It comes down to expectations again. I've recovered some seriously screwed up hard drives. I know the tools, I have the resources. I takes quite a bit of my ti

It comes down to expectations again. I've recovered some seriously screwed up hard drives. I know the tools, I have the resources. I takes quite a bit of my time, plus I'm assuming some risk. I therefore now direct corporate data loss issues to a contracted data loss company who has proven to be reliable and efficient (and can handle situations I can't) Sure, they charge more for it - but I don't look at it and say "That's BS, I could have done that myself" - because I have a logical reason as to why I'm choosing them. Similarly, having dabbled in lockpicking, I would be the one tipping the locksmith for showing up in a hurry and not damaging my lock - but only because I understand the alternatives (everything from me breaking my house somewhere to a crappy locksmith making me wait to the point of just about breaking my house, to a crappy locksmith showing up and mangling my lock for good). If you own a computer repair shop you should give people reasonable estimates as to how long it takes to fix their problem and endeavour to always deliver just short of that time - consistently. Over time your reputation for consistency and reliability is more important than short-term money. A simple job might be a simple 1 hour job - but you have other tasks as well, other customers, and you never know what complications might arise, so you have good reason to tell give a larger estimate. They'll be more than happy when you call htem the next day saying "something opened up, everything went fine, here you go." Locksmiths are in a weird spot because they don't, I think, get a lot of repeat calls (or if htey do, those repeat callers aren't the ones who don't appreciate them.) Many people probably go through life never having engaged a locksmith, and having a guy show up with a little kit, spending 30 seconds opening your door at 2am and hten charging you $75might feel like a ripoff - but presumably you called him because you had no alternative. He didn't accidentally leave your keys in your house or lose them at the bar.