Laptop Rescue keeps networker lifeblood pumping

ROSS GIBLIN

NO SURPRISES: Laptop Rescue service manager Stephen Gallaher says the only variable is parts.

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Laptops are fast becoming a communication lifeblood – and two Wellington businessmen have set up an emergency rescue service to keep consumers connected.

Laptop Rescue service manager Stephen Gallaher says customers can request a repair job online and have their laptop collected by a courier firm, or drop it off at any Tisco electronics repair store to be sent in.

Laptop Rescue will diagnose the fault and provide a quote within 24 hours of receiving the laptop. Labour costs are fixed from the start between $99 and $199, and parts and freight costs are added on top, Mr Gallaher says.

"There's no giant surprises at the end – the only variable is parts."

Mr Gallaher's brother Chris set up the firm in the United States five years ago and suggested the concept would work in New Zealand. "They get hundreds of laptops a week for repair."

Managing director Denis Win Thein says it is vendor-independent and gets most of its parts through its parent company in the US, where they are generally much cheaper than in New Zealand and can be sourced a lot faster.

"They have a huge inventory of parts, while everyone else has to buy from the vendor and wait for the parts to come in."

Kiwis buy about 225,000 laptops a year – split evenly between corporates and consumers, he says, and between 5000 and 6000 need fixing each year.

"The average time in New Zealand to fix a laptop is between three weeks and eight weeks. We believe we can do 80 per cent of all repairs in a week. The service sector for laptops in New Zealand is not efficient and we are changing the ball game."

Consumers tend to hold on to laptops for as long as they work and tight economic times mean not everyone can afford to replace them.

But if a $900 laptop will cost $300 to $400 to fix, it is not worth doing the repairs and the company can extract or, for a fee, transfer its data and recycle it instead, with any proceeds going to the customer.

The firm has two "emergency" services for customers in dire straits.

Those who are suddenly without a power adaptor – a common problem – can order any model for express delivery the following day, and customers in need of a quick repair can pay $99 extra to have the job done in 24 hours – subject to parts being available.

Mr Gallaher says where it can it gives customers the option of using refurbished parts, which are generally 30 per cent to 50 per cent cheaper than new components.

The company has four employees but expects numbers to ramp up quickly as demand builds.

Mr Win Thein says the idea is to take the Laptop Rescue concept global. "This is the first one outside the US. We will be fine-tuning the systems for local conditions and then we'll be going to Australia and then South-east Asia."

- © Fairfax NZ News