Computer repair in Barrie…the way it should be!

Computer repair in Barrie has taken a turn for the worse in recent years.  Some Barrie computer repair companies are charging way too much.  In a previous post we pointed to a CTV news piece where an undercover investigation was done, showing well known computer repair companies, such as Nerds on Site, Geek Squad, etc, attempting to sell hundreds of dollars in work as a solution for very simple problems.  It’s understandable why clients often come to us wary and on edge.  Computer repair in Barrie has begun to resemble the “car mechanic dilemma” of recent years.

Many amateurs and upstarts are still following the decrepit business model of trying to offer “cheap” – ie cutthroat – rates for their computer repair in order to try and gain business.

We’ve seen many examples of customers taken to the cleaners by these amateur computer repair fly-by-night technicians and it’s unfortunate.  They get the work done, it isn’t done right and suddenly the “guarantee” turned out only to be “words” to get the call, and to have the technician disappear into the night.

Today we were called to one of our Barrie clients who had us do some repair to their computer a while back.  It was almost a year ago that we had doubled the amount of memory in her computer.   Today Windows was in serious trouble.  We discovered that one of our RAM modules went faulty.  We then proceeded to exchange it at no cost to the client.

Another client brought us a laptop.  We worked diligently on it, effected numerous repairs, but it did not solve the random blue screen issues.  It didn’t fail us at the office, but it was failing repeatedly at the client’s home.  She gave us two further cracks at it, being very patient.  We were unable to fix it, so we refunded her entire invoice amount.  That is our vision of computer repair in Barrie.  Accountability to you, the client.

There appear to be few computer repair companies in Barrie with that kind of service, as we have regrettably discovered.  There’s a great article on About.com about questions you should ask a computer repair company and the answers you should receive.

Even in the computer repair business here in Barrie, the old adage “you get what you pay for” seems to apply in many cases.   In our case we have a lease, we have a staff, we have a responsibility.  We take our computer repair seriously because it’s a passion for us.

Whenever you have a computer repair issue, if you’re in Barrie, Orillia, Innisfil or even Bradford, we’re here today and we’ll be here tomorrow.  We will fix your computer or it’s FREE!  There will always be problems.  There will always be the “one that got away”.  The Chaos Theory certainly applies to computer repair as well.  However, it’s how we deal with the problems that sets us apart.

Contact us today and experience the difference for yourself.  We’re here to help!

Share

Save

More than just computer repair…in Barrie.

A lot of people offer computer repair in Barrie.  They’re almost as common as Tim Hortons.  Every day new ones spring up and others disappear.  Some computer repair technicians advertise A+ certified, some MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer), some proclaim certifications that really are quite meaningless, but gives the business colleges something to put on their annual agendas.

We have been in the process of interviewing prospective candidates for a computer repair technician at our location here in Barrie.  The gentleman had significant experience from other computer repair companies, also in Barrie, that recently closed.

During the course of the interview, while explaining what types of computer repair we did, he commented several times that he had no idea there were any more computer repair shops left in Barrie that did the kind of work we do.  What I found out was that Barrie’s idea of “computer repair” is “throw it out and replace it”.

Today’s computer repair technicians aren’t trained to “fix things” as we do.  When I went to school, they didn’t just teach you to repair a computer by throwing parts at it.  They taught you how to think like a computer, understand computer logic, design a computer, design and build the circuits and to do repairs with soldering irons and solder.  Today aspiring computer repair technicians are handed a book, told to memorize it and write a test (A+ certification).  Regrettably, passing the test does not mean the candidate can repair a computer as we unfortunately found out.

We are a very rare breed at Northern Protocol Inc.  Replacing computer parts is our last resort.  We look to repair your computer, hard drive, motherboard, etc.  We do board level parts replacements on laptop computers, component replacements on out of production motherboards.  Hinges, plug repairs, power jack replacements and much more. 

Sure, it’s quite easy to “diagnose” a computer by telling you you have to replace your parts or lose all your data.  Anyone can do that and profess to be a computer repair technician.  The problem is, however, that their desire to “upsell” and earn a living completely supercedes the fact that you have important information, valuable documents and photographs, windows installs just the way you like them, saved emails, music, etc.

You are stressed when the computer needs repair.  You want a fast, cost effective solution.  Fortunately “buy this instead” may not be the only answer.  At Northern Protocol Inc., if another solution exists we will find it for you.

Computer repair in Barrie need not be “buy this, this and this” or “throw it out and buy a new computer”.  If it’s a server, workstation, laptop, desktop, point of sale, Mac, Xbox, even a GPS, contact us.  We’re here to help.

Share

Save

Specialized? How specialized?

