or implement the solution.
  6. Geek: If an appropriate specialist Geek is not available right now, help the customer send a message to HAILaGEEK Administration requesting manual appointment scheduling assistance.

Customer has no internet service or working device, so can’t use the app or website to request an appointment.

Keywords: “no wifi” “no computer” “phone broken” “call in service” “can’t use app” “can’t use website”  

Q: Can the customer request a tech help appointment by phone?

A: Yes, but setting up a service appointment by phone

Customer: I’d like pricing information

Keywords: “price quote” “pricing” “how much”

Q: How much will you charge to fix my __________ ?

A: The fastest way to get a solid answer to this question is to go to our app or website, choose what service you need, pick a nearby Geek who’s available now, describe what you need, and ask the Geek how much it will be. If you want a fixed price (set fee) for the service, let the Geek know. Not all our Geeks will work for a fixed price, but most will.

Customer doesn’t know what kind of service to choose.

Keywords: “confused” “don’t know what I need” “don’t know if I need” “what do I choose”

Q: The app / website lists all these different types of service and I don’t really know what kind of service I need. What should I choose?

A:  

What is HAILaGEEK?

Q: What exactly do y’all do?

A: HAILaGEEK is an instant Geek Locator service for all kinds of tech geeks! Our app helps you find a Geek who can come fix your tech stuff right now, right where you are. Our Geeks do computer repair, wifi configuration, upgrades, phone repairs, office phone systems, and all sorts of other tech work.The technicians are all independent or work for other tech companies. They are all background checked, reference checked, and skill verified. We also sell a $20 “after the job” service where you can get 3 other geek’s opinions on the original Geek’s work, and possibly pay less than you were going to get charged, or maybe even nothing.

Liability & Responsibility

Q: What if a technician messes up my stuff? Are they bonded or insured?

A: Tech devices are fragile. They can stop working right for many different reasons. They can be sabotaged by malicious software or people. They can fail suddenly when they seemed to be working perfectly moments before.  And most notably, when a technician begins to service a tech device, it might fail suddenly and completely due to even the first most basic step the technician takes.  Because of this, it’s not just possible for even a skilled technician to always predict exactly how a service call will go -- how a device, or the data on it, will respond to a service attempt.

Each Geek operates independently and is responsible for the quality of their own work. Some of our Geeks do carry liability insurance, and if that’s important to you, we recommend you ask the one you plan to use before requesting they come out. Many of our Geeks are not bonded or insured, and our terms of service clarify that neither the Geeks nor HAILaGEEK have any liability for anything that happens during a service call.

However: we do offer a $20 “after the job” addon service where you can get 3 other geek’s opinions on the original Geek’s work, and possibly pay less than you were going to get charged for the work, or maybe even nothing. The 3 other geeks are our best resource for determining if the original service Geek made a mistake that justifies reducing what you pay for the work.

How does HAILaGEEK work?

Q: How does HAILaGEEK work?

A: The short version:

  1. Get the App
  2. Sign in
  3. Click the service you need
  4. Click a nearby matching Geek
  5. See their rating and reviews and rates
  6. Tell them what you need
  7. Have them come see it
  8. Get their estimate
  9. They do the job
  10. Pay them through the app
  11. Rate and review them

A: The detailed version:

  1. Get the App (download it from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, or just go to the website, www.hailageek.com)
  2. Sign in (or create a new account, including your contact info and payment info)
  3. Click the service you need
  4. Click a nearby matching Geek (there may be several)
  5. See their rating and reviews and rates (and decide if you like what you see)
  6. Tell them what you need (and see what they say)
  7. Have them come see it (you’ll pay their travel rate)
  8. Get their estimate (and accept or reject it)
  9. They do the job (may involve purchasing parts, a parts trip, short or long breaks, etc. all managed through the app)
  10. Pay them through the app (they never touch your payment information)
  11. Rate and review them (and if you don’t think they did the work right, you can purchase our $20 “after the job” review service, where 3 other Geeks review the 1st Geek’s work and vote on whether you should pay full, partial, or no fee for the work. Their decision is what you’ll pay!)

LOCATION

Keywords: “where are you located?”

Q: Where's the location nearest me?

A: HAILaGEEK is currently operating in the Houston, TX area but is expanding to other areas too. Our techs are all over Houston right now at different locations. When you get the app or visit the website, you’ll see immediately where all the techs are right now.

 

CARRY IN SERVICE ?

Q: Do you have a place I bring my ____ to get fixed?

A: All our Geeks come to your site to perform service. HOWEVER, if you prefer to meet somewhere other than your home or office, our Geeks are happy to come meet you at a Coffee Shop, Restaurant, Library, or other public place. We do not have a carry in service location.

