It’s kind of like the old tag line of “what you see is what you get” when it comes down to defining Bainbridge Island-based Technical Solutions.

Since 1994, Technical Solutions co-founders Bruce Williams and Dan Oczkewicz have been offering Kitsap and King County clients solutions for their, well, technical computer systems.

“From something as basic as setting up someone’s e-mail account to recovering data after a hard drive crash to a complete networking of computer systems…you name it and chances are we’re in the middle of doing it,” said Kaore Bonell, one of Technical Solutions’ customer service representatives.

“Other than web site development, there’s really nothing computer-related that we can’t handle for our customers.”

Actually, Bonell is not just an employee of Technical Solutions; he’s also a former client. It was while Bonell was employed at another Bainbridge-based business, American Marine Bank, that he first met Technical Solutions’ Bruce Williams.

“We were in the middle of a new networking system for (the bank) and Bruce came in and not only handled the technical end of things but also gathered those employees who were involved in using the new system together into a class. He (Bruce Williams) never talked down to us, never talked over us…he listened really carefully to what our questions were and that made a big difference in our really understanding the new process.”

Today, Bonell claims that the attention that he saw first-hand as a client is what now makes him proud to work for Technical Solutions as an employee. “I think the importance of listening to a client is really stressed here in a positive way. We don’t jump into a customer’s project without listening to them or jump to conclusions about what we think they need as opposed to listening well the first time around and then making recommendations that really make sense in the long run.”

For some clients that could mean a single computer system that allows someone to telecommute effectively from a home office and for others it could mean networking dozens of personal work stations, satellite offices or subsidiary locations for a major corporation.

Technical Solutions — which Williams and Oczkewicz have defined as “professional technology providers” — continues to count American Marine Bank as a client as well as other Kitsap County and King County-based companies such as Image X, Seattle Orthopedic and Fracture and law firm Chandler, Franklin and O’Brien.

In fact, at any given time, said office manager Sherry Eckert, the company’s staff of seven professionals is working with twenty to forty clients in areas that range from high-speed internet access to setting up security firewalls.

“Because of the trend towards telecommuting and companies having sales people out in the field, we’re seeing more and more demand for VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) than ever before,” said Eckert. “There’s also a lot of demand for DSL and other high-speed access products…everyone knows that they can call a provider and sign-up for the product but that doesn’t mean that they know how to best configure their system to make things work right.”

New business set-up is also an area of expertise that Bonell thinks they do particularly well. “We have one client who is just now in the process of moving their office from one location to another,” said Bonell. “We not only helped them make decisions about their new needs but we helped configure their new space, oversaw the proper wiring for the new space and we’ll install their equipment when they actually move.”

Both Williams, 37, and Oczkewicz, 38, came from corporate systems integration and systems analysis backgrounds themselves prior to starting Technical Solutions in 1994. They describe the company as having “consistent, controlled growth” and Bonell credits the company founders with setting up a business prototype that allows both employees and clients the ability to ask questions, no matter how simple.

“We have a lot of technically sophisticated clients,” Bonell admits, “with some of them calling only when they need advice on something that’s pretty complex. With other clients we’ll get a phone call that may have a client saying ‘I can’t get my computer to connect’ or ‘what can I do to get my modem to dial-up faster?’ and that’s what we’re really good at…listening to the individual’s particular need and finding a solution.”.