You drive your car up to the gas pump.  The attendant comes out, greets you with a smile, fills your car while they wash your windows and check under the hood.  Noticing you need a belt and an oil change, they invite you to pull the car into the garage to have some maintenance done.  While waiting you notice the tires on sale and remember that they need to be changed.

Preposterous, you say.  They don’t do that!  And you’re right.  Yet only twenty years ago that was a very common occurence.

This is the kind of service we strive to offer at Northern Protocol Inc.  It’s not just words.  We remember the days when the best interests of the customer were the only thing that mattered.

Yesterday we had a gentleman come in with a very unusual request.  He was a software engineer building his own touch screen and he needed 150 infrared LEDs.  I happen to have a supplier that provides a huge assortment of electronic parts.  We were able to provide them at 1/6 the going retail price.

The other day I had a lady bring in an XBox 360.  All she wanted was for it to work, and she didn’t want to send it back to Microsoft yet again.  It was overheating, a very common problem with them.  We fixed it for her for an hour’s labour.  Her delight was ample reward in itself.

One day an elderly lady brought in her GPS.  She had tried in vain to program it and get her maps on it.  She hired someone else to do it who couldn’t do it either.  She brought it by and asked if there was any way we could help her.  I programmed it for her that same day.

We have clients that operate billiards halls.  They have a very specialized, highly proprietary and very antiquated software and hardware system to control the lights, keep track of the bar disbursements, keep track of the tabs and the memberships.  In one location, this main computer finally crashed.  Understandable, it was fifteen years old.  As they were a fair way out of town, they’d already tried a local vendor that told them it was beyond hope.  They came to us on a referral.

We worked with the software vendor to get a new system up and working.  Certainly a daunting task, but a lot of fun and very challenging.  The end result was a happy ending.  We were able to get them back up and running with no loss of data.

We are subcontracted by two different support desks.  One deals with three major chains, featuring IBM SurePOS point of sale systems and servers, the other supports local hotel chains and their networks, workstations and servers.  We are often called to maintain them, replace bar code readers, get linux boxes back up and running, repair terminals and workstations, fix text printers, etc.

We take care of one chain that has another industry specific point of sale software.  We have worked with their support desk to bring a couple of broken terminals back online.

Of course we also repair Macs, home theatre computers, thin clients, laptops, desktops and pretty much everything in between.  Whether it’s virus problems, hardware problems or anything in between, we can help you.

I’m often asked “what kind of work do you do?”  The answer is always “if it has a computer chip in it, we do it”.  As our tagline goes “From the ordinary to the extraordinary…we do that!”  I couldn’t think of a better way of putting it.

Share

Save

We are consumers too!

As a business owner, it can be easy to forget what it’s like to sit on the other side of the desk.  It’s easy to get wrapped up in the function of the business, taking care of all the behind the scenes administration stuff, appeasing the government, etc.

However, it’s absolutely critical to remember that we are also consumers.  Every day, for every client it’s crucial for my staff and I to put ourselves in the client’s shoes.  Imagine we were them.  How would we feel?  How would we expect to be treated?

One good way of doing this is to pay close attention when I’m out purchasing things for myself.  How do they make me feel?  What did I like about the business and it’s service?  What didn’t I like?  What would I improve on?

Today I needed a very specialized part.  We do a lot of specialty work, which I’ll talk about in another post.  One thing we do is point of sale software and equipment.  This week we were called to work on a very specialized system which was also very antiquated.

With time being short, I went to a local computer vendor who was referred to us as having a wide assortment of odd cables and adapters.  The experience was a real eye opener.  At first I had a friend grab the part for me.  When I got back to the shop I discovered that it was the wrong part.  The vendor told him that the part I wanted didn’t exist, there was no such thing and that no device required the part I wanted.

It was interesting, as I had the part I needed in my hand.  I simply needed a second one.  I brought the device, a transponder, plus the adapter, over to the store to demonstrate exactly what I was looking for.  It was a serial port adapter, 9 pin to 25 pin, male to male. 

I was greeted by a real surprise.  The vendor told me I was misleading people (evidently my friend), that the adapter was not a serial adapter, but a parallel adapter, that 25 pin serial and parallel ports were the exact same thing and that they were interchangeable.

Ok, he didn’t have what I wanted.  Fair enough.  I patiently explained that parallel is IEEE1284 standard with bi-directional, parallel communications, the serial was RS-232.  I appreciated the fact that the parts I am using are not exactly every day parts to say the least, but the standards are universal in definition and application.  While shaking his head his solution was to sell me another part to make up for having the wrong part I already had.

