Working out of houses - theirs and others - for several years in the Republic area was a start for SelecTech LLC. But a need to gather equipment and resources in one location prompted a move to a retail storefront in Tiffin.
The new store is at 1660 W. Market St, Suite C.
Managing the store is Chad Kirchner, formerly the easy tech expert at the Tiffin Staples store. He will be providing in-store computer repair, as well as marketing items for sale, such as popular computer accessories, and anti-virus and other software packages.
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PHOTO BY CATHY WILLOUGHBY
Staff members Chad Kirchner, Cody Nichols and Matthew Allison of SelecTech.
Another area where the company hopes to increase sales is in ink and toner cartridges.
"We don't have as much overhead," Kirchner said, comparing the store to others. "Eventually, we would like to push the ink and toner. We can offer it $10 to $15 cheaper."
Cody Nichols, managing partner of SelecTech with Matthew Allison, said the business officially began in April 2008, and has its roots are in Republic.
"We began servicing the home user," Nichols said. "We began traveling to farm houses, working on their computers, and it snowballed after that."
The company's first business client was Tiffin Moose, followed by Lange and Devine law office.
"We currently support St. Francis Home in Tiffin," he added.
In the beginning, virtually all business was from the "at-home" user, requiring much traveling back and forth. Nichols and Allison wanted a centralized location for storage, and to provide a place for customers to drop off their computers for service.
"It's easier to support the home user if it is all in one place," Nichols said. "If you can have all of the tools centrally located."
Not only was it physically demanding at times, Nichols said the move to one storefront location gives the company the ability to standardize pricing.
"We have a flat rate price for everything," Kirchner said. "And for computers brought into the store, there will be a 24-48 hour turn-around time."
"We wanted to standardize things for our business customers, non-profits and home users, with an hourly rate," Nichols said.
Because they live in Tiffin and know the market, the partners said they felt the area had the potential to support establishing a storefront.
"We have a lot of clientele in Tiffin. This has been a good market for us," Nichols said. "Eventually, the goal is to grow beyond."
Besides stocking basic computer needs, anti-virus software and accessories, staff members are able to order computers and offer packages to area consumers.
"We may not be as competitive, yet we have a partnership with Dell, so we can get stuff at reasonable prices with service and set-up," Nichols said.
"We won't try to sell you something that you don't need, that we don't trust ourselves," he said. "We will develop a solution for you that we would do ourselves."
"We push customer support," Kirchner said. "You won't buy a computer from us, you'll buy a solution."
Store hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. If a customer needs assistance after hours, Kirchner advised calling the store to set up an appointment to accommodate their needs. For more information, visit www.selectechllc.com.
