Wimberley Mac keeps computers rolling

Scott Baker of Wimberley Mac repairs computers and phones, but he feels he has a higher calling — education.

“Education is the big focus here,” says Scott. “People buy $1,000 phones and they often use 20 percent of what they have available to them. Our job is to maximize their experience.”

Through group classes, one-on-one tutoring and instruction at the library and local retirement facilities, Scott’s goal is to have people get the most out of their Apple products.

Wimberley Mac opened in June of 2018. On a typical day, three or four computers or phones come through the doors of the tidy shop at 14500 RR12. Some have cracked screens; some are infected with malware. He repairs devices, sells authorized accessories and offers refurbished computers. The one thing they have in common is they are all Apple products. If you have a broken Dell computer, for example, you will need to take it someplace else.

“We’re one more reason not to leave Wimberley,” says Scott. “We have had super support from the community. Without this store, you’d have to drive to Austin to find an Apple store.”

Scott brings a varied background to Wimberley Mac. He has a degree in engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He got a Master’s degree in business from St. Edward’s University in Austin. He served as an Army officer in Iraq. Then started working with Apple products in Austin and San Antonio.

When his wife Rachel, who operates Simply Clean cleaning services, was offered a job in Wimberley, the couple moved here.

Scott has applied to become an authorized Apple service provider. “We are on the roster and hope to be selected,” he says. “One of the requirements is that you have to be in business for a certain amount of time and we are close to the one year mark now.”

Makes house calls

About half of the computers that are brought into the store are laptops, 30 percent are desktop computers and 20 percent are phones. For $85 an hour, Wimberley Mac will make house calls.

When the store first opened about 80 percent of the business involved repairs and 20 percent education. Now that figure is reversed.

Wimberley Mac offers groups classes for $35 that cover topics such as iCloud, the iCloud photo library and security.

He says about 30 percent of the computers that come in are infected with some sort of malware. “They start running slow when they are infected and they are not a delight

Avoiding problems

Here are some tips from Scott Baker

on avoiding malware:

to use anymore,” Scott explains.

He offers this tip: “If you are on Google and going through the list you are usually OK. It’s that ad on the side of the page that will get you in trouble.”

Another common issue is getting an iPhone set up properly.

Educating students

Scott leads classes at the library. He teaches kids how to write computer codes and he teaches adults how to use their Apple devices. By the end of the summer he hopes to have an animated tutorial series ready that will show people how to best use their Apple devices.

Scott is proud of his company’s involvement with Wimberley High’s Practicum Program. It’s all part of the education process they stress at Wimberley Mac.

Students are placed at various businesses around town and gain real-life experience. Wimberley Mac has two high school interns currently, Tony Guel and Ahron Arroyo. They spend a school year learning the business and after two semesters they will graduate as certified technicians. “I enjoy working with these kids,” says Scott. “For me, that’s what it is all about.”

He tries to expose the students to all facets of the business. “My employment was in customer service so I was comfortable interacting with people,” he explains. “The guys (the students) come in and want to work with the machines — and that’s something they are very good at. I expose them to customers here. I let them see the books. In the end, they will have a pretty good idea how a business works.”

The high school interns are unpaid, but they gain invaluable experience and Wimberley Mac picks up the tab for learning materials and the testing required to become a certified tech.

Wimberley Mac gets high marks from customers. David Cranshaw is visiting Wimberley from Atlanta to handle his sister’s estate. “My sister died and had a bunch of Mac products that needed to be sorted out,” he says. “These guys fixed me right up. They know what they are doing.”

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