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UO to close computer repair shop

That’s the word from those on the deptcomp listserv, who are not at all happy about the decision.

34 Comments

  1. Cheshire Cat 03/16/2015

    Very sad about the repair shop which for years has been supportive of academic computing. Both Robs have given excellent service. I wonder what kinds of service will be available to staff and students when they are gone.

    • smitty 03/16/2015

      Probably something ranging from little to dismal to none.

      I’ll bet the amount of money “lost” is probably equal to 5 minutes of a certain coaches salary.

  2. New Year Cat 03/16/2015

    Terrible news!

  3. anbody 03/16/2015

    Rob J got in a nice parting shot before the official email went out. Somebody should forward it to you so you can post it.

  4. smitty 03/16/2015

    From Anonymous to DeptComp Mail list:

    From: News from Information Services
    Subject: deptcomp: Information Services Hardware Shop closing May 29
    Date: March 13, 2015 4:26:22 PM PDT
    To: Departmental Computing
    Reply-To: Departmental Computing List

    There’s no easy way to break difficult news, so let’s get straight to the point: the Technology Service Desk’s Hardware Shop is closing. Its last day of operation will be Friday, May 29, 2015.

    The shop, originally opened in the 1980s and now operating as a service center, has endured years of declining warranty repair rates. After more than 5 years of work to balance the budget, we have reached the point where we cannot continue covering the financial shortfall.

    We’d like to thank Rob Jacques and Robert Bennett for the years of service to Information Services and the University of Oregon. Through tens of thousands of repairs and upgrades over the years, Rob and Robert have become recognizable faces to many of the Hardware Shop customers and Tech Desk students.

    We are working with Rob and Robert to help with this work transition.

    Sara Stubbs and the Tech Services staff will also begin work to transition services in light of this change. This takes planning and time. We will follow up with more information in the coming weeks.

    If you have questions, please contact Sara Stubbs, Director of Technology Services.

    Information Services
    University of Oregon


    Archives of past DeptComp posts can be found at https://lists-prod.uoregon.edu/mailman/private/deptcomp/

    • Anas Clypeata 03/16/2015

      Interesting. I wonder how Ms. Stubbs’s financial shortfall compares to the Hardware Shop’s. I’m sure that she is raking in the revenue.

  5. smitty 03/16/2015

    From Rob J to DeptComp:

    From: Robert Jaques
    Subject: Re: deptcomp: Good bye
    Date: March 13, 2015 4:21:49 PM PDT
    To: Departmental Computing List
    Reply-To: Departmental Computing List

    Hello all.
    Well folks been a good run. The Shop just got its walking papers. They are closing the Shop May 29 2015. Wish we could have make a go of it but without funding we can’t break even and as I was told, they are not willing to fund a losing venture. As many or all of you may know we, the shop is NOT funded and trying to be a service but run like a business is a fool’s errand. It has been my pleasure to have worked with and by many of you. Thank all of you for your support over the years and I hope that the University as a whole can find a way to work together for the betterment of the whole University and tear down the Silos. Just my parting 2 cents.

    Come by if in the area, I promise not to vent too much….. Yea right…..

    Rob Jaques

    • Cynic 03/16/2015

      Thanks for your help on several occasions always there for me. You will be missed.

  6. upset student 03/16/2015

    This is sad

  7. Silenus 03/16/2015

    Cutting the computer repair shop is extremely short-sighted. Such basic services may not be “profitable” or “glamorous,” but remain absolutely essential. The bean counter who made this decision apparently hasn’t considered the loss in productivity that will result when I have to send my computer away for repairs the next time it suffers serious malfunction.

    • smitty 03/17/2015

      Bean Counter = Melissa Woo

  8. smitty 03/17/2015

    Hear emailing Woo and Bronet is the thing to do to register dismay or whatever.

  9. smitty 03/17/2015

    From: Sara Stubbs
    Subject: deptcomp: Answers to commonly asked questions about the Hardware Shop announcement
    Date: March 17, 2015 3:45:01 PM PDT
    To: “[email protected]
    Reply-To: Departmental Computing List

    Hello All,
    Some good questions have been asked in response to our announcement that the Hardware Shop will close on May 29th. I would like to address some of them here.

    Where will students and employees get hardware service?

    Ideally, we would have included details in our announcement to answer that question, but reality is rarely ideal. We wanted to give the Hardware Shop staff as much advance notice as possible, and to do that, we had to make the announcement before service transition details were worked out.

    Information Services is working on service transition plans. Some services will be moved from the Hardware Shop to the Tech Desk, while others may be picked up by other organizations that are interested in assuming some of the Hardware Shop’s services. Those details have not been finalized, and it would be premature to make any announcements. Please watch for more details about service transitions in the upcoming months.

