This summer, Randon Trowbridge and his wife, Jessie Frier, celebrated the five-year anniversary of their downtown shop, Blue Thumb Computer Repair.
Over the years, the business has earned a loyal customer base. Between 25 to 30 patrons circle through the shop doors on Reynolds Street on a daily basis for assistance with hardware repair, virus removal and software updates.
The millennials are enjoying the strong connection they’ve made with the Plant City community.
Clean Install
As a kid, Trowbridge’s mother insisted he take classes in computer repair. He earned most of his certifications before age 18 and went on to college to study robotics programming at the University of South Florida. During school, he worked for IT companies and electronics companies.
“I saw computers get wiped,” Trowbridge said. “I saw people sometimes taken advantage of. I felt it wasn’t the right way to do things. I could do a more reliable job for a cheaper price.”
He decided to open his own business at its first location by Winn-Dixie. While visiting Krystal Burgers, he met Frier.
“I was going through a divorce,” Frier said. “I was starting over again at 26. He would come over and ask me out once a day.”
A year later, the couple was married and Frier was working full time in Trowbridge’s shop.
“Randon taught me pretty much everything,” Frier said.
It’s a family operation.
Frier spends a lot of time bent over motherboards in the back of the shop. She is responsible for solving computer hardware issues. The couple’s youngest daughter, 3-year-old Adalynn, colors nearby. Adalynn took her first steps in the shop. Daughter Haley, 13, works in the shop during the summer.
While Frier works on the hardware, Trowbridge is responsible for clients and service calls.
The couple’s only other employee, Mike Andrade, works on virus removal.
“We actually have a lot of regulars,” Frier said. “We think of every customer like family, almost. They know that they can call us for those little things.”
It’s the family mindset that has made Blue Thumb a successful operation over the last five years.
Building a Network
Blue Thumb quickly outgrew the shop near Winn-Dixie and moved to the Arcade Shoppes in Historic Downtown. After outgrowing that space in two years, the business moved down the block to 116 W. Reynolds St.
“We moved in the day of the Strawberry Festival Parade,” Frier said. “We built good relationships with nearby shops.”
Frier and Trowbridge have turned former competitors into friends, such as The Device Clinic, located around the corner on Collins Street. Both shops originally offered computer and cell phone repair but decided to limit their services. By doing so, they direct customers to one another when needed.
“They only do cell phones,” Frier said. “And we only do computers. We love to work with the local businesses. It keeps the small-town feel.”
Blue Thumb has blended in with the atmosphere of Historic Downtown. As a tribute to the many nearby antique shops, Trowbridge and Frier have put old computer systems on display at the front of the shop. While customers wait for their computers to be repaired, they can sit on blue couches and play an old-school Nintendo.
“It’s our own version of antiques,” Frier said.
As the customer base has expanded over the years, so have the computer services offered: software and hardware repair, screen and motherboard replacements and service calls. The shop also builds computers and sells computers and computer accessories.
Trowbridge and Frier try to cater to the needs of their customers, even going as far as installing a cell tower on the roof of a home.
“We don’t like to tell our customers no,” Trowbridge said. “As long as it’s in our power to give it to them, we usually do. If it has something to do with computers, we usually do it.”
“When customers come here, we’re going to treat them like family,” Frier said. “We don’t do much advertising. A lot of it’s word of mouth. The support we’ve had from Plant City and all of our great customers has really kept us going.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.