1 Stop Computer Shop Looks to Expand Services

The growth of since the company opened its retail store in White Lake the last three years has been significant, and it is leading to new stores and new ventures being established by its owners, White Lake resident Brian Hile and his partner Shaun Moen. 

1 Stop Computer Shop was established by current ownership in 1996 and the business has evolved over the years. It provides complete PC, laptop, networking and storage services for commercial and residential clients. On the commercial side, 1 Stop Computer Shop works with some of the largest employers in the area, including automotive and manufacturing companies, service providers, retailers and White Lake Township. 

The owners also run a store in Rochester and plan to open retail locations in Milford, Utica and Chesterfield Township within the next year. 

“We can do everything from viruses to enterprise services,” Moen said. “We can handle the needs of our customers here at our stores but we also do a lot of traveling to our commercial clients, doing onsite repairs and diagnoses.” He says the business has an 80 percent success rate for recovering data. “You can recover just about anything but it just depends on what you are willing to pay for it because some of information can be very difficult to find and requires a time-consuming process.” 

Certainly Hile’s presence in the White Lake community was one of the reasons for the partners to open a store in the township three years ago, but another reason was the location was ideal along Highland Road (located at 10531 Highland Road) given the increased population growth to the northwest suburbs and rising number of retail developments, Hile said.

“When you look at all the stores that moved in here the last few years and all the new shopping centers it just seemed like a great fit,” Hile said. “We get something like 80,000 vehicles driving along this part of M-59 every day and that has meant a high volume of traffic into our store.” 

Moen estimates that 1 Stop Computer Stop services as many as 100 individual PCs and laptops from its White Lake retail location each month just for residential customers. Many of those services include virus repairs and file recoveries. Much of its new business comes through referrals. 

“I think customers enjoy that we have very experienced professionals on staff,” Hile said about the two certified engineers and two technicians who work out of the White Lake store. “Our customers want the most skilled person possible handling their needs, whether it is for a business or a household, and I think that is where we have a competitive advantage.” 

The professionals from 1 Stop Computing Shop have worked closely with the White Lake community, having held a training session at the White Lake Township Library. 

Even as growth has been achieved, the fast-moving industry requires 1 Stop Computing Shop to continue evolving its service offering. The owners said they plan to begin offering services related to repairs of Apple products, including iPods, iPhones and iPads later this year under the brand name “Pod Drop.” In addition, other smart phone related services will be added by 2012, Moen said. 

The store also continues to run a variety of promotions for its customers, such as the Free Laptop promo on Facebook. Hile said the 1 Stop Computing Shop is in the process of launching “Back to School” specials that includes free services for parents and students in financial need. In addition any electronic equipment (usually computer related) can be brought to the White Lake location for proper recycling.

 “Our customers are pleased to find out that they can get their stuff serviced here locally, instead of having to occupy their time to travel for the service,” Hile said.