The call comes on a Tuesday evening. Something is wrong with the email, or the printer, or a box that appeared on the screen and will not go away. You are three states away, trying to fix it over the phone, and you cannot see a thing.
Most of the people I help did not find me themselves. Their son or daughter did. Here is how that usually goes.
What you are actually looking for
Not a shop. Your parent is not going to carry a computer to a strip mall. Not a big national service either, where it is a different stranger every call and the hold music runs twenty minutes.
You want one person. Someone your parent can call directly, who knows their setup, who is patient, and who you can trust to be in their computer.
How the first call works
Most families do it one of two ways. Some call me first, tell me about their parent, and then hand over the number. Others sit with their parent on speakerphone for the first call so everyone hears the same thing.
Either way, from then on your parent calls me directly. You are welcome to stay in the loop, and plenty of families ask for a short note after a session so they know what happened.
What it costs
The plans page lays it out in plain numbers. Most parents fit the middle plan: unlimited quick questions, and a set amount of hands-on time each month. Some families pay for it themselves as a gift that keeps the Tuesday evening calls from landing on them.
The part you might not have thought about
The single biggest risk to your parent's computer is not a virus. It is a phone call from someone pretending to be Microsoft, the bank, or a grandchild in trouble. Anyone helping your parent should have a clear rule about that, and mine is simple: I never call first. If someone calls your parent about their computer, it is not me.
Your parent hears that rule on the first call. It is the one thing I want them to remember.
What it feels like for them
The same person every time. No explaining the setup twice. A little small talk, because that is how normal people start a conversation. And a problem that gets fixed while they watch, in their own chair, without anyone coming to the house.
If that sounds like what your parent needs, call me and tell me about them. That is how most of this starts.
Call (512) 893-7774. No bots. No runaround. Just real tech help.