New Year, Same Issues

I hope everyone has had a good start to 2013. We had our busiest month ever in December. We could not be happier with serving our customers and keeping their devices working so they can conduct business and enjoy life. There is one thing, though. It's a new year but we are still fighting the same issues - in particular, we are fighting the myth of how liquid damage works and how it is repaired.

Rice is not the answer to liquid damage. In fact, it will probably make the damage worse in many cases. Why? Because liquid damage is like having a cancer inside of a phone. If your body had cancer, would you sit inside a bathtub full of rice and reasonably expect that this would somehow stop the spread of the cancer? Of course not. And, rice won't stop the spread of corrosion inside of a phone.

Here is a really good article that explains in detail the science behind what happens to a liquid damaged phone - http://goo.gl/DEmTV. The essence of the article is that putting a wet phone into rice actually quickens the development of corrosion inside of the phone. The article also explains why it is easier to repair a water damaged phone rather than one exposed to more acidic liquids such as orange juice or soft drinks. In short, any kind of liquid exposure can start the corrosion process but some liquids corrode faster than others. That is why some phones dropped in water will continue to work for a few weeks (even months) before finally giving out to the cancer-like corrosion growing inside of them.

So, what inspired this blog post? Two things happened. First, I had a friend that threw away a $200 phone because he thought that it was completely destroyed following a swim in the sink. He placed the phone into rice but it never came back on. Then. He. Threw. The. Phone. Away! He didn't know that we fix liquid damage every day. (Note: I'm on a mission to tell everyone now). Second, I had another friend that had water damage last week and put the phone into rice. The phone is working right now. I explained that the corrosion takes longer to develop in some instances. She replied: "Ok, I'll let you know if a problem occurs." I hate to say it, but it is just a matter of time. You see, when you have cancer and don't treat it properly you die. A phone is no different. It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will eventually happen and by then it will be too late to fix.

Please let us help. We will open your phone and show you where the corrosion is growing. We'll do this for free. Just give us a chance to diagnose the device first. Please don't throw away a $200 phone. Please don't fail to act because someone told you that rice somehow cures liquid damage. There is no scientific reason why that would happen. Yes, sometimes people get lucky. But, if your phone has cancer do you really want to rely on luck to fix it?

The Christmas Spirit of Giving

So, we had an idea the other day.  Normally, we give something away to one person each week during our Facebook Friday promotion.  We have been known to give away LifeProof cases, Walmart gift cards, gas cards, gift certificates to local restaurants and all sorts of prizes.  We always get a great response.  This week, the week before Christmas, we wanted to do something different, something a little more broad-reaching.  Thus, the idea sprang to donate some money to charity by getting our customer base involved.

On Friday, we told our Facebook customers that we would donate $1.00 to a single charity for every "like" of our status - the response was overwhelming.  Combining our Conway and West Little Rock locations, we had 600 total "likes".  Because of this great response, we will be donating $600.00 to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas.  The Ronald McDonald House is a place where families can stay for free while their child is admitted to Children's Hospital.  It is a great charity that serves people when they are most in need of help.

We want to thank all of our customers for participating in this effort.  We are so happy to help others this Christmas season.  The spirit of giving leads to wonderful results.  We hope you enjoy your family in the next few days.  Merry Christmas!

Aaaah....The Holidays

We hope you have the holiday spirit.  We kicked off the season with our Black Facebook Friday promotion.  We sold LifeProof cases for only $50 and had a great response.  We also got in some new Arkansas Razorback iPhone cases and they are a hit.  And next week we'll have Santa Claus posing for pictures...well, not really.  It was a nice thought, though.

The holidays have arrived and we are in a good mood.  First, we want to give thanks for our customers.  We  are still small enough that we know a lot of you by name.  Personally, I love standing at our counter and listening to the stories of how you ended up in our store.  This month alone, they include: "My son dropped my iPad after our team scored a touchdown and he was doing a victory dance"; "I accidentally ran over my iPhone after leaving it on the top of my trunk and forgetting about it"; and "I dropped my iPhone in my margarita".  (NOTE: The last one is my favorite).

Second, we feel more than ever that we are providing value to our customers.  We have had a lot of great customer feedback lately.  We are proud of our track record.  Our Conway, Arkansas store has been in business for two and half years now and we could not be happier.  Our West Little Rock, Arkansas store has been open for six months and it is really starting to take off.  We are seeing a lot of people come in and say "my friend told me about you guys because you did a great job fixing their broken screen".

