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After more than a decade in business, Eric David Greenspan is shutting down Make It Work, a Santa Barbara-based IT support company that sent its fleet of red Mini Coopers zooming around town to help consumers with tech issues. (Stephen Nellis/Business Times file photo)
After more than a decade in business, Santa Barbara-based tech support firm Make It Work parked its fleet of red Mini Coopers for good on June 25.
Eric David Greenspan, who co-founded the company in 2001, said that the slumping economy along with user-friendly smartphones and tablets took their toll on the company, which sends technicians on tech support house calls throughout Southern California.
Make It Work raised additional money, changed its pricing structure and even structured a partnership with Costco to offer support services for all the technology gear sold there – but none of that could buck up sales in time to satisfy the company’s vendors.
“We ran out of money. We fought until the very last moment. We squeezed every last drop of blood out of it,” Greenspan told the Business Times. “Revenues were falling, and we tried so hard, but we couldn’t raise any more capital.”
Greenspan said the company cut down to the bare essentials, but the fatal blow was when it could not negotiate a deal to keep insurance coverage on its fleet of Mini Coopers. The cars themselves were leased and will be returned, Greenspan said.
“The [chief operating officer] and I have not taken a paycheck. I’m living on fumes, and the company is living on fumes,” Greenspan said. “We couldn’t drive the cars without insurance. We had no choice.”
Greenspan said tech support services, especially those offered at clients’ homes, were becoming tougher to sell, especially as user-friendly devices such as Apple’s iPad became popular among consumers looking for computer-like functionality with less hassle.
“Our No. 1 challenge was customer acquisition. In the early days, radio was very effective, but we didn’t have the capital to carry it through,” Greenspan said. “We switched gears. We went after a strategic partner, and we landed the big fish – we got Costco. I would not call it a failure in any way, shape or form. It was something that was working, but we just didn’t get there.”
Make It Work will lay off all 34 of its employees. Greenspan said the company is trying to connect customers with the company’s 25 technicians so they can continue to use the same people for services if they wish.
“There will be 25 little Make It Works all over” if the strategy succeeds, Greenspan said. “We’re struggling with how to make our last payroll. We’re selling off equipment so we can pay employees.”
Greenspan said Make It Work doesn’t have the resources to honor pre-paid service contracts in place before the company shut its doors.
“What happened to people who had Circuit City gift cards?” Greenspan said. “In Santa Barbara, our biggest competitor has already offered to take over our customer base and honor our support agreements. If we can make that work we will. We’ll try to do that in all the counties.”
Greenspan said that losing his company is painful, especially when most of its customers still gave its services high marks.
“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’m financially ruined,” Greenspan said. “Ninety-five percent of our customers, when we called them to tell them we were going out of business today, they were sympathetic. I hope everybody understands that we did everything we possibly could to build a great company.”
@James and any other former client(s) of mine. You can reach me at ryan@fiftyafix.com , I hope to hear from you!
I was stunned to learn MIW was shutting down. I had a great deal of respect for the technicians who provided me service. At my last tech visit over a year ago, I was offered the package deal of $85 per hour and signed on for 10 hours. I asked my tech, if something goes wrong, can I get my money back and he assured me I could. Then in ensuing weeks I kept getting bombarded with emails offering the discount packages. Any reasonable person would conclude there was a serious cash flow problem with MIW, otherwise why would they keep discounting their fees. Like an idiot, I did not follow my instinct and at least try to use some of the hours I had paid for, so I blame myself.
I was happy with my tech, Ryan and wish I could hear from him even though my computers are running well at this time.
I never heard one word from MIW about their closing, had to see it on the net, and I am angry about that. Such is the way business operates these days.
We just moved to San Diego area and when I unpacked the box with my computer in it, the movers had unplugged everything and tossed all the wires tangled up into the box. My first thought was “Help! Make It Work! Do you come to San Diego area?” I was devastate to learn MIW was out of business. So many fantastic techs and no way to reach them. I bought 5 hrs @$125 (on sale) because the price was going up to $150 after January 2012. I thought that was worth it. But with 6½ hrs left I have to let them go. I’d gladly convert them to cash and give them to the lady with two babies so she can buy food if I could. But we just got out of paying two house payments and can’t afford any extra money. We always pay as we go. I think that’s what I will do from now on.
