First time paying in person with bitcoin: Computer Heads

[The Sceptical Chymist]

A little background:  A computer that I’d purchased some time ago in order to participate in the Folding@Home project died roughly a month or so ago, and initially I figured I’d either burned out the PSU or motherboard, so I replaced those as only a computer-ignoramus could (that’s me).  My damn computer still wouldn’t turn on, and after fiddling with it, the motherboard didn’t even seem to be getting any power.  Then the thought occurred to me that my CPU might have burned out, so I upgraded the one I had in it—and still, nothing.

Well, my situation is like an auto mechanic trying to operate on himself for a gastric ulcer, and being the self-aware aforementioned computer-ignoramus that I am, I knew I needed some professional help.  Fortunately for me, there’s a computer repair shop (Computer Heads within a few miles of where I live, and I contacted them via e-mail about my situation.  Bear in mind that I had never taken a computer into a computer repair business before; I sort of expected the staff to be like auto mechanics—and suffice to say, I’ve never met one I didn’t like.  After explaining the issue I also mentioned that I’d like to pay in bitcoin—and I had no clue if they had ever accepted it before or if it was one of their standard payment options, but seeing as how this is a computer-based business I figured there’s no way in hell they wouldn’t have heard of bitcoin and might be amenable to the idea.  Also, I said if they would accept bitcoin in this case I’d write up a post on bitcointalk relating my experience.  You never know unless you try, right?  I got a reply from Dan, the boss-man:  “As for Bitcoin, I'll make sure our wallet is set up in our payment area if you can scan QR sometime later today.”  Awesome news.



Today I hauled the PC into their establishment around 11:30 am, where two of the employees (Hunter and Brian) asked me a bunch of questions about what was wrong with it, and I told them about the upgrades I’d tried and about my general ignorance of all things computer related.  No doubt they see people like me all the time and didn’t seem a bit surprised that I was all thumbs when it comes to computer tinkering.  Dan wasn’t in yet, so I left my baby with them, and we agreed that I would await a phone call back to let me know what needed to be done.

At 3:26pm, Brian called me back and informed me that they were able to start up my computer using another power supply and that the PSU I’d brought with me—the one I bought only a few months before and hardly used—was the problem.  That was disappointing, because I’d apparently bought a lemon of a PSU, but I was happy that Computer Heads was able to give me a definitive diagnosis as to what was causing the failure.  Brian said, “You’re the guy who wants to pay with bitcoin” and told me Dan wasn’t in yet but that he’d call me back when he arrived.  A few minutes later I got a call from Dan, who went over what Brian had told me and said he’d have his bitcoin wallet ready for payment when I came in.



Eager to get my presently useless PC back in my hands (and interested to see how the bitcoin payment would go over with Dan, who's shown in the above pic), I drove back to Computer Heads and was met by him at what constituted the front desk.  We chatted about my PSU for a bit and then he pulled out his phone on which he had his bitcoin wallet.  He told me what the price was for the diagnostics (roughly $50, which I thought was dirt cheap), and then I scanned his barcode using my phone.

Now, this might seem to all of you as just another boring encounter between a computer expert and….me.  But the real highlight of the visit was our ensuing discussion of crypto while we waited for the first confirmation.  He told me he’d dabbled in ETH before, had heard of it from a friend a few years ago, and wished he’d taken it seriously.  Surprisingly, he was aware of altcoins like RVN and Cardano, and said that as I might not be the last customer wanting to pay in bitcoin, he might look into a payment processor like BitPay.  We both took note that our transaction still had not confirmed, and he said he thought BitPay might make the confirmation times quicker—and to that, I relayed my experience as an occasional user of them that I’d had to wait hours, if not a whole day, for that first confirmation.

We chatted about the decentralized nature of bitcoin and why it’s different than other digital currencies of the past, how bitcoin is mined with ASICs nowadays, and the GPU shortage. 

And still, our transaction hadn’t confirmed. 

He said he trusted me that the payment would go through and even held the door for me as I lugged my PC and a separate box with the PSU and all the cords out to my car. 

I have to tell you, this was a much, much different experience than what I was expecting.  Dan was very friendly, and I’d even describe him as having a warm personality (though I only interacted with him for that short period of time).  However, I detected no false notes (e.g., that he was pretending to be nice to me), and in a region that’s wall-to-wall rude assholery, it was gratifying to be able to sit there and talk with a friendly person about a bunch of crypto-related topics—and of course he let me pay with bitcoin, too!
Don’t know how many of you live around Litchfield County in Connecticut, but man….if you need some service work on your computer and want to pay with BTC, I’d highly recommend giving them a try. 

