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).

What you can learn here

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

First, 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.

Items we do not accept

There are certain items that people might try to donate that we do not accept. You can suggest that people contact Metro for instructions on how to properly dispose of these items.

• Photocopiers
• Major Appliances
• Microwaves
• Smoke Detectors
• Styrofoam
• Televisions

Computer related gizmos that we do accept

• Systems
• Cards and Motherboards
• CD ROM Drives
• Floppy Drives
• Floppy Disks
• Hard Drives
• Keyboards
• Joysticks
• Laptops
• Mice
• Monitors
• Power Cords
• Printers
• Scanners
• Speakers
• Trackballs
• UPSes

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.

A note on Apple hardware

Most items made by Apple, Inc., like a Macintosh computer or a component for a Mac, needs to be entered into the database as normal (see below instructions). However, when putting these items away, they go to the Mac Renewal shelf. For example, a Macintosh computer would be received as a System, but not taken to system evaluation, rather to the Mac Shelf. (Laptops are the exception. They go into the Black Hole just like other laptops.)

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:
  • Cell Phones
  • Fax Machines (MiscGizmo)
  • Floppy Drives
  • Joysticks (PointingDevice)
  • Keyboards
  • Laptops
  • Mice (PointingDevice)
  • Monitors
  • Printers
  • Scanners
  • Speakers
  • Systems
  • Trackballs (PointingDevice)
  • UPSes
  • Stereo Systems
  • Typewriters (MiscGizmo)
  • VCRs

• DO NOT enter into the database (at least not yet):
  • Cards and Motherboards
  • CD ROM Drives
  • Floppy Disks
  • Hard Drives
  • Power Cords
  • 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.

Gizmo	Where it Goes
Apple Laptops	Black Hole on top Incoming Shelf
Other Apple hardware	Mac Shelf
Cards	Card and Motherboard Sorting
CD ROM Drives	System Evaluation on CD ROM Incoming Shelf
Cell Phones	Recycling by the Black Hole
Fax Machines	Printerland
Floppy Drives	Recycling
Floppy Disks	Recycling
Hard Drives	System Evaluation on Hard Drive Incoming Shelf
Joysticks	Basic Testing
Keyboards	Basic Testing
Laptops	Black Hole on Incoming Shelf
Monitors (Keepers)	Warehouse on Monitor Incoming Shelf near Monitor Burn In
Monitors (Recyclers)	Warehouse in Monitor Recycling Pile
Motherboards	Card and Motherboard Sorting
Mice	Basic Testing
Power Cords	Power Cord Bin
Power Strips	Thrift Store
Printers	Printerland
Scanners	Printerland
Speakers	Basic Testing
Stereo Systems	Tree House
Systems	System Evaluation on Incoming Pile
Trackballs	Basic Testing
Typewriters	Recycling
VCRs	Tree House
UPS	UPS Land on Incoming Shelf

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.
• Clean up. Often there are abandoned cardboard boxes to break down and put away, sweeping up to be done, etc.