NOVEMBER 13, 2008 Issue
Business Spotlight
PC Medics—Twenty-Four Hour TLC For Your Computer
Story by Sam Calhoun
“If a person’s computer and car broke on the same day, they will probably fix their computer first,” said Tom Rooney, owner of PC Medics, located at 324 Highway 105 Extension, Suite 3.
Rooney’s comment summarizes the dependence that many people have on their computers in the 21st century, as well as the reason his business has survived for a decade in the High Country. Rooney is celebrating 10 years in business in 2008 and recently moved PC Medics to the Carriage Square Shopping Center after NCDOT’s Highway 421 widening project pushed him out of his former location on King Street.
People’s dependence on computers isn’t the only reason PC Medics is flourishing in the High Country. Rooney also offers house call computer repair service and an open pricing system.
“People need to take advantage of our 24/7 house call service,” said Rooney. “We understand that computers don’t just break between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. People don’t need to be shy about calling us after hours.”
Rooney and his two service call technicians, Jesse Tyner and Matt Meire, answer PC Medics’ computer repair emergency phone line—828-964-5247—24 hours a day, seven days a week to help in any way possible with broken computers. PC Medics also offers a 24 hours a day, seven days a week pager line at 828-265-8830.
“That means you’ll get a real person on the other end at 3:00 a.m.,” added Rooney.
PC Medics also offers open pricing on all big orders. Rooney and his employees show customers how much each item in a new computer setup costs and what they will pay. Customers can pick the features they want at a price they like.
“We are the most reasonably priced for the services we give,” said Rooney. “You’re going to get service with us that you’re not going to get from our competition and chains.”
Rooney is originally from New Jersey. He left the state after high school to join the army and then attended Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. After graduating with a degree in structural engineering, Rooney returned to New Jersey and worked on the beach bartending and lifeguarding for about a decade.
“I got too old for the beach, though,” he said.
Feeling the urge to roam, Rooney left the Jersey shore in the late 1980s and headed south.
“I just packed up my truck and started driving,” said Rooney. “I stopped when I ran out of money.”
Rooney ran out of money in Boone, where he landed a job at the Mountain Villa hotel and worked for the next ten years. During that time, Rooney started fixing computers as a hobby.
“But then I realized how much money this hobby was costing me and I decided that I needed to make some money off of it,” said Rooney.
He obtained certification in A+ and Network+—the standard industry exams for computer repair—and started making house calls and working out of his basement. Three years later, Rooney had built enough of a clientele to get a storefront location in downtown Boone at 143 West King Street. He moved in on April 1, 2000, and increased his business overnight.
PC Medics now offers sales and repair of computers, virus and spyware removal, custom-built computer systems, and wired or wireless networking for home and businesses.
“We specialize in computer repairs, but we are a full-service shop. We handle everything from setting up DSL in a private homes to setting up wireless hotspots for businesses,” said Rooney. “We do whatever customers need.”
Rooney has a mixed clientele: from 18-year-old college freshmen needing computer parts to 80-year-old Floridians needing the Internet hooked up for a summer stay. Most of Rooney’s employees tend to be students, he said. Students are a perfect fit for PC Medics’ house calls, said Rooney, because students tend to want a flexible schedule. And the students who work for PC Medics aren’t your average $8 per hour Geek Squad candidates; they are trained and tested experts in their field that Rooney pays a living wage.
PC Medics was dealt a blow earlier this year when Rooney learned the NCDOT Highway 421 widening project was taking the building where the business was located. Instead of waiting for NCDOT to make an offer for relocation and before other business owners began looking for available locations, Rooney proactively relocated his business just months after finding out that he would have to move.
“I didn’t want to be 1 of 21 businesses looking for a new building at the same time,” said Rooney. “And you know there’s not a lot [of buildings] available in Boone.”
The new location is bigger than the former location, said Rooney, but it is harder to see from the road so he is spending more money on advertising. To take advantage of the larger space, though, Rooney is planning to host LAN parties, as well as parties for X-Box and Wii gamers, in the near future.
Rooney plans to stay in Boone and operate PC Medics for hopefully another decade, he said.
PC Medics is located in the Carriage Square Shopping Center in Boone at 324 Highway 105 Extension, Suite 3. The office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. PC Medics is available for house calls 24 hours per day, seven days a week by calling 828-964-5247 or paging 828-265-8830. For more information, click to www.nc-pcmedics.com, call 828-264-5941 or email pcmedics@bellsouth.net.
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