Regional Resellers: Victor Harbour

Brett Vaughan
Director, QuikFix Computers

We started in 2004 after I left a job in management. I always had an interest in IT and, as an opportunity to provide IT services to a local community, I started the business from home. Then we moved into retail premises around 2009, and have just been focusing on giving our customers the best possible service that we can.

It must be working because we have just added a sixth staff member. The simple thing in any business is finding out what your customers want and need, then making sure they get it. Being in a small town with a limited customer base, you just can’t afford to give bad service.

We do everything in terms of IT support. Retail is still there, and we certainly sell laptops and desktops, but most of our income is from service and repair work.

We have an Apple-certified Mac technician with us and we have branched out into service work for various television and audio-visual brands.

I can see tablet sales and repairs becoming a part of our business in the near future.

Oliver Ambroz
Director, OJ Computers

I was born and bred on the south coast here. My parents had restaurants and my dad was a cook, so I was going to follow him. But my mates started an IT business and I wanted cheaper parts for myself because I always had an interest in [PC building], so I thought, “Why not start  a business?”

My grandmother lent me $5,000 and I started it in a converted bedroom at my parents’ house. I got in at the right time when Windows 3.1 was about to be replaced with Windows 95.

I’m always changing, but at the moment it’s more focused on business services. We are getting into phone systems, too. We have NBN here and a lot of people are trying to replace their old phone systems, so I decided to get into it.

Over the 20 years I have always been able to change and adapt the business to suit the trends and the expectations of the customer in terms of service. 

I have a couple of people who I contract, but being a one-man show I’ve been able to be quite flexible and able to change.

Mike Greer
Director, Goolwa and Victor Harbour Computer Repairs

I’d worked in computers all over the world, and when the kids grew up and left I said "I’m going to be a barefoot doctor" and take my bag and go around and fix computers. So that’s all I do.

Its independent and free. However, you’ve got all the worries, because you never know
if anyone is going to call tomorrow. But it all evens out.

Down here is the largest conglomeration of senior citizens anywhere in the world, but I’m in my 60s and it suits me fine. 

It’s a really relaxed beachside place, and there is 200 miles
of beach. 

I got down here nine years ago, and was up in the Adelaide Hills before for 10 years doing the same sort of thing. And before that I had shops in town (Adelaide).

It is mostly software problems, with the occasional hard drive problem or RAM, or sometimes a new motherboard, but less and less of that because it is easier to pick up a new machine for $300 somewhere.