The Geeks Will Inherit The Earth

For Sheryl Heller and her crew of electronics whizzes who staff GeekHampton in Sag Harbor — now the only certified Apple products service center open on Long Island — the coronavirus epidemic has been both a blessing and a curse.

Business has almost never been better. With Apple stores closed, New Yorkers (and some from Connecticut, New Jersey) have only GeekHampton to turn to when an iPad gets dropped or a MacBook gets coffee spilled on it.

And with huge numbers of people even more tied to their devices than ever, the demand for repairs is high.

“We are it for Long Island, and we’re trying our best to make everyone happy,” Ms. Heller said at the end of another hectic day. “We’re working like it’s August.”

The difference between a day at the office now and in a normal August is that Ms. Heller would normally have several more employees on staff for the summer surge. Fears of the coronavirus have had to keep that expansion of employees at bay, even when it is desperately needed.

“The core people here, I know what they’re doing, where they’re going and how they are handling things, so we’re all comfortable with each other,” Ms. Heller said. “The health of my staff is our first concern, and bringing in new people … I don’t think I’d be as comfortable with. We all agreed we’d rather work harder than take a chance.”

And so, when too many people are left at home, the Geeks are nose to the grindstone.

Even basic business is now, like in so many industries, a much more complicated chore. With the GeekHampton shop on Bay Street closed to the public, all orders and drop-offs and pick-ups are done under a tent outside. Even the purchase of a replacement cord is more difficult. “What used to be one step is now six steps,” Ms. Heller said.

While many businesses have been working on shorter hours simply out of necessity to save money amid greatly decreased demand, Ms. Heller has shortened her staff’s schedule to prevent burnout. The shop closes an hour earlier than normal to let everyone catch up and cut back to a five-day work week, from the usual six, to let the crew decompress.

“Every day ,we’ve had to think differently,” she said. “Everything is different. But we’re grateful to be in business and be healthy.”

MICHAEL WRIGHT