Phil Borchmann
At Fee Simple Title Agency in Fort Myers, it kept happening over several months until one day, the server and Internet connection seized up and wouldn’t recover. Six years’ worth of vital records had vanished into cyberspace.
Co-owner Kelli Wood almost had a breakdown of her own. "I was about ready to cry," she says.
So she did what countless small businesses do when they lack a tech-savvy person on staff. She summoned professional help. Entech Computer Services came and, in a few days, restored Fee Simple’s system, records and all.
Technology glitches frustrate companies of all sizes, but those that do not have IT specialists on staff might feel the strain even more. Entech and similar computer-related businesses have capitalized on the need for third-party, on-site support with a variety of service options.
Calls for help are typically for one of two reasons: system difficulties or user error, according to Entech CEO and president Martin Haas. In either case, Haas says, "[Businesses] get frustrated and call on us. That’s our bread and butter."
For $125 an hour—a one-hour minimum applies—and $25 for the service call, Entech will send out one of its eight technicians. After the first hour, the nine-year-old, Fort Myers-based company bills in 15-minute increments based on the hourly rate. The company also offers monthly service plans.
If a situation is too tricky for the responding tech, that’s where the other seven come in. "Not everyone can know everything," Haas says. "But between our eight people, they know everything."
Among the challenges Entech encounters are systems that have been assembled or repaired by an unqualified co-worker, friend or family member. "We are sometimes called in on a fiasco where someone with good intentions gets into deeper and deeper trouble," Haas says.
If a repair shouldn’t be made because equipment is shot or the remedy wouldn’t be cost-effective, Entech will suggest installing new, suitable hardware or software as opposed to a Band-Aid approach that might work for a while but fail later, continuing to cost the company.
Teresa Morgenstern, a partner in Naples PR firm WordPlay Inc., always calls on one of her relatives to help with computer woes. "We’ve had problems with the firewall, Internet speed and software issues," Morgenstern says.
Fortunately, her brother-in-law, Adam Morgenstern, is a certified network engineer. His company, Information Technology Network Inc. of Naples, also charges $125 per hour. The firm prides itself on having the necessary experience to solve issues fast to keep costs down.
"Some people may charge $85 an hour, taking three hours to do what we can in one," Adam Morgenstern says.
Information Technology can install networks, repair systems, offer estimates and provide training that helps users better understand their systems. Sometimes, all it takes is a little education.
"Some people don’t know the difference between a server and a work station," he says.
Such lack of knowledge has spawned a mobile, computer fix-it industry not only locally but at the national level. Best Buy subsidiary Geek Squad dispatches badge-wearing agents, dressed in short-sleeved white shirts with clip-on ties, to offices and homes across the country.
Prices, which are posted on www.geeksquad.com, vary. For example, a network installation will run a flat $159, and repair for certain software costs $149, according to the Web site.
Independent technicians may offer on-site support as well, but it can be a mistake to choose one based on price. Wood suffered through three different independent techs—including one who came recommended—over a year’s time, believing she would save money.
When the big crash came recently, she discovered that her system had not automatically backed up files as she had been led to believe. And the last tech refused to provide her with the password. "They knew just enough to be dangerous," Wood says.
Her company couldn’t serve clients, which didn’t help in a slow real estate market. "It was a disaster beyond measure. I lost business because of it," Wood says.
She searched for a larger, more-established service company and found Entech, which managed to recover the data and get the five-computer system running again.
She estimates that the three previous techs cost her $5,200 in their futile attempts to fix her system.
These days, business is back to normal and Wood’s disposition is, too.
"For the first time [in months], I feel at ease," she says.