By Olivia Jessup | Echo
Off State Road 5 is a house on a country road with horses, dogs, and a small wooden sign that reads, "Barb's Bits and Bytes." It's a computer repair shop run by Barb Kitts, who has a passion for computers. She began running the shop from home back in 2006 and has been operating there ever since.
Kitts hasn't always worked in computer repair, however. She started out working in the medical field, with a curiosity for computers always present. It wasn't until someone accidentally issued an incorrect print command during her time working at a nursing home that her fascination with computers began. Instead of printing one record, the command issued was to print every record in the nursing home. When Kitts realized what was going on, she immediately contacted IT, who quickly solved the problem.
"Just watching him so quickly and efficiently disengaging this mammoth report, I was really fascinated, and I thought, 'I want to learn more. Even more than I've already learned,'" Kitts said.
Kitts stayed in the medical field for a while after that, until she got her degree, and Barb's Bits and Bytes was born. It was only a part-time operation until 2006, when she fully began operating her own business. The business was originally in a Verizon store until the space was sold and she moved the business back home.
Although it can be a challenge, particularly with finances, Kitts has had a good experience with her work, including humorous ones. Kitts noted she could write a book on the tech support jokes. She's seen it all, from major problems that she can hardly fix, to someone simply forgetting to turn on the computer. But she never laughs at her customers.
"When I laugh at customers, I don't laugh at them," Kitts said. She doesn't laugh at them because she remembers taking her first computer class and not knowing how to turn the computer on. "I just say, 'I give you credit for trying.'"
Ultimately, it's the people that Kitts is most concerned with. Barb's Bits and Bytes is more than just a business for Kitts; it's a mission.
"I really believe that if I'm not doing this for God first and foremost, I'm not doing it for anybody." Kitts recounted several times she's been able to minister to people through fixing technology. "I truly believe that at times, He really, truly sends me to people," Kitts said.
Kitts is not only passionate about computers, but about serving others.
"I feel like I'm serving the community by providing a service that a lot of the big companies don't even care to serve them for. That's where I enjoy my work so much," Kitts said.
In fact, Kitts helps her customers by talking to large companies like AT&T on their behalf. Kitts knows that sometimes businesses only care about the "bottom line" and not the customer. Kitts always wants to help people.
"For now, with my business, I'm just going to provide the best service to the customers that come to me. I see them as people, not as customers. Very often they become customers and friends," Kitts said.
For more information on where to find Barb's Bits and Bytes and pricing, go to her website at http://www.barbsbitsnbytes.com.