    The Shop is open until Friday, May 29th, and we encourage you to continue using it until that date.

    What’s the business challenge?

    As our announcement indicated, Information Services has been working for more than 5 years to close the gap between revenue and expenses. In the last several years, the annual deficit has averaged $70,000. In the big picture, $70,000 may seem like a drop of water in a rain barrel, but as we all know, there isn’t enough funding for all IT needs (or all campus needs, for that matter).

    In 2014, the Technology Services group in IS carried out 21,300 customer transactions for a campus population of approximately 30,000 students, faculty, and staff. The Hardware Shop accounted for 1,844 of those transactions and the Tech Desk accounted for the other 19,456. The Hardware Shop accounts for 8.7% of our transactions, and we are looking into the associated cost to campus.

    As a point of comparison, UO’s Ethernet and wireless networks lack ongoing funding for regular equipment replacement. Everyone – students, faculty, staff, and guests – use these networks for teaching, learning, research, and university business. In an environment where needs far outstrip funding, we have to make hard decisions. In this analysis, the network infrastructure has a higher priority because it is a key foundational piece of the university. Information Services prioritizes services that have the biggest impact on the university’s core missions.

    If you have questions, please call or email me.

    Thank you, Sara

    Sara M. Stubbs
    Director, Technology Services
    Information Services
    University of Oregon
    541-346-8023
    facebook.com/UOTechDesk|twitter.com/UOTechDesk

    • uomatters Post author | 03/17/2015

      Thanks for this very informative comment.

  10. Big Cat 03/17/2015

    Sarah Stubbs, please revisit this matter. Faculty, students, departments and units have all depended on the expertise of the Robs to keep their computing equipment running. Various units have their own IT Staff (like CAS-it) but these staff don’t have nearly the level of experience or take on the same problems that the Robs handled. The University should find a way to subsidize the Shop.

  11. Old Man 03/17/2015

    I’m sure MANY others share these views of the ESSENTIAL role of the Computer Shop. It is CRAZY to allow it to close.

  12. dog 03/17/2015

    Closing the Computer shop will simply create more problems than it will solve.

    Increasing the service fees, or finding a way to subsidize this (like with a small amount of IRC money) are for more rational alternatives than to just close it down.

  13. Staff member 03/19/2015

    This is a ridiculous idea! I’ve used the computer repair myself as have countless staff members & students. The UO should find a way to subsidize it. $$ is always available for anything related to athletics, find the money for this very useful and used service.

  14. Big Cat 03/19/2015

    Does anyone know who we might write to to reverse this decision? It is certainly worth spending some energy on.

    • dog 03/19/2015

      simultaneously send email to Bronet, Blandy, Woo and Moffitt
      protesting the loss of this valuable service – or start a change.org petition or something

  15. Working GTF 03/19/2015

    Maybe they can fund the computer shop with the monies they’ve extorted from UOM and others by charging for documents that are supposed to be matters of public record.

  16. Cat Fish 04/09/2015

    They care so much but failed to even spell Rob J last name right on the initial notice of closure from Information Services. Guess we are all just numbers in the end, aren’t we. Sad

  17. dog 04/11/2015

    This is intended to move this thread to the top of the comments.

    Please sign the petition if you value getting your campus hardware problems properly serviced.

  18. Lemon 04/11/2015

    Looks like the Bookstore is not going to sell Apple computers, they have to have a repair shop to be able to sell Mac’s!

  19. Lemon 04/11/2015

    This is going to the UO Senate so pay attention!

  20. Big Cat 04/11/2015

    Does this mean that no one will be able to order Mac computers through the various computer purchase programs? What a disaster. I heard it was going to the Senate but didn’t see any notice.

    • uomatters Post author | 04/11/2015

      If you’ve got a source for this unverified rumor about the Macs, please post it.

  21. Big Cat 04/13/2015

    The agreement that the Digital Duck has with Apple requires an in house repair service. There was a special exception granted so that the Hardware Repair Shop could serve as the “in house” shop.

  22. Lemon 04/13/2015

    The University as a whole should still be able to order Macs from the sales rep Enrique. If the Bookstore cannot remodel and build a proper repair shop by the end of May they will not be able to sell Apple computers. The main contacts for the Bookstore are Curtis and Hana. They will be able to provide as much information as possible Apple has a very tight lipped contract so it may not be much!

