ABOUT TELEXPERTS AND ITS HISTORY

Telexperts-The Ship Centre is a business in Edmonton, Alberta that provides consumer and small business services including private mailbox rentals, money transfers, money orders and courier services with FedEx, DHL and Canpar. Telexperts can trace its history back to 1979 with the current company operating since 1999 August 1st.

Staff

Jeannette

Jeannette is a Commissioner For Oaths In And For The Province Of Alberta, who can help you with Western Union, FedEx, a mailbox or any of the other things we offer. She has done secretarial and office work for years and has worked at Telexperts since 1998.

Reginald

Reginald has had a mailbox with Telexperts since 1990. He rented a mailbox when he started up a multi-line BBS and needed a secure mailing address for payments coming in by mail. Reginald worked as a computer tech prior to working at Telexperts and looks after the computer equipment we use.

Telexperts History

If you have any additional information on the history of Telexperts or if there are any errors in the information below, please contact us so that we may update this page. Thanks.

Phase 6: 2003 - Today

2006 January 01 - A slight increase in mailbox rental prices takes effect. This is the first rent increase since 1999 August 01. Even with the increase we are lower than any other mailbox rental place in our area.

2005 December 14 - We have been informed that Telexperts is #36 out of 480 Alberta Western Union agents (top 7.5% of agent locations), #6 out of independent Alberta agents. We are #313 out of 3600 Western Union agents in Canada (top 9% of agent locations). Customer service keeps our customers coming back and growing our business.

2005 December 13 - Telexperts releases version 2 of their website giving an improved look and better organization of the web content. Updates will continue to happen to the website.

2005 November - Western Union now has over 225,000 agent locations in some 195 countries and territories around the world and continuiing to grow.

2004 October - Western Union celebrates having 200,000 agent locations in some 190 countries and territories around the world.

2004 September - A revised web site is developed highlighting the services and products of Telexperts-The Ship Centre. The aim is to create the basic information required to let our clients and potential clients know what we do, and after the basic grunt work has been done, to have it redone in a better looking format.

2004 August 07 - Telexperts-The Ship Centre celebrates five years with Jeannette and Reginald getting their heads shaved for Cops for Cancer in support of the Canadian Cancer Society.

2004 June - Telexperts-The Ship Centre creates its first web site, courtesy of a birthday present from Bennaco, to highlight our upcoming fifth birthday celebration on 2004 August 1st.

2004 May - Telexperts-The Ship Centre is #392 among 2689 Western Union agents across Canada in terms of volume of transactions, putting us in the top 15% of agents.

2003 December 29 - After telling us since 2001 that FedEx Ground service authorisation was coming, we are finally authorised for this by Federal Express.

2003 March 31 - Telexperts-The Ship Centre has moved to its new premises at 10617-105 Street NW with their own postal code of T5H 4P7 effective today and is operational for business. The property is owned by principals of Telexperts-The Ship Centre, allowing us to ensure that we will not lose the address in a lease dispute and to do renovations that enhance the business and property. It's crowded, totally disorganised and we can't find most things, but our Western Union terminal is operational, we have telephones, we have fax and we can ship packages. The mailboxes are still at the old location, but the mail is in boxes, carefully wrapped and separated, awaiting to be placed in a temporary sorting bin so we can get the mail to our clients.

2003 March 01 - We have all the mail coming into the new location forwarded by Canada Post to ensure that our mailbox clients do not lose any mail in moving to the new location. This is a cost Telexperts pays and continues to pay (currently paid for into 2005). We have tried to ensure that our mailbox clients were minimally inconvenienced in the move to our new premises.

Phase 5: 1999 - 2003

2002 October 15 - Just over three years after taking over Telexperts, we announce that we are moving sometime in 2003 to our own premises two blocks eastward and two blocks north. We will have more space (from 504 square feet to over 2,000 square feet of usable space in the building), a washroom, (none in the old space, we had to go next door to the cafe or down the road to Timmies), parking space (we shared three stalls with the cafe and had difficulty having our clients use them sometimes), increased power access (going from four electrical outlets on two circuit breakers to a full 100 amp service) to having a furnace (where we had no control over heating as the controls were in the cafe). WooHoo! We're Moving on up!!

2000 - Telexperts adds US Dollar money orders to its product list.

2001 - A new division of the company called Headstraight Communications is created to offer the telephone headset services of Telexperts.

