By Marc Graser Michael Kennedy may have boxes of used compact discs stacked in the cramped confines of his Glendale office and warehouse, but the entrepreneur capitalizes on grooves of a different kind. But Kennedy is banking on his patent pending process that makes abrasions on any damaged disc disappear, while generating profits for his company. Then, if they like it they go out and buy it again. Now they don't have to. Compact Disc Repairman, the company Kennedy and his wife, Eleanor, launched in 1994, is one of a growing number of companies nationwide that offer customers the service of repairing their damaged CDs.
Discs take less than five minutes to repair.
It depends on how much the data on the disc is worth. PC World magazine heralded Compact Disc Repairman's repair service in its May issue. Kennedy also has introduced sticker-like shields that lay over the printed side of a disc, protecting the CDs from potential scrapes and making them easier to repair if dropped on the floor or dragged across a rough surface. CD-Shields cost 99 cents each and are also available in a kit for 100 discs from Compact Disc Repairman. Consumers mistake the bottom of a compact disc as being where all the digital information is saved.