Honestly, the stress relief of knowing my business data is protected is the most valuable part of it all. I highly recommend Dr. Networking. I am a customer for life.

~ Stacey Larnerd, Village Shoes

Is there such a thing as a perfect customer? Clif Schieck at Dr. Networking thinks so, and one of them is Stacey Larnerd, the owner of Village Shoes in Ashland. Stacey implements all the safety recommendations a business owner should to protect her computers, her data, and her business. We talked with Stacey about Village Shoes and her business relationship with Dr. Networking.

Dr. Networking: Stacey, tell us a little about the history of Village Shoes.

Stacey: The store was opened in 1999 by a woman named Colleen. I started working for Colleen about thirteen or fourteen years ago, then worked for the woman who bought from her. Colleen built a really good brand, and I’ve kept that going since I bought in 2009.

DN: How have you made the business your own?

Stacey: I’ve expanded a lot of the brands we carry. We import shoes from Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Peru, bringing in the really yummy, wonderful stuff that people love: hard-to-find stuff, unique brands that people haven’t seen anywhere else. Also, I’m completely rebuilding the website from the ground up. It should be launched by the time this article comes out. We have a strong online community, and people also look online before coming in to the store.

DN: Who are your customers?

Stacey: Predominantly women between 25 and 65 years old. They are typically women who love fashion, who want comfortable shoes they can work in, walk in, feel great in, women who are willing to invest a little money because they find good shoes important.

DN: What makes the shoes you carry stand out?

Stacey: We carry quality shoes that people will have for ten or fifteen years, shoes with style and comfort. I have found that no matter how cute shoes are, if they’re uncomfortable, women won’t wear them. I search for that combination of fashion and comfort. The industry is changing, too, to bring more styles like that to the customer. Women are demanding it, and the industry is responding. We’re seeing more padding in the insole, more shock absorbers, better construction, soft leathers, so many things that make a shoe fashionable and comfortable. And I think we carry shoes that meet those requirements really well.

DN: What else do you carry?

Stacey: We carry hats, scarves, sunglasses, handbags, jewelry. Many of our accessories are made regionally, such as Chemical Weddings, a handbag line made by a husband-and-wife team out of Seattle. Everything they make is made by hand.

DN: How long have you been working with Dr. Networking?

Stacey: We’ve been using Dr. Networking’s services for about a year. I really appreciate the stress relief of knowing I’m completely protected, that Clif and his staff are right there if I ever have a problem. I get an answer and someone helping me within minutes.

DN: What recommendations have you implemented?

Stacey: Clif has installed Acronis Imaging for the local backup, Cobian as a secondary backup, and Mozy, which is an online backup. All of these run every day on each of my three computers, which completely protects all my information. I have a separate Quickbooks backup, and we use the Chrome browser for safety. Going even further, we have a UPS battery backup on every computer in case we experience a power failure. There’s even a UPS battery backup on the network equipment. Clif also installed Microsoft Security Essentials and Kaspersky antivirus software for virus protection.

DN: Wow! You really have it all covered!

Stacey: Yes, I believe our systems are completely safe from a variety of disasters! I’ve gone through losing a computer before, and it’s not worth it in the business world. When you are in business, you just want to make sure you’re covering all your bases.

I have already had to put the new systems to the test. About four months after Clif got me all set up, my downstairs computer completely crashed—it wouldn’t work at all. I took it in and learned that the computer had a virus that wiped out the entire hard drive! There was no way to save it. But because I had everything backed up, Liz, Dr. Networking’s in-shop technician, put in a new hard drive and I had my computer back the next day like nothing had ever happened. I didn’t lose any information. I didn’t have to go through anything except live for half a day without the computer. Dr. Networking saved me; I would have lost everything—all my POS (point-of-sale) stuff, everything. That right there was worth it, for sure.

Clif also keeps me up to date with regular maintenance. He comes in every quarter and does a maintenance check, making sure my backups are working correctly, the antivirus is working, the UPS batteries are operating properly, and addressing any minor issues. It’s such peace of mind.

DN: Why did you choose Dr. Networking?

Stacey: Because I felt so confident in Clif. I could tell he really knew what he was talking about. When he recommended something, he explained to me why, and it made sense to me. If I weren’t doing an online backup and the computer got stolen along with the external hard drive backup connected to it, then I would lose everything. With the online backup, I could just get a new computer, Clif would load my data, and I would have the same computer I had before. That just makes great sense to me.

Honestly, the stress relief of knowing my business data is protected is the most valuable part of it all. I highly recommend Dr. Networking. I am a customer for life.

Visit Stacey and Village Shoes at 369 East Main Street in Ashland. 541.482.1321
www.village-shoes.com