Editorial

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Friendly Computers <a href='http://www.bison.com' style='font-weight:normal;'>Franchise</a> Opportunities

Friendly Computers should really be named Family Computers because that’s their goal – to treat everyone, from employees to franchisees to customers, as if they are family. Not surprisingly then, it actually is a family business. Bryan Ward, president of the Las Vegas, Nevada company, manages the business along with his three brothers and their father, who is the CFO.

Franchising since 2000, Friendly Computers now has locations across the country. “We have 48 Franchises on board at this time, including area developers in New York and in Boston,” says Ward. Computers are a $300 billion a year industry so this is truly a growth industry and there are locations available in most states.

The company was founded in 1992 by Steve Ward, who started out fixing computers in the family garage, and has expanded in part due to their determination to make the customer’s experience with them friendly, successful and cost effective.

Someone interested in business ownership will find Friendly Computers has both a supportive, caring staff and an aggressive vision for the future. Their long term goal is to become the leader of on-site computer repair and computer sales. The Friendly Computer franchisee does not have to be a computer expert because his role is to manage the business while one or more technicians take care of the actual repair work.

A low investment is just one way they make the system work for franchisees. “We also have a really nice marketing plan that’s part of the franchise package,” says Ward. “We have national alliances with a half dozen warranty companies, which gets franchisees business right out of the gate.” Friendly Computers has authorized service center status with Brother, Hewlett - Packard and Samsung and is working on contracts with other companies. This means all franchisees with retail locations are service centers for these products.

Training for new franchisees takes place at the corporate headquarters. One of the important skills covered is how to find, hire, train and keep valuable technicians. Franchisees are also instructed in all aspects of running their business with heavy emphasis on customer service. “We really are all about keeping people happy,” says Ward.

Besides training franchisees, Friendly Computers also provides training for technicians which goes beyond the standard A certification. “We have a stringent testing process that we put them through, from oral to hands-on. This training is included in the franchise fee,” says Ward. “We actually give technicians our own certification because we deal extensively with customer services issues, not just technical issues. We want our field technicians to be highly skilled in relating to and helping customers.”

For example, Friendly strives to give customers greater value for money spent by including education along with service. “One thing we always emphasize,” says Ward, “is how important is to back up data on a routine basis. We also make sure our technicians are able to talk to customers on their level, and not with a bunch of foreign-sounding technical terms.” Since many customers are still new to or uncomfortable with computer usage, Friendly technicians will teach them how to use different computer features so they can have more fun, get more use from them, and really get a “WOW” experience from their computers.

Problems the franchisee will help customers with include everything from the grandmother who can’t figure out how get on the internet to actually designing, building and installing new systems for corporations. “It can be very intimidating to a customer who doesn’t know how to use their machine to its full benefit,” says Ward. “And most of the places you go to buy a computer are not going to come to your home to teach you how to use it.”

A major problem for many people lately is computer viruses and spyware, which can cause harm to your system and overwhelm the user with popups. These programs can even steal personal information from you and use your address book to spread the virus to other machines. Friendly Computers sells software to prevent this and their technicians are kept busy helping everyone, from big corporations to the single user, add protection to their systems.

“We have a saying at Friendly,” says Ward. “No problem is too big or too small. Whether a person is sitting at home selling items on ebay or is part of a big corporation doing internet marketing, if the computer is not working, they’re not making money.”

Because they recognize the importance of technology, Friendly Computers is known for having a rapid response time and for treating customers with the respect and courtesy they deserve.

Ward also stresses the company’s sensitivity to the franchisee and says that they really persuade someone new to the system to grow slowly so that they are not investing huge amounts of capital up front on items like a retail location or large inventory. A franchisee can work out of the home with one employee to begin with. There is a Road Tech Kit provided, containing the most needed items like a hard drive, CD Rom, and memory and video cards.

Since the price of technology is constantly changing, Ward says franchisees are encouraged to order parts (available through their website at wholesale prices) only when needed, rather than sit on a bunch of products whose prices are dropping before they can be sold. This goes also for custom-built computers. Parts are not ordered until the system is ready to be built, assuring the franchisee and the customer of getting the best price.

“We’re not a computer company,” says Ward, “we’re a customer service company. That’s the key to our success. We are going to be there 100% fr our franchisees and hold their hand through the whole process. We’re a family-owned company and when you join our company, you’re considered family.”

Friendly Computers

No computer experience required – you will manage your business
Training provided for franchisees and for the specialized Friendly Computer technicians
Low investment, high return
Customer service is the first priority
Family-owned business
Retail or home-based
Great growth and advancement opportunities
Buy parts at wholesale prices
National account alliances with warranty companies
Start out small – grow at your own pace
80% o American households own at least one computer
This is a $300 billion a year industry