Kyle McGrevey works frantically in his fresh sport coat, blue jeans and leather shoes repairing a broken computer screen as people wait patiently to come forward with their IT issues. His store, packed full of college students, is littered with hard drives and broken phone/computer screens, almost as if it were a technological junk yard. But that’s how Kyle works.
Students and locals pour into his store by the numbers with dropped cell phones, frozen or damaged computers or even questions about certain software programs. McGrevey has seen it all.
“I can tell exactly what someone has spilled on their computer, I have fixed so many,” McGrevey said. “I can smell if it’s Natty (referring to the Natural Light beer). Surprisingly, I have had to fix three different computers that were covered in throw up.”
McGrevey, an entrepreneur from Fort Worth, Texas, found his passion at a very young age.
“When I was little I was always playing with technology,” McGrevey said.
Realizing his passion, he decided to make a future out of it. After high school, McGrevey chose to come to Oxford to attend The University of Mississippi.
“A bunch of my friends were going to Ole Miss, and I heard they had a good honors program,” McGrevey said.
Arriving in Oxford, McGrevey chose electrical engineering as his major. On the side, he found a job at Weir Hall, the university’s IT department, working as a technician. It was there he quickly found out it was more than just a side job. Students immediately realized he was the real deal after a few short weeks, and there was almost nothing McGrevey couldn’t fix.
“I had a line of students waiting for me to repair their stuff,” Kyle said.
After a few months, it seemed like the whole campus had heard about McGrevey and his amazing skill set. Every day, new people were coming to Kyle for help. His knowledge of computers was a gold mine for the student body as well as for himself.
McGrevey created his own business card and began charging for his work. Students were bringing their shut down hard drives and broken screens to his apartment for repair. As this new job kept developing, school work was becoming McGrevey’s second priority.
“I had no idea this many people had problems with their computers and phones,” McGrevey said.
Setting up appointments left and right, it seemed McGrevey didn’t even need the degree he came to seek. According to McGrevey, school is where people come in order to make money, and he was making plenty of it without the degree.
In his senior year at Ole Miss in 2005, the students’ need for help was only growing with advancing technology. McGrevey decided to rent out a spot in downtown Oxford to turn his passion for technology into his career. With only seven hours of classes left to receive his electrical engineering degree, McGrevey dropped out of college and committed all of his time to IT.
McGrevey’s decision to drop out wasn’t easy on his parents, but he decided to go with his gut and continue his passion.
McGrevey opened his company in a big white building on the Square, naming it Express Computer Services. For two years he was doing great, helping the people of Oxford who had technology issues, which seemed to be everyone.
It wasn’t until 2007 that McGrevey ran into a bit of trouble. His landlord strolled in one day telling McGrevey he needed to relocate because he was planning on knocking down the wall and building a stage in order to have a music venue.
McGrevey didn’t argue, simply packing up his stuff and finding a spot almost immediately on Jackson Avenue. The building eventually turned into what is now known as the Lyric, a venue for many different events.
“When they kicked me out I told myself I would never attend a concert at that place, but now they host big time musicians and I find myself going,” McGrevey said.
McGrevey’s business started as a one man operation but has grown, now employing five people. His business has had more success since relocating, repairing more than 20,000 computers since opening and being rated Oxford’s No. 1 computer shop five years in a row.
Averaging about 20-40 people daily, not including in-home repairs, McGrevey is always busy. Taking calls and making appointments all while dissecting a hard drive and recovering lost school work. McGrevey is one heck of a multi-tasker, something customers have taken notice of.
“He never stops working when I take my iPhone there,” said Chip Callahan, a student at Northwest Community College. “I think he is going to forget something but somehow he doesn’t.”
According to Ole Miss student Amanda Martin, Mcgrevey is always able to repair her computer and he never takes more than two days.
When talking to McGrevey, he seems calm but never steers away from his work. He is personable and reasonable, always assisting his customers with respect.
He took calls, fixed a broken screen and talked to a customer all at the same time. Maybe that’s why he has lasted so long in Oxford.
IT repair stores tend to “spring up” all around Oxford, according to McGrevey, though he doesn’t pay much attention. They don’t stay long because of his long-lasting relationship with the community.
McGrevey assists hundreds of various companies around town when they have technical problems or questions, including the Lyric and the University. McGrevey will also assist people at their homes.
Without McGrevey it seems like the whole town would be in technological pandemonium. McGrevey never stops taking apart computers, replacing screens, cleaning devices and much more, working in a cool, collected manner without a drop of sweat.
“Two years ago my computer crashed and I lost a bunch of assignments,” said Ole Miss student Jordan Cavanaugh. “I freaked out, but thank god for that guy. He recovered everything.”
When speaking to Cavanaugh, he talked about how he considers McGrevey a lifesaver.
“The stress of school is enough; I don’t want to have to worry about my computer crashing also,” Cavanaugh said.
Express Computer Service is also a huge hit in Oxford because of the convenience and in-stock items that no one else in Oxford carries. According to McGrevey, his is the only store in town (including the recently built AT&T store just down the road from ECS) that carries Apple AC adaptors as well as iPhone 4 and 4S screens, which are in high demand in a college town. Customers would otherwise have to drive to Memphis to buy the items he carries.
McGrevey’s business has been such a success the past eight years, and he doesn’t have any plans to change. According to McGrevey, he plans on staying in Oxford and running his business as long as possible.
When asked if he would ever return to Ole Miss to finish the last seven hours and claim his degree, he replied smiling: “I see myself in 20 years chilling on campus as an old man finishing my degree.”
McGrevey has made a name for himself in Oxford, and it seems almost everybody knows the “Express Computer Guy.”