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[Charles-Tim]

I am always excited to read this kind of post, especially introducing someone to know about Bitcoin. I believe you have let Dan known more about bitcoin today even as he has heard about ethereum or Raven before. I also believe you would have let him known about security and safety too especially waiting for certain number of confirmations before accepting the bitcoin paid. I too like to introduce Bitcoin to new people, but I noticed I introduced it more to friends, I even prefer to make use of Bitcoin to make transactions with friends because it is convenient for me, rather than first converting it to fiat which I am lazy about.

[Prettyjing34]

This is an interesting experience, but the usage rate of Bitcoin in our place is not so high, because there are not many people who know Bitcoin, and friends around me have only learned about Bitcoin in recent years. He also has an idea of becoming the first restaurant that can pay bitcoins, but for some reason his shop did not open (maybe he doesn’t know much about management or has no money?), but I think it’s a good idea to have this idea., I also support his idea. I still hope that Bitcoin will be known to more and more people, because Bitcoin is also very convenient, and I like to use it.

[Obito]

I never usually read walls of text but this one is the few exceptions where I read everything, holy shit, that's not a new experience but it's pretty cool that there's someone out there that are flexible in terms of adoption, I mean they didn't even have the option until you've said it, I think that Dan's QR was probably a personal one or he made the wallet on the fly. Maybe next time try it in your local bar, restaurant, diner or pizza place.

[Ucy]

Nice one.
Guess I would have told them to accept the transaction once it has gone through some confirmations. It's worth the risk considering it's "small" amount involved... or maybe a higher fees would have made the transaction faster.
Wish there are alternatives methods for fast transaction without paying hugh fees. I imagined an application could be built to safely pay with private keys and still have the transaction recorded on Bitcoin blockchain. That would be way faster.
Sill observing LN

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Guess I would have told them to accept the transaction once it has gone through some confirmations. It's worth the risk considering it's "small" amount involved... or maybe a higher fees would have made the transaction faster.

I did use a relatively high fee, and by the time I'd gotten home the transaction had confirmed.  I did mention to Dan that this is why bitcoin would be impractical for buying coffee at a place like Starbucks.  After he said that he trusted the bitcoin would show up in his wallet, I mentioned that there was no way for me to reverse it--but I used the Electrum wallet on my phone, so I don't think that's technically true (though I wouldn't have reversed the transaction even if I knew how).  On the desktop version of Electrum I know how to do it with the RBF function, but I didn't even notice that option on the mobile version.

Now I know why bitcoin meetups and conferences must be so much fun.  It really is cool talking about bitcoin and crypto-related stuff with another live human being, as well as spreading awareness to folks like Dan who'd never used it for their businesses before.  

He mentioned the name of the wallet he was using, and it didn't even ring a bell, even though I think I've seen most of the mobile ones.  The address I sent the payment to was of the old-school type, starting with a "1".  Must have been an old wallet.\

Edit: Oh yeah, I wanted to also thank Hunter and Brian for doing the actual diagnostics on my PC.  I would have loved to have talked with them about crypto as well, but I didn't get a chance.

[evilgreed]

               What a nice experience you've had! Not only were you able to talk to a likeminded and warm person but you also were able to pay for services with bitcoin! Had your pc not broke down, you never would've met this amazing guy with the same interests as you. Too bad though that crypto currency payments aren't that fast yet unless you use something like bitpay, coins or any other service of the sort. Still though, this is great that the people who are open minded about this industry is increasing more. Unlike the past years when majority of the people around you barely even know about the existence of this industry let alone be open minded enough to accept crypto currency payments for goods and services.

[Yogee]

I immediately noticed the photo after opening your topic and I was wondering why you didn't blur the face for privacy or security reason but realized you are also promoting them hehe. Did you also tell them to put a sign that BTC payments will be accepted in their establishment?

I haven't really asked any of the owners I encounter whether they would accept BTC or not but I'll be doing so in my next visit.

[aoluain]

Guess I would have told them to accept the transaction once it has gone through some confirmations. It's worth the risk considering it's "small" amount involved... or maybe a higher fees would have made the transaction faster.

I did use a relatively high fee, and by the time I'd gotten home the transaction had confirmed.  I did mention to Dan that this is why bitcoin would be impractical for buying coffee at a place like Starbucks.  After he said that he trusted the bitcoin would show up in his wallet, I mentioned that there was no way for me to reverse it--but I used the Electrum wallet on my phone, so I don't think that's technically true (though I wouldn't have reversed the transaction even if I knew how).  On the desktop version of Electrum I know how to do it with the RBF function, but I didn't even notice that option on the mobile version.

Now I know why bitcoin meetups and conferences must be so much fun.  It really is cool talking about bitcoin and crypto-related stuff with another live human being, as well as spreading awareness to folks like Dan who'd never used it for their businesses before.  

