Level Up Marks Five Years

STAMFORD – Sharing an office with a "computer guy" has a lot of advantages, and people in the community are realizing the "computer guy" can be very helpful to those without technological savvy.

On August 1, C. J. Karcher, will be celebrating his fifth year of taking the plunge to establish Level Up Tech Support LLC. Although he initially had a partner, he is now solo in the business, making repairs and designing computer systems. He covers the soup to nuts of support from servicing or repairing personal computers to designing and installing customized systems to suit an individual or  business's needs.

Technology has fascinated him since he was a kid and has been working on computers since he was a teenager. Eventually he decided it was what he wanted to do with his future and took computer courses at BOCES. He has been making his living with computers and technology ever since.

Prior to Level Up, he worked for ISD in Oneonta and another company, APOGEE,  that provided services for local colleges. Eventually he began taking side jobs and on Aug. 1, 2019 Level Up Tech Support went live. He now has 20 years of experience and many people swear by him.

Starting out with four clients, doing on-site and remote visits, he now has more than 200 clients, including municipal  accounts, not-for-profits and individuals, not to mention those who walk in or  call with a question. As a matter of fact, he has thought of providing information to the public to help steer them away from scams and things that cause computer problems.

He moved into the Mountain Eagle office at 9 Railroad Ave in Stamford in November of 2021. Prior to that he had space in Hobart for about eight months. The location in Stamford allows for those walk-in customers and it has allowed him to increase the inventory he has on hand. He offers new and used computers.

Karcher is proud to say that Level Up survived the tough times of starting up a business's during an pandemic.

While some customers apologize for not having all the technical savvy necessary to stay away from scams and computer viruses, he explains, troubleshooting helps keep him in business and sometimes very busy. "If they knew what they were doing, they wouldn't have to call me," he laughs.

"I'm very grateful for all the clients who have made my business a success. I've connected with many of them on a friends-like basis."

As a way of celebrating his first five years, he is offering a give-away. From August 1-31, stop in to enter a drawing for a giveaway IPad or Samsung Tablet. Go to the Level Up Facebook page or stop by for more details.

Some of his clients describe him as friendly and very patient.

Level Up does computer repair, network design and installation, data recovery and security solutions.

Karcher's office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., or by appointment. You can walk in and ask him a question, get a quote, or bring in your ailing computer. The phone number is 607-727-7213 or look up Level Up on Facebook.