Any MIW Tech Consultant working the Pasadena area?
I am also offering quality services in all of Orange County, LA County, and Inland Empire.
Remote support is also available!
Please email collin@callcollin.com or contact us online @ callcollin.com
This news is truly unfortunate but the world keeps on spinning and people will continue to need help.
With that being said, I will continue to offer my quality services at the rate of $50/hr in the North Orange County region.
Please e-mail info@ocpct.com for any questions!
I, too, was a long time customer of Make It Work. I have always found their technicians to be extremely knowledgeable and professional. I had an appointment, which was honored, as recently as June 21. Interesting, I got the usual questionnaire from them following this appointment. I’m out 7.5 hours …
I feel for the employees …. if this was to be, then it should have been handled in a more professional and ethical manner by the officers of the Company.
Something does not add up. Was it all just a bad economy? Was it really that financing fell thru at the last minute? Was it really the leasing company’s fault? Was it really, “We didn’t choose to close, the decision was made for us?”
https://dev.pacbiztimes.com/2012/06/29/make-it-work-meltdown-leaves-more-questions-than-answers-in-its-wake/
ALTERNATIVELY, COULD IT BE DUE TO POOR MANAGEMENT DECISIONS?
Did all this bad stuff just happen since 04/02/12 when it was “Business Is Humming for Make It Work Inc.”?
http://www.noozhawk.com/article/040212_business_is_humming_for_make_it_work/
I think what people fail to realize is that the company had more than likely been broke a long time. Functioning week to week is not uncommon with small business, and as the former investor said, one really bad week can make or break you. It is sad but true. Even though I didn’t completely agree with how business was conducted at Make It Work, I do feel like management tried its best to do right by customers and employees. In regards to customers that are out of money, well you can’t get blood from a stone.
It has indeed been a rough economy. We started our business (Right-Click Computer Services) in 2007, and its been a slow but steadily uphill climb from there. We’ve never actually committed customers to any long term contracts, mostly because I can’t stand my phone carrier for that very reason. I feel for my fellow techs… and their customers… Santa Barbara recently lost Nerds 2 Go as well. I’d like to offer anyone with an outstanding contract from Make it Work free labor in my shop, and at least a 50% discount for on site service… I hate for anyone to feel abandoned by this tragedy.
I’m more inconvenienced than ripped off by this sad turn of events. I’d love to pay one of the L.A.-area technicians to do a little work on my computer, but nobody responded to my e-mail to the support e-dress noted on the “farewell” page of MakeItWork’s web page. And the Facebook page seems to have disappeared. So it’s getting harder to feel that Greenspan or anyone else associated with the operation is really interested in helping either the employees or clients at this point.
People don’t seem to understand that MIW was running on a very tight cash flow, month to month and week to week. They raised investor capital earlier this year to cover projected growth for deals with Costco and developing deals with Amazon, and NewEgg. Why did they give away ownership in their company? Because they had to. Because they didn’t have cash reserves to fund it themselves. When your budget is running so tight week to week, it’s almost impossible to predict “the end” versus what might have been a week where you barely made payroll and when things all turned around. An increase in sales at the last minute could have kept the company afloat. What happened, though, was the contrary… an unexpected and abrupt slump in sales that brought the company to its knees. Customers with contracts are understandably upset. Investors like myself are understandably upset. But realize that the sudden nature of the company closing, lacking weeks of public notice, doesn’t entail wrongdoing or scheming to take advantage of everyone until the last minute. It’s quite possible, and appears to be the case, that Mr. Greenspan desperately tried to keep the company alive until the bitter end.
This is not completely true, to sell a pre-paid service giving a client the expectation that the work will be provided days before shutting down is not the same as telling clients and investors to pre-pay for hours to help the company survive maybe another week or two. Had people known that the services may not be provided because the business had troubles and could close anytime no one would had purchased this hours.
To falsely give their clients and tech’s the impression that the company is doing well and to feel safe pre-praying for work while management knew the troubles is wrong and maybe even illegal. Eric and all management were very aware of their business situation and could have notified its Tech’s and clients in a much more professional way since the company did not go broke from Friday to Monday it went broke months or years before.
