Philo man helps Casey’s start computer repair drop-off service
PHILO – Dan Ault had driven seven hours to get to Ankeny, Iowa.
The Code4pc managing partner and his operations manager, Wyatt Scheiding, arrived at the corporate headquarters of Casey’s General Stores, a structure roughly the size of Champaign’s Kraft Foods facility.
“We walked in and it was very intimidating,” Ault said. “We thought we had bitten off more than we could chew. Wyatt looked at me and said, ‘You wanna run?’”
But Ault had spent too much time developing his proposal for a partnership with the $4 billion company to turn back. He did, however, change his approach at the last minute when the vice president of marketing told him he had 20 minutes to pitch his idea.
“I shot from the hip,” Ault said.
Twenty minutes turned into an hour and a half as Ault outlined his plan for a computer repair service that would use Casey’s stores as the pickup and drop-off points for customers.
Dan Ault, managing partner at Code4pc, hands out information Tuesday about the newly opened ‘Computer Drop Zone’ at Casey’s in Sidney. The store now offers a drop-off service for computer repair. By Robert K. O’Daniell
The Casey’s executives were soon sold on the idea, which Ault credits in part to the marketing posters and brochures that associate Dennis Happ created.
The operations manager and vice president of marketing followed Ault and Scheiding down the hallway afterward to continue asking questions and exploring various ways of implementing the plan.
“From our standpoint, it looked like an opportunity to offer another service,” Casey’s Vice President of Marketing Mike Richardson said. “It was an opportunity for us to expose someone who hasn’t been to a Casey’s, and hopefully they would be able to buy a pizza or some doughnuts while they’re there. We just wanted to give it a try and see how it works. I think it’s a win-win for both of us and mostly for the consumer.”
Richardson said it’s unusual for Casey’s to get a proposal like the one from Code4pc.
“Most small businesses have a product they would like us to sell, and this is a service,” Richardson said. “A couple of people have asked me, ‘What is it they’re doing?’ But it does make sense: We have the physical building. We thought it was certainly a unique idea and worth a try.”
“That was really encouraging for us,” Ault said. “They were pretty excited about it. Casey’s recognized the potential.”
Casey’s ultimately agreed to launch the “Computer Drop Zone” service at 50 stores throughout rural central Illinois.
“They said, ‘You pick the towns you want,’” Ault said.
Ault decided to target communities with a population of fewer than 5,000 because he had noticed in researching towns with Casey’s that most of the smaller ones had no computer repair services available.
On Monday, the first Computer Drop Zone was made available in Philo, followed by Sidney on Tuesday and Homer on Wednesday. Code4pc received its first computer from the drop within two hours.
“That was a good start,” Richardson said. “I was glad to hear that.”
Ault plans to be there for each store’s first day online, handing out brochures and explaining the service.
“I’m excited to get into all the towns and meet as many people as possible,” he said.
Code4pc will start opening two stores a month starting April 7, and all 50 stores are scheduled to be online by May 2. Hoopeston will be the farthest to the northeast, LeRoy to the northwest, Shelbyville to the southwest and Paris to the southeast.
“If we find it works well and there is a need for it,” it will be expanded, Richardson said. “A lot of our stores are in towns of 5,000 or less, and that tends to be where you don’t have larger computer stores.”
A customer with computer repair needs will bring the computer to Casey’s, fill out a short form, place the computer and form in a security box, close and lock the box and then notify Code4pc.
Ault said there is no need to bring anything other than the tower that contains the hard drive unless the computer is a laptop with a cord. He recommends backing up all digital photos, music files, documents and saved data from computer games before dropping off a computer. Guidelines are available on Code4pc’s Web site, www.code4pc.com/dropzone.html.
Code4pc will pick up the computer, call the customer to explain what was done to it, provide a security code, collect payment and let the customer know when the computer will be ready to pick up. The standard service plan is $125.
The customer will have to verify his or her identity with a Casey’s employee before picking up the computer.
Code4pc will make a follow-up call in a couple of days to ensure that the problem was fixed.
Services include PC hardware replacement, optimization, cleanup and virus and spyware removal, along with a variety of other professional services.
The idea for a computer drop zone first occurred to Scheiding in December.
“Dan and I had been talking for a while about a way to get out of our geographical area,” Scheiding said. “I was just sitting there one night, thinking about how our target market was smaller communities, and that it would be nice if we could partner with someone. Then it hit me: Casey’s. They’re in the towns we wanted.”
So after bouncing the idea off a few other people, Scheiding called Ault, who was on his way home from a Christmas trip.
“I said, ‘That’s a brilliant idea,’” Ault recalled.
When Ault returned home, he and Scheiding did some research and contacted the University of Illinois’ College of Business about doing market feasibility studies and efficiency studies.
He then sent proposals to Radio Shack, Wal-Mart and Casey’s.
“Casey’s was what we really wanted,” Ault said, citing the company’s rural locations and emphasis on convenience.
Ault thinks one of the advantages to the computer drop zones will be the average time that customers will have to be without their computers.
“Our goal is to have it back within three to five days,” Ault said.
“People don’t want to drive to a huge town and wait six weeks – they just want efficiency and convenience,” Scheiding added.
While Code4pc’s hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Casey’s hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week will allow customers to drop off and pick up their computers without having to leave work early or arrive late.
“Our goal is to make it easy and affordable,” Ault said.
With gas prices continuing to rise, he said the proximity of Casey’s to most people in small towns should save them the expense of driving to a repair facility elsewhere.
And while most computer repair services charge by the hour, Code4pc charges a flat rate.
“We’ve been doing this long enough; we know what it takes to fix a computer,” Ault said.
The majority of Code4pc customers have spyware or viruses on their computers that are making them run slowly, Ault said. Part of his business is educating customers and providing them information on what to avoid downloading to prevent future problems.
Code4pc has five employees at its facility at 101 E. Washington St. in Philo.
“We’re prepared to grow and add on as quickly as possible,” Ault said. “When people see this works, I think you’ll see other companies try to do this.”
Scheiding is also optimistic.
“I see no reason why it wouldn’t expand,” he said of the drop zone concept. “It’s been a great team effort with great ideas all coming together.”