Finally, it's the holidays!  It's a time to hang out with family, eat a little too much, and think about how lucky we really are in life.  So, we are excited about the holidays and if you come by to see us you'll see what we're talking about.  Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

BLACK FRIDAY SPECIALS

We're gonna run a special or two on Black Friday.  We've already made the decision.  We're committed to this promotion.  What will we do? We might do cracked iPhone screen repairs for half-price.  We might discount a Mophie case by 40%.  We might even do an outrageous offer on iPhone Lifeproof cases.  You're gonna want to follow our Facebook page to find out.

One reason we run specials is to make sure that our current customers are letting their friends know that we can help them too.  Also, the holiday season is upon us and everyone benefits by saving a few bucks.  We want to be your first thought when it comes to repairing cellular devices, computers and game systems.

We're not expecting anyone to be sleeping outside our doors in Little Rock or Conway to line up for our Black Friday special.  But, we're gonna make it worth your while if you do!

YES! We will buy your old phone

Since we started First Class Cellular Repair almost three years ago we have bought old iPhones, iPads, iPods and other brands of phones from customers.  The prices we will pay vary widely depending upon the version of the phone, the condition and whether we can use the phone for parts.  We have paid as much as $450 for a new version iPhone and as little as $20 for a three year old phone.  In short, we need to see the phone before we can make an offer to buy it from you.

The reason for this blog post is we realize that we have not done a good enough job of conveying the message of: "Yes! We will buy your old phone."  We get asked this question daily and that comes even from our loyal customer base.  Therefore, we are going to start pushing this message wide and far.  We are asking you to tell your friends that First Class Cellular Repair will buy their old phone (or tablet, iPod, etc.).  When someone is going to get an upgrade please have them bring their old phone by our Little Rock or Conway location and we'll make them an offer for the old phone.

If you run a business that has 20 old phones sitting in a box collecting dust, please call us and we'll make a visit to your office and see if we can make you an offer on those old phones.  It may not be much and we may not be able to offer anything.  But, at least you will know and we will have made a new friend.  We're happy to do it. Just ask.

"Fix my iPhone...but don't take it away from me..."

I traveled from Little Rock to Fayetteville last weekend to watch the Razorbacks dismantle the Kentucky Wildcats football team.  One of my friends, who shall remain nameless, had dropped her iPhone during a rain storm the day before the game.  The phone had gotten wet for about an hour.  It was starting to show the classic signs of liquid damage one day later.  I told her that First Class Cellular Repair would fix the liquid damage and the iPhone would work great after that.  She would even get the "Friends and Family" discount so this would be a painless and very affordable endeavor.  There was just one hitch - I actually needed her to hand me the iPhone.

Before the game we talked about the corrosion that was happening inside of her iPhone.  I explained how even though the iPhone was now dry that did not stop the corrosion of the logic board.  I told her there was a cancer growing inside her iPhone and that it would eventually just die one day in the future.  She listened intently to me while at the same time sending out texts and updating her Facebook status.  I asked several times for her to hand me the phone so I could have it in my possession.  She responded: "I'll just give it to you after the game".

Well, after the game she was gone.  I never got the iPhone.  She didn't want to let it out of her sight for a couple of days.  I told her we could take out her SIM card and put it on another iPhone in the interim.  She had seemed unsure and then was nowhere to be found after the game.  In short, she could not do without her iPhone for two days.  It wasn't gonna happen.  The sad part is the iPhone will get worse until it just dies one day.  At that point, we'll have to take the iPhone away but it will probably be way too late at that point to fix.

SAME HOUR SERVICE

We held our First Annual Customer Appreciation Day at our Little Rock store last Friday.  We were busy from the time the doors opened until they closed.  We offered half-price on Apple product repairs.  We fixed dozens of broken iPhone screens.  And, we were quick.  Most of our repairs were completed within 30 minutes of the customer walking through the door.

Do you really want to be without your phone overnight?  What if you get a text about a party your friend is having?  What if the lottery commission decides to give you some money?  What about checking your Facebook status twice an hour?  You don't want to let that phone out of your sight too long!  Therefore, we offer you same day service on almost all repairs.  In fact, for a standard broken iPhone screen repair we can get this done within the same hour you drop it off.

We understand your schedule is busy.  We want to repair your Droid, iPhone or other product quickly and we do it right the first time.  We cannot guarantee that we won't have a lobby full of customers when you walk in, but we can guarantee that we'll work our tails off to help you out quickly...many times within an hour.