Man of many talents fixes tech woes in Tauranga

Shaun Belcher of Planet PC

By Darren Greenwood, Auckland | Tuesday, 05 July 2011
Shaun Belcher works in the Bay of Plenty repairing computers and just about anything else you can plug in.

Belcher, the owner/operator of Planet PC Mobile Computer Services in Brookfield near Tauranga, fixes televisions, entertainment systems and even smartphones and PDAs. And he makes housecalls.

Belcher says that Planet PC, which he started two years ago, services clients from Te Puke to Katikati.

Belcher has been working with computers professionally for eight years and carries A+ certification from the nonprofit IT professional organisation CompTIA.

The Tauranga born-and-bred Belcher says he has been interested in computers and electronics from an early age and since leaving school, he had long-desired to start a mobile computer service company to fill a market gap he perceived in the area.

“People don’t like being away from their machines for long periods of time and having to disconnect cables,” he says. “Sometimes it can be an issue of trust as they like to see what is being done to their computer. Most problems can be fixed in the home or office without having to be taken back to a workshop. The benefits are shorter downtime for business machines and quicker turnaround. Problems can sometimes be diagnosed easier when it is set up in its original configuration in the home or office.”

Belcher discovered that there wasn’t as big a tech gap as he had expected in Tauranga where one of “the “biggest challenges” he faced was the many IT companies, including other mobile operators. It was tough developing business, but Belcher believes the Planet PC name helps people remember by evoking a futuristic world. Advertising, he says, is not as effective as word-of-mouth in getting that name out.

Belcher says the challenges he has faced are worth the return from being self-employed.

“I have my freedom, I am my own boss and I feel in control. I get a higher pay than working for another company and I feel rewarded with helping others with their IT problems,” he says.

“Some of the bad points are you may have to work after-hours or weekends in critical situations. It can be stressful when things don’t work out as smoothly as they should, as is often the case with computers. A job that you think is going to be quite small can turn into something major,” he says.

About 30 percent of Planet PC’s customers are businesses. Retirees, however, make up the largest part of its customer base.

The company uses top brands, including Corsair, ASUS, Silverstone and Seagate supplied by Computer Lounge in Auckland, which Belcher says offers “very reasonably priced” stock with next-day delivery. He does not sell hardware.

Belcher gained experienced in spyware and virus removal working a previous job, which led him to develop his own solutions.

“There has been a lot more useful software in this field to help make my job easier,” he says. “I use the latest and most powerful tools available.”

Business is good, in part due to economic uncertainty which has encouraged people to forego new purchases and keep their older systems running longer. Many of Belcher’s customers are driven by concern over viruses and online security and they often ask for a computer check-up, security upgrades and removal of corrupt files to keep their older systems running smoothly. He says that 3-D has been another “big thing” in television, computing and gaming, especially after the movie Avatar was released in 2009.

The Planet PC website states that the company can “help” with television, video and entertainment systems – as well as “techie gadgets”. Belcher says this was in response to many customer queries.

“It is not my main field of work, but since I am capable of it, I’d be silly to say no, as it is all money at the end of the day,” he says.

Belcher’s skills with electronics are not limited to his work. In his spare time, he has built an MP3 player, a music server and a valve guitar amplifier (an amp made with vacuum tubes), which he believes could lead to other business opportunities.

When Belcher isn’t tinkering with gadgets, he plays in a band with friends, tramps, goes to the beach and pursues his interest in astronomy.