Basic Intake Documentation

When a customer wants to donate a computer or related item to Free Geek, they do so in the Basic Intake (a.k.a. Receiving) area. This area is run by volunteers and overseen by members of the Free Geek staff (the Reuse Coordinators).

Meet the donor

 * Ask if they're here to make a donation. (Direct them to the store or front desk if they are not.)
 * Remind them that we have a $10 fee for monitors.
 * Ask if they need help unloading, and give it to them if needed.
 * As they unload, fill out a receiving ticket, indicating how many of each type of gizmo they are donating.
 * Give them the receiving ticket and direct them to the Front Desk, where they can get a receipt and make a donation (or pay a fee).
 * Thank them for the donation.

Identify what they gave us
Look at the documentation on the walls to identify the common types of gizmos we receive.

A note on Apple Hardware
''Anything made by Apple, like a Macintosh computer or a component for a Mac, needs to be entered into the database according to whatever the below instructions are, but these items go to the Mac Renewal shelf. For instance a Macintosh computer would be received as a system, but not taken to system evaluation, rather to the Mac Shelf.''

Definitions of Computer Related Gizmos

 * Systems
 * The main part of the computer, into which the keyboard, mouse, printer, and monitor will plug. These do all the "thinking".


 * Cables
 * Various components inside and outside the computer may need to be connected to each other via cables which come in many types.


 * Cards and Motherboards
 * Every computer has a main circuit board inside it (the motherboard). This is the basic electronc "guts" of the machine. Its job is to coordinate all the various components into one coherent system.
 * Cards are plugged into the motherboard to extend its functionality. For instance, a sound card allows the system to send sound to the speakers.


 * CD ROM Drives
 * Software or other information to be stored on the computer comes on CD ROMs. A CD ROM drive is used to read this information. They also have the ability to play music.


 * Floppy Drives
 * A device that is used to read and write to floppy disks.


 * Floppy Disks
 * Removable disks that are used to store information on.


 * Hard Drives
 * Hard drives are devices for storing information even when the computer has been turned off.


 * Keyboards
 * Plugged into the computer to let you type into the system, for instance to write a letter.


 * Laptops
 * Small computers that can be carried from place to place.


 * Mice
 * A mouse is connected to the computer so you can move the pointer around and click on various on screen buttons.


 * Monitors
 * The screen that, when attached to the computer, lets you see what's going on.


 * Printers
 * Attached to the computer so you can use it to print images and words onto paper.


 * Scanners
 * Attached to the computer so you can get words or pictures from a paper into the system.


 * Speakers
 * Like in a stereo system, speakers can be plugged into a computer so it can play music or otherwise make sounds.


 * Trackballs
 * These are like mice, but they're stationary.


 * UPSes
 * An Uninterruptable Power Supply is used to keep a computer running if the electricity goes out.

Some Non-computer Gizmos that we take

 * Cell Phones
 * Fax Machines
 * Power Strips
 * Stereo Systems
 * Typewriters
 * VCRs

Anything else
There are thousands of devices that can be incorporated into a computer that are not listed here. We take all of them. Additionally, there are many types of non-computer equipment that we do take. All of these should go into the Offbeat Receiving room by default.

Enter gizmos into the database
Check the documentation to see if that type of gizmo is needs to be tracked in the database. If so follow the instructions to put it in.


 * Do enter into the database:
 * Systems
 * Monitors
 * Keyboards
 * Mice (PointingDevice)
 * Trackballs (PointingDevice)
 * Printers
 * Scanners
 * Speakers
 * Floppy Drives
 * Laptops
 * UPS (MiscGizmo)
 * Cell Phones (MiscGizmo)
 * Fax Machines (MiscGizmo)
 * Stereo Systems (MiscGizmo)
 * Typewriters (MiscGizmo)
 * VCRs (MiscGizmo)


 * Do not enter into the database (at least not yet):
 * Cards and Motherboards
 * Cables
 * Hard Drives
 * CD ROM Drives
 * Floppy Disks
 * Power Strips

Put the gizmos where they belong

 * Check the documentation to see where that type of gizmo belongs and take it there.
 * Check the map if you're unsure where the places are.
 * Anything that is not documented goes into the Offbeat Receiving room.
 * If there are a lot of donation coming in, concentrate on the biggest items (like monitors, printers, and scanners) first.

What to do when times are slow

 * Study the documentation on the wall if it's unfamiliar to you. Keep in mind that it does change over time, so review it from time to time.
 * Strip the plastic off of wires that are bound for recycling. Bare copper makes a lot more money for Free Geek than plain old wires do. (Not all wires are bound for recycling though.)
 * "Clone" gizmos. This is a way to enter a lot of similar types of gizmos into the database at one time. (For instance the Card Sorting volunteers may have produced a box of 100 PCI Modems. We could enter one and copy it 99 times to get 100 gizmo ID numbers.)
 * Check with the Reuse Coordinator on duty for odd jobs that need doing.

What you can learn here

 * Basic hardware identification
 * Basic data entry, keyboarding and mousing skills.