Is your computer running slow? When you turn on your computer do you have time to go and make coffee and have breakfast before you can check your email? Are you on a first name basis with tech support? Is your notebook so full of viruses that your mouse sneezes? Well, if you are in Castlegar or live nearby, you now have a store that can help fix whatever ails your computer. That store is Castlegar Computers, and it’s located in the Boston Pizza mini-mall.
The store opened about two weeks ago with a light opening. That was followed by the grand opening on June 29.
“It was quite successful,” said owner David Jeremie Lewis. “We had a laptop giveaway. We got a chance to introduce ourselves to the community and talk about the work we do on computers.”
Lewis finally had the opportunity to open a computer store.
“It’s been my dream since I got her to do that,” he said. “I’ve been a computer technician since I was 14. I ran Nelson PC Doctor for five years. After that, I worked at a different computer store.
“But I’ve always wanted to do things my way. And I’ve always dreamed about having a store. So I decided to take the chance and invest in Castlegar Computers.”
Lewis came to the West Kootenay all the way from Virginia. He was visiting here when he met his wife at a concert and decided he wanted to live here.
Vandecar is hoping to invest in the business and become a part owner in the near future.
“I’ve been working on computers since 1995,” he said. “I went to Selkirk College for it.”
Vandecar met Lewis when they both worked at Taghum Shell station. “We realized we were both computer savvy guys. We always wanted to do the computer work because that was what we were good at it,” he said. “When he started up, he thought of hiring me and here I am!”
Aside from doing repairs, Castlegar Computers also sells computers and accessories.
“We offer sales of desktop and laptop computers, tablets, computer peripherals, software, consoles and games,” said Lewis. “One of the things that gave me confidence in starting the business was that I didn’t see that stuff in Castlegar. Nowhere did I see a store anywhere in Castlegar that was selling a computer ready to go out the door – which we do.”
Castlegar Computers has four ready-built desktop models ready to go which range in price from $599 for the “Surfer” model, right up to $2,499 for the “Elite”.
The guys can also set up customers with any kind of custom-made computer they want.
People can always expect great treatment at Castlegar Computers, says Lewis. “Service is our bread and butter,” he said. “We offer same day service or next day service.
We don’t want to hold anyone’s computer hostage. If we need longer time, we’ll tell the customer.”
The biggest problem for customers is slow computers caused by a lack of maintenance as well as the old standbys of viruses and malware.
“We tackle (the speed issue) with our speed-up service,” said Vandecar. “A lot of time, people are clicking away on websites and pick up extra stuff that they don’t want. We clean out that stuff for them as well.”