  23. Lemon 04/13/2015

    Hi All,

    As promised, here is my follow up regarding conversations I’ve had with Enrique from Apple and Hanna from the bookstore:

    · Enrique reiterated that the bookstore is required to have a service center on or affiliated with campus in order to stay in good standing with their contract.
    · I did let Enrique know that the campus may have questions about continued GSX access.
    · Enrique is going to send me some reference materials on terminating our service contract with Apple.
    · If I understood correctly, Apple was asking [the bookstore] if any other units on campus might want to take on the repair service center.
    · Hanna let me know that as of June 30th, Apple is no longer going to allow 3rd party partnerships for repair. She is continuing to investigate options/exceptions in this area.
    · The first priority for the bookstore is to provide a resource structure to refer customers, then to address the service center requirement for Apple.
    · Hanna is visiting OSU on Monday to talk with their Tech Services about their Apple service model.
    · I provided Hanna with the last check in dates (PCs, printers, others until May 15, and Apple until May 22).

    Please let me know if you have any questions or would like me to get more information on any of these items.

    Thanks! Sara

    Sara M. Stubbs
    Director, Technology Services
    Information Services
    University of Oregon
    541-346-8023
    facebook.com/UOTechDesk|twitter.com/UOTechDesk

  24. uh-huh 04/14/2015

    Will the Beavers take Duck money (i.e. account string from UO) in the computer shop? Or is the plan to shift yet another cost from the employer to the employee at UO? I hear guys from Chicago know how to deal with unions…..

  25. Lemon 04/14/2015

    If you can believe the skewed data…

    Information Services Hardware Repair Shop Brief April 13, 2015
    Information Services Hardware Repair Shop Brief
    Executive Summary
    Information Services already subsidizes hardware repair services, averaging $67,759
    annually since 2009. Overall revenue has decreased 25 percent since 2009. Faculty and staff
    revenue has decreased 63 percent while student revenue has decreased 3 percent. As a
    result of this analysis and industry trends (noted below), Information Services has
    announced that the Hardware Repair Shop will close on Friday, May 29, 2015.
    Local companies provide similar services at zero net cost to the university. On April 10, The
    Duck Store announced that it is working to provide warranty and non-warranty repair
    service. In addition, no fewer than eight Eugene-Springfield companies offer similar repair
    services. Four have labor rates that are the same or lower than the Hardware Repair Shop’s
    rate. Two of those four companies offer pick-up and drop-off services for free or at low cost.
    Analysis
    Service Summary: Technology Service Desk and Hardware Repair Shop Service
    The Technology Service Desk (TSD) and Hardware Repair Shop work together as one
    support organization. TSD provides software troubleshooting and the Hardware Repair Shop
    fixes hardware problems. In 2014, these two groups carried out 21,300 customer
    transactions for a campus population of approximately 30,000 students, faculty, and staff.
    The Hardware Repair Shop accounted for 1,844 (8.7%) of those transactions, with TSD
    accounting for the other 19,456 (91.3%).
    The shop provides service to UO students and employees for warranty work on Apple
    computers and out-of-warranty work on Windows and Macintosh products and peripherals.
    Customers are charged for replacement parts at cost and $100 per hour for labor billed in
    quarter hour increments. More details are available at it.uoregon.edu/hardware-repair.
    Industry Analysis
    Since 2011, the technology industry has seen a major shift in the type of computing devices
    sold. Every year since 2011, sales of desktop computers have either declined slightly or been
    flat, while sales of mobile devices—predominantly smartphones and tablets—increased
    dramatically over the same period.1
    This trend is a key factor in hardware repair. Unlike laptops, desktops, and printers,
    smartphones and tablets are not designed to be disassembled and repaired. Vendors such as
    Apple acknowledged these design decisions by offering mail-in repair service for their
    highly popular iPhone and iPad lines.
    The industry shift from desktops to laptops and then to mobile devices has resulted in a
    steady decline in the number of customers using the hardware shop. We do not expect this
    industry trend to reverse course. Early in the technology industry, when the Hardware
    Repair Shop was first opened, personal computers were a specialty good that few people
    purchased. Technology is much more pervasive than 35 years ago, and as a result, the
    technology we use in 2015 is much closer to a commodity than a specialty good, forcing
    small profit margins on both technology sales and repairs.
    1 “Biggest News of 2014” http://www.asymco.com/2014/12/26/biggest-news-of-2014/
    Information Services Hardware Repair Shop Brief April 13, 2015
    Financial Analysis
    Hardware Repair Shop revenue is generated through two main functions: warranty repair
    reimbursements from vendors and out-of-warranty repairs paid for directly by customers.
    The University of Oregon already subsides computer repairs. Since 2009, shop revenue has
    declined 25 percent and the shop has had an average operating deficit of $67,759 per year.
    Revenue from faculty, staff, and departments has decreased 63 percent in that period. In
    addition, a 2014 analysis of warranty repairs determined that reimbursement rates are so
    low that Information Services already provides a subsidy of $32.59 for each Apple warranty
    transaction.
    The increase in revenue beginning in FY14 is the result of an increase in repair rates. Note
    that expenses continued to increase in the same proportion to revenue. (Sources: Banner
    data and Information Services Business Office)
    Impact to Hardware Repair Shop Employees
    The repair shop employs two full-time staff. One intends to retire and the other has been
    offered another position within Information Services. No student employees will be laid off
    as a result of the closure.
    Service Impact
    It is projected that neither the University of Oregon nor its students will incur additional
    expenses as a result of this decision. The Duck Store announced on April 10 that it plans “to
    provide convenient on-site intake for computers that are under warranty and offer
    convenient area service solutions for equipment no longer covered by a warranty plan.”
    Other local computer service companies also provide services to fill the gap. Four have
    labor rates that are the same as or lower than the hardware shop’s rate. Two of those four
    companies offer pick-up and drop-off services for free or at low cost. For more information,
    see Appendix A, “Eugene-Springfield Computer Repair Services.”
    2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
    (projected)
    Revenue 242,025.90 209,906.50 200,462.05 193,708.00 174,586.30 185,658.13 180,306.65
    Expenses 267,233.22 234,860.27 262,409.63 258,554.07 244,043.38 261,146.69 247,366.73

