Dick Smith calls in the Nerds

THE CAVALRY: A Need a Nerd car in front of a Dick Smith shop. The two companies are partnering.

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Dick Smith Electronics will launch a technology home-help service today after teaming up with tech support franchise Need a Nerd.

Need a Nerd director Adam Dunkerley says Dick Smith staff will sell the service to customers buying computers and televisions and who want help setting them up.

Customers will pay $149 to have computers including internet and email and home entertainment systems set up, while smaller jobs, such as setting up a wireless internet network, will cost $129.

The service will initially be available in 11 centres, including Wellington, Hawke's Bay and Palmerston North. Need a Nerd is on the hunt for potential franchisees to set up branches elsewhere, including New Plymouth, Hamilton, Nelson, Blenheim and Dunedin.

Dick Smith has 70 New Zealand stores and Mr Dunkerley expects business to boom on the back of the service.

The increasing sophistication of technology and the rapid speed at which it develops mean more people are turning to home-help services, he says.

"With the pace of technology, people just don't have the time to invest in learning about it. And I don't think it's getting any easier to set up, with the whole convergence of technology where everything is based around your computer, such as your home entertainment, automation and even security."

The most common technology dilemmas prompting people to seek help are computer viruses, sluggish PCs and the inability to access email or the internet.

"People want help and they want it quick. They're very reliant on technology even grandma at home uses her computer as a communication device and they don't like being without it."

Some people still have a go at solving their computer and gadget problems, but the results of their tinkering can be mixed, he says.

"There's always those who will have a crack. We quite like them because they usually create more work for us."

A Stuff poll suggests most Kiwis still have a DIY attitude. Eight out of nine respondents said they fixed computer problems themselves, though one in 10 of them admitted they probably shouldn't. Just 4 per cent "called in the professionals". Others relied on friends and family.

- © Fairfax NZ News