Macintosh Experts Rohling and Bakke “Think Different”
By Chris Manson February 12, 2004 Issue

Consulting Services, Inc. vice president Arthur Rohling says Macintosh users are still in the minority, but he and his partner Kassandra Bakke have been working to change that. Rohling notes that nearly 70 percent of the new Mac users are former PC owners “who are tired of viruses and machines crashing. They want to have fun rather than having it be a chore. PC people generally like to work on computers. Mac users would rather get things done.”

Rohling and Bakke have been getting things done since they incorporated their Macintosh repair and resale business in 1996. But the story began years before that in the late 1980s when Rohling was still in the Air Force. He learned his craft “kind of by default. I’d been a PC user, but I kept looking at Macs back in ’85 or ‘86. When I got my hands on one—there used to be a place in Fort Walton Beach where I got a Mac 2CX with a 13-inch monitor. (The salesperson) gave me 15 minutes of hands-on. I packed it up and took it to the office. One of the guys had a big briefing to do, and I showed him what they showed me. He couldn’t even spell computer, and the next morning he was teaching everyone else. That’s when I decided to go with Macs,” Rohling said.

The largely self-taught Rohling maintained the Air Force’s machines and supervised training for the next three years. He attended repair classes, and—through Apple—he became a self-supporting site. This simply enabled him to work on his own computers. But after he left the military, Apple wouldn’t talk to him. Rohling started working out of his house in 1993, and was snubbed by Apple when he asked about becoming an authorized service person. “They said I was nobody. I went through other companies like Adobe and Kodak and became a reseller and representative for them,” Rohling said.

“I went back to Apple and filled out a three-quarter inch stack of applications. They let me become a ‘value added’ reseller, which allowed me to work in three specific markets. That’s how it started. It evolved from there.” Rohling did support work for Okaloosa County schools before graduating to individual and business clients.

“I started out of my house. Within a month or two, we saw that wasn’t going to work.” The first building he and Bakke moved into also proved to be too small for the demanding workload. Today Consulting Services, Inc. occupies two buildings on Duval Street in Fort Walton Beach. One of the converted old houses functions as an administration building where the latest machines are displayed and sold, along with a wide variety of software and accessories. The other building is dedicated to tear down and repairs.

Word of mouth is largely responsible for the company’s success. “Once we got into this building, it very quickly got to the point where people knew about us. Our only advertising is on public radio and in the Yellow Pages,” Rohling said.

Rohling is an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator and a certified member of Apple Consulting Networks. With constant upgrades and innovations, the company requires him to go through the certification process often. “Apple is unique in what is required. We’re rated every month on how we did the previous month. We’re required to re-certify every year on technical capabilities. Apple checks on you. We’re the only certified people around for a while. I think there’s a place in Mobile, but we get a lot of work from there. I think there’s someone in Jacksonville, maybe in Birmingham. We have clients all over the world.” Snowbirds come every year with their computers to get the latest updates, as well as other tourists.

The Consulting Services staff consists solely of Rohling and Bakke. Bakke’s mother comes in and helps with the phones and other administrative tasks on occasion. Several people have shown interest in working there, but when Rohling outlines the extensive certification requirements, the prospects tend to disappear.

Work has been nonstop since Rohling and Bakke returned from Mac World last month. Bakke calls the trade show “our Disneyland. We look forward to it.”

Rohling said one of the highlights of the recent Mac World was the 64-bit Xserve G5, a business level server that occupies one third of the space of previously devices. Virginia Tech’s “super computer” has already utilized the Xserve. One of the hot software items is Garageband, which enables amateur and professional musicians alike to mix recordings using a seemingly endless variety of instruments. Singer-songwriter John Mayer (Bigger Than My Body) recently remarked that if he’d had this “toy” as a kid, he would never have left his room.

Consulting Services, Inc. is open from 9am-6pm on Tuesdays through Fridays, and 9-noon on Saturdays, but Rohling and Bakke have spent many recent late nights trying to catch up.

“What makes us unique is places like Comp USA are essentially box movers. They ring you up, give you the box, and then it’s, ‘See ya!’ A customer experience with us—we don’t inventory a lot of stuff, due to space, but we can custom order a machine depending on the client’s needs. Then we’ll spend three to four hours on a machine and do the updates, make sure the machine is configured and registered in the client’s name. If they have another Mac, we offer to transfer their data files and email at no extra charge.” Then Rohling and Bakke spend an hour or longer providing the client with orientation. “They can always call or email us with questions,” Rohling added.

“We lose money on every machine we sell. Four hours of labor—which costs at least $100 per hour—…but they keep coming back. That keeps us going.”

“We meet a lot of interesting people who come through here. Some filmmakers who did a movie in Ireland, a musician from Austin, Texas. A lot of creative people—photographers, writers. A lot of people use Macs,” Bakke said.

And the most rewarding aspect for Rohling? “When the light bulb goes off for somebody. We have one guy in his 80s who switched from a PC. He picked up his machine on a Saturday, which we don’t like to do because we’re closed for the next two days. He was so frustrated he wanted to bring the machine back. His neighbor had to calm him down. Now he’s getting in there and figuring things out. When people buy a machine, they’re pretty apprehensive. Once they get in and start having fun, it’s great to see.”

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