PRICE MATCH / PRICE BEAT

Q: Can you beat another store's price on this service? _________

A: The fastest way to get a solid answer to this question is to get on the app or website, choose what service you need, pick a nearby Geek who’s available now, describe what you need, and ask the Geek if they can match or beat the price you have. Not all our Geeks will work for a fixed price, but most will.

HAILaGEEK COMPANY INFORMATION

Q: Who is HAILaGEEK ? / Who owns HAILaGEEK ? / Who’s in charge ?

A:  HAILaGEEK is a Limited Partnership of 17 partners who pooled their resources in 2019 to create a brand new way of getting tech help. If you have a question for our executive team, please email support@hailageek.com  and the executive team will get back to you within 12 administrative business hours. Administrative business hours are M-F 8am to 5pm and Sat 10am-2pm. Our techs are available 24 hrs Monday through Saturday, and our customer service lines are open 9 to 5 Monday through Friday and 9 to noon on Saturday.

BUT YOU BOTH USE THE WORD GEEK ...

Q: Are you like (some other company with geek in the name)?

A: We use the word “Geek” as a fun word that’s been used since way back in the early 1980’s to refer to computer experts. We do offer some of the same services they offer, and they offer some of the same services we offer. But, in fact, we are very different companies with very different ways of working. HAILaGEEK was created in 2019 as the best solution for how customers and technicians do instant business in the great new gig economy.

WHY CHOOSE HAILAGEEK?

Q: Why should I use you instead of _______ ?

A: So many reasons …

CANCEL GEEK IN ROUTE

Q: How can I cancel when the technician is already on the way?

A: You can try to use the “message geek” button on the app or website, while the Geek is already en route to you. Because the Geek is driving, they will need to find a safe place to pull over or may not be able to pull over at all. If you are able to reach the Geek, you can request that the Geek cancel the travel. The Geek is an independent contractor and it is the Geek’s choice to cancel the travel or not. The earlier you message them en route, the more likely they are to be willing to cancel the travel. If the Geek cancels the travel, you won’t pay for it. If you decline the job when the Geek has arrived, you will pay only for travel, which is usually at a rate much lower than the Geek’s standard labor rate.

ARE YOU HIRING

Q: How can I get a job at HAILaGEEK?

A: HAILaGEEK is not currently hiring any standard employees. However, we are always seeking friendly, experienced technicians with a good record and reputation, to work as independent contractors.

You can apply simply by getting the HAILaGEEK technician app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store,  and signing up for a new account. During signup:

Once all that is completed (sometimes in less than 24 hours), you’ll be ready to show up on the app as available and begin providing technical services through the HAILaGEEK app !

WHAT IF THE GEEK DOESN’T / CAN’T FIX IT

Q: If the geek doesn't do it right, do I still have to pay?

A: The Geek will do their best to determine and help you understand what the chances are that the necessary work can be completed successfully, so that you can decide if you want this Geek to attempt the requested work. However, there is simply no guarantee that the work will be completed to your satisfaction. Normally, you will be responsible for paying for the Geek’s travel and labor hours. However, at the end of the job, if you indicate that you are not satisfied with the work, and choose to purchase a $20 “after the job” review from feeresolution.com, 3 other Geeks will review the original Geek’s work and vote on how much, if any, you should be charged for that work. If the Geek didn’t do the job right, these three other Geeks will most likely be able to determine that and assign a discount or a complete fee waiver.

WHY $20 FOR THE FEERESOLUTION.COM (the “after the job” review)?

Q: Why is there a $20 fee for the feeresolution.com job review? Nobody else charges for customer service?!

A: Other companies employ non-technical customer service representatives and one-size-fits-all processes to determine if a refund or discount can be issued for a poorly done job. This means that people who don’t really understand the work that was done are trying to decide if it was done right.  

At HAILaGEEK, we believe this is the wrong approach. Instead, we actually pay 3 other technicians with the same skillset to review the original work and vote on whether it was done right. Obtaining these three other expert opinions is the “expensive” way to review a job, but it’s also the best and fairest way to everyone involved.  

Sometimes even the $20 fee gets waived. If the reviewing Geeks determine that the original Geek “should have known” the job could not be completed to your satisfaction, they can choose to waive the $20 fee along with the rest of the charge, to where you pay nothing.

ALTERNATE PROBLEM RESOLUTION

Q: If I don’t want to pay the $20 for the feeresolution.com fee review, can I just get someone in administration or customer service to review the job and maybe give me a refund?

A: We can take a message for the executive team describing what happened. The executive team will review the situation and decide whether to make a decision within 24 administrative business hours. Administrative business hours are M-F 8am to 5pm and Sat 10am-2pm.  One thing we’ll look for in the message is why you don’t feel the feeresolution.com review will resolve the situation, considering that the $20 fee is refundable if the job was done very wrong.

