COMPUTER REPAIRER MOVES OUT FRONT

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 26, 1992                   TAG: 9201270178
SECTION: NEW RIVER VALLEY ECONOMY                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Joe Tennis
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short
COMPUTER REPAIRER MOVES OUT FRONT
Sandy Knapp graduated from her employer's electronics repair room a few months ago - and, so far, she's loved every minute of her new existence.
Knapp, 34, is a manager, saleswoman and technician at Blacksburg's Premier Computers, a new retail outlet of Christiansburg's Universal Controls and Engineering, where Knapp's days had been spent solely in the repair room.
"I like managing. It's new and interesting." Knapp said. She makes $19,000 a year plus sales commissions.
Premier's business has been climbing since it opened in August, especially after an advertisement appeared in the fall's new Yellow Pages, Knapp said.
"We're beyond our expectations at this point," she said. "I'm sure the economy's going to get better. . . . And we'll grow as the economy grows."
Knapp, whose job used to be cleaning a Burlington, Vt., stereo shop, started repairing electronics 12 years ago when she begged her boss to show her how.
Now, she holds a two-year associate degree in electronics from the Cleveland Institute of Technology.
Yes, checking stock is definitely a switch from checking switches. But dealing with people who don't deliver as promised can be as frustrating as trying to find a bug that just won't get out of an electronic system, Knapp said.
"It's frustrating when . . . you do advertising and the stock dries up," she said.
That's when the customer gets angry, she quickly learned.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB