Drive Savior

When hardware goes haywire, people often do too. Americans have never been more dependent on hard drives to store personal, financial and logistical information.

Kelly Chessen, a data crisis counselor for DriveSavers, a data recovery firm near Silicon Valley in Novato, California, understands the emotional cost of data loss. Chessen, who once managed a suicide prevention hotline, now spends her days shepherding people through the electronic grieving process.

You have a degree in psychology and originally planned to pursue a career in traditional counseling. Was it difficult making the transition to data crisis counselor?

At first I thought, "Well, it's a computer company. Is this going to work with what I do?" But the role just fits perfectly. People call in, they've lost their data, they're upset, and they just need to vent and calm down. It's not therapy, but it's still in that realm of being there for another human being and helping them through their moment of panic. It's like what I did on the suicide prevention hotline except that we have a technical solution here. So it's more rewarding in that respect.

How stressful is losing your data in comparison to, say, getting fired or divorced?

It really depends on your emotional attachment to those files. One businessman had a huge presentation on his computer and he needed it by the end of that week. If he didn't get it back, he thought, "I'm going to lose my job. How am I going to take care of my family? Pay my mortgage? Support my kids?" We don't always see how deep the layers go when it comes to data loss.

Do people anthropomorphize computers? Can losing a computer feel like losing a loved one? Or losing a part of yourself?

It can! They're our friends! They have our pictures and our e-mails. They're our buddies. We forget that they're electromechanical things. But like your refrigerator or your washer and dryer, they're gonna break.

Have you ever been so concerned with a client's state of mind that you contacted 911 or a family member?

No, I haven't, because when I do feel like they're getting close I switch into suicide prevention mode. I'll ask, "Are you thinking about committing suicide?" And they'll stop, and usually laugh. I think they're shocked at the question because they're calling a tech company. We have had people send in their drives with notes saying, "If you don't get the data off the drive, I'm gonna kill myself." And then I call them to make sure.

What makes you good at your job?

The ability to be quiet and let others talk. It's hard, because most of us want to fill those quiet spaces. Also, being able to ask the right questions. It's really about knowing what to ask them, when to ask them and how to be quiet.

DriveSavers has had a lot of famous clients, such as Sting, Sean Connery and Adam Sandler. Have you ever had to counsel one of your Hollywood crushes?

Unfortunately not.