From the July print edition of Hometown News USA
Cracked Screens Don’t Mean Shattered Dreams—They Fix It Fast
We live in a fast-paced, connected world where smartphones, tablets and lap-tops make up a significant part of our everyday lives. At the touch of a button or swipe of a finger, you can call halfway around the world or plan a trip from Florida to Alaska. Our iPhones, iPads, iPods, Galaxies, Droids and other portable devices have become indispensable, which is why iHeartRepair in Lakewood Ranch serves as an important solution when issues arise. They are fast, reliable and guaranteed to get you texting, emailing and chatting with a minimum of downtime and a maximum of know-how. Josh Muccio, founder and owner of iHeartRepair, knows the heartbreak of a cracked screen. “My wife actually cried when it happened.” But that heartbreak led to a business idea that would end up helping thousands of customers.
The Professor Made Him Do It
Josh never set out to become a smartphone “fix-it” guy; it just kind of fell in his lap. In 2010, during his senior year at Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, Josh’s professor assigned a project of either starting a business and writing a paper about that business or consulting with an existing business and writing a paper on that. He decided to go with what he thought would be the easier of the two projects. “I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s start a business,’ because it was a much shorter paper I had to write.” It was during this time that Josh’s future wife broke her iPhone and they discovered how limited their repair choices were. That became the inspiration for doing an online repair business as his college project. Although Josh did not know anything about iPhone repair at the time, as a kid growing up in Elkhart, Indiana, he had always been captivated by taking things apart. One of his favorite books was How Things Work and he spent hours watching the Discovery Channel. He took his fascination for figuring things out and learned everything he could about repairing smartphones, tablets and computers. Josh’s project was hugely successful, even garnering attention from potential investors. As part of the entrepreneurial project, he was required to pitch his business to a group of people at the college in a situation similar to the TV show Shark Tank. “We had to do a Shark Tank type pitch and they wanted to invest in the idea. They thought it could go somewhere.” The Real World After graduating from college, Josh put his online business on the back burner to concentrate on a “real” job using his finance degree. “I went and got a job in accounting and it was probably one of the worst jobs in my life. It was a bad situation. I was there exactly a year and then got laid off.” With a baby girl on the way, he took another look at his iHeartRepair website. He was amazed at the amount of traffic the site had generated, even though he had basically ignored it for a whole year. He knew he wanted to own and run his own business someday, but the layoff made someday come a lot sooner than he thought. iHeartRepair remained an online ship-and-repair business until 2012, when Josh opened up a storefront on Bee Ridge Rd. Until that time, when local customers would need repairs, Josh would meet them at Starbucks or Panera Bread and do the repairs right at the restaurant, with most taking only about an hour. iHeartRepair’s fast turnaround time and unprecedented two-year guarantee soon made it necessary to find a bigger location, and in 2013, Josh opened up his current location in Lakewood Ranch.
Coffee Break
Jessica Coay knew Josh from before he opened his first store. “My husband worked for iHeartRepair for a short while when Josh was still working out of his garage. We had never had to use his services before though.” That changed about five months ago when her daughter spilled an entire mug of coffee on her laptop. Jessica was not sure if Josh could repair her HP computer, so she called him up and he told her to bring it in. He suggested she prepare herself in case the laptop was beyond repair, but said they would try to get her files onto another hard drive. “I truly expected to have to scrap the laptop, which was only about five months old, and just hoped they could salvage the files. They far exceeded my expectations.” After 48 hours, Jessica’s laptop was as good as new, and it cost her less than half of what she thought she would pay. It was not just the cost and quality Jessica found she liked, but also the excellent customer service, which is just one of the reasons she has returned. “We have gone back and sold our iPhones through them, as they do re-furbished phone and iPad sales as well. I know that the moral fiber and faith the company is based on is strong, and I won’t ever be “taken” because I might not know a whole lot about computers.”
A Family Affair
Tom Howard found iHeartRepair about 18 months ago, thanks to the recommendation of a friend. Like so many before him, Tom had accidentally dropped his iPhone and ended up with a broken screen. Reassured by their two-year guarantee and their friendly, knowledgeable staff, he decided to try them out for himself. “I felt like I was in good hands when I dropped my equipment off with them, and you never know. These devices are expensive, so you don’t want to drop them off with just anybody.” Since that time, he has had other occasions to use their services for his family’s various smartphone, tablet and iPod issues. In today’s wired world, smartphones and tablets are not a luxury anymore, but a necessity. Waiting days for a shop to repair your device can seem more like a lifetime. So, if you find yourself staring at a broken iPhone screen or breaking out the rice to try to dry out your Galaxy, turn to iHeartRepair to fix your shattered dreams.
iHeartRepair is located at 8209 Natures Way, Unit 203, in Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202. Call them at 941-270-3577 or find them online at: www.iheartrepair.com or www.facebook.com/iHeartRepair.
The original article can be found here.
from iHeart Repair - iHeart Repair Blog http://www.iheartrepair.com/blogs/iheart-repair-blog/14806269-iheart-repair-in-the-news-hometown-news-usa
