Patient In-Home Tech Help for Texas Seniors

How a visit goes

Nobody is on a clock. Visits are booked by the hour, which takes the hurry out of it.

It gets explained, then put on paper. You're left with written notes from your Local Nerd: what changed, and the steps to do it again.

Nobody gets talked down to. Plenty of this technology is poorly designed, and admitting that usually puts everyone at ease.

A familiar face when it can be arranged. If the Local Nerd who helped before is free, our system pairs your parent with them again.

For a lot of Texas grandparents, a video call is how they see the little ones. Getting that working on a device that's easy to pick up and use is work we're glad to do.

Who's at the door

Before taking a single job, every Local Nerd sits an interview with us, and then a background check from an independent screening company. We pay for the check.

Each one signs an agreement about conduct in someone's home, about handling personal information, and about the things they will and won't touch. Every one of them carries ID.

No Local Nerd is allowed to take cash or a check, so there's never a money conversation on the porch. The visit is paid by card through the app, charged to the card that booked it.

Booking it for a parent from somewhere else

Booking and paying works from wherever you live, across Texas or out of state. Use your card and your phone number when you book, and we'll keep you posted ourselves, so nothing has to be relayed through your parent.

Want to talk it over with a real person first? Call TexNerd and describe what's happening. A ten-minute call keeps us from sending someone to fix the wrong problem.

Worth a try on your own

Give these about ten minutes. Now and then one of them clears it up completely, and you won't need a visit at all.

Start by making the text larger. On an iPhone it's Settings, then Display and Brightness, then Text Size; on an Android, Settings, then Display, then Font size. No other single change heads off as much everyday frustration.
Turn on zoom so three quick taps magnify the screen, then show them how. On an Android it's Settings, then Accessibility, then Magnification; on an iPhone, Settings, then Accessibility, then Zoom.
Put the four apps they open most onto the first screen, and clear the rest off it. A crowded first screen causes a lot of the calls that start with 'I can't find it.'
Write the Wi-Fi network name and its password on an index card and tape it inside the pantry door. With a big family coming through at Thanksgiving, it'll get used more than you'd think.
While you're there, fill in the medical ID and the emergency contacts on the phone. It takes about five minutes, and of all the settings, it's the one families end up most thankful for.

What a Local Nerd won't take on

Hardware repair, meaning anything that calls for new parts or a soldering iron. It's better you hear that before you book.

Technology is what we set up and fix. Lifting and medical care aren't part of it; we're not a care service.
We won't change anything an adult hasn't agreed to. If you'd like something restricted on your parent's phone or tablet, we'll talk it over with them first, because the device is theirs.

What you pay

A visit at your house takes $39 to book, and that $39 is subtracted from what the visit costs. The hourly rate depends on how far your address sits, in a straight line, from downtown of the city it falls under: $110 an hour inside 25 miles, $130 an hour from 25 to 50 miles, and $145 an hour from 50 to 75 miles. Nothing is added on top for travel.

A remote session begins with us calling you at the time you chose, and it is $39 for 30 minutes. For help a few times a year, there is Nerd on Call: $14.99 a month, with two remote sessions and one in-person visit included every year.

Payment is by card. Local Nerds can't take cash or checks, so nobody will ask you for either at the door. The FAQ has the rest of the detail.

Want to talk it over first? A Local Nerd will call you at no charge, and you aren't signing up for anything.

Where Local Nerds come to you

A visit can reach as far as 75 miles from downtown of each Texas city with a page below, and every one of those pages lists the towns it reaches. To see what your own address gets, put it in the ZIP checker. Remote sessions don't depend on where you live.

Questions we hear a lot

Is this service meant for older adults?

Yes. That's why visits are billed by the hour, not by the job. The whole service was built around patient, one-on-one help that doesn't hurry, for folks 55 and over.

I live in another city. Can I set up and pay for my mom's visit from here?

Yes. Book it with your own card and phone number. We'll update you ourselves, so your mom doesn't have to relay messages, and the balance goes on your card when the visit is done.

Who are your Local Nerds, and are they background checked?

Yes, they're checked. We interview every Local Nerd ourselves, then an independent screening company runs a background check, and we cover the cost of that check. All of it happens before their first job. Each one signs an agreement on conduct in the home and on handling personal information, and carries ID.

Will my dad have to pay anyone at the door?

No. Cash and checks aren't allowed, and no Local Nerd should ever ask for either. The visit is paid by card in the app, using the same card that booked it, so money never comes up at the door.

Can my parents see the same Local Nerd every time?

When we can manage it. Whenever someone who has helped before is free, our system pairs you with them again. It can't be promised, because it depends on who's available at the time you choose, but that's what it tries for.

Mom isn't comfortable with someone she doesn't know coming in. What then?

That's a fair way to feel. Begin with a remote session. It starts with a phone call, so she can get to know the person before anyone comes to the door.

Texas is a big state, and you're the tech support from the far end of it.