Computer Whisperer brings dead computers back to life – updated

Computer Whisper on Fourth Street in Huntingburg celebrated his opening with a ribbon cutting today. Mayor Marvin Belcher, Councilman Marvin Boeglin, Clerk-Treasurer Tom Dipple, and Huntingburg Chamber Executive Nick Stevens attended with others. David says business is picking up and he is glad he opened his store on Fourth Street.

David Smith is a small, intense man. He looks into a computer’s insides, one of the many sitting on his desk and the surrounding shelves at his new store on Fourth Street in Huntingburg, his intense focus on the problem at hand. This intensity is a comfort to those needing his services repairing one of society’s most useful appliances.

“The weirdest or most unusual computer problem I ever ran into,” Smith relates, “was when a woman brought me a laptop that she couldn’t get to turn on. She left the laptop with me and when I unscrewed one of the covers on the bottom, chocolate milk spilled out onto my desk.”

David called the customer and she immediately remembered the milk being spilled. “It was just unusual because nothing else was wet, just this chocolate milk from the bottom of the laptop.”

Most problems aren’t nearly as interesting; his work revolves around removing viruses, tuning up computers, and fixing hardware issues, but he can work on anything computer related and he’s been working on them since he was 12.

His parents bought him his first computer in 1982 as computers were just starting to become a household item. He took a computer programming course and began to learn how to write computer code. He enjoyed the adventure of experimenting with code to see what he could accomplish.

“I wrote code while at school in a notebook and couldn’t wait to get home to try out some new program I had written.” He said.

As he got older his passion grew and he became very good at writing code. So good that he wrote a program for the Newburgh Public Library that converted weights and measures, but the fun soon came to an end when he had to g to work. Any extra time was now spent in factories, but he tried to work with computers as much as possible.

In 2001, David’s break came when his parents asked him to build an online business website for them. He did and learned about search engine optimization (SEO) and web design. The site soon was at the number one spot on search engine rankings and stayed there until 2007. He did a few more sites and got them in the top ten as well.

In 2007 David was forced to start a new career. “I was laid off, then brought back and laid off again.” He said. “So I turned my hobby into my business”

For the next four years he ran the business from his home until his customer base became large enough that he decided to take the leap into a computer repair shop. After careful consideration of all the local towns, David decided Huntingburg was the best choice. “It’s centrally located and the town is an active business community.” He explained he can still service his existing customers and grow into Dubois County.

“All the businesses on Fourth Street have been very welcoming and I expect to be a long time fixture in the community.” David said.

David says his business is built around the principal of great customer relations. “If someone comes in and it’s a real easy fix, why should I charge them just to look at it? Some places won’t even turn on the computer without charging you. What is someone supposed to do if they don’t have a job or they are on a lower income when they have a computer problem they can’t afford to fix?

David backs all of his work with a 100% satisfaction guarantee and if he can’t fix it the customer doesn’t pay anything.

“I am just thankful that my parents bought me that first computer.” He said. “They put me on the path to where I am today.”

You can find out more information at www.computerwhispereronline.com and like him on Facebook here.

The Computer Whisperer’s shop hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can reach the shop at 812-684-0011.

He is available after hours for onsite work by calling 812-686-2974.