Everyone knows the heart stopping, abject terror when your phone slips from your fingers, careening towards the hard unforgiving floor. As that sickly thud resounds, we can’t help but flinch and avert our eyes. Then we pause, trying to get up the courage to go over and check on our little one’s well being, holding our breath as we turn it over… and its cracked.
What next?
In reality only three options remain
a) Keep using it, throw a screen protector over the crack to prevent the glass slivers
b) Go out and find a replacement
c) Find a repair shop to return your beloved device to it’s former glory
All viable options, but here we’ll be discussing option C – finding a repair shop.
Experience & Quality
First and foremost, We need to determine if the shop is at all trustworthy, and if they do good work. This can be done in a wide variety of ways:
– Looking for reviews on their website, Google, Facebook or other platforms that allow for your average, everyday consumer to leave their opinion on the service they received.
– Research their experience, and in the process, learn about who it is you are giving over your device to. For bigger companies, this does not help the most, the best you can usually get is a ‘Our Mission’ tab. However, for the little guys, quite often you can find an ‘About’ tab on their website to learn a bit more about the owners, their business and why they started (and are continuing) on this road.
– Ask for advice. Fairly self explanatory. If you are considering a repair shop, ask your friends, family or others you trust if they have used that shop before, if yes, excellent! You can refer to them upon bringing in your device and you have an instant connection to the shop. If they have had a negative experience, it may be a good idea to explore your options.
Parts
Next up we want to look at what parts they use. Many repair shops order whatever parts they need from the cheapest option in China, not having done their due diligence to test or even care for these parts as they should.
Even having a conversation with the shop owner or repair personnel can prove beneficial. Consider asking why they use the parts they do? Have they tried others? What put this current type over the edge as the choice?
Warranty
A warranty or guarantee is an excellent way to understand how confident a shop is in the work they do.
Quality of work is the most important consideration for any shop, and this is the key factor to telling if they have the confidence in their own work.
Cost & Time
It goes without saying that cost is very important when it comes to your device. Money is tight for most of us, so we have to consider our own budgets.
As for time, you do not want to be without your phone for too long. If it is possible, see if a shop has a loaner phone for longer repairs. In addition, some shops do have wait times based on how busy they are, so ask ahead what the devices expected turnaround time will be.
Delivery/Mail In Service
Not a necessary thing for getting your device fixed, but it is an amazing service if the shop is not on your usual route.
In conclusion, the decision for where to repair your device is an important one, so you should take the extra bit of time to look at your options and find the shop you’re most comfortable with.