APPOINTMENT REQUIRED?

Q: Do I need to set up an appointment?

A: Usually not. Most of the time, a Geek is available immediately through the app, no appointment necessary.  Late at night, or early in the morning, you might find most geeks showing up as “unavailable” but you can still read their ratings and reviews, and set your app to “wait” for one that looks good to become available. That basically puts you “first in line” for that Geek.

APPOINTMENT POSSIBLE?

Q: Can I set up an appointment?

A: We normally recommend you just sign on to the app when you need service. But, we do have a group of Geeks who are willing to set appointments. You can describe what service you need, your location, your contact information, and several times when you would be available for them to come meet with you. If a Geek picks up the job, they will contact you directly. There’s no guarantee of a response, though.

CUSTOMER: IS THE APP REQUIRED?

Q: Do I have to download an app to use HAILaGEEK?

A: If you’re a customer, you can actually just use the hailageek.com website instead. If you’re a technician, using the app is required.

GEEK Q: TECHNICIAN APP OR DEVICE FAILS IN MIDDLE OF JOB

Q: I’m a technician currently on a job (or on my way to one) and my phone failed / the app failed / I lost my internet connection / am unable to use the app (for whatever reason). What do I do?

A: Once you’ve started a job, you can sign on to your account on any web browser and complete the job.  For example, use the customer’s computer to manage and /or complete the job.  The only thing you can’t do on the web browser is accept new jobs, and also, the customer won’t be able to see your location when you’re operating from a web browser.

APP FEE ?

Q: Do I have to pay to use the app?

A: No, using the app itself is free, but it does have “in-app charges:”

CUSTOMER SUPPORT / GEEK DISCREPANCY

Q: Customer: You said ______ but the technician said ______. Who's right?

A: There should never be a discrepancy between what our department has told you, and what the Geek is telling you. Please give us the Geek’s name and as much detail as possible about the scenario so we can forward it to the executive team for review. We’d also like your contact information so that the executive team can contact you if needed.

COMPANY HEADQUARTERS

Q: Where's the main HAILaGEEK headquarters located? Can I go there to meet with someone?

A: Currently, the headquarters of HAILaGEEK is in Houston, TX. The contact information and address are on the website. You can meet with the executive team by appointment only. We can take a message and pass it on the executive team with your information.

LOST PASSWORD / USERNAME / ACCOUNT INFO

Q: I forgot my password / can't log in. What now? Can you reset it for me?

A: We cannot reset it for you in customer support. However, the app offers the ability to reset your password by contacting you at your email address or by text, with a reset code.  If you don’t remember what email address you used, you can use your cell # instead; if you don’t remember what cell # you used, you can use your email address instead. If you don’t remember either one, you can try several that you may have used, but if you try more than 10 different cell #’s or email addresses, the system will lock you out. At that point we’ll need to get your contact information and pass it on to Level 2 Technical Support for assistance. They will get back to you within 12 administrative business hours.  

CUSTOMER SUPPORT EMAIL ADDRESS

Q: What's the customer support email address?

A: The customer support email address is support@hailageek.com. When you send an email there, you’ll receive a response within minutes letting you know how soon you can expect your request to be picked up and worked on. For fastest assistance, you’re already in the right place (you’ve called in).

CYBERSECURITY EMERGENCY

Q: I believe my information has been compromised or is in the process of being compromised, or the app or website are showing clear signs of being compromised or defaced. Who can I contact?

A:  You’re in the right place. We will send an emergency alert to the 24/7 cybersecurity team. What did you see? What contact information may we have from you, in case they need to contact you for more details? What hours of the day may they contact you?

OVER THE PHONE DIAGNOSIS REQUEST

Q: My ______ is doing ______. What do you think it needs? Can you connect me with someone who can help?

A:  Your best bet, if you can, is to --

GEEK HAS LOST THEIR DAGGONE MIND

Q: My technician is behaving inappropriately right now. Help?

A: If you believe you are unsafe, please say “yes” now, then hang up and dial 911 immediately.

GEEK BEHAVED INAPPROPRIATELY

Q: I’m calling in to report that [some variation of: my technician behaved inappropriately].  

A: We expect all our Geeks to demonstrate complete professionalism at all times. We are very sorry that that was not your experience. Please share the details of your experience and we will pass it to our executive team to determine an action plan.

GETTING THE APP

Q: Where do I get the app?  How do I get the app?

A: (Customers) iPhone / iPad customers customers can get the customer app from the Apple App Store. Android (Samsung / LG / Motorola / Google / Huwai / etc.) customers can get the customer app from the Google Play Store. Customers can also use HAILaGEEK without the app, simply by visiting hailageek.com. We recommend using the app if possible.