I thanked him for the offer, but had to decline as the application was very specific and mission critical.  As it had only been an hour since it was purchased, I asked for a refund.  At first he hesitated, then said there would be a 15% restocking charge for returning it, despite being unopened.

Here’s the point I’m trying to make.  I appreciated that experience.  I learned from it.  Computer repair service is in a bad state.  Customer service is taking a dive as the economy collapses.  Every sale, no matter how small, is treated like the “only sale”.  Word of mouth advertising is disregarded.  It’s not unreasonable to assume that many people are trusting us, as the professionals, to give reliable, informed, accurate information and trustworthy service.

I know my experience isn’t unique.  We often hear it from our clients.  We have a testimonial or two from them.  For me, it’s a humbling reminder to stay focused, to stay honest, and to treat each and every client as the VIP that they are.  Sometimes I drop the ball.  Sometimes I don’t live up to my own expectations.  However I always strive to better myself and to remember that I, too, am a consumer.

Share

Save

Is a Pentium 4 faster than the new Dual Cores?

Not long ago, we had a client come in looking for a new computer.  He mentioned that he’d been told that a Pentium 4 was faster than a Core2Duo, and asked if that’s correct.  The short answer is no.

The myth of “clock speed”.

There are those that would have you believe that a faster clock speed means a faster computer.  A great example of this is a 3.4GHz Pentium 4 compared to a 2.66 GHz Core2Duo.  The reality is that the Core2Duo can do far more work in the same amount of time than a Pentium 4 can, and Windows is written to take full advantage of the newer designs.

A Gigahertz is a measure of (clock) cycles per second.  During each one of those cycles, a unit of work is done.  In the old days, the more cycles the processor, or main brain, could complete in one second, the more work it could do.

Today, processor design has changed so much that far more work can be completed in fewer cycles.  This promotes energy efficiency and ultimately a processor that runs much cooler.  In other words, you no longer need to have your computer do double duty as a space heater or toaster oven.  You no longer have to pay a week’s wages to the hydro company.

This page is an excellent comparison page to demonstrate the point.  It uses a synthetic test to compare different processors.  The processors at the top of the charts are the fastest, the ones at the bottom are the slowest.  You don’t need to know exactly what the numbers mean to see that at the top of the charts are the Intel dual cores, I7s and Core2Duos.  At the bottom of the charts are the old Pentium 4s and other single core processors.

New computers, complete with software preloads (without any demos or trial software in our case) are constantly dropping in price.  Computers are the only commodity out there that gets cheaper as they get better.  Warranty terms are minimum one year on a new computer, in our case many of the parts come with far longer warranties.  With prices dropping and quality going up, it doesn’t make any sense to buy used or “off-lease” computers anymore.

Share

Save

Beware of fraudulent vendors selling pirated Microsoft software!

Recently we became aware of vendors in Barrie selling computers with illegal copies of Windows XP.  A prominent vendor of “refurbished/off-lease” machines in Barrie has already been fined by Microsoft twice for doing this.  Here is an example of a vendor selling a computer with an illegal copy of Windows.  This is a screenshot from a local online classified ad.

How to tell:

When someone sells you a computer with Windows, it must have a valid license sticker (Certificate of Authenticity).  If they do not provide this, the software is illegal / pirated and Microsoft can (and usually does) sue them in an effort to protect you, the end user.  For more details, please visit this website.

Another scam is someone telling you it’s a “volume license key” or “corporate edition”.  Volume license keys are only for businesses that buy huge volumes of Microsoft software.  They are not for distribution to the general public, and when Microsoft finds out about it, they “black list” the key, or block it so you can’t get updates.  One easy way to tell is to enter the first five digits of your key into Google.  The most popular stolen keys will usually (not always) pop up in the first few results.

The reason we became aware of it and the reason it’s a problem for you as a consumer is that illegal software will usually fail genuine Microsoft activation, which means you will not get critical security updates.  It also typically means that if something goes seriously wrong with your computer and you need to reload or repair Windows, you can’t without buying a new copy of Windows.

This practice is unfair for the unsuspecting purchaser.

Be very cautious when buying computers from classified ads.  Selling Microsoft software (including Windows and Office) without a valid license key attached to the computer is ILLEGAL, and unfortunately you as a buyer will end up getting stuck with the consequences of these shady vendors.

Be sure to ask your vendor for this item when buying your computer.  If you’ve already been taken on a shady deal, please report them at http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/reporting/default.aspx so that others won’t get lured into the same trap.

If possible, it’s best to buy your computers and/or software from legitimate vendors, including Registered Microsoft Partners or Microsoft OEM System Builders, to avoid being sold counterfeit or pirated software.

Share

Save