He mentioned the name of the wallet he was using, and it didn't even ring a bell, even though I think I've seen most of the mobile ones.  The address I sent the payment to was of the old-school type, starting with a "1".  Must have been an old wallet.\

Edit: Oh yeah, I wanted to also thank Hunter and Brian for doing the actual diagnostics on my PC.  I would have loved to have talked with them about crypto as well, but I didn't get a chance.

Thats a great story, its a real life boots on the ground, face to face Bitcoin story.
Its great that Dan was so accomodating although he did know about Bitcoin
and crypto so I guess there was no fear factor on his side.

Two things, maybe 2, 3 or 4 years ago perhaps if you had asked to pay with BTC
the story could have different and in 2, 3 or 4 years from now it might be more
normal!

I have used Bitcoin a few times so far to pay but only online purchases so I
have never had that face-to-face encounter although, my Daughter, brother, parents
and some friends are in Bitcoin I can have all levels of technical chats

[Lorence.xD]

I immediately noticed the photo after opening your topic and I was wondering why you didn't blur the face for privacy or security reason but realized you are also promoting them hehe. Did you also tell them to put a sign that BTC payments will be accepted in their establishment?

I haven't really asked any of the owners I encounter whether they would accept BTC or not but I'll be doing so in my next visit.

That's what I was thinking too but I don't think that it's going to be a problem because the face isn't clear for recognition and I think this man is pretty much like any other Americans out there, maybe blurring the face is a good thing just for an added measure. Me too, plus I am too introverted to even do that and I think that not a lot of people knows about bitcoin in my country.

[NeuroticFish]

I have to tell you, this was a much, much different experience than what I was expecting.  Dan was very friendly

They most probably don't get too much customers, I expect many to prefer buying a new laptop / computer if the current one is out of warranty and dies.
Hence being nice helps their business, since you (and the other customers) will recommend them.

Of course, in certain cases there are just the wrong people at the front desk; it sometimes happens and I'm glad that it was not the case here.

He said he trusted me that the payment would go through

If he made you a receipt for the money, he may have your address in case the payment would have not went through  
But actually this is also part of being nice with the customers. And the long term benefit is more than the risk of losing 50$.

Dan, who's shown in the above pic),

I agree with the previous post: unless you have express permission from Dan, you better not post that picture.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I immediately noticed the photo after opening your topic and I was wondering why you didn't blur the face for privacy or security reason but realized you are also promoting them hehe. Did you also tell them to put a sign that BTC payments will be accepted in their establishment?

I asked Dan's permission to take the picture (that's not me in it) and also made him aware of this thread.

And no, I didn't suggest that he put any sort of "bitcoin accepted here" sign in his shop.  IIRC, he said I was the first customer to ask to pay with bitcoin and that he was pondering some kind of payment processor as I was speaking with him.  He used his own wallet to accept my payment, so Computer Heads isn't currently set up to routinely take bitcoin payments.  Had he not been on the premises, I would have had to use fiat.  

Hopefully they will hook up with BitPay or another service--Dan kind of wondered out loud how much it would cost for him to do so, and I said I didn't know.  It would also be nice if other people wanted to use BTC there, because apparently it hasn't exactly been something Dan and his crew have had to deal with before--and the town Computer Heads is in, Torrington, has 4 BTCATMs!  You'd think that with that many of those concentrated in one area, bitcoin would be a big deal but I guess people aren't clamoring to spend it (and I also don't know how much business Computer Heads does).

Of course, in certain cases there are just the wrong people at the front desk; it sometimes happens and I'm glad that it was not the case here.

That's what I was expecting before I had any interaction with any of them, just based on the region of the US I'm in and my experience with lousy customer service all over the place.

If he made you a receipt for the money, he may have your address in case the payment would have not went through  
But actually this is also part of being nice with the customers. And the long term benefit is more than the risk of losing 50$.

I did fill out a form when I went in, but it's not like he checked my ID to verify the information.  My guess is that he thought I was sincere, which I was, and that's why he trusted that the payment would come through.  Of course any good scammer tries to come off as sincere, but I didn't exactly gain much from our transaction--I left with my computer in the same state as when I dropped it off (lol).

Edit:  As I said, I made Dan aware of this thread.  If he requests that I either blur his face or delete the photo altogether, I'll do so.  I get that most bitcoiners want to stay anonymous, but I did ask his permission and this was a business transaction for which I assume he'll pay taxes on.  I don't even think he'd identify himself as a bitcoiner, though I can't speak for him.

