Kristy Niemerg

Meet appraiser Kristy Niemerg, owner of K&N Appraisal Service in Illinois and 17-year a la mode customer. This is how Kristy stays on top of ever-changing technology and data backup in an unpredictable world. Read on.

The rural town of Dieterich, Illinois, is home to a la mode customer Kristy Niemerg — wife, mother, and owner/operator of K&N Appraisal Service.

Since small towns aren’t immune to ever-changing technology, Kristy knew it was finally time to purchase a new computer. This means facing the feat of transferring her entire appraisal business (and livelihood) onto another machine — a task that would make any business-owner sweat.

“I get anxious with changes to my technology, so I called a la mode before the transfer. I’ve been their customer for 17 years and have always had great customer service.”

With proactive advice from a la mode support and her computer tech, Kristy was up and running on her new machine. But it wasn’t long before she hit some software and hardware snags.

That’s where a la mode Tech Jason Petry came in.

“The first time I spoke with Kristy, she was having issues printing double-sided reports in TOTAL,” said Jason. “The software wasn’t the issue, but we were thrilled that I was able to help her with something that wasn’t in our wheelhouse,” said Jason.

A week later, Kristy called a la mode with an issue more urgent than her previous printer perils — it seemed that Titan Drive wasn’t backing up her work. And, for an appraiser whose entire business is stored on their computer, working without guaranteed backup shouldn’t be an option. Kristy reached out, and her call was fatefully forwarded to Jason.

“Turned out, Kristy owned Titan Drive but didn’t have it installed on her new computer,” said Jason.

“I have my own data-loss horror story,” said Jason, “I didn’t want Kristy to lose her work, important files, family photos — like I did, using a limited backup solution.”

Jason wasn’t kidding. During the Windows 8-to-10 transition, he felt hopeless in the messy aftermath of a fiery PC crash, one that caused him to lose work for his master’s program, family memories, and his faith in his former backup provider, Carbonite, who wanted to charge him more — on the spot — to restore all of his files.

Kristy had a different experience through a la mode. As a former Vault customer, she was given Titan Drive — unlimited cloud storage — for free, until it officially replaced Vault last year. Come renewal time, she re-upped Titan Drive

“Carbonite tried charging me $600/year for full backup!” said Jason. “Kristy definitely got a better deal.”

Jason didn’t have the security of unlimited file backup like Kristy does with Titan Drive, and he wanted to make sure she was getting the most out of it. After checking for updates and configuring Titan Drive to back up all of her work files, Kristy was set.

And she felt set. Switching from Vault to Titan Drive in 2019 was part of Kristy’s business goals of keeping up to date with software. She knew she’d need a solution that allowed her flexibility as she managed every area outside of her appraisal business.

“I knew from past experiences that the benefits of cloud-based storage would be a great asset during traveling ball season with my children,” said Kristy.

“And, it’s always satisfying to know that when I call a la mode, I will reach someone who is happy to talk to me, easy to talk with, and will help answer my questions and solve any issues.”

“This, alone, sets a la mode above most other companies — not just software companies.”

Thank you, Kristy, for trusting a la mode to troubleshoot and fix the technical issues — big or small — that keep you from running your best business.

Appraisers, if you’re storing important business and/or personal files on your computer, a secure, cloud-based backup software is a necessity in 2020 and beyond. Learn more and compare backup solutions here.