Mentor Computers
Mentor Computers was a computer repair small business operated out of a single location in the Port Arthur area of Thunder Bay founded by Leo Oja and his wife Anita. It was started in about 1988, with its final day of business on 30 June 2018. Leo's wife ran this business mainly, since Leo had a full-time job as a history teacher at St. Ignatius high school for much of the time.
History
This small business lasted much longer than the other small computer shops that were founded in the 1980s and early 1990s in Thunder Bay, such as:
- Tamarack Computers in Port Arthur (in the same mall as Optical Factory)
- Thumbusters
- A store in Keskus Mall that sold Michael his first Sound Blaster [1]
- Thunder Bay Computers in Fort William, which was headed by a very grumpy man
It was, for a time, co-located with "Great Canadian Coffee Company" (aka Great Canadian Coffee House), which had resized following its departure as Great Northwest Coffee Company [2] [3] from a standalone building that was torn down and occupied by a Tim Horton's at 310 Memorial Avenue. The owner of Great Canadian Coffeehouse was Jeff Paxton, and the manager was Kerr Schmidt. [4] There was a renovation on the road outside the business in 2012 [5]
Staff
In 1999, Jay Stapleton was listed as a contact. Leo and Anita were of course present.
- Jay Stapleton (circa 1999 - 2014, although he was only listed on the website in 1999)
As of 2001, it had the following staff:
- Anita Oja (Operations, later President)
- Leo Oja (Educational Consultant)
- Shawn (A+ Certified Technician, later in 2005, Head of Technical Services [6])
- Rick (A+ Certified Technician)
- James (Web Design and Promotion)
As of 2005, Sam was added:
- Sam (Sean) (Internet Services, Webpage)
As of 2011, Geoff and several others had joined, and the others had left (except for Leo and Anita):
- Geoff Holtby (July 2011 - July 2017) [7]
- Chris, Service Technician
- Jason, Service Technician
- Steve, Operations Manager
By 2017, it was down to just Anita, Steve, and Geoff, listed on the website, although presumably Leo was still active also.
As of March 2018, there were two new staff members (in addition to Leo):
- Adam
- Lianne
There was also a person called "Andrea" who appears in a lot their YouTube videos circa 2016. [9]
The website's last capture is on 3 December 2018.
Education
My wife's company, Mentor Computers, is a member of the Assistive Devices Program [10] for the province of Ontario, and I have been working with blind people to get them to use their computers more efficiently and effectively. As I am now retired, the extra time affords me the luxury to do this training properly. I have learned so very much, and hope to share this with others.
— Leo Oja, circa 2012, on his LinkedIn page [11]
Leo taught courses in computers twice weekly in 2001.
Leo, our computer education consultant, has 17 years of experience designing curriculum and teaching at High School, College and University levels. Along with the invaluable input from Mentor's Help Desk people, he has designed a curriculum that will help you through some of the typical hurdles that face the first time computer user.
The two most popular courses taken by Mentor clients are:
"Using Windows 98"- A two evening course that teaches you the essentials of Windows 98. After these two evenings, you will have the skills necessary to effectively use your computer.
"How To Use The Internet"- A two evening course that teaches you how to use the Internet. We will show you how to use your Web Browser, your Email, and how to use Newsgroups. Included in this course are Secrets To The Search Engines.
Each of the above courses run Tuesdays and Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm. Phone our office for an up to date schedule at 345-1995. Or email loja@mentorcomputers.on.ca
Don't wait until tomorrow. Act Today!
— Mentor Computers Website "Education" section, circa 8 June 2001 [12]
Locations
It occupied at least three locations over the years:
- A converted private home in about 1999?
- 226 Van Norman Street, in the 1990s to before 2005 [13].
- 250 Algoma Street South, which was another converted house, from at least 2005 [14], while it was colocated with Great Canadian Coffeehouse, to about 2013
- An office at Suite 109, Villa Square, 106 North Cumberland Street from about 2013 to 2016.
They serviced dozens of local businesses and individuals, including Leo Oja's favourite martial arts studio, Northwest Combat Hapkido.
It closed in about 2016, likely due to long-term trends in the computer industry where people did not try to repair their computers and instead bought new ones.
For a Limited Time, with the purchase of one of our premium computer systems, we can offer you a Free Nokia 918 Cell Phone with no contract just email Jay Stapleton or call 345-1995 for more details.
Thank you for considering Mentor Computers as an option for your computer purchase. We hope you take the time to read the following important points.
This year marks Mentor's 11th year of operation in the industry. During the past decade we have helped a great many people realize that there is much more to a computer than buying a few boxes. We offer a wide range of computer solutions. We would be happy to give you a quote on a computer system of different configuration, make or model. Why are our clients happy to recommend us to their friends?? The answer is often our service. We provide the following to all of our clients . . .
This means that after you have purchased your computer, you may have questions or concerns about installing new software, e.g. you may have problems configuring a new game. Mentor clients breathe a bit easier in this regard, because they know that help is only one phone call away. We provide emergency technical support. Simply phone (807)473-8957 and leave your telephone number.
As a part of our complete service protocol, we assure that your computer is functioning properly and up to factory specifications.
With every computer package, we provide two free Introductory courses selected from our collection of courses which were designed specifically for our clients. These courses are taught at our new training facility and represent your "best bet" to avoiding the usual pitfalls that people may stumble across with a new computer. Our classes are scheduled are normally scheduled for Sundays and run from 1 PM to 4 PM. After having taken several of our courses, taught by one of our computer education specialists, you can rest assured that you are using your system properly.
We are the only computer specialists in Thunder Bay to have the P.H.D. Plus for testing computers. This device is put into all our new systems to guarantee that not one circuit is faulty.
Our technical staff are members of an elite group of technical professionals who have demonstrated their expertise as microcomputer service technicians by passing a rigorous set of examinations. They have earned the designation: "A+ Certified Service Technician". "The A+ Certification program logo is a registered trademark of The Computing Technology Industry Assocation. All rights are reserved".
— Wayback machine snapshot of the Mentor Computers website, circa 27 November 1999
Mentor Computers had a closing liquidation sale on site at Villa Square on Thursday 28 June - Saturday 30 June 2018, after which their lease at Villa Square was likely expired. This was the end. Their assets were transferred to another local repair shop, Marnics (a portmanteau of the names of owners Marcus and Nicholas Cupello) [15].
Sources
http://thunderbay.foundlocally.com/Business/ViewCorp.asp?CorpID=104018
Facebook page [16]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-oja-403b0b42/
Martial arts http://www.chroniclejournal.com/gallery/staying-safe/image_4fc4b274-fa96-11e6-8691-63033be482cc.html
Ghost-hunting https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-man-goes-ghost-hunting-on-halloween-1.2818909
YouTube channel [17]