Tired of your parents treating you like their own personal IT department?
If your family is anything like mine, you're constantly fielding calls on anything tech-related. And if you're on your best behaviour, you take a deep breath before explaining patiently for the fourth or fifth time how to reboot the computer or download apps to their iPad.
But this commenter on Reddit decided to let her dad know that her services don't come free – in the form of an invoice. The bill to customer "Dad," which she uploaded here, is for troubleshooting and replacing a laptop hard drive. Payment due? "Dinner @ Round Table."
Each tech support service she provided is itemized: the cost of replacing the old hard drive with a new one? Pizza. Restoring backed up files? Parmesan twists.
The invoice writer, who works in tech support, explained her post like this: "My dad is a mechanic and when he fixes my car he 'charges me' a meal at a local diner. Since I was fixing his laptop, it was only fair that I charge him as well," she said.
It's clear that the invoice is written in jest – her company name is "Your Awesome Daughter," and the logo is of a beagle wearing a suit. And her company motto reads: "have you tried turning it off and on again?"
Some parents' discomfort with technology has been well-documented, often with hilarious results. 'When Parents Text' is just one of many blogs dedicated to the hilarity that ensues from a "small keypad, old hands."
"How do I left click on a mac?" asks one Mom on the blog. "It doesn't work to use my left hand."
There's even a website offering "tech support care packages," allowing kids to select from a variety of common queries to have how-to videos to send directly to their parents. The website claims to have served over 86,000 parents to this date.
And if things really get out of hand? Just remember: they did clothe and feed you for 18+ years. Cleaning the keyboard and providing Google tutorials really is the least you can do to repay them.
Ann Hui