I put an IT help desk on the back of my business card

I get a lot of "hey, quick question" texts. Most of them are a five-minute fix, like a restart in the right order or a setting that got flipped. Some of them are a real problem. The hard part is that the person asking can't tell which one it is, and I can't always answer at 10 at night.

So I went ahead and built a help desk that fits on the back of my business card.

How it works

1. You scan the QR code on my card. It opens jbtech.dev on your phone or computer.
2. You tell it what's going on, in your own words. It asks what device you're on and what you've already tried.
3. It walks you through the safe fixes one step at a time: restarts, cables, Wi-Fi, updates, printer queues, password resets on the official site.
4. If two fixes don't work, the next step is risky, or you just want a person, it shows you an estimate and a "Send to Jay" form.
5. I get an email with what's wrong, what you already tried and how to reach you. Then I reach out.

The helper is an AI assistant that I set up and gave my rules to. It says so on the page.

What it won't do

I gave it a short list of things it will never walk you through, because they're where a small problem turns into a big one:

• the registry, Command Prompt, PowerShell or Terminal
• BIOS, safe mode or factory resets
• disk tools or data recovery
• turning off your antivirus
• installing anything from outside the official stores and sites

If your fix needs one of those, it hands you to me instead. It also never asks for passwords, codes or card numbers. If you type one in anyway, it tells you not to share it and keeps going.

It knows a scam when it hears one

If you tell it "Microsoft called me", or a pop-up told you to call a number, or someone wants remote access or gift cards, it tells you to stop and hang up. Then it offers to send it straight to me, because that's one I want to hear about right away.

What it costs

Talking to the helper is free. If it hands you to me, the estimate you see is from my actual price list:

• Remote help: $100 an hour in 15-minute blocks, so a quick fix is about $25 to $30.
• A visit: starts at $200, plus a small travel fee of about $1 a mile.
• Business work: I quote those myself.

I reach out to confirm before any work, and there's no charge until you agree.

Why it's only on the card

Every conversation costs me a little bit to run, so it isn't open to the whole internet. The code on the card is what unlocks it. If you got a card from me, you're who it's for.

Your chat stays with you

Chats aren't saved on my end. The conversation lives in your browser tab, and the only copy I ever see is the one you choose to send me.

It's in testing right now. If you have one of my cards, give it a try and tell me where it gets confused. That's how it gets better.