My Biz: Marion’s TV guy

MARION — Sure, new TVs have features and capabilities — from high-definition picture and audio to unlimited channel selection — that eclipse their predecessors from just a decade ago. The thing is, when something fails, your only option is a new TV, right?

'The biggest challenge is letting (owners) know they're repairable,' Dee Dunkel said. 'Eighty percent of the time they are repairable for less than half the price of a new one.'

Dee and her husband, Don, have managed to get that word out — that modern TVs usually can be made as good as new after a component fails — to enough people to carve out a market niche for Darrel's Video City. While the ranks of independent electronics repair shops have dwindled, the Dunkels sell new Sony sets and a focus on old-fashioned service.

'We're just the old mom-and-pop,' Dee said. 'That's all we know, whether it's the antenna, the technology. We're there, beginning to end. Service is the biggest part of it.'

Building a reputation for service means Don is his customers' answer man for all TV issues — even when the problem isn't really with the TV.

'You wouldn't believe how many times it's the satellite or cable,' said Don, who worked for Darrel Oldenburger for about 20 years before buying the shop in 1998. 'But they call the TV guy because we answer the phone.'

On a quiet midmorning last week, Dee answered the phone while Don used a power screwdriver to remove the back of a 40-something-inch flat-screen that lay face down on his work table. Lowering a magnifier over his eyes, he peered into its exposed wiring circuits.

'TV works, the remote doesn't,' he explained, pointing to a small panel below the screen.

Don pointed out how little solder there is inside a modern set. Instead, contemporary components are fitted into place with a heat process. He's learned how to remove and replace those tiny parts without damaging nearby pieces.

'We've got some good websites, with employees all over the world, we subscribe to' to stay current on repair techniques, he said. 'And I've been doing this for so long.'

Controlling costs is important to any small business. The Dunkels rent Darrel's original location from Oldenburger.

'Overhead's the main thing in survival,' Don said. 'I could have a really nice storefront, but then I probably wouldn't be in business.'

The couple are the business' only employees.

'We used to have some (employees), when the TVs were heavier,' Don recalled. 'Now, as long as I can reach my arms around it, I can carry it. We're going to stay in business.'

The Dunkels' long relationship with Sony was strengthened about six years ago when the manufacturer adopted a new pricing policy. Even that change helps sell their service.

'They made it so the guy on the internet, the big box (store) and I all have the same price,' Don Dunkel said. 'That's where you compete, the service. It's me you're getting — bad or good.'

Darrel's also does a steady trade in recycled TVs. Don said he repairs sets he buys from a regional supplier, who collects non-functioning flat screens from dealers and owners.

Along with the replacement of the old cathode ray tube and the box to house it, the video signal is the biggest change over the past two decades. In the mid-1990s, everyone knew you needed a cable or satellite connection to receive a full channel selection.

Now, 'we're going back to antennas and streaming off the internet,' Don said.

So antenna sales became a steady, growing part of the business. Darrel's sells a basic model for about $45 that pulls in HD signals from more than two dozen channels to most locations in the Cedar Rapids area.

The change in signal offers Don Dunkel yet another opportunity to emphasize his service, from installing an antenna-and-streaming system to talking customers through problems.

'A kid isn't going to have a problem with pushing a button,' Don said. 'But my age, we get confused. Ease of operation is what the consumer wants.'

The Dunkels expect the personal touch — Darrel's doesn't even have a website — to sustain the business.

'We've got the reliable customers all over,' Don Dunkel said. 'Our customers are our friends. It's a little different atmosphere than at a big-box store.'

[naviga:h3 style="padding-left: 30px;"]AT A GLANCE

Owners: Dee and Don Dunkel

Business: Darrel's Video City

Address: 808 Eighth Ave., Marion

Phone: (319) 377-5621

If you know of a small business in operation for more than a year that would make a good 'My Biz,' let us know. Contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com