TOWNSEND — PC LAN opened its doors almost eight years ago at 256 Main Street in Townsend. Its owner, Bob Young, along with his son Rob and in-house technician Aaron Silvestri have over 15 years experience in computer and networking technologies.
Young worked many years as an insurance broker and then worked for his brother’s computer store in Milford N.H., before opening PC LAN. Rob Young is college educated and worked for MathSoft, a software company in Cambridge, before joining his father at the shop.
Silvestri built his first computer when he was 10 years old. His dad gave him a bunch of parts and he put it all together and at the end had a working computer. Silvestri joined PC LAN in 2004 and has years of hands-on experience. He also stays current with the rapidly changing computer hardware, software and networking fields.
The store’s customer base extends as far as West Boylston, Billerica, Methuen, Rindge, N.H. and includes local surrounding towns and businesses.
Business is booming at PC LAN even with the current economy.
“Many people are looking for jobs and have to send out resumes over the computer. It’s a necessity to have a computer even in a bad economy” said Bob Young. “Our busiest time ever was when gas prices were at the all time high, most people were working from home.”
PC LAN offers virus and spyware removal, computer repair and maintenance, computer upgrades, business and home network installations, wireless configurations, Play Station and Xbox cleanings and printer repairs. They also offer a ready-to-go PC System for $499 with a three-year parts warranty on major components and one-year labor warranty.
“People don’t realize that our pricing versus the larger stores is the same or even cheaper. There are no add-ons or surprises, the price is the price and the computer is ready to go” said Bob.
Silvestri commented on how bad the computer viruses are now and how many fake anti-virus scams are out there. PC LAN readily speaks with customers about the latest scams to protect your computer hardware.
“Even if you think you got rid of the virus you’ll still need to restore your computer” said Silvestri.
PC LAN charges $115 for a computer restore and $34 for a back-up.
When the company first opened its doors, it only sold new and used desktops computers. Today, 75 percent of their sales come from laptops. They are also building a lot of custom gaming computers.
“The computers just can’t handle all these new games anymore. We had one gentlemen come in who couldn’t get his daughter’s Barbie game working on his computer, he just couldn’t get it to work,” said Bob.
PC LAN services many local businesses including Harbor Auto Body, Forrest Appliance, McNabb Pharmacy, Townsend Realty and Apple Meadow Hardware. Jane Briguglio from Apple Meadow said Young is the nicest guy a person would ever need to have a computer made.
“I went in and sat down with Bob and he asked the right questions, figured out our needs, and stayed within budget,” she said. “We had our computer built three years ago and last year had a virus. Within two hours we had it back and fixed which is so important for our business.”
Mike Forrest, of Forrest Appliance in Townsend, said PC LAN offers prompt, efficient service and its employees are very easy to get along with.
Customer Ron Montgomery bought a ready-to-go system from PC LAN and wrote a thank-you note, which the company shares on their Web site. “I have bought many computers in my life and this time once again I had shopped online and in stores more hours than people would, so I feel qualified to say your “Ready to Go” configuration packs more high quality, performance and value than is available anywhere else,” he wrote.
The store is also expanding into new ventures. Rob Young is starting to offer a few computers classes. On Tuesday evenings from 5:15 to 7 p.m. he is teaching a basic computer class at PC LAN. On Wednesdays, from 5:15 to 7 p.m. he is teaching a Web design class.
Meanwhile PC LAN will continue to offer their bread and butter services. Bob Young said a lot of his competition is going out of business, but he has no plans to do so. “If I didn’t think I was providing a service better than our competition than I’d go home,” he said.
For more information on PC LAN go to pclan.net or call 978-597-0300.
