One Hire Brings New Services to Great Lakes Office Solutions
When Great Lakes Office Solutions hired Bryan Nelson as a service technician a year ago, they did so for his expertise with repair and maintenance of printers and plotters.
“When Brian had an opportunity to go somewhere else, we were just a natural fit,” founder Rick Karlon said.
But Nelson’s addition to the small, tight-knit team came with a big bonus — which was not unearthed until their first meeting together.
Nelson’s skill set also includes the ability to conduct installation and repair of data cabling for computer networks, telecommunications, security and other business needs. Great Lakes Office Solutions, which sells and services several lines of big-name printers, had not been able to offer that service to customers before Nelson joined the company.
“We weren’t even looking for it,” Karlon said. “It was just something that was added on to us that was never in our radar. And it was just a gift from the heavens.”
Origins
Great Lakes Office Solutions was founded in 1994 in Superior; their office at 1423 N. 8th St., is between Hammond and Tower avenues in downtown Superior.
“We are small, locally owned,” Karlon said. “We’re definitely not a Goliath in our industry by any means. So it’s just been slow, steady growth.”
Great Lakes Office Solutions’ customers include the Catholic Diocese of Superior, National Bank of Commerce, Duluth School District, Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, Upper Lake Foods and the College of St. Scholastica. Their coverage area extends up to Two Harbors and the Iron Range and stretches down the Interstate 35 corridor to Grantsburg, Wis.
After its founding, Karlon hired co-owners Dave Ribich and Jeff McKay and now has approximately six total employees, while not selling out to “larger corporations.”
“It’s a selling point for us,” Ribich said. “Right now, people are turning towards more locally owned (businesses) and getting away from the big-box companies.”
Great Lakes Office Solutions prides itself on having strong customer service, with a human answering the phone when clients call. That is often Bonnie Koepp, who has been a member of the community since 1988 and a full-time member of the company since 2000.
“We know our clients love it,” Ribich said. “On top of that, we also have our supplies here locally. The other, bigger outfits, a lot of times, will have their supplies shipped in. We have them on site.”
This supply base allows Great Lakes to be nimble to help fill client needs quickly.
“For emergency purposes, we have them on hand,” Ribich said. “Versus having to wait to maybe have something shipped in.”
When a client reaches out via phone call or email, Great Lakes Office Solutions will create a service ticket with contract information from the customer and details on their equipment and issue.
“From that point, we just kind of go over it in our head and decide what the proper way to take care of the client is,” Nelson said. “Whether it’s to call them up and see if we can offer some fixes over the phone, or if we need to grab parts and head directly to the client site.”
For issues with a copier, they quote a four-hour response time, but often are able to get out in the field in less time. For the data cable portion of the business, installation is usually scheduled out weeks in advance to best fit the customer’s needs.
Nelson has more than 30 years of experience in the field, previously with VC3 before it was sold. He brings over a client base that has enjoyed him doing low-voltage cabling work for them. (Great Lakes Office Solutions is not licensed for high-voltage cabling work.)
“I’m very tight with most of my clients, and so when I told them last year that I was leaving the company, their eyes got big, and they said, ‘Wait, what?’” Nelson recalled. “And I said, ‘Don’t worry, we’re just moving across the bridge from Duluth to Superior and we will be available to you.’ … They could rest easy once they heard that part of it, so that was fortunate.”
Out in the Field
Once the client’s needs are understood, Nelson heads out into the field. And that’s when things get unique.
At the client site, Nelson will have to worm his way into some tight spaces. That includes attics, crawl spaces, tunnels, vaulted ceilings and closets. Just places where “there’s nothing other than pipes,” he said.
“Schools are usually the most interesting,” Nelson said. “They’ve been engineered different than most other buildings, whether they’ll have tunnels underneath the ground or they’re 140 years old and the construction methods were different then.”
“Second would be churches,” he continued. “Churches are also designed different than standard building practices.”
So it’s not for the claustrophobic.
“It’s really not,” Nelson said, before thinking of another uncommon office space.
“Then there’s other places, like the foundry out in Gary where it’s 170 degrees up by their blast furnaces, and you’re running a cable for a Wi-fi access point 25 feet in the air on a scissor lift.”
In order to maneuver in these tight, high and odd spots, Nelson must be in pretty good shape.
“Tip top,” Karlon joked.
Nelson chuckled and added, “I wish I could say, a little better shape.”
That light-hearted exchange showed how strong the working relationship is for the small crew at Great Lakes Office Solutions.
What has Nelson’s addition meant to the company overall?
“You ask hard questions, especially with him sitting here,” Karlon said.
Ribich jumped in. “It’s been nothing but positive with Bryan on board,” he said. “I mean, he’s adored by his clients that he dealt with prior to Great Lakes.
“His customer-service skills are top notch, and we just really enjoy having him onboard. … The transition made was pretty transparent, but they almost probably don’t even know we’re not the same company that they were dealing with before.”
