The “Computer Guys” get a ground swell of
support from loyal customers
By KEVIN POST Business Editor | Posted: Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Company: Ground SwellLocation: 6712 Washington Ave., Egg Harbor Township
Owners: Kurt Kwart, 30, of Atlantic City, and
Justin Tinel, 31, of Linwood
Founded: 2001
The “Computer Guys” aren’t to be confused with computer geeks.
Long before national electronics retailer Best Buy launched the “Geek Squad” to help customers with their computer problems, self-styled “Computer Guys” Kurt Kwart and Justin Tinel were doing the same thing from their small Ventnor tech business, Ground Swell Inc.
“I don’t think we’re very geeky,” Kwart said. “We’re more technical entrepreneurs. I think we offer more technical services than someone with the tagline ‘geeks.’ I think we are much more professional than a geek.”
Ground Swell, founded in 2001 when longtime buddies Kwart and Tinel were in their early 20s, performs an array of services for PCs, Macs, computer networks and websites. The firm is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, the highest level of certification from the computer giant. Kwart said Ground Swell is the only company in Atlantic County to have that type of certification.
“You really have to have great customer feedback for that certification,” Kwart explained. “We have to have our customers vouch for us with Microsoft.”
Microsoft’s surveys for its Gold Certified Partners are done by a third party to ensure accuracy. Surveys for Ground Swell’s services place the firm in the top 1 percent for customer satisfaction among all Microsoft partners, Kwart noted.
“What I’m most proud of is the feedback and loyalty we have from our clients,” he said. “That’s what we’ve always tried to do. If we’re excellent at what we do, our clients are happy with us and that’s how we’re going to get business.”
Despite their high marks for customer satisfaction, Kwart and Tinel were having a difficult time explaining exactly what they do. They needed a catchy slogan, something that didn’t sound, well, too geeky. That’s when they settled on the “Computer Guys.”
“We tried bouncing off many ideas of what we do in a tagline,” Kwart said. “Then, when we were working in the office and were on the phone and said, ‘Hey, this is Kurt from Ground Swell, the computer guys,’ it was so simple and perfect. It worked.”
Now that they have a company slogan, Kwart and Tinel are making a marketing push to expand their client base. Some of their existing clients include the Atlantic County Clerk’s Office, radio station owner Equity Communications and printing company Print Art.
“I really do feel that we are the best company in the area in what we do and we want to show that,” Kwart said.
