HANDS-ON Consultations Celebrates 20 Years
Pictured above is Senior Tech & Owner of HANDS-ON Consultations (HOC) Harv Oliver at his office in Fillmore. HOC was pleased to announce its 20 year Anniversary this past Saturday, July 14th, serving the community fulltime with computer support. HOC has serviced businesses in the communities of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties and beyond.
Pictured above is Senior Tech & Owner of HANDS-ON Consultations (HOC) Harv Oliver at his office in Fillmore. HOC was pleased to announce its 20 year Anniversary this past Saturday, July 14th, serving the community fulltime with computer support. HOC has serviced businesses in the communities of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties and beyond.

HANDS-ON Consultations (HOC), Computer Support Services, a Fillmore, Ventura County based company, is pleased to announce our twenty (20) year anniversary in business as a full-time computer support company serving business and home users in the communities of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties and beyond.

In July of 1998, Harv & Patti Oliver established their computer support services company out of their home in Fillmore, CA. The startup business began after owner and Senior Tech Harv Oliver decided to put his services and skills to work with his own business plan. The skillset at that time was developed working for the Department of Defense in the “mainframe” world and then evolved to include Personal Computers (PC’s) as they were incorporated to the mainframe operations/networks, and eventually, as they are today in nearly every business and home. Twenty years ago, July 14th, HOC assisted their first client. For those of you who recall, this was Archer Chiropractic with offices on Central in Fillmore. At the same time, we assisted Shuel Chiropractic with offices on Main in Santa Paula, as the two doctors worked on a developing effort together. In the twenty years since, HOC has assisted with thousands of service calls and clients to keep their computer operations working.

In their original business plan, there was never an intent for a storefront, but to provide “HANDS ON” services onsite for businesses and home users or in the HOC offices as required. Trying to maintain an inventory in such a fast moving and ever-changing field, based on location, population, etc. was evaluated as impractical and this business model has worked well. In July 2001, due to business expansion and requirements, the business transitioned leasing offices from Aguirre Financial & Insurance Services in their current location in the Gurrola Building at 606 Sespe in Fillmore. “We primarily provide ‘field services'”, Harv stated. “We do schedule appointments and system drop-offs at the office however the bulk of our work is ‘onsite’ at client facilities or homes.”. Clients have expanded to hundreds of home users, business medical & dental practices, engineering, manufacturing, travel agencies, insurance providers, and many more.

Harv provides technical support services and manages the day-to-day operations with Patti providing support in operations and continuing business development. Through the years, experienced and qualified technicians have provided additional support activities and in 2012, after six months in a supporting role, Tobias Knowles was a hired as a second full-time technician to assist the growing client base. Toby’s skillset in programming, networking, systems repair, and Server Administration have been a huge and valued addition to the HOC team. Cynthia Chessani has provided the bulk of accounting/bookkeeping & administrative services for over ten years – a true asset and part of the HOC family. And while she recently moved on to her new full-time position providing the skills developed in her six years assisting HOC, a shout out to Daisy Palma, who starting from the Fillmore High School ROP student program, assisted with miscellaneous administrative support activities. Additional technicians, administrative personnel, and program developers provide miscellaneous support services as needed to enhance the primary support staff.

“Providing professional, friendly services, while building mutually beneficial relationships has always been our goal”, stated Harv in noting the anniversary. “When we started, I asked myself, ‘How can we separate our services and rise above the multitude of other support services out there?’ In any service industry, providing outstanding customer service and dealing honorably with our clients are the most important factors, in my opinion, and that’s what we’ve always tried to do. We all know you can’t please everyone, but at HANDS-ON Consultations we do our very best and our continuing success in the local communities reflects that. Word of mouth and referrals are the keys to success for any business. I believe sustaining a healthy business for 20 years is a strong statement for our approach and services.”.

HOC services are provided for business and home users alike. Ranging from hardware/software troubleshooting, repairs and upgrades, computer components, new computer systems to network design, development, & support to web design, development, and hosting to training for Windows and associated applications. Services also include security solutions, malware data protection/restoration, and program and database software development. HOC provides incidents support services, along with scheduled maintenance plans and are aligned with other vendors in various support contracts.

Server Administration/Management is another key area of services provided. Of course with todays ‘online’ advancements, services are also often provided ‘remotely’ which is a win-win as client’s issues can often be addressed in a timelier fashion, which is the real goal – to get things working properly as soon as possible.

“I’d like to thank all the members of the private and business communities we serve for assisting us in reaching this milestone. Success is many things and we are meeting and achieving the goals we set for ourselves 20 years ago. We’ve seen a number of businesses come and go and surviving each and every year, particularly with an ever-changing and challenging economy, in any kind of business, is tough and this is something we’re very proud of. We look forward to continuing to assist our friends and associates in this ever-developing and exciting field now, and into the future. We’re not done yet!”

Harv Oliver, Senior Tech/Owner

More information is shared at the HOC web site: www.hocsupport.com