Man's Take Magazine

The Curse of Valuable Skills

How Computer Geeks, Doctors, Lawyers, Carpenters, Plumbers, and many others get screwed weekly

Picture this… Saturday finally rolls around and you plan to cut the grass and chill by the television for a couple of hours. It’s been a long week and you are so tired of work you can’t see straight. You’re also tired of fixing other people’s problems.

Does this sound familiar? Feels good to finally relax, right? Oh no… Not you. Not this time.

The afternoon game is suddenly interrupted by the shrill ring of your telephone. You recognize the number and answer the phone, even though it’s your Saturday to unwind. It’s your cousin Bob after all.

Within seconds you can tell that this is not a social call and you foresee exactly what’s coming. You brace yourself for the plea of help that will plunge you right back into work-mode, should you choose to provide assistance. And really, can you even decline without sounding like an asshole?

I think most professions suffer this, but I’m going to put anyone working in a job that has anything to do with computers first. It doesn’t matter if you’re a network engineer, computer programmer, or just use a computer on a daily basis, people are always hoping you’ll fix their computers.

The best part is they want to read you an error message and have you just walk them through the fix right over the phone. Bad news folks – It doesn’t work that way.

Doctors have it bad too, with people constantly calling wanting them to diagnose some condition without access to any actual medical equipment. When the doctor sends them for a test, they are almost offended that the doctor doesn’t immediately know what’s wrong.

Though it’s not on the same scale as computer professionals and doctors, lawyers commonly suffer this same condition. Uncle Charlie got a speeding ticket and he wants to know how to fight it. Tax accountants are in the same boat, especially April 15.

Any sort handyman, carpenter, plumber, or electrician is definitely screwed when this call comes. It usually involves fixing or installing something, and as always you don’t get paid for it. You probably haven’t gotten around to installing that new sink in your own bathroom, you certainly don’t want to use your off-day to install Aunt Louise’s new bidet. Sure, she needs to keep her parts clean just like the rest of us, but she is essentially asking you to work on your off day for free. If your boss told you to do that, you’d laugh at him.

So what’s the solution to the Curse of Valuable Skills?

You could certainly, “Just Say No.” But not only does this piss of your friends and family members, but these favors are often reciprocated to your benefit.

To be honest, these requests can be very annoying. It’s one thing to ask a guy who works in an office if he wants to help you build your shed. But it’s another to ask a guy who builds sheds to come help you build the damn thing for free.

Personally if I have the time, I like to go knock it out right away. I don’t like things hanging over my head, so I’d prefer not to schedule something that’s total gratis work. If I can’t do it right then, I have no choice but to schedule it just like any other appointment or job.

I want to point out something important. I have personally helped many friends and family members with computer problems for free without objection. Actually that was mostly back when I really enjoyed doing computer-stuff and the average Joe and Jane didn’t have a computer at home. In any case, I answered a few simple questions that no one else could seem to figure out at a large (Fortune 500) company and in doing so landed a six-figure contract with them mostly by chance. So being kind and generous with your time can really pay off, even though it may disrupt your weekend.

If you’re on the other side of this and asking for help, try to be considerate of the person’s time and situation. Understand that they get paid to do what you’re asking them to do for free, and so you might just have to wait. If you can call them during normal business hours, that might be preferable for some people.

The best thing to do is ask them what the most convenient time and place is. Be sure you aren’t interrupted family time or other down time. It’s also generally a good idea to do something in return for them. Take them out to dinner, or at least buy them a beer.

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