Ninety minutes, nothing unexpected
How a visit works, step by step.
Letting a stranger into your parents' home is a big ask. This page exists so that nothing about the visit is a surprise — not to you, and not to them.
Before the visit
You book — 5 minutes
Fill in the form or simply WhatsApp 9090 8383. Tell us who we are helping, where they live, and what is worrying you. The language question is on the form because it matters: we want to know how your parent is most comfortable speaking, dialect included.
We confirm — within 1 working day
Ricky replies himself, usually on WhatsApp, to agree a day and a two-hour arrival window. You get his name, his face, and his number. Nothing is confirmed until you say so, and there is no charge until a visit happens.
Your parent is prepared
We ask you — or with your okay, we call them directly — to make sure they know who is coming, on which day, and why. Nobody arrives unannounced. On the day, Ricky calls when he is downstairs, not at the door.
During the visit — about 90 minutes
Minutes 0–20: tea first
Every visit starts with a chat, not a screwdriver. Ricky sits down, introduces himself properly, and listens to what is actually bothering them — which is often not what the form said. Trust first, devices second.
Minutes 20–70: the work
Through the list, at their pace: fixing, tidying, setting up, simplifying. Everything is explained as it is done, in the language they chose — and nothing on their accounts or devices is changed without asking them first.
Minutes 70–90: practise
The most important part. Whatever matters to them — opening WhatsApp, checking a bank balance safely, making the video call — is practised together, by them, until they can do it alone. Then it is written down.
What we leave behind
Not a receipt and a wave. Paper, in large print, with the things that matter.
- The wifi name and password, written large enough to read from standing height
- What to do when the internet stops — in three numbered steps
- The house rule for suspicious calls and messages
- Ricky's number, 9090 8383, on every single note
- For Family Plan members, a short written summary to the family the same evening — only ever with the older person's knowledge
How to make a video call to Mei:
1. Open WhatsApp (green icon)
2. Tap “Mei — London”
3. Tap the video camera,
top right corner
If it fails, call Ricky:
9090 8383
A real instruction note, the way Ricky writes them — big, numbered, and left where it will be found.
What Ricky will and won't do in someone's home
Written down and kept, because trust is the whole business.
He always
- Calls before arriving, and arrives when he said he would
- Introduces himself and shows his NRIC if asked — they should ask
- Asks before touching anything, and explains before changing anything
- Quotes the price before starting — the price on the website is the price
- Leaves the home as tidy as he found it
He never
- Asks for banking passwords, OTPs or Singpass credentials — no honest technician needs them
- Takes a device away without a written note saying exactly what was taken and why
- Sells or recommends anything the visit did not call for
- Discusses the older person's affairs with the family without their knowledge
- Charges for a visit where nothing needed fixing — no repair, no charge
Who is coming to the door
Ricky Tan has repaired computers and laptops at Sim Lim Square since 2000 — twenty-five years in a building with a difficult reputation, kept by being the honest one. His customers' reviews say the same thing over and over: transparent, no upselling, no surprises.
He speaks English and Mandarin, manages Hokkien with long-time customers, and for other languages and dialects he will tell you honestly whether he can manage or will bring someone who can. He is patient in the way that only twenty-five years of explaining the same thing, kindly, can make a person.