This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
California. (June, 2011) — “I quit. My family and I are moving to South Dakota.” When Daniel Hughes told his employer, Nerds On Call, about the tough decision he and his family had made, it was met with more understanding than he expected. Daniel loved his job as a computer repair tech with Nerds On Call, and had been a loyal Nerd for years. While he enjoyed his work and made a decent wage, he always knew someday he’d go back home. “Daniel is a great employee and an important part of our staff. We hated to hear we were going to lose him,” said Andrea Eldridge, co-founder and CEO of Nerds On Call.
In these hard times, it’s difficult to imagine leaving a well paying job to move across country and start over. Daniel had a job interview lined up at a call center for a satellite TV company, but was hoping to find something in his field of expertise. “When we heard he was going to be working for just above minimum wage, we knew we had to do something” said Andrea Eldridge. “We dug deep into our budget and decided to open a store in Rapid City, South Dakota, just to keep Daniel a Nerd.”
The investment to follow Daniel across country isn’t a small one. Nerds On Call has been opening stores along the west coast for about eight years, and only recently completed opening a shop in Phoenix, Arizona. “Phoenix was a bit of a drain on our budget, and we probably wouldn’t have opened another store until closer to the end of the year,” said Shane Rivers, Vice President of Operations. “We also would have preferred a location closer to another store. However, our company is only as strong as its people, and we’d rather invest in Daniel than in someone we haven’t met yet.”
Employees are often loyal to their jobs, commuting hours to stay employed in their chosen careers. In the midst of record unemployment, low wages, and the high cost of living, it’s an easy decision to make. You go where the work is. Rarely do employers return that same dedication. The news is filled with stories of companies closing facilities, only to set them up where labor is cheaper. Rare is a story when a company is so dedicated to its staff that it follows them
Nerds On Call offices are open from 7a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. However, technicians are available to provide services 24/7.
About Nerds On Call: Established in a spare room in Redding, Calif., in March 2004, Nerds On Call offers on-site computer and laptop repair services to consumers and businesses. Nerds On Call provides trouble-shooting for PCs and Macs, home and office networks, printers, iPods® and MP3 players, handheld devices and cell phones, home theaters and game systems, and virtually every other form of digital entertainment. In 2009, 2010, & 2011 the company was named to Inc. magazine’s list of 5000 fastest growing private companies. With 7 locations across California and Oregon, Nerds On Call serves more than 40,000 satisfied customers per year. For more information, visit callnerds.com or call 1-800-919-NERD.
