By Edita McQuary
Honorably-discharged sergeant at age 21 from the U.S. Air Force as an air traffic controller, Erich Headrick has led a colorful life. Following his dream, he became a guitarist/entertainer and then played in all sorts of bands and created his own band, “SoulSeeker,” as well as being asked to perform in the band “Dokken” in 1995.
A true patriot, he was all set to re-enlist following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, but the Air Force turned him down as he was a few months past their mandatory air traffic controller qualification age.
In 2002 he joined Outdoor World as systems administrator. The job entailed traveling throughout California, taking care of their retail stores point-of-sale and inventory control needs, along with telephone, security and database management.
While single-handedly raising his two sons, Jesse and James, Erich took them with him whenever possible while covering his large territory for Outdoor World. In California, his territory included Capitola, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Modesto, and San Rafael.
In 2008 he changed his status with Outdoor World from employee to contract services and started Aptos Computer Service, which at that time mostly served Aptos walk-in traffic. Sons Jesse and James were the first employees and are working to make this shop the envy of the country, in regards to quality and professionalism. To grow the business, Erich signed up for one-on-one coaching sessions with well-known marketing coach/business consultant Clay Clark from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Son Jesse, among other things, is the crypto-currency enthusiast and James is passionate about Japanese culture and multi-media creation.
The business was doing well until Covid struck and with current inflation, business is challenging. The company has now restructured its focus and has deployed several exciting products including personal, family and business unlimited support plans.
For instance, many people are convinced that when their computer starts to get slow and sluggish, it’s time to buy a newer one. That is, from our extensive experience, not the right thing to do. For a fraction of the price, getting that computer tuned up is the best investment you can make. Just like your vehicle, there are parts that decline over time that when replaced bring the computer back to a performance you’d expect from a new machine.
The analogy would be questioning whether to get a new car because the tires need replacing. Well, Aptos Computer Services specializes in making sure you do not needlessly spend money and simply the best resource on the West Coast for addressing your current technology needs.
Aptos Computer Service provides expert PC and Mac repair, virus removal, data transfer, web hosting and design, custom builds, data management and recovery, 24/7 customer service and a 30-day guarantee. They can also provide same-day turnaround as well as servicing vintage and collectable computers.
Plans for the future are weekly online “Q and A” (question and answer) weekly classes and another is to work to clear the confusion around crypto currencies.
Erich says, “Our most important focus is the customer’s data, knowing that computers can be replaced but data is irreplaceable. Secondly, customer privacy is most important so the integrity of the repair-person is paramount.”
He went on to explain credit card fraud is rampant. About once a month they see a victim of credit fraud. Oftentimes they need to refer the client to the Secret Service to investigate.
“In one case, however, during my music career, within 24 hours we were able retrieve seven guitars which had been paid for by a stolen credit cards and had been sent to Brazil. We were pretty proud of our experiences,” Erich said.
For expert, reliable computer repair and services, contact Erich, James or Jesse at Aptos Computer Services. They will be glad to help you.
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Aptos Computer Services is located at 7969 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003, phone 831-477-1234.
Hours: Mon-Fri 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat-Sun: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., aptoscomputer.com.