2000 - Telexperts adds Canadian Dollar money orders to its product list.

2000 January - Telexperts Communications organizes a seminar at the Business Link on counterfeit currency and fraud. A representative from the Bank of Canada, Visa, Mastercard, Edmonton City Police and Western Union provide two sessions (morning and afternoon) detailing how to detect counterfeit currency, credit cards and money orders.

2000 January 01 - Telexperts Communications, along with most of the rest of the world, survives the year 2000 crisis. Welcome to the start (or is that in 2001?) of the 21st century.

1999 August 01 - Reginald Wagner and Jeannette Lindsay purchase selected assets from Dianne Starr and Telexperts Inc. effective today, including all rights to the Telexperts name, the physical mailboxes, mailbox client list and history, and a few pieces of equipment and some counters. Operations of Telexperts Communications commence on Tuesday after the Civic holiday. The name was later changed to Telexperts-The Ship Centre to reflect the increased emphasis of courier shipping services with Canpar, DHL and FedEx, although some operations are still referred to as Telexperts Communications.

Phase 4: 1997 - 1999

1998 - Jeannette Lindsay is hired by Dianne Starr to assist with customer service at Telexperts Inc. and works full time, part time and occasional call in with Dianne at different times while Dianne is operating the company.

1998 - Public telex usage dwindles to the point where it is not economical to continue having a telex machine available and the service is discontinued, severing the original service from the name of the company.

1997 January 01 - Dianne Starr purchases the front office business of Telexperts from her brother Patrick Starr effective today. This consists of the mailbox rental service, fax receiving, Western Union, secretarial, photocopying and other such services, including Plantronics headset sales. With the sale to Dianne, Telexperts stops selling Toshiba faxes, although Dianne has several machines that she continues to rent to those that need short term use of a fax. The back office equipment sales and other functions of Telexperts and Telecomputer Systems are sold off to other companies or simply cease to exist.

Phase 3: 1987 - 1997

Tel-ex-perts loses the hyphens to simply become Telexperts, although at different times previously, it also did not use hyphens in its name.

The franchise parent company is sold and the new owners do not know what to do with the Tel-ex-perts franchise system. One day, there is no longer any communication and the Tel-ex-perts franchise system disintegrates and is no more. The various franchises either close, rename themselves and expand services or move on to become other businesses.

1990 October - Reginald Wagner rents a mailbox from Tel-ex-perts for the purposes of mail security for business and personal use.

1990 - Dianne Starr, Patricks sister, is hired as an employee of Tel-ex-perts.

1989 - With the increased use of fax machines, public telex machines usage dwindles and no further telex machines are sold after 1988 although Tel-ex-perts still maintains one for sending and receiving telex messages.

1988 - Patrick Starr arranges for Tel-ex-perts to become one of the first Western Union Money Transfer agents in Alberta and Canada, and definitely the first in Edmonton.

1987 - Patrick Starr purchases the remaining 50% of Tel-ex-perts and the company moves from its previous address to 10342-107 Street. A sister company called Telecomputer Systems sells photocopiers, fax machines, telephone systems, computers and other office equipment.

Phase 2: 1983 - 1987

1986 - Tel-ex-perts starts selling telex terminals. Tel-ex-perts is authorised to sell Sanyo and Toshiba fax machines but stops selling Sanyo fax machines in 1987 as Toshiba fax machines are more popular.

1983 - Patrick Starr purchases 50% of Tel-ex-perts and becomes involved in the running of the business. Patrick previously worked at Xerox. Tel-ex-perts moves to 104 Street and Jasper Avenue.

Phase 1: 1979 - 1983

1981 - The Edmonton Tel-ex-perts franchise is purchased by Heather and Les Nochomovitz and becomes operational in 1981, located at 119 Street & Fairway Drive.

1979 - Tel-ex-perts is created as a company in Toronto by South African immigrant Philip Laurie in 1979 and the business is franchised across Canada for the purpose of sending and receiving telexes, back in the days of teletypewriters and 110 bps modems. The name is hyphenated so Tel-ex-perts is short for Telex Experts. The internet did exist, but not in the form that we know it today. Locations are also opened in Ottawa (198?), Vancouver (198?), Victoria (198?), Prince George (198?), Calgary (1980), Edmonton (1981), New Brunswick (198?) and Winnipeg (1985). (Telexperts in Winnipeg still exists in 2005, selling telephone systems throughout Manitoba).