Expanding in Central Arkansas

Three years ago when we started First Class Cellular Repair in Conway, Arkansas we had a dream.  The dream was to become the premier iPhone and smart device repair center in Central Arkansas.  After serving thousand of customers, we believe that this dream is coming true.  Because of this, we have decided to open up a third location.

We will be announcing our new location in the coming weeks.  We can tell you that this repair store will be much more convenient for our customers that live in places like Lonoke, Jacksonville, Cabot and Searcy.  You won't have to drive "all the way out to West Little Rock" any more.  We can assure you that our new location will have the same high standards of professionalism that our stores in Chenal and Conway have.  We believe is satisfying one customer at a time.

And, we'll have another store doing Facebook Fridays!  Stay tuned.

Where Did I Leave My iPhone?

Unfortunately, this post is inspired by a friend that recently lost her iPhone. She did not have the "Find My iPhone" setting turned on in her phone. She left the iPhone in a cab and no one responded when she called her number. At this point, the iPhone is lost.  It did not have to be this way. Turning on the iPhone locator function is pretty easy. Here are the steps:

First, click on the "Settings" icon on the home screen;

Second, click on the "iCloud" bar;

Third, scroll down to the "Find My iPhone" bar.  Switch it "on".

Those three steps turn the app on.  If you lose your iPhone somewhere, this will work as long as the device is powered on and in an area with cellular service or WiFi.  It won't work if the battery has died or if a thief turns it off - so act fast.

Now, go to the website www.icloud.com and sign in to the site with your Apple ID and password. Click on "Find My iPhone" and a map will appear showing where your device is currently located. The rest is easy. Just track down your device from here.

The key is making sure that the "Find My iPhone" setting is turned on. Everything flows from that. If you have problems locating the iPhone later please feel free to call us at (501) 420-2273. It's a horrible feeling to know that someone else is in possession of all your data, pictures, contacts, etc.  Please don't be a victim.  Check your settings right now.

Each One, Teach One

We get a lot of questions on how on to set up e-mail on the iPhone.  We get a lot of questions on Facetime and Bluetooth.  We get a lot of questions on iCloud.  We just get a lot of questions.  So, we have decided to have a class on how to use the iPhone.  It's very exciting.

On January 31st at our West Little Rock store in Chenal we will be conducting our first ever iPhone (and iPad for that matter) class.  It will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last around an hour - unless we're having too much fun to stop.  We're going to have a PowerPoint and everything.  Like I said, it's very exciting.

If you know someone that wants to learn more about how their iPhone works here is the link to sign up:http://www.fccrepair.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81

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!