This is a shock and truly sad. It was a great company with fabulous employees. A customer could not ask for more.
R.I.P.
For clarification, a previous comment posted by a user claiming to be us was removed at our request. We did not generate that post, and their views did not reflect ours. To verify this is a genuine post, you may also find the following statement on our website.
We were shocked and saddened to hear this news. Although we were business competitors, we hate to see something like this happen to the people involved. Our hearts go out to the staff and their families in this terribly difficult time.
We feel it’s important to focus on what we can do to help in this situation. We encourage staff members to contact us regarding employment opportunities. In this new local landscape, your service and expertise have never been more needed. We will also be honoring as many of Make It Work’s pre-paid contracts as we can, without any obligation to the client. Clients in the Santa Barbara area should contact us at info@techease.com or 805.564.3273 for details.
Out of this sad news we are working to find a positive outcome for all involved. We hope to fill a gap in service for our local community members while Make It Work continues to move through this tough transition.
Make It Work leaves a legacy of community involvement, and their departure is a loss for our neighborhoods. In the coming days and weeks, we are confident that their employees will land on their feet, and we wish them the best of luck.
I too was left with unused hrs. Had the tech just last week and he tried to sell me another contract. Did the owner not even tell his tech guys he was broke?
Looks like I’m SOL. I called my credit card company and they said they could only dispute charges going back six months, and I paid for my hours over a year ago.
go here to connect with techs/clients
https://www.facebook.com/makeitwork
I just recently signed up for some hours and managed to get in maybe half but being on a fixed income any lose hurts. I spoke with Make it Work this past Friday just before the end of the day with a question which was answered but was never told that they were closing their door for good. Imagine my surprise on Monday the 25th when I called to get an appointment for work that needed to be finished. Not happy to say the least!
I would not call this quote from your story link “rosy.” It is rather prescient….
“But last week’s news regarding Best Buy’s consolidation won’t help. Best Buy’s Geek Squad wasn’t a competitor; it brought Make It Work business, Greenspan said.
“I’m not happy about that. I’m concerned the industry in general is heading down a slippery slope like Circuit City,” he said. “I think the world is changing, and unless something big happens, I think this may be a beginning to an end.” ”
I bet his Land Rover is leased like the Mini Coopers. I bet his house is financed to the hilt. Maybe he lied, but he said in the one story he has “not been taking a paycheck.”
I doubt Greenspan is rich. I doubt he is walking away with a lot of cash. I run a somewhat similar company and most proprietors make very modest incomes.
What is true is that in a business failure almost always the principals are left destitute…owing a lot of money for a long time or filing bankruptcy. In some cases there is collateral damage with employees, customers, investors, banks and other creditors taking substantial losses.
As cited in previous post by a former employee and another by an investor, the MIW business model is wrong and the pricing too low for the cost to provide the service.
I even wrote a blog about the sad outcome for all involved:
http://www.alvaka.net/?q=node/118
“the only real solution currently to service the SOHO space is carry-in services like the Apple Genius program or costly boutique services that are more expensive than the MIW.”
Or perhaps, if you are fortunate enough to know one…hire an independant contractor like my husband, GO SMALL BUSINESS! Go to the make it work FB page, some of our techs are still willing to work for you!
So why is it that a little over 2 months ago “things were going great” for Make It Work?
http://www.noozhawk.com/article/040212_business_is_humming_for_make_it_work/
In the case of Circuit City, the writing was on the wall before they declared bankruptcy. In the case of Make It Work, it appears as if they were shrouding their true misfortunes.
The more I read and discover, the worse it gets.
SHAME ON YOU ERIC GREENSPAN.
http://www.noozhawk.com/article/040212_business_is_humming_for_make_it_work/
Sorry to see you guys go, you’ve been a great inspiration for people like me. I would like to welcome all former Make-It-Work customers to give Mitec Solutions (Ventura and Santa Barbara) a try — we are a 6-man strong PC and MAC support team and we would be honored to help out any home and business computer users during this transition. Again, congrats to Make-It-Work for a 10 year run, but of luck to you all.
