FAQ
About Creative Goose
Creative Goose is built for home office professionals, solopreneurs, and small businesses that run primarily on Apple technology, and don’t have an internal IT department. If your Mac is your main work tool and you want it properly looked after by someone who knows the platform deeply, you’re exactly who we have in mind.
Both. Most of our clients are solo professionals, but we also work with small teams of 2–10 people. If everyone’s on Apple devices and there’s no dedicated IT support, we can help.
We’re based in San Rafael and provide on-site service throughout Marin County. For remote support, we can work with clients anywhere using secure screen sharing; most day-to-day issues are resolved remotely.
Yes, and that’s intentional. When you work with Creative Goose, you work with David Farrow directly. There’s no call center, no support queue, no handoffs. You get someone who knows your setup personally.
Technical Support
For Maintenance Plan members, we prioritize response and aim to address urgent issues the same day. For non-members, we do our best to schedule support within 1–2 business days, depending on availability.
For one-off support and consulting work not covered by the Maintenance Plan, yes. We bill at an hourly rate. [Insert rate here.] Maintenance Plan members have remote support included; on-site visits and larger projects may be billed separately.
Our specialty is Apple: Mac, iPhone, iPad, and the Apple ecosystem. We can help with basic networking and peripherals that connect to your Mac, but we’re not a general PC support shop. If you’re primarily on Windows, we’re probably not the right fit.
Yes, in many cases. If a drive has failed or files have been accidentally deleted, we can assess the situation and often recover data. Success depends on the nature of the failure; we’ll give you an honest assessment before proceeding.
The Maintenance & Security Plan
The plan covers automated macOS and software updates, 24/7 malware monitoring and protection, daily encrypted off-site backups, ongoing system health monitoring, priority remote support, and a monthly report on your Mac’s status. Think of it as ongoing, proactive care for your Mac; not just a service you call when something breaks.
[Insert current pricing here. We recommend listing your monthly per-Mac rate and noting that plans are month-to-month with no long-term commitment.]
No long contracts. The plan is billed monthly and you can cancel at any time. We keep clients because the service is good, not because the exit is difficult.
A standalone antivirus app is one layer of protection. The Maintenance Plan adds active monitoring (not just scanning), automated updates, daily verified backups, system health tracking, and priority human support; all coordinated and checked by David regularly. It’s the difference between a smoke alarm and a monitored security system.
Each month you’ll receive a plain-English summary of your Mac’s activity: what updates were applied, when your last backup completed, current system health, and any flags or recommendations. No jargon, just a clear picture of how your Mac is doing.
Office Setup
Yes, that’s one of the most common things we help with. The Mac lineup has more options than ever, and the right answer depends on your work, your budget, and how you’ll use the machine over the next few years. We give independent advice with no financial relationship to any retailer.
Absolutely. We handle everything from out-of-box setup and data migration to app configuration, backup setup, and peripheral connection. Most clients find the setup session alone saves several hours of frustration.
We provide ergonomic consultation as part of our Office Setup service; reviewing your workspace layout, monitor positioning, keyboard and trackpad placement, and lighting. We can make practical, cost-effective recommendations without requiring you to buy an entirely new setup.
Training
Absolutely not. Training sessions start wherever you are. There’s no assumed knowledge, no judgment, and no rushing. David has spent 20 years explaining technology to people who aren’t interested in the technical details; just in making things work for them.
Often, yes. Long-time Mac users frequently have gaps; things that changed in recent macOS updates, shortcuts they’ve never discovered, or workflows that could be much more efficient. A session tailored to experienced users tends to surface a lot of ‘I didn’t know it could do that’ moments.