GAME 1: Is Your Tech Repair Business Major League Or Stuck In The Minors? HIRING PRACTICES for Cell Phone Repair

TOP HIRING PRACTICES TO HELP BUILD YOUR BEST TEAM

In the spirit of baseball here is game one of my seven game series about how to build a championship repair company.

Playing baseball is easy, all you need is a bat and a ball. Find a field, add some gloves, bases, nine players and it becomes a team. Anyone can create a team but only a few can win a championship.

Just like baseball repairing tech is easy, all you need is a screwdriver and a part. Buy a tool kit, anti-static mat, a few parts, post an ad online, put up a sign and you become a business. Anyone can repair cell phones but only a few can build a business that will last.

Much like baseball teams tech repair companies come and go on a regular basis. One day you're hot the next day you're cold. One day your fans are cheering you on and the next day it's nothing but 1-star reviews on Yelp

There is nothing I love more than a game seven of the World Series and a couple of years ago the good Lord blessed us with one of the best. In what some are calling "Divine intervention" the Cubs came back from a 3-1 series deficit and in dramatic fashion won game seven with two runs in the 10th inning after a brief rain delay. 

But it wasn't just that one game. To become World Champions the Cubs had to win 114 games during the 2016 season which took a lot of hard work from a TEAM! And the Cubs are living proof that championships don't happen all that often -- 108 years for those lovable losers.

For a TEAM to get to the World Series that TEAM has to be major league. There is just no way around it. To win and become the best you have to know how to win the game you are playing. You can't be stuck in the past because baseball is a game of adjustments. Once someone identifies your weaknesses it is up to you to work hard and make the adjustments. To win big sometimes the GM will need to make an unpopular trade or the manager will need to bench a guy or send him to the bullpen.

You can't just be a one trick pony either. I mean, a pitcher could throw 115 mph but if he can't throw a strike he's not major league. A player could be great at stealing bases but if he can't hit above the Mendoza line then he too is NOT major league.

What's Baseball Got to Do with Repair?

Stay with me here, I'm about to throw an inside curve that might hurt. 

My question to all of you repair companies, repair techs and big repair companies is this: Are you a Major League TEAM that is built to win long term or are you struggling in the minors to put up impressive stats? I mean let's all be honest with each other here shall we? Replacing glass on a cracked screen is just about the easiest thing a tech can do on most phones. As we all know, getting into the game is pretty easy. In fact, the back story on just about every tech repair company founder in the country starts with, "I broke my phone and decided to see if I could fix it...".

Let me be crystal clear, just because you're big in your city, region or even nationally doesn't mean you are major league. You have to ask yourself is my TEAM built for future success or are we just trying to win the game today?

Here comes the inside curve...

One of the things I love to do is mystery shop repair shops across the country -- which my family really loves when we're on vacation. I don't get paid for it but I really enjoy getting a feel for the industry as a whole. I've done it for many years now and I have found some pretty incredible people and some very talented techs across the industry. I have also seen my fair share of techs who are dragging down the team and should be sent back down to the minors or outright released. One time I was talking to a guy at a mall kiosk (2nd day on the job) and he ripped the battery connector off the board of an iPhone right in front of me. Oops!

As a multi-store repair company owner for more than ten years I had all kinds of people work for me - some hall-of-famers, some all-stars and many pretenders. Finding the best people and building a successful TEAM is tough. Many of my all-star techs from my early days in cell phone repair took off and started their own shops. Being first in a major market means others will recruit your talent -- when Radio Shack launched their repair services in 2014 DC was their second market to launch and they recruited away some of my best people (so sorry that didn't work out for you all 😄).

Finding the right talent for your repair shop is the most important thing you will do. Take your time, develop it slowly and you will build a championship squad.

Building a Team for a Championship

Game One - Finding a Good Tech

A championship tech repair shop begins with finding the best techs. Finding an experienced tech to come work for you is going to be tough. My advice when hiring, look for traits that make a great tech by going entry level, be honest in your hiring and start them in the minors with the opportunity to advance quickly. You will need to invest a lot of time training these entry level techs but they will learn to do the job your way - which you should believe is the best way!

Here are some of the traits I found in my best techs:

• A patient person. Impatient people don't do well here! If they have trouble with a repair they going to force something and cause more problems or rush to judgement on an issue - I once had a interview where the person stopped the interview, stood up and said I'm probably the most impatient person in the world. Maybe I should not do this job. Ya think!
• Has fine motor skills. You have to work with tiny tools and tiny parts all day long. If they are all thumbs and can't tell you about something they did with their hands not a match - had a guy who built ships in a bottle once, those were some fine motor skills! Building "ships in a bottle" is super geeky but makes for an amazing repair tech.
• Has an attention to detail. In tech repair DETAILS MATTER! After taking out all the screws you need to put it back the same way! Or when you check-in a device for repair making sure you examine everything to make sure there are not secondary issues - ever found liquid damage AFTER you started a repair?! 
• Is a bit of a tech geek. My best techs were the ones who LOVED technology and they got excited when a new phone came into the shop. They loved making tech devices whole again - My worst techs, not so much.
• They are committed to the mission of repair. You need people who believe without a shadow of a doubt that REPAIR is the best option. This is vital to your success as well and if you're not 100% on board on this one you will fail. Most of your customers are going to be on the fence when it comes to repair you don't want someone who is anti-repair working for you - I had a tech once who was NEVER able to successfully check-in a customer. Watched him with customers and realized he actually hated repair and thought it was a waste of time. He went to work for Apple.
• Demonstrates honesty and integrity. Tough one here because this will start with YOU! This is a fine line in business, let's be honest ;-). It's easy to say you believe in it but think about it - If your waiter told you that the meal you were about to order was full of fat or that someone last week got food poisoning after eating it you might not order that dish. 

You're going to notice that I never once said find a GOOD SALESPERSON. Your best techs are NOT going to be good sales people and/or good at customer service. They are going to be good at fixing stuff, which is what you want them to do and what your business is all about. Once in a blue moon you're going to find a unicorn that can do both. That person will be your store manager. DO NOT expect many of your techs to be that person. 

Once you identify the type of people you think are right for your business you need to take the next steps to insure you have the right person.

We'll discuss that in Game 2 - stay tuned!