Small Businesses Say They’re Prepared for the Date Change
Small businesses in the San Fernando Valley appear to be taking Y2K compliance seriously, with a wide variety of small businesses surveyed saying they had all taken steps against any potential peril that may occur when 99 rolls over to double aught.
Not surprisingly, the companies that seem least fazed by Y2K are computer professionals like Ellen Fitzmaurice, proprietor of MindWorx, an information technology company in North Hollywood.
“There are fairly simple ways to deal with Y2K and be done with it,” she said. Nearly all major software manufacturers provide Y2K fixes on their Web sites, for example.
At the same time, Fitzmaurice said she worries that many small businesses may have procrastinated too long on Y2K preparedness. “It’s not [that small companies] aren’t aware of it, they just haven’t gotten around to it,” Fitzmaurice said. “You keep thinking all year that when the summer comes, then I’ll do it; or then, OK, I’ll get it to this fall--and now it’s December.”
Art’s Deli in Studio City is one nontechnology business that appears to be Y2K ready, to the relief of customers who may feel the desire for a pastrami on rye shortly after New Year’s Eve.
The deli’s “point-of-sale” system, including the electronic cash register and its software, is already certified as Y2K compliant, according to Harold Ginsburg, general manager.
The deli manager said he also looked up the Web sites of each company that made software used by the restaurant, and downloaded upgrades where needed.
Bringing equipment into Y2K compliance can be time-consuming for small business people who are already busy with other tasks, according to Marianne Liggett, president of TGP Inc., an Encino-based landscape architecture firm.
Although many software makers offer upgrades on the World Wide Web, downloading those upgrades turned out to less convenient than it first appeared, she said.
“I tried to get [the upgrades] free off the Internet, but it took way too much time,” Liggett said of her efforts to fix her software problems on the Web. “I was just going in circles.”
Eventually, Liggett spent $15 for a CD-ROM that guided her through all needed changes to her operating system within an hour.
At Northridge Ice Co., a firm that supplies ice to restaurants and stores, General Manager John Aitchison is thinking about the Northridge quake in his preparations for the New Year. He is stocking up on dry ice, which can be delivered to clients in the event that a power outage puts the kibosh on refrigerators.
The strategy was inspired by memories of the quake, when he received a sudden demand for the blocks of frozen carbon dioxide to prevent food spoilage, according to Aitchison.
“After the earthquake, we went through thousands of pounds of the stuff,” he said.
Barry Pascal, proprietor of Northridge Pharmacy and the Gift Gallery in Northridge, said he personally plans to process all MasterCard and Visa receipts of Dec. 31 before midnight, rather than let them wait a few days, just in case systems freeze and the ability to get reimbursed from the credit card companies is delayed.
He has also arranged for his drug wholesalers to deliver a week’s worth of medications to the pharmacy, even if they do not receive a telephone message from Pascal confirming the order.
Some business experts, however, are warning that many small companies may think they are safe from potential Y2K snafus but have not taken all possible steps to protect themselves.
One such small-business expert is Nitin Bhatt, executive director of the USC Business Expansion Network, which advises small companies.
At a recent conference sponsored by USC, a speaker asked how many of the 200 businesspeople in attendance were prepared for possible computer failure on New Year’s Eve. More than 60% raised their hands, Bhatt said.
But only about 10% to 15% of attendees raised their hands when asked whether they had taken specific steps to prepare against Y2K, such as backing up computer files or making separate copies of bank records.
“We have a lot of businesses that think they might be ready, but they might think that readiness may be no more than turning the clock forward from one point to another point,” Bhatt said.
“Business is not done in a vacuum,” Bhatt added. “You’ve got suppliers and customers and insurers. If any of those things are impacted, you’ll be impacted.”