I am the wife of an ex employees here… After having what amounts to a panic attack at learning Sunday that we don’t have an income anymore, with rent due and babies to feed… we dont have enough to pay bills and hoping unemployment kicks in in time to feed our two little ones as we went through our savings trying to stay afloat since the massive pay cut back in November. I feel for the customers who are out hundreds or thousands… But we may be out of a home and food soon so I suppose I am not as sympathetic as maybe I should be. I am struggling to figure out why we aren’t receiving the paycheck that was supposed to get here Monday IF it wasn’t clear that MIW were closing before… The checks should have been “mailed” a few days ago like they were last week, only we got that check 8 days late as well. I am enormously disappointed in how last minute all of this was and feel personally betrayed that we were not given any warning whatsoever and my husband (who by the way, is the most forgiving and compassionate man I know) worked THREE WEEKS for FREE! I am pretty sure we won’t see any money so before you get too down in your situation of loosing some extra cash you had, although I sympathize truly, I know you were wronged… Think on this: there are 25 men out there, some with families, that lost three weeks wages. Just a little perspective. Do what you must to get your money back, I heard Costco may refund if you bought from them. I am fighting anger and resentment… But in the end, I know there may be someone out there that has it worse tonight and I will simply pray for perspective to be thankful I’m warm tonight
The CEO still has his house in montecito and probably is still driving his land rover.
So many ways to have done this differently, but it wasn’t. Pretty sleazy for such a “high class” company.
The only ones to lose in this whole deal are the employees and customers. The CEO still has money from his massive salary and will be able to invest in future endeavors.
What a classy guy!
Your comment guidelines were not created until after the comments were made. Therefore the comments were made legitimately and you censored them prior to creating rules for them. This website is really low class and needs a better editorial staff. It shocking that you had no rules prior to this article.
To all of you who posted your condolences, I want to say thank you. You were the clients I got out of bed for in the morning. You are the ones that made me smile after the call ended. You are the ones that made all the bad calls worth it. I am not the owner, I am not an investor, but a dedicated employee who had been there for many years. I was there for the busiest days and the slowest days. What I have witnessed over time is that with the failing economy many people weren’t willing to pay what the service was worth (and yes, we were always worth it). Our answer was to help all those clients by offering lower prices on our popular prepaid packages. Guess what, it worked. But the side effect is that it lowered the bar, people then wanted it even lower or they wouldn’t use us and wouldn’t buy. It was a vicious cycle. The prices got lower and lower, and my heart would sink each time. But not one of you asked to pay more, instead you took advantage time and time again getting quality services with an focus on excellence in customer service and technology support for a much lower price than they warranted. I didn’t hear one complaint from you then. I am sure many of you are now getting very indignant reading this and are probably going to blast me. You know what, deal with it. You are all the same people who don’t go very often to your favorite little bistro or corner store because the prices are high, but then get upset and bitter that they go out of business and you have a gift card with a balance. I get it, this is a larger scale for funds so you feel you are owed something. Guess what, we all are. Many of us put our blood, sweat and tears into this business to make it the fabulous place it was for so many years and we put up with many difficult clients who demanded outrageous things all in the name of delight. So congratulations to all of you who wanted quality service at almost half the price we were worth. The end result is no service at all. I guess you get what you pay for.
I too agree that those that purchased a block of hours within the last couple months should contact their credit card and file a chargeback. You have up to 60 days from the date you receive your statement… possibly longer for services. Contact your credit card for more details but most will refund you entirely.
If you paid with a check you have no such recourse.
IF you paid with a credit card, you can probably get a refund from you credit card company.
I had this experience three years ago and Citi Mastercard refunded all monies I paid to a company that went broke.
Why didn’t I think of that? Thank you! Now I just have to go through about two years of credit card bills.
No, I take that back. I still have the original statement from MakeItWork with the credit card number and everything. I’m going to make a call right now.
We bought hours just 10 days ago. Tell me they didn’t know then they were going bankrupt? I think fraud is involved herd!
This site has censored several legitimate comments that should not have been removed. Pacbiztimes is in cahoots with Eric and they can’t stand the truth being revealed.