[Max_Headroom]

In England we also got a more "check the community in the corner" approach to solve problems

https://london.hackspace.org.uk/

promo video

https://youtu.be/s7_7HKSyub8



 

[worle1bm]

It is really interesting to read about your encounter with another techie and crypto freak who not only accepted to take payment in bitcoin from you for you pc repair which cost $50 but also have a discussion about the bitcoin and other topics like decentralisation.When you are able to make payment to your local stores which although are not accepting btc but on asking they setup their wallet for you to make transaction and even if it is not confined he trusted the network because he knows it will be makes you realise how far we have came up with bitcoin.Everyone at the counter asking that "so you are the one who will pay with bitcoin makes you feel special" and different from their regular customers.Hoping to find similar repair shop that would accept btc from me and discuss the technology behind it with me.Good that you shared the story with all of us.

[fillippone]

Apart from the OpSec choices of yours, I am not going to discuss, as you probably are well aware of implication of such, this post of yours  made me wonder how much behind we are on the hyperbitcoinisation are if even a seasoned user like you hadn’t still spent any sat in person.

This is only partially an UX problem, but also a legal, compliance and accounting problem to be solved. Or problems potentially to be solved in order for every shop to accept bitcoins.

[perryxi2]

This is quite an interesting article that I read today. I often tell my friends or family about BTC and we have transactions through BTC, and I think in the future a lot of people will know about BTC every day, a small number and more and more.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Apart from the OpSec choices of yours, I am not going to discuss

Drop me a PM about what's on your mind.  I don't know if you mean using a computer repair shop or my anonymity.  I don't advertise my real life identity, but I know I could be doxxed pretty easily if someone wanted to do so.

Aa far as spending bitcoin in person, there just aren't that many businesses I know of near me that accept it--plus I view bitcoin more as an investment than a practical form of money, so I normally wouldn't spend it if I had some, which I often don't.

[The Cryptovator]

Although the story was quite long but interesting. I have read the full story and the summary is if I understand correctly that "you always encourage others to use Bitcoin". And to be honest, this effort is really appreciatable. Seems you motive that person to accept Bitcoin as a payment method from more customers. Sometimes this kind of innovation would encourage others to enter Bitcoin and would make curious about Bitcoin as well. But sadly, I can't use Bitcoin this way in my country. Even it's hard to explain what is Bitcoin actually. But of course, I always try to explain Bitcoin to the appropriate person.

[vv181]

I have to tell you, this was a much, much different experience than what I was expecting.  Dan was very friendly, and I’d even describe him as having a warm personality (though I only interacted with him for that short period of time).  However, I detected no false notes (e.g., that he was pretending to be nice to me), and in a region that’s wall-to-wall rude assholery, it was gratifying to be able to sit there and talk with a friendly person about a bunch of crypto-related topics—and of course he let me pay with bitcoin, too!

It's good to hear that you sound like have a genuine conversation over there. Also, casually talking about crypto-related stuff is pleasing that you can share thought to other about cryptocurrency in general.

Anyway, the waiting part for the payment to goes through is indeed impractical and also it is been known for long. I wonder why some people are wanting the bitcoin adoption to be significant/parabolically increase. I don't mean that it's not a good thing, but in my opinion, gradually increasing Bitcoin adoption in the real world is a more plausible and safe scenario. Not to mention the scalability issue and the whole overall of the UX problem are still being addressed.

[stompix]

this post of yours  made me wonder how much behind we are on the hyperbitcoinisation are if even a seasoned user like you hadn’t still spent any sat in person.

Hmm, we're one step further than we were at the beginning? 

This is the harsh reality, when you cut online transactions the face-to-face deals are quite rare, I've done just a couple of them in all these years and they were the same, coffee and beer at some pubs. Even if I would want to do more of them there are few options around here, as I said coffee, beer, a hotel, and some hookers (no joke!) Sound like a terrible combination but, it is indeed terrible, And if this wouldn't be bad enough the owner of the cafe I usually hang out that does accept bitcoin (this being the only reason I do go there actually) has told me that there are 3-4 usuals that pay like this, he only twice got some german tourist and that's all.

Hope that LN will change this with lower fees and faster confirmation times, in the legislation, there is little to be done that could help more.

I wonder why some people are wanting the bitcoin adoption to be significant/parabolically increase. I don't mean that it's not a good thing, but in my opinion, gradually increasing Bitcoin adoption in the real world is a more plausible and safe scenario. Not to mention the scalability issue and the whole overall of the UX problem are still being addressed.

Because we have been growing "gradually" for like 8 years with the growth still negligible and I wonder if we're not going actually backwards, look at the mempool, 1sat/b transactions getting confirmed, half-empty blocks, the fees are certainly not a factor anymore on not waiting to buy that damn coffee!