When you hire someone for technical help, sometimes the outcome does not produce a real solution.

So, what if you were hired to troubleshoot a technical issue, but in the process, discovered that the real problem was incompatible hardware? Would you provide the services for free? Or would you charge the customer for your time?

In the following story, one tech support worker finds himself in this situation and charges the customer. Here’s what happened.

AITA for charging a customer when I couldn’t fix their problem?

I recently started doing tech support in my area by going to people’s houses to help them with tech.

A guy asked for help installing a specific Linux distro, so I agreed and told him I charge by the hour.

I spent about one hour with the installation, and in the end, I determined he had incompatible hardware. I had told him when I arrived that hardware might be an issue.

The customer was completely different when he asked for feedback.

After he paid me and I left, I reached out to him for feedback. He said I shouldn’t have charged him because I didn’t resolve anything, and that I should have warned him it might not work before agreeing to come.

I was a little surprised, as he had been really nice and friendly to begin with.

I guess I assumed he knew that some things are just not possible, but I feel like a jerk for upsetting someone when I was honestly trying to help.

AITA?

Yikes! Well, at least the customer was honest with him.

Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit think about him charging the customer.

This person doesn’t think it was wrong.

Here’s someone who charges for one hour no matter what.

Here’s a good idea.

This reader wants additional info.

It sounds like he warned the guy upfront, so it shouldn’t have been shocking.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.