Sad.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Business Times has removed several comments on this story that were inappropriate and potentially libelous.
We welcome lively discussion on our articles but we don’t tolerate personal attacks. We will always remove comments that do not meet the clear standards outlined in our comments policy, available here.
Have questions? Feel free to call me at (805) 560-6950 or email mvr@pacbiztimes.com.
Marlize van Romburgh
Managing Editor
Pacific Coast Business Times
I was on the administrative side of this all and never saw this coming. As another ex-employee had stated, if I knew this was going to happen over the weekend, I would have let all of the clients I had come into contact with know immediately. I would not have processed payments for pre-paid hours and would have prepared myself to become unemployed while trying to survive in the expensive community that is Santa Barbara. We all had no idea this was happening and we all feel terrible about the clients with pre-paid hours knowing they will not be refunded. We were simply trying to stay afloat and our CEO just knew it was time to throw in the towel which I know was a difficult decision for him. I know Eric on a personal level before I began working for MIW and I know he had no intention in “screwing people over” as many have said. It’s very unfortunate that our clients with pre-paid hours became collateral damage.
Do you really believe that Eric had no idea he was going to close up shop until yesterday? Why didn’t he try to sell the business instead of hustling hundreds, if not thousands of people out of pre-paid time?
I guarantee yesterday was known for at least 2 weeks. It’s crazy to think that they were on a “push” to get more prepaid contracts when he knew their demise was near. Why not wean off the pre-paid contract offers instead?
I hope you are ok, we are at least fortunate to have some clients… I truly hope you get paid!
It’s sad to read these comments, because it looks like a lot of people will lose money. Since it’s all service work, and they don’t own any real estate, and the cars are being returned, there really are no assets. It sounds like they’re selling everything just to make payroll. Once bankruptcy happens, the first claims will be the top tier investors, who I imagine, will take anything that’s left. It’s sad that those who had pre-paid hours, will most likely lose all of that money. That’s the reality of it.
As a $50k+ investor in MIW, I was just as shocked as many of you to get an e-mail saying the company was closing operations – after months of great news about Costco and Amazon deals. While we knew the company was having a tough time raising money, none of us had any idea this was coming – including many who had written checks recently. We think management had great sales skills but were strategically and operationally challenged – and that’s what caused their failure more than anything else.
Unfortunately, the company financed itself on the backs of prepaid plans – making those of you who purchased them essentially debt holders of the company. When it goes through bankruptcy, you can make claims, but it’s unlikely you’ll get anything back, as the company really has no assets.
I want my prepaid dollars back for sure and don’t know how to make a case for it. I feel badly that I don’t have those great techs to lean on anymore. I really liked all the people who worked there. Maybe they will represent me in small claims court.
some of the techs could still be working independently, I know we are trying to! try the fb page, ive heard they are trying to network clients with techs!
As someone who has been in a similar position I can tell you when the ship is sinking you have to throw everything overboard to try and right it, and sometimes it still sinks. It’s how the open seas, and free markets, work. There is no corporate conspiracy here, and no reward without risk, just another captain going down with his ship. Just be glad you only lost a few hundred bucks and not your entire livelihood.
This article makes me ill. My business received good service from them for the 8 years we used them, and this experience inspired the confidence to “invest” with them as we did. We have 13 unused service hours plus an uncompleted $2,000 website over-haul. But to leave so many of us holding the bag now, after having received email solicitations just last week to buy more hours stinks. My next call will be to the District Attorney’s office to request an investigation for malfeasance, although I have no expectation of ever seeing my money again. Yes, we are screwed.
I am also an ex employee and knew the chef operations officer and Eric Greenspan personally. I have not been at MIW for years however believe they would have worked their fingers off and put their heart and sole into this business. I understand that you may have felt duped in purchasing prepaid hours. I believe however that the above statements are true and knowing Eric and the rest of the staff they would have held on until the bitter end, if there was a chance. A company is a reflection of it’s leadership and MIW was a great service company at least as long as I was there. I was honored to work with Eric and the rest of the dedicated team. RIP MIW Sad to see you go.
I am sad that a great service company and fine techs are no longer in business.