    50,000.00
    100,000.00
    150,000.00
    200,000.00
    250,000.00
    300,000.00
    Information Services Hardware Shop Revenue and Expenses
    Information Services Hardware Repair Shop Brief April 13, 2015
    Conclusion
    When considering the future of the Hardware Repair Shop, Information Services took into
    account industry and financial trends and impacts to students and UO employees. The
    financial analysis shows that there is little possibility that this service would cover its
    operating costs in future years. The most likely outcome, if the shop remained open, will be
    higher repair rates and an increase in the annual operating deficit.
    Information technology is a key component of the university’s teaching, learning, and
    research mission, as well as a critical part of the university’s business functions. As UO’s
    key technology service provider, Information Services supports this mission by prioritizing
    services that have the largest impact in these areas. Eugene-Springfield’s private sector can
    offer similar services at the same price.
    Information Services Hardware Repair Shop Brief April 13, 2015
    Appendix A: Eugene-Springfield Computer Repair Services
    Note: The data below is preliminary. It does not include all area companies.
    Company Warranty repairs Pick up and delivery
    Labor charge for nonwarranty
    repair
    A1 Smart
    Computer
    Services
    No Yes $95/hr for standard
    repairs
    Depends on project; some
    repairs are package deals
    Adept
    Computer
    Services
    Yes:
    • Apple (with authorization;
    Apple prefers warranty work
    to go to Apple retailers)
    • Any PC brand
    Yes:
    • UO: no charge
    • Out of area: $15
    At store: $50-$99 flat rate
    (plus parts)
    “House calls”: $110 flat
    rate (plus parts)
    The Web Zone Yes:
    • Acer
    • Asus
    • Dell
    Maybe:
    • Apple (a possibility but not
    currently part of their
    practice)
    Yes
    UO: $30*
    *Cost based on customer
    location; determined on
    case-by-case basis
    At store: $50/hr plus
    parts
    “House calls”: $30-60/hr
    $20-off coupon for
    students
    ComputerBase No Yes
    Cost: $30
    $80 flat rate (plus parts)
    for most projects
    Mactonic No No, but they do “house
    calls”
    At store: $100/hr
    “House calls”:
    • Residential (local only):
    $60/first half hour,
    $60/hr thereafter
    • Businesses: $100/hr
    The Mac
    Store/Simply
    Mac
    Yes:
    • Apple
    No Laptops and desktops:
    $129 for up to 5 hours of
    labor
    Mobile devices: cost of
    parts
    Nerds on Call No No, but they do “house
    calls”
    Flat rates start at $129
    “House calls”:
    • Businesses: $149/hr
    The Duck Store
    “The Duck Store recognizes the need for students to receive technical support and
    hardware repair resources to be successful in their academic career. We are working
    to establish closer partnerships with local hardware repair facilities that will benefit
    students by providing hardware repair via The Duck Store. While details are still
    being worked out, our goal is to provide convenient on-site intake for computers that
    are under warranty and offer convenient local service solutions for equipment no
    longer covered by a warranty plan.”

    and notice that the dates do not match from the original email from Sara…

  26. Joshua Noonan 04/14/2015

    I have become increasing disappointed in our institution. Decreasing services all the while increasing tuition which are in my opinion being spent in irresponsible ways. Im so excited to be graduating and to be done with the institution. They are looking at quantity not quality.

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