Expert Has 24-Hour Hot Line : When Computer Hackers Panic, He’s Standing By

Paul Mayville knows the ins and outs of computers, and he is betting that desperate home hackers will pay him to come to their rescue--even at 3 a.m.

Mayville’s Computerescue, established in April, is a 24-hour service for panicky computer owners in need of technical advice or emotional reassurance.

Business was slow at first, Mayville said, but it has been picking up rapidly as word spreads.

“People don’t realize there are ways to recover lost files on a hard disk,” Mayville said. “When you bring back the dead like that, people thank you profusely. That’s gratifying.”

Problems Getting Advice

Mayville said he created the hot line (213-410-7007) after hearing complaints from business people and home hackers alike about problems in getting technical advice from computer dealers.

“Typically, a customer will call a dealer to solve his computer problems. But the person who answers the phone doesn’t want to talk because he’s busy selling more computers,” Mayville said.

Mayville noted that many computer hardware and software companies have gone out of business because of overwhelming competition in the computer industry. As a result, literally thousands of customers have been left with no one to call when they have a problem with their “orphan” computers and word processors.

An example, he said, would be “Rising Star,” which developed the popular Valdocs programs for Epson’s QX-10. It is out of business, so, “There are about 60,000 Valdocs users with no one to call,” Mayville said.

Customers’ Problems

Without pointing fingers, Mayville added that customers often face the same problem with companies that are still in business because their service personnel are frequently unfamiliar with older model computers and word processors.

Randy Coppermith, a spokesman for IBM in New York, said his company did offer a 24-hour computer service hot line, which customers usually purchased when they bought their computers and word processors. However, most computer companies do not offer such a service.

Mayville said most of his calls come from businessmen.

“They don’t hesitate to call and ask for help. But ‘mom and pop’ often wait until they’re desperate.”

When asked who called him most often at night, Mayville laughed and shouted, “Writers!”

“Those people really want to meet their deadlines. They won’t hesitate to call me at 3 a.m.”

Not that he minds. In fact, because of his sympathy for non-technical people and his willingness to help at any hour, his clients end up looking on him as a reliable friend.

‘We Calm Them Down’

“It’s a nightmare for people who don’t know how to save files or rescue a damaged document. They panic,” Mayville said. “We calm them down first and then go to work on the crisis.”

Sandy Frank, a secretary for Specs Group Inc., a West Hollywood-based advertising agency, said Mayville could be likened to an air traffic controller who radios landing instructions to panicking novice pilots.

“If something goes wrong, he’ll walk you through it. He never lets me down,” she said.

Mayville attributes much of his business to “poorly written instruction manuals that confuse the layman.”

Then there are those who don’t take the time to read an instruction manual, well-written or not.

“If everybody read their manuals, I’d be out of business,” he said.