I also feel that some notice to those of us with prepaid contracts should have been given with some recourse suggested. I never expected this kind of ending from such a classy company.
I own Mr. Pink Computer Shrink (computershrink.com / 805.966.2966), a competing mobile computer care and consultation company. Our sincere condolences to the entire Make UT Work Family. We are sincerely sorry for your loss, as well as the loss to your clients.
To those who had outstanding MIW contracts, we are willing to offer you a 40% discount on our services with proof of contract. Our services are never pre-pay. You pay only for the time you have used at time of service.
To MIW employees, please feel free to contact me at stacyc@computerShrink.com to see about possible employment opportunities.
I appreciate your willingness to not only help those with lost contracts but to offer employment to the techs who were really injured by this debacle. It is never a good thing when a business owner has to close their doors and people who are looking to cause further injury to the business owner who could not rescue his business should try to be kinder. Times are hard, he is probably about to lose his home and he too has lost his livelihood, there is nothing left for the vultures to pick.
Your tech’s had no idea. We were promised big deals with NewEgg and Amazon to improve business. I want all Make IT Work customers to know that we did NOT know.
I know techs that are currently out on disability, recovering from surgeries and on their honeymoon!
Trust me, if we knew we would have all been bracing for financial impact. Our pay was limited without the commissions from sales. But I can say with a clear conscience that IF I did know I would not have sold any prepaid packages.
If you are leery of working with your tech its probably because he was a salesman and not a real technician. A trustworthy technician would fix your problem in a reasonable amount of time, bill you fairly and not use every appointment as an opportunity to sell you on something.
I hope you made a good impression on THAT tech. Because it is unlikely you’ll be contacted by him otherwise.
Please understand I do not blame the technicians. Every technician I had from MIW were very professional and friendly and they all got the job done as quickly as possible. My problem is with the management and owner who did not tell the technicians not to offer their prepaid hours. The person I spoke to on the phone last week who offered the hours did not push the topic when I said no. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he had no idea, but my point is that the management HAD to know and they should have told technicians not to sell anymore prepaid hours. Then again, they also should have warned employees that their jobs were at risk.
Did any of you even read the article, or just he headline? Is everyone’s answer to everything, sue sue sue? Move on, get over it.
Did you lose any money? If not, don’t judge those of us who did.
I totally agree. There are likely many more customers who don’t know they are in danger of losing money they paid in advance. The only reason I know is I called for an appointment – 3 times and searched out the news. Just amazing that people can get away with this kind of behavior. How is this different than a street robbery – a stick up?
I was really sad to hear this and very sympathetic, until I realized I had called the company just last week and they offered me their prepaid deal! They had to know at that point that they were going out of business and yet they still offered to sell me hundreds of dollars worth of prepaid hours? That’s just sleazy.
I bought quite a few hours of time with you IN ADVANCE. I believe I have at least 15 which at $80. an hour you owe me a least $1200. When do you plan to return my advance payment to you for services that were not done.
When a company goes out of business and files for bankruptcy, you have little recourse — especially considering the company was shut down _because_ it ran out of money. Perhaps you go after this Eric Greenspan joker directly.
This comes as a shock. I also have several used hours (about 5) and I’d like to know how to get my money back. I think you people should post a notice advising those of us who are in the position as to what our recourse is.
Well, I was just contacted by my tech since there was no phone call from Make It Work informing me that the company was suddenly shutting down. Something is fishy about the whole thing and I am NOT going to be out the 7.45 hrs (I paid $800.00 for 10 hrs plus $99.99 membership). If they want a lawsuit they got one (if I do not receive my money back).
I’m in the same position having paid over a thousand. I had been very happy with my tech and feel badly for him. His loyalty and integrity is awesome. The company however never contacted me. I learned of it after going to the website since my repeated calls for an appointment with my tech went unanswered. Its a pity that individual excellence such as my tech’s is betrayed by corporate manuevering. This is a sad day for some good folks. Its also a start of what looks like an action suit unless money is found to honor contracts.
So sorry to see you have to close down. I’ve used your services for many years and had a 6.5hour contract so I’m out over $500.00 as well.
It was a great company, did a great job had incredible computer guys who did a lot of work for me as well as people I referred them to.