COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT - Headford Hero-Computer Guy
If you’re reading this, you probably have a computer, and if
you have a computer, you’ve probably had computer problems at some point in
your life. Computers are no longer a necessary evil, but more like a trusted
family friend, or friends, since most families have more than one. But when your computer stops working like it should, it can leave you feeling totally helpless.
So what do you do when one of those heart-stopping moments
happens and your computer seems dead, or at least comatose? Like when you turn it
on and all you get is that blue or black screen with a bunch of writing that
means nothing to you? Or that moment when you’re rushing to open a very
important document, but it just WON’T open? Or maybe your computer now takes a
half hour to do what it once did in five minutes?
If you’re like a lot of people, you panic, or maybe call a
friend for advice, or take the computer to Curry’s or some other place where
you will be charged a frightening amount of money.
There is another
option. In the Headford area, Andy Dittrich (aka Computer Guy) is a bit of a super
hero. Not only is he a wiz at computer maintenance and repair, he also has a ‘No
fix, No fee’ policy. If he can’t fix the problem, you don’t pay.
Ever since he was a kid, Andy loved to take things
apart just so he could figure out how they worked, and then put them back
together again.
‘I got a new record player for Christmas when I was 12,’ he
says, ‘I took it apart and nearly gave my parents a heart attack.’
Luckily, he was able to put it back together again and it
worked fine. Now, he does something similar for a living.
Back in 1982, Andy moved to Dublin from Austria to study
English for one year. But he never left. While in Dublin, he lived with his
Irish cousins and worked at Wigoder’s, where he learned English from the Dublin
lads he worked with. Then, one evening, he was invited to an event at an
exclusive golf club where an older gentleman asked him how he liked Ireland.
Andy responded in the English he’d learned from his Dublin co-workers, ‘Oh, it’s
really f—king great!’ Shortly after that, his cousin helped him expand his
vocabulary.
Andy worked as a retail manager at Wigoder’s for
twenty-three years before the Celtic Tiger croaked. After that, he got a job
with Cartridge World and learned about computers and computer repairs. ‘I
learned a lot just by watching,’ he says. After a while, he took courses in
computers and computer maintenance and repair, but he says he’s learned the
most from experience.
‘A neighbour asked for my help with his computer, and it
just sort of mushroomed from there,’ Andy says.
He offers a wide range of services, including diagnostics, virus
removal, improving computer speed, taking info off the hard drive and putting
it on another computer or usb, replacing laptop screens and/or keyboards,
upgrading memory, and lots more. He makes house calls or you can come to him.
So the next time you find yourself in need of a computer
super hero, Andy just might be your man.