A: (Geeks) Geeks can get the technician app from the the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Geeks cannot start jobs using the website, but they can manage or complete a job that has already been started.

Q: APP CRASHED, NOW WHAT?

A: Go back into the app. You can pick up where you left off. Specific instructions:

If you’re a customer, you may need to click the geek icon at the bottom right corner of your screen. It should be a round profile pic of the geek you were working with, with a geek cap on top. Click this and it should take you back into the session with that geek.

If you’re a geek: go to the dashboard, go to “Job Control”, and click the “current job” tab. Here you should find a button to take you back into the job you were working on.

APP TROUBLE

Q: I can't get the app to ….. what now?

A: (Some variation of) I’m very sorry you’re having trouble. Let’s see if I can help!

Customer support procedure: using your knowledge of the app and how it should work, see if you can guide the customer through how to achieve their goal, either by how they were trying to accomplish it, or by an alternate way of using the app.

If it sounds like the app is malfunctioning,

App not working today

What's wrong with your app? It was working yesterday.

App not responding to clicks

I try to click on your app and it doesn't respond.

How secure is my information? Do you sell it?

How secure / private  is my info? Do you sell it?

Cell phone died while geek on the way

My cell phone died while geek was on the way, what now?

Customer support notes: if the customer wants to give you their HAILaGEEK username and password, you can log in to the HAILaGEEK app (on Bluestacks) or the www.hailageek.com website using this information and “take over the job” on their behalf until the geek gets them up and running to a point where they can take it back over themselves. This will require that you stay on the phone with them or call them back when the app asks a question (which will happen several times).

What if I don’t like my geek when they show up?

What if I don't like my geek when they show up?

My stuff stopped working after the geek left - what do I do?

The geek just left, stuff was working, now it's not. Now what?

What's your verification process (credit card, email, cell?)

I didn't get my receipt, or it’s not in the right format

How do I know this site / app is secure?

“ Guarantee? “

Do you have a  “ guarantee? “

Yes we do, but it’s different from most guarantees, because our company (a gig economy company) is different from most companies. It’s very important to understand how it works.

The short version: if you’re not happy with the work, and you can’t get the technician to make it right, you can purchase a $35 expert review by 3 other technicians who will judge the quality of the technician’s work and vote on whether you should receive a complete discount (pay nothing), a partial discount (pay some), or no discount (pay all).

In more detail, here’s how our guarantee works and why we do it that way:

Take, for example, a $350 repair bill on a computer.  The customer does not think the repair was done right, and pays $35 for a feeresolution.com review. 3 other contractors review the job and decide the technician took the wrong approach to the repair and probably (but not definitely) should have realized it. They each vote, and the result of the vote is a conclusion that the customer should pay 25% of the original fee. The customer now pays only $87.50 for the repair. The technician also only gets paid 25% of what they were originally going to make.

Who benefits the most from this? All the other customers who didn’t have a problem! A company with a typical guarantee would have resulted in a non-expert review (a non-expert customer service department employee) paid the technician the same amount of money for the same work, but refunded some or all of the money to the customer. Someone bears that cost -- the other customers, from the higher pricing that is required to support the company’s ability to issue such refunds when one of their technicians does shoddy work.  We, instead, have the customer and the technician share the cost in varying levels, case by case, based on an expert review.

Q: I can’t find the HAILaGEEK Technician App in the App store

A: The Technician App is actually named HG Technician. You can find instructions on how to download it here: hailageek.com/technician

Q: The Technician App won’t let me enter my birthdate.

A: On both iOS and Android, the birthdate widget requires you to change the year first.

(Frequently, people try to change the month first, but the widget stops this because the month of their birthday is later in the year than the current date and is thus a future date which is not allowable for a birthdate).

In any case - the solution is to change the year first, then the month and day.

Technician App Lost Job - Where is it??

Q: (From geek) I exited the technician app (or it crashed), then I went back in, and it is not showing the job I was working on! Where is my job?

A: Go to the Job Control icon at the bottom left. Now there are two tabs: New Job Request and Ongoing Job. Switch to the Ongoing Job tab. Your job should be there.

Q: Customer: I lost my session with my geek - how do I get back to that session?

A: Go back to the dashboard screen. (If you’re not sure how, close the app, then restart it). The dashboard screen has the geeks shown. If you’re not signed in, sign in.  Then, your geek should be shown at the bottom right with a geek cap on. Click that and you should be back in your session.

Customer: I verified my cell #, but now I can’t verify my email

Answer: the verification code for email will come in by email. The verification code that was texted to you won’t work for verifying email. Please check your email for the email verififcation code.

Q/A’s still being created: