WiGoMan Blog - Tech Care (Repair, Reuse, Recycle) Industry Leader

Apple recently relocated its first ever retail store in Tysons Corner Center to a new "reimagined" location. 22 years after opening the first ever Apple store they relocated to a more popular section of the mall. This much ballyhooed reimagined location was celebrated with lots of pictures in the official Apple press release . Seems by all accounts to be a joyous celebration for one of the largest tech giants in the world. Kind of. All except for two small businesses that stood in the way of this corporate titans reimagining. Notice the picture below from the press release: Outside the new Apple Store May 2023 A few months before this picture you would have seen a successful mall kiosk that had been in operation for more than seven years. This small business had the misfortune to 1) be in the line of sight for this new Apple store, and 2) offer competing products at a better price. See the before picture below: Small business kiosk before Apple moved in 2022 You see,...

...the trade route. It effects every aspect of the tech care industry and the existing trade route needs to be broken in order for everyone in the industry to thrive. Right to Repair is an important issue but it is unlikely to move forward or help the industry until we overcome this stumbling block. Just like the Silk Road (pictured above) trade routes have been around a long time and once established they become almost unbreakable. Trade routes still exist on a macro and micro level as an established route that traders follow all over our world. When disrupted it can cause lots of problems -- like the Ever Given that was recently stuck in the Suez Canal. The fact is trade routes often become taken for granted as the way business is done. Modern consumers establish trade routes as well. How many of you "have" to pick up your Starbucks before work? And big, huge corporations like Starbucks or McDonalds put a lot of planning into where a location goes. They know how to find t...

This is a big year for right to repair legislation in statehouses all across our great country. State legislators are hearing about the need for more repair options from repair people all over our country and rejecting lame excuses from corporate lobbyists who represent manufacturers who want to keep an iron fist of control on our electronic devices. But why listen to me ramble on when you can read actual quotes from actual state legislators who seem to be leaning in our direction. Enjoy (unless of course you like draconian rules for repair) these quotes from the Washington State hearing today: Senator Hasegawa "I’m here to advocate for small businesses. We need to create opportunities for digital entrepreneurs. This bill opens up opportunities." Senator Rolfes "My grandfather was an immigrant and a cobbler. Back then, shoes were expensive and built to last. Those who repair technology are the cobblers of the 21st century." The Senator, who is ...

Ouch, you just dropped your iPhone for what seems like the millionth time. You pick it up hoping, yea praying, that once again the screen is not cracked. You turn it over and terror fills your soul because it looks like a tiny spider has crawled inside and spun a web. But it's not a spider web your iPhone screen is CRACKED - WHAT NOW? Your first inclination will be to go back to the place you purchased it from - The Apple store, AT&T, Verizon, Best Buy, T-Mobile, Target, Costco, etc. Don't! These are RETAIL stores that sell billions of dollars of goods - in the case of Apple $265 billion in annual sales just last year. There job as a company, in duty to their shareholders, is to increase sales. So what do you think is the first thing they will try to do? (hint: you're going to walk by lots of them as you walk into the store). You got it, they are going to try to get you to buy a new phone.  All these shiny new iPhone's are like kitties at the pet st...

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 Noki...

Okay, let's not call it a comeback but after not posting anything here for a little over two years I've decided to start posting about tech/cell phone repair again. Yea me! READERS : So what have you been doing the last couple of years WiGoMan? WiGoMan : Learning more about Tech Repair. A lot more, in fact READERS : What happened to that repair business you started back in 2010? Didn't you have something like 10 locations in the DMV area? WiGoMan : Long story short, after growing the WiGoClinic into ten locations across the DMV and repairing thousands of devices we hit our ceiling as a company. I wanted to take the company in a new direction but the staff just wasn't on-board. That's when I decided to sell the company and venture off on my own. Worked for a couple of repair companies and consulted with a few more. Now I'm consulting with repair companies and startups. Searching for the Next Big Thing! READERS : Cool... and what does that mean to us? ...

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...

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 ...

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...

It's been a while since my last post and it's been even longer since I wrote about our Fairfax shop - in fact I don't think I have ever written just about our Fairfax shop. So let me take a moment of your time and tell you about our Fairfax shop and why it is a GREAT place to get your cell phone, tablet or computer fixed. Our FAIRFAX, VA Shop is a great place to get your broken cell phone, tablet or computer fixed! There so now you know it's a great place to get your personal electronics fixed. Here's a picture too: WiGoClinic - Cell Phone, Tablet & Computer Repair in Fairfax A Brief History: Our Fairfax shop opened in 2010 and quickly became our flagship location. After operating the WiGoClinic as a division of another company for a few years our Fairfax location was our first stand-alone location. We have serviced thousands of device at this location.  So you might ask yourself, " Why should I come to this location? " (If you'd like...