What to Look for in IT Support in Nanaimo

Hesh Co — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:38:19 +0000

When a laptop won't boot or the office Wi-Fi keeps dropping, it's tempting to call the first number you find. Here's a short checklist of what good IT support should look like, for homes and small businesses.

I've worked in technical support since 1998, starting at Videon Cable Systems (later Shaw, now Rogers). I moved on to Microsoft MSN support, where I went from Tier 1 to Tier 3 and then supervisor, and then Shaw Cable, where I resolved 30 to 40 help desk tickets a day. Since 2020 I've done IT support in Nanaimo for local homes and small businesses.

1. They diagnose before they replace

A slow or broken computer doesn't always need new hardware. Good support finds the actual cause first, whether that's hardware, software, malware or a failing drive, and tells you what it found before recommending a fix. Ask: "What do you think is wrong, and how will you confirm it?"

2. Upgrades that fit what you have

Often the right answer is more RAM, a faster drive or a fresh install, not a new machine. Look for someone who does both hardware and software upgrades and will tell you honestly when an upgrade is worth it and when it isn't.

3. They handle phones and laptops, not just desktops

Most households and small offices run a mix of Windows PCs, Macs, Android and iPhone. My own work covers diagnosis and repair of desktops, laptops and mobile phones, so ask whether your support person covers all the devices you depend on.

4. Security cameras installed and maintained

A camera system is only useful if it keeps recording. I install and maintain security camera systems for homes and small businesses, from setup through ongoing maintenance. Ask any installer who looks after the system after setup day.

5. Security basics come standard

Good support should check the basics as part of the job: updates and patches, two-factor sign-in where it's available, malware removal and sensible passwords. I hold the Google Cybersecurity Specialization and the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, and I completed the NPower Canada Junior IT Analyst program.

6. They explain things in plain language

You should leave knowing what was wrong, what was done and how to avoid it next time. Coaching people and explaining technical problems clearly was a big part of my support and supervisor roles, and it's still how I work one-on-one with clients.

7. They're actually local

On-site help matters when it's hardware or a camera on a wall. I work on site in Nanaimo, Lantzville, Parksville, Ladysmith, Duncan and the Comox Valley, and remotely with clients elsewhere in Canada.

A quick aside on AI

Plain-language AI assistants are starting to help with everyday "how do I…?" questions. For a broken laptop, you still want a person.

Need help with a computer, phone or camera system? Email trevor@trevorheshka.com for a quote. Originally published at https://trevorheshka.com/blog/what-to-look-for-in-nanaimo-it-support/

How to Add an AI Chatbot to Your Website (Grounded in Your Own Content)

Hesh Co — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:28:26 +0000

Most website chatbots fail the same way: they sound confident and get your hours, services or policies wrong. A chatbot is only useful if it answers from your content and admits when it doesn't know.

I built HeshBot, the assistant on my own site, to work exactly that way. Here's what a site assistant actually needs, using HeshBot as the worked example.

1. A small chat widget

The part visitors see is a chat button and a panel. HeshBot's widget is plain vanilla JavaScript with no framework and no third-party chat platform. It loads quickly, matches the site's look, and sends questions to one endpoint on your own hosting.

2. One server endpoint

Behind the widget is a single PHP 7.4 endpoint that runs on ordinary shared hosting. It receives a question, adds the right context from your content, calls the model, and returns the answer. Because it runs on your server, the API key stays on your server too, stored outside the web root where a browser can't reach it.

3. A knowledge file built from your own pages

This is what makes an assistant grounded. HeshBot uses a Python build script that reads the site's public pages and turns them into a knowledge file. That's a small piece of workflow automation: when the site changes, re-run the script and the assistant knows about the change.

The rule is simple: the assistant answers only from that knowledge file. If the answer isn't there, it says so and points the visitor to the contact details instead of guessing.

4. The model

HeshBot runs on HeshLLM:20B, a model I build and fine-tune myself. For other projects, a hosted frontier LLM API can be the better fit. Either way, grounding matters more than model size: a well-grounded assistant on a fine-tuned model beats a giant model that's allowed to make things up.

5. Guardrails

A public chat box is an open door, so it needs locks. HeshBot uses:

Per-IP rate limits so one visitor or script can't flood it
Message caps on length and conversation size
A same-origin check so other sites can't borrow your endpoint
The API key kept outside the web root

Those come from 25+ years in technical support and my Google Cybersecurity certificate training: assume someone will try to misuse it, and plan for that from day one.

6. Try it, then read how it was built

Open the chat on trevorheshka.com/heshbot/ and ask about my services or projects. For the build story, read how HeshBot was built. The code is open source under the MIT licence: github.com/YardPhantom/HeshBot.

A version for your business

For a business, the same approach works on your own pages, FAQs and documents: an assistant grounded only in your content, so it doesn't make things up, with the same guardrails, on your hosting. See HeshBot for business and AI chatbots in BC.

I'm based in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and work remotely across BC and Canada. Email me for a quote.

Originally published at trevorheshka.com.

DEV Community: Hesh Co