Let me start off by stating that working in cell phone repair is hard.
Yes!
And more so than toiling in other verticals.
No – I’m not being overly biased here; lending favor to my vocation. I’m simply pointing towards the reality of the affair.
A Heartfelt Rant… (on working stress)
The stress engendered in the domain doesn’t only come from the narrow work occupation. The day-to-day bother of pouring over intricate device circuitry. Striving against the clock to restore a given gadget to its original semblance. Something that is hard to pull off in the absolute sense (as even the manufacturers attest).
I’m also pointing to the morose that comes with dealing with pesky customers. The kinds of walk-ins who remain unsatisfied with every fix. People who carry with them an air of unapologetic superiority. Functioning as if they own the repair tech; the entire business, even. And only against the exchange of meager notes of currency.
This psychological accompaniment of the trade is what is more taxing. The work, especially when you like doing it, only irritates you to a little extent. Its requirement for cultivating patient customer-dealing skills is a rough order.
The commonly touted sales prescription of the ‘customer always being right’ has bolstered this problem. Because clients – and not only in repair – feel entitled to bully their unlucky merchants. Drawing, again, on the sense that they own them. If I were to be truthful, I’d consider the situation akin to modern-day slavery!
But enough with this rant, already.
Onto the Stuff that Bites
Here, I’m going to pen the 5 things that infuriate every cell phone repair tech. Making them question (on one too many occasions, unfortunately) if they’re in the right business. The kinds of vexations that can’t be done without – not even with the most proactive measures.
Day-to-day mind, heart, and soul busters like:
- Non-Understanding Managers
- Complicated Software Interfaces
- Uncomfortable Working Desks
- Shifty Payment Tariffs & Schedules
- Compromises on Materials & ‘Fix Equipment’
The issues that I’ve discovered provide the most pause to professional repair techs. Problems that directly contribute to a repair shop’s worker churn rate.
On the flip side, working towards resolving these lapses virtually guarantees worker retention.
Let’s get down to opening these pointers separately – uncovering the full hassle.
1. Uncooperative Managers
Now, most repair techs work under a managerial arrangement. Unless, of course, they come blessed by providence to run their own show.
Simply put, the best repair managers are the people who are also versed in the field. Pros who understand, intimately, how a typical repair gig should proceed. These overseers generally prove to be congenial taskmasters. Exacting only to the point of pragmatism – and nothing beyond.
Other kinds of administrators, who come devoid of any field understanding, don’t get the minutiae. Their only concern – usually – is with the bottom (dollar) line. The tech’s idiosyncrasies of approach, of abnormal commitment, don’t faze them.
In my experience, I’ve found that the people who publicly display their college MBAs fare the worst on this front. Their profiles are rendered more pitiable when they come without any suitable repair credentials.
So, the remedy here is to employ only field-immersed specialists in shop management positions.
2. Complex Software Interfaces
Repair techs are notorious for keeping things simple. And for expecting the same cognitive respite in return.
In a modern-day repair setting, nothing, of course, compares with the shop-centrality of business management software. Generally referred to as cell phone repair store software in the going field vernacular.
Nowadays, almost everyone comes armed with the communicative arsenal of tablets, PCs, and smartphones. This great influx of screen-equipped gadgets directly translates into more repair gigs. A totally natural occurrence – human (and other) failings that can’t be alleviated.
This huge volume of broken devices doesn’t directly correspond with the professional repair techs on hand. And I mean this in a global sense; after going through mountains of surveys on the issue. An opening that justifies the case for seamless automation. Introducing machines to the mix for repetitive tasks management.
Now, most repair shop software comes with a little learning curve. Those that offer more features require more extensive operational learnings. Some high-end market subscriptions even require a month for tactical onboarding (where the actual work is made practicable).
So, as a going prescription, it’s always best – for commercial repair ventures – to make do with simpler alternatives. Cell phone repair store software provides only a handful of options (enabling easy assimilation).
3. Inhospitable Working Locations
A bummer like no other – truth be told!
For a repair tech, the workstation is sacred. Hallowed ground where the magic – spurned by talent and experience – takes place. Where resurrection, provided everything goes according to plan, is actualized.
An uncomfortable work location, on the other hand, ensures that all this wizardry comes to nothing.
Here, I’m alluding to repair desks that don’t come attached with the required:
- Device salvaging equipment
- Comfortable seating (or sitting) space
- Uninterrupted electricity
- Absolution from noise/any extraneous interference
- A pleasant, lengthy-work-enabling, environmental ambiance
Things that even the best cell phone repair store software can’t provide compensation for.
Without quality soldering rods, for instance, you can’t hope to perform minute board valve repairs. The repair tech can’t, obviously, perform the deed with their bare hands.
Similarly, you can’t expect the said wizard to keep standing or sitting. The freedom of movement provided by a dedicated ergonomic space for the purpose is crucial.
So is the provision of continuous electricity – required to power the repair equipment. Let’s not even talk about its necessity for running the entire show.
External noise streams are also known to bog the typical repair gig. Despite a given tech’s receptivity to loud music (the heavy metal preferred by many in the field).
A repair tech’s immediate environment can make or break a ‘fix’ venture. So, it stands to reason that a managerial apparatus that facilitates the ambiance will result in greater repairs outflow.
4. Unreliable Payments Schedules
At the end of the day, all repair techs work for the currency. Their entire motivation behind continuing with the toil comes manifested in the form of the received paper bills. So, in this important sense, no business can remain viable for long without a timely payments commitment. Otherwise, it risks shoring up its attrition.
This reminder is kind of a no-brainer, really. But it’s still worth recollecting because a lot of repair shop owners, who are all taken with their POS software subscriptions (thinking it to be something messianic), ignore the proposition.
5. Materials Compromises
Stock cuts and low inventory levels are dangerous – because they effectively freeze the entire repair business workflow. And so are the repair equipment/tool shortages that impede the actual work.
So, word to the wise store owner: Don’t skimp on the essentials!
So there you have it.
The top 5 bothers that, in my opinion, can drive any repair tech up the wall.
If you’re a repair field novice or vet, I’d love to get your scoop on the affair.
Feel free to dish in the comments below.
