THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 15, 1995 TAG: 9511160664
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
AFTER EIGHT YEARS running Laser Tech, an authorized Canon repair service in Smithfield, Mike Harrington knows one thing: that Smithfield has needed a computer store for a long time.
``Because we didn't want to spread ourselves too thin, Laser Tech was turning away a lot of business that had nothing to do with laser printer sales and repairs,'' Harrington says. ``That's where we got the idea of opening a computer store.''
So on Oct. 21, the Smithfield man opened Computer Source, a sales and service store at 401 Grace St., just a door away from Laser Tech. Harrington still owns Laser Tech, and his new Computer Source is managed by his 22-year-old son, Brian.
Computer Source doesn't stock the wide variety of computer, monitor and printer models or software packages found on the shelves of mammoth competitors such as CompUSA or OfficeMax. But Brian Harrington thinks Computer Source's small size will prove to be an asset for customers.
``Most of our computers are built in-house,'' he says. ``We can put together anything anybody wants. All the customer has to do is tell us exactly what he wants, and we will build it to his specifications.''
And for the shoppers who don't have the computer knowledge to know exactly what they need, Brian Harrington says that's no problem. As long as they know what they need the computer to do, he will build the one that will do it best.
Even with this specialized service, Brian Harrington says Computer Source will be competitive with larger retailers.
``We will beat or, in a worst-case scenario, match the prices they have on any computer system. The people we deal with are such high-volume distributors that we are able to compete with the larger stores.''
Brian Harrington, who graduated from the University of Virginia with a history degree last year, says he hopes to start law school next year. Until then, he will manage the store, using computer skills acquired as a teenager helping his father. by CNB