Behind the Counter: This Business Will Fix What Ails Your Computer

In 2001, at the behest of others, David Dumais created his own computer repair and service technician business.

Dumais had been working as a technician for Desai Corp. in Windsor in support of Pratt & Whitney. That was until Desai lost its contract with the aerospace manufacturer.

Dumais was able to continue to work for Pratt as a service technician in the company's surplus store and created KeyLynx Technologies to continue serving as a contractor for Pratt.

"From there, I just worked my way up," Dumais said recently as he stood in the center of his storefront business in East Windsor's Sophia's Plaza.

While still at Pratt, Dumais's business operated out of a corner in the manufacture's surplus store warehouse, where all the old computers were kept to be wiped cleaned and refurbished before being sold or recycled. His business maintained its location at Pratt through 2010, when he relocated to East Windsor and opened his retail store.

Patch asked Dumais to tell us about his business and here's what he had to say:

Q&A

Patch: When did your storefront business in Sofia's Plaza open?

Dumais: "I opened the full retail store in East Windsor after my contract ended with Pratt & Whitney in 2010."

Patch: What services do you offer now here in East Windsor?

Dumais: "In East Windsor, it's a full sales and service. We sell refurbished, sell new, we also fix and repair any laptop or desktop, we also sell cell phones. We work with 10-15 business clients maintaining their servers and networks. We do printer repair. Pretty much anything to do with a computer from software all the way up to hardware."

"We also recycle. If someone were to bring in an old piece of equipment we can clean and recycle it for them, and sometimes we'll do trade-ins."

Patch: Why East Windsor?

Dumais: "I was looking around for a good location near my house, but I picked East Windsor and Sophia's Plaza because it's right of the highway, there is so much exposure, and Sophia's Plaza ... is one of the main areas to be in. It's an established area."

"With our presence at Pratt, and our relationship with past clients, we are able to pull people from the region" and benefit from word of mouth and advertising.

Patch: Do you have a business philosophy?

Dumais: "I try to make it so it's affordable for people to do the repairs so that we don't have to dismantle, recycle and throw things away. We encourage people to fix the computers, it's like maintenance on a car ... You don't throw your car away every time you get an oil change."

Patch: What is your business background?

Dumais: "I started at Desai in 1999 on the ground floor in the warehouse, and I worked with another guy, became business partners and starting working on computers. Desai offered me free classes and it all came very naturally. At Pratt we grew to the point that we ran the whole store and doing anything with computers. A lot of what I know comes from experience. When I started it was Windows 3.11 so I've see a lot!"

Patch: Please finish this sentence, "When I'm not working I'm ..."

Dumais: "Home or with family, but I'm here 6 days a week usually and when I do take a day off I am usually running around trying to get stuff done for the store, then every once and a while I sit and do nothing. And I don't have a computer at home, no need."

BUSINESS INFORMATION
Hours: Open Monday - Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon.
Address: 122 Prospect Hill Road, East Windsor (Sophia's Plaza)
Phone: 860-654-0042
Fax: 860-654-0047
Website: www.keylynx.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Keylynx