Recycling philosophy
drives computer
business

By KAREN TALASKI
Of The Oakland Press

LAKE ORION - In today's computer world, Christian and Tina Berryer are technology environmentalists. Instead of throwing away malfunctioning monitors, the Berryer's have created a business to repair them, letting businesses save a substantial amount of money on replacements while reducing additions to landfills.

The couple started TCC Monitor Repair eight years ago, repairing "anything that plugged into the computer," said Tina Berryer, the bookkeeping brains behind Christian Berryer's computer expertise. Quality seventeen inch monitors are expensive, running around $400, Christian said. An average seventeen inch monitor at local discount stores costs about $210 but, low quality monitors can be found for as little as $90. Medical imaging equipment is particularly costly and important to maintain.

"A monitor can be repaired economically," he said. "Why buy new if you can recycle something? Use it until the wheels fall off, that's my philosophy."

Christian's mind is drawn to the complex world of a computer monitor. He considers it cheating when a repair replaces the entire circuit board. Rather, he looks for what component caused the problem, thereby keeping his prices lower than other repair shops. "It's better to replace a low-price component on a circuit board than replace the whole circuit board, which can cost hundreds of dollars," he said.

There is no charge if a monitor cannot be fixed, but Tina has determined through her bookkeeping that her husband has a 95 percent success rate and most repairs are completed within a week.

TCC is available for businesses that need monitors picked up for repair. There is a small charge if they cannot be repaired, and the monitors must be returned. "We make it very easy for the customer. They only need to pick up the phone and call," Christian said.

Repair prices vary according to the monitor size. The couple also keep a stock of refurbished monitors on hand to sell. "I think the general public, when they buy a monitor, only looks at the price tag," Christian said. "They don't look at the features, what it can and what it can't do… If a customer had a monitor they liked to begin with, repairing it can save them the hassle and money of buying a new one."