Today was a beautiful Sunday; the temperature peaked in the high seventies and tonight the sky is as clear as glass. I spent most of the day in each of my stores tallying numbers and tidying unfinished work from last month. Twenty minutes ago I was staring up at the night sky thinking about how my company has changed through the years.
Earlier in the week I crossed paths with a woman who came in to have her laptop screen replaced. After several weeks of not hearing from her I started making harassing phone calls in an effort to collect money. When she finally came in and things settled down I realized I made a big mistake.
As I discovered, we live in the same neighborhood which explains why I’ve had to avoid her so much. She is the reason why I changed how the company interacts with people. Because I’m truly mortified by my personal actions we no longer make those phone calls and now give people a chance.
Adapting to change is difficult, especially after years of doing things the same way. Businesses need to modify processes in order to succeed and forge a successful future. No matter if the transformation is forced by our vendors, customers, or competitors, adapting is positive.
Paradigm shifts happen in my business frequently. I know it’s an overused 90’s business catchphrase, but I’m constantly reinventing how we do business. Many of the changes are due to technology; however, some are due to current events, and some the economy.
It’s truly no secret that computers have become faster and more powerful. Work that would have taken the better part of a day now takes a few hours. Because of this we can afford to spend more time fixing minor issues instead of waiting for long processes to complete. As computers become faster and beefier, the utilities they can handle also become more robust.
Before data breeches and identity theft became a hot topic I used to do all the work behind closed doors. Customers had no idea, and really didn’t care how the repairs were done. The aftermath of events like Verizongate have made people more interested in how we do our business. Now all our work is done in plain sight of customers.
This year is the first time I’ve had to deal with Windows 8. Regular readers may recall I’m not terribly fond of it. One of the changes that 8 brings is not being able to use my existing computers and operating systems. I was forced to make a technology overhaul in order to be compliant with Windows 8.
Viruses continue to be the number one reason people use my services. Many years ago viruses used to destroy data. Sometime in the past five years the virus creators realized they could hold computers ransom and benefit monetarily. Because many current viruses resemble legitimate utilities we are constantly coaching customers and have become educators as much as technicians.
Computer repair, like any other business, changes daily and we have to adapt or close the doors. Change is difficult and can cripple a business that’s not prepared. Change can also be expensive if it involves a major revamp. One of the reasons my business succeeds is I’m not afraid of change and created a business model that is easily adaptable. I think my personal paradigm shift will be to no longer avoid the woman who changed how I interact with customers and show her a little gratitude.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him at (978) 919-8059 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)