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Showing posts from 2016

Apple Goes Bigger into Repair! Small Business Will Suffer.

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Be very, very quiet Apple is hunting repair shops! As reported by   MacRumors ,   9TO5Mac   and   TECHTIMES   the mighty Apple appears to be admitting that they can't handle all the device repairs that come into their stores and occur on a daily basis. They have opened more repairs to their   Apple Authorized Service Provider Program   that includes cracked iPhone screens. In other words, 3rd Party repair shops, there is a new competitor in town and they have hundreds of locations across the country. Surprise! Most of these places are not name brand shops (MBS, Inc, Sunrise Computers, etc.) but a lot of Best Buy locations are included and Simply Mac which has 72 stores nationwide. So now when you go on Apple's Support site and choose "Bring in for Repair" it will show customers these new locations and allow them to book an appointment online. Although it looks like they are still strained with the huge number of broken devices they need to service because, of

Repair Industry Research - Apple Needs Us

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Those in the Tech Repair Industry (aka, cell phone repair) all know that Apple has the lowest hanging fruit (get it?) in that the iPhone screen replacement is by far the number one repair in the industry. So much so that some repair companies don't even bother fixing anything else. Even more so, that sooooo many repair companies have tried to incorporate all things Apple into their names. I have often referred to our industry as the 'i' industry.  Research on the Repair Industry As a long time business person (in other words I've been around the block a time or two) I have been surprised at how little research has been done in the Tech Repair Industry and how little attention the media pays to, what I truly believe, is one of the most important up-and-coming industries on the planet. Most news stories are fluff pieces on industry entrepreneurs (which are awesome BTW!) or pieces about dudes stealing private pictures of women when they have their phones fixed (not aw

Why Repair is Making a Comeback! Sprinkled with a little History too!!

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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. Then in 1989 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

Dominoes Are Falling in the Tech Repair Industry - and I'm not talking about pizza

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Wow! In the last three months the TECH repair industry has seen some pretty big dominoes fall and I predict that 2017 will be a breakout year for the industry. It all started back in mid-August when a company most people had never heard of managed to pull down $15 million in series A funding, led by Carmel Ventures, with Sequoia Capital (a kind of serious name in investing) also participating - after seeding CellSavers with $3 million this past December. An $18 million invest in a less than one year old company kind of says something about the tech repair industry don't ya think?? Down goes a domino. August 22, 2016 | Israeli startup  CellSavers , which provides an on-demand repair platform for smartphones and other mobile devices, has completed a $15 million financing round, led by Carmel Ventures, with participation of Sequoia Capital Israel. The current funding follows the company’s $3 million round in seed funding led by Sequoia Capital in December 2015. CellSavers’ pla

It's a New Day and a New Mission for the WiGoMan blog

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I started the WiGoMan blog in 2010 to help spread the message and talk about the virtues of REPAIR. It started with Cell Phone Repair, then added tablets, computers, game systems, drones, circuit boards and even a Teddy Ruxpin. But now it's a new day on the WiGoMan Blog (cue Music) I got back from the Wireless Repair Expo this year at CTIA -- a show I have been attending for too many years to count -- and I realized that after the third Wireless Repair Expo the industry is still struggling to organize. The only people who want to talk to each other are a few shop owners in mainly mid-markets because the bigger guys stay to themselves for some reason - like they have some kind of super secret way to fix stuff??!! I will offer kudos to AJ Forsythe of iCracked who was one of the only larger companies to speak in public!  Anyways, I spent the last year doing a lot of research on the repair industry. I've developed hundreds of contacts around the world with repair shop owner

WIGO TECH Repair in Falls Church Can Fix Your Phone, Tablet, Computer & More!

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WIGO TECH Repair in Falls Church 5657 Columbia Pike Falls Church, VA 22041 Our shop in Falls Church is not your typical "retail" location. We're located in the Rock Spring Professional Center next to Dunkin' Donuts and across Columbia Pike from UHAUL. And we don't face Columbia Pike in the center you have to drive in and around the building to find us. Rock Spring Professional Center So that's a picture of the front of the complex. You drive in one of the two entrances and then drive around the building to find us: WIGO TECH Repair in Falls Church Then in the front door, turn right and in another door. No need to knock, come right in, we love walk-in business - sometimes gets weird talking to machines all the time. Once inside you drop off whatever TECH you need fixed (phone, tablet computer, robot, drone, etc.). If you'd like to wait - because of many of repairs can be done while you wait - you can enjoy our comfy waiting area and fre

Batteries Make the World Go Around - Replace & Recycle!

