In the old days - dang I sound like an old man - you would get stuff fixed when it broke. I fondly remember helping my dad carry our TV console down to the car to take to the Repair shop. Heck I even remember going with dad to get a blender fixed one time at a local repair shop. Things changed in 1989 when Gordon Jump became the "Maytag Repairman" and his character became an iconic metaphor for a professional whose services are rarely needed.
You see innovation in the home appliance market had pretty much peaked by this time. So to sell more product companies like Maytag built a better product that they could charge more for and convince folks that they could do without "ol' Lonely" as he was called.
Many other industries followed suit and tried to build better stuff that didn't need to be repaired as often. Really only the high-tech stuff, that was still innovating needed repair centers. The Cell Phone industry was one of those products as both Nokia and Motorola -- who both dominated the industry at that time -- had service and warranty centers all over the world. In the early 2000's you could actually take your cell phone -- maybe a classic Nokia 3310 -- into one of these centers in most cities, have it fixed and then pick it up a few days later and have the SAME cell phone. Seriously folks Nokia & Motorola had hundreds of authorized repair centers around the country - not to mention the ones around the world.
Need a new battery? You could easily pick one up at most cell phone stores. Power users often owned multiple batteries so they could just pop one in when the other one went bad. Stand-alone chargers were common in many homes or offices.
Then on June 29, 2007 everything changed! Apple launched a mildly, he said sarcastically, new device that Steve Jobs said, "was the best iPod they ever built". OK, it was the iPhone, but that is truly what Jobs said when he unveiled it in 2007. And it had a glass screen. That broke. A lot!!!
So, with the birth of a new "Smartphone" came the birth of the cell Phone Repair Industry. This new opportunity in repair broke open a whole new industry and started getting people back into the mindset of getting things fixed again. It also created jobs, lots and lots of jobs! Soon every Tom, Dick, Harry, Justin, AJ and Rob we're fixing iPhones and opening repair shops in every corner of the country.
Twelve years later and the Cell Phone Repair Industry has set the table for even more opportunities for the tech repair industry. You see the reason the cell phone repair industry has done as well as it has isn't because people just wanted to get their phones fixed. It's because they want to get their phones fixed FAST! Users couldn't do without these pocket computers for very long. The cell phone repair industry exploded
Many companies (Asurion, Flextronics, HTC, Apple, etc.) have had a way for people to get their phones "fixed" but it meant you had to replace it. They all failed to see that people wanted it FIXED FAST & EASY! There systems involved filing claims, sitting on hold, waiting in line, making appointments, checking the mail, going to a store, mailing back something, hassle, hassle, hassle!
The innovators of the cell phone repair industry showed the world that when a customer has some broken tech they want it fixed on their terms!
Why Do I think Tech Repair Will Continue to Evolve?
We are witnessing major, major advances in tech. Just like in 2007 when the iPhone revolutionized the cell phone industry you are seeing major (have I used that word enough) innovation in almost every product you could imagine.
From smart thermostats to smart lawn sprinklers, everything is getting more complex which means more stuff is going to need to be fixed, installed and adjusted for a lot of people who want to make their lives easier and take advantage of this new "Smart" industry. As new innovation takes hold in the market people will need it FIXED FAST & EASY!
As Tech serves our daily needs more and more -- robotics for example -- we will need a new generation of Tech Repair professionals to meet the demand
The old "cell phone repair industry" isn't dying it's changing for those that will accept the challenge. It can and will evolve into a more modern, more powerful Tech Repair Industry (TRI) if everyone has the same vision and works together. The OEM's are NOT going to make this easy for us or for their customers!
You see innovation in the home appliance market had pretty much peaked by this time. So to sell more product companies like Maytag built a better product that they could charge more for and convince folks that they could do without "ol' Lonely" as he was called.
Many other industries followed suit and tried to build better stuff that didn't need to be repaired as often. Really only the high-tech stuff, that was still innovating needed repair centers. The Cell Phone industry was one of those products as both Nokia and Motorola -- who both dominated the industry at that time -- had service and warranty centers all over the world. In the early 2000's you could actually take your cell phone -- maybe a classic Nokia 3310 -- into one of these centers in most cities, have it fixed and then pick it up a few days later and have the SAME cell phone. Seriously folks Nokia & Motorola had hundreds of authorized repair centers around the country - not to mention the ones around the world.
Need a new battery? You could easily pick one up at most cell phone stores. Power users often owned multiple batteries so they could just pop one in when the other one went bad. Stand-alone chargers were common in many homes or offices.
| 1st Gen iPhone |
So, with the birth of a new "Smartphone" came the birth of the cell Phone Repair Industry. This new opportunity in repair broke open a whole new industry and started getting people back into the mindset of getting things fixed again. It also created jobs, lots and lots of jobs! Soon every Tom, Dick, Harry, Justin, AJ and Rob we're fixing iPhones and opening repair shops in every corner of the country.
Twelve years later and the Cell Phone Repair Industry has set the table for even more opportunities for the tech repair industry. You see the reason the cell phone repair industry has done as well as it has isn't because people just wanted to get their phones fixed. It's because they want to get their phones fixed FAST! Users couldn't do without these pocket computers for very long. The cell phone repair industry exploded
Many companies (Asurion, Flextronics, HTC, Apple, etc.) have had a way for people to get their phones "fixed" but it meant you had to replace it. They all failed to see that people wanted it FIXED FAST & EASY! There systems involved filing claims, sitting on hold, waiting in line, making appointments, checking the mail, going to a store, mailing back something, hassle, hassle, hassle!
The innovators of the cell phone repair industry showed the world that when a customer has some broken tech they want it fixed on their terms!
Why Do I think Tech Repair Will Continue to Evolve?
We are witnessing major, major advances in tech. Just like in 2007 when the iPhone revolutionized the cell phone industry you are seeing major (have I used that word enough) innovation in almost every product you could imagine.
From smart thermostats to smart lawn sprinklers, everything is getting more complex which means more stuff is going to need to be fixed, installed and adjusted for a lot of people who want to make their lives easier and take advantage of this new "Smart" industry. As new innovation takes hold in the market people will need it FIXED FAST & EASY!
As Tech serves our daily needs more and more -- robotics for example -- we will need a new generation of Tech Repair professionals to meet the demand
The old "cell phone repair industry" isn't dying it's changing for those that will accept the challenge. It can and will evolve into a more modern, more powerful Tech Repair Industry (TRI) if everyone has the same vision and works together. The OEM's are NOT going to make this easy for us or for their customers!
Opportunity Awaits YOU!
If you've seen the modern adaptation of the Maytag Repair Man you no longer see a repairman waiting around his shop for an appliance to break. This new, square jawed, handsome fella (spoken by a 100% heterosexual man, of course) is now in the home playing the part of the actual appliance. I don't know about you but I have seen A LOT of repair vehicles on the road these days including the Maytag Repair Man. Think they're trying to sell tell us something?
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This post first appeared on TECH Repair - Yes Or No & What To Know, please read the originial post: here
