UNC-CH Information Technology Services

Computer Repair Center is “Business Class” operation

It started as the Typewriter Shop, servicing and repairing typewriters, Dictaphones and other office machines. Today, the ITS Computer Repair Center (CRC) is one of the largest repair centers in the Southeast, grossing $1 million annually. Its mission is to provide students, faculty and staff with the quickest possible warranty repairs of their CCI-purchased laptops and desktops.

The CRC is a Lenovo-authorized “Business Class Partner,” a rarity for universities. Receipt supported, the CRC pays its own way.

“Few universities have that classification. To have that title now, an organization must also sell the product,” said Linwood Futrelle, director of the Computer Repair Center. “We were first IBM-certified in the 1980’s, and therefore we don’t have to make any sales.”

According to Futrelle, the CRC handles more repairs in three months than most other repair centers do in a year. In addition to the volume of requests, the CRC differs from other repair centers because it stocks parts on-site.

With just 10 staff consisting of seven technicians and three support staff, the CRC has an average first-time fix rate of 98 percent. At peak periods, the CRC can turn around 50-60 machines a day.

“But we stay with the machine until it is fixed and if it can’t be fixed, we’ll work with the vendor to find a solution,” said Futrelle. “Also, when a machine comes in with one problem, we’ll fix anything else we find along the way.”

The bulk of the CRC work is on student laptops.

“Studies show that students are much harder on their machines than any other sector of the market,” said Futrelle. “I don’t believe you can do anything to a laptop that we haven’t seen here.”

If Futrelle had to predict where the business of computer repair is headed, where would it be?

“The whole business model is going to change with the coming of the solid state hard drives,” said Futrelle. “Hard drives are the most likely component to fail. The solid state hard drives have no moving parts and so the failures should decrease dramatically. But these new components will also give you little or no chance of recovery in case of a failure. Ever see a graduate student cry because they have lost their dissertation and don’t have a back-up? It isn’t pretty. That’s why Iron Mountain and other back-up solutions are so important.”

If you have a problem with your computer, call 962-HELP or visit either of the ITS Response Centers which are located in the R.B. House Undergraduate Library and the Student and Academic Services Building South.