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Batteries make the world go around, the world go around, the world go around. Batteries make the world go around. They make the world go 'round. **Reference Cabaret - replace "money" with Batteries** Batteries are EVERYWHERE and in EVERYTHING, from the key fob to unlock your car door to starting your car - and if Tesla has it way we'll all be driving an EV very soon. Certainly we all know the pain of a battery going dead on our cell phone when we really, really need it to work. So if the modern cell phone (aka, smartphone) drives our lives and the modern battery is what makes it go, well now you can see why it makes the world go around... So what's up with batteries? They must be a new technology because they sure don't work well, right? Well actually, Alessandro Volta is widely credited with inventing the battery in 1800 but our friend Benjamin Franklin toyed around with them too in 1748. He coined the word "Battery" by borrowing from the

WIGO TECH Repair at the Sprint Block Party in Clarendon

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We work VERY closely with most of the cell phone carriers in the area and often we get invited to come to their events. Our friends at the Sprint store in Clarendon are having a block party TODAY (5/28) with a cool DJ and lots of prize give-a-ways. If your around stop by and check it out! WIGO TECH Repair at Sprint Block Party We've got some FREE Cookies and discount coupons for our repair services! Don't forget to check out our website at www.WiGoTECHRepair.com for details about our service or call us at 844-Get-WiGo (844-438-9446)!

WIGO TECH Repair in Clarendon Fixes Phones, Tablets, Computers & More

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WIGO TECH Repair in Clarendon 1408 N. Fillmore St, 2nd Floor suite 2 Arlington, VA 22201 Our shop in Clarendon is easy to get to but tricky to find. Huh? Well it's right in the heart of Clarendon just off of Wilson Blvd on N. Fillmore St. and only two blocks from the Clarendon Metro BUT it's not a store front like some retail shops. You'll need to find the super secret door that leads to our 2nd floor space. For the first time on the internet I can reveal what the door looks like: Secret Door that leads to WIGO TECH Repair in Clarendon No secret knock is required, just open this door, walk up the steps, turn left and go into the second door on the left (it actually has a sign that says WIGO TECH Repair). Once you enter that door you will be greeted by one of our super smart and very friendly WIGOTECH's who can hep you get your TECH fixed! Friendly WIGOTECH ready to FIX your TECH! WIGO TECH Repair in Clarendon is a small shop but we can fix hundred

Maybe I should Just Buy a New Phone?!

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If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone ask me, "Should I just buy a new phone?" I would be a rich man. But isn't that always the case with your TECH. Something doesn't work right or is tricky to use and the first thing that pops into our head, "I should just buy a new one".  Of course, that's what we think! Why wouldn't we? After all we are getting inundated with tons of advertising messages from all over the place that says THE NEW ONE IS BETTER!! THE NEW ONE IS BETTER!!! Or maybe you're used to hearing, "This is the greatest ( fill in the blank ) we've ever made." Until a year later when... You get the idea. What if I told you can break the cycle and kick the habit of feeling like less of a human being unless you have the latest and greatest TECH. It's OK, you'll survive and more importantly the planet will survive too. Oh and by the way, you'll save yourself a lot of time and money as well!! It's

WiGoClinic is NOW WIGO TECH Repair

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NOW INTRODUCING Call 844-Get-WiGo The only TECH repair shop you will ever need! WIGO TECH Repair is a friendly place to get all of your TECH fixed. We like to say that if it has a power button we can fix it. So bring us your cracked iPhone screens (easy), your liquid damaged electronics (a little tougher), your malware/spyware infected computer (yea we can do that too), data retrieval on the device that won't start up (tough, but we can do it) or making repairs to the motherboard of one of your prized electronics (now that's tough, but our "Superman" head Tech can do it!). WIGO TECH Repair has three locations in the DC are (see below for info): WIGO TECH Repair in Falls Church 5657 Columbia Pike Falls Church, VA 22041 WIGO TECH Repair in Westover 5912 Washington Blvd Arlington, VA 22205 WIGO TECH Repair in Clarendon 1408 N Fillmore St., 2nd Floor suite 2 Arlington, VA 22201 If you need some TECH fixed (Phone, tablet, computer, drone, robo

Blizzard 2016! Snowzilla! WiGoClinic is OPEN!!!

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So when I pulled up to work today -- after the Jonas, Snowzilla, the Blizzard of 2016 or what ever the heck you want to call two feet of snow in DC -- and I was greeted by this lovely sight. Snowzilla - The Blizzard of 2016 The good news is that we're OPEN for business to help you get all of your TECH fixed! The bad news is parking is limited - unless you have a snowmobile (or as Sarah Palin calls them a snow machine - not sure what Donald Trump calls them, but I'm sure he doesn't need one).  So come on by by our shop in Fairfax if you'd need a cracked screen fixed, charge port issue, battery draining to fast, liquid damaged device or if you just want to play on the extremely large pile of snow in our parking lot! Since our vans look like this:  It might be a day or two before we can get them back on the road, but give us a call to arrange mobile service if you need it. We'll do our best to take care of you and your broken TECH! Hope you're al