I won’t name the company doing this because (1) I genuinely hope they change, and (2) I suspect they won’t—and if called out publicly they’d likely target us to dodge accountability.
The thing is: I’m not a very good “business person” in the usual sense. Money isn’t my measure of worth. It’s not even a factor I use to judge success. For me, money is a tool—something you need to handle day-to-day life. Honestly, I’ve got bigger problems than money. Sure, money could solve some of them, but as you know, those problems would just be replaced with other problems. That’s life.
What I do use to measure success is integrity. It matters. At the end of the day, I don’t want to look at myself in the mirror and think, “I screwed over the other guy.” I don’t want to feel like I pulled the wool over someone’s eyes.
So when I do a repair, I work hard to do the right thing—even when it causes problems for me. That’s why it makes my blood boil when I start getting repeated reports from customers about another business screwing people over. Yes, yes—I know I should be grateful because it sends work our way. But I actually care about our customers. And when you care, you can’t help wanting to protect people. I understand that technically it’s not my job to save everyone from bad experiences… but it’s hard not to feel that way sometimes.
Legally, we have to provide a 90-day warranty on repairs. The difference is: we don’t treat that warranty like a marketing trick. We don’t wave it around before the repair to make the sale. We tell every customer after the repair—right before they take the device home. I even say, “If there’s a problem and you don’t tell us about it, I’ll be very cross with you.” I say it with a joking tone, but I mean it. We stand behind our work because we take pride in it.
And we know what we’re talking about.
Now, to be fair: not every repair goes perfectly. Not every device can be repaired. Some fixes are too expensive for customers, and some are too risky for us to do responsibly. That’s reality. But there are mistakes that look amateur at best—and at worst, they look malicious.
Lately I’m getting at least one complaint a week about this competitor: using low-quality parts, finding every excuse to avoid their warranty, and selling replacement devices without even checking whether the original device can be fixed.
Example 1: Replacing a phone for a software issue
A customer brought me a Samsung phone they’d bought second-hand from this competitor. It had stopped working after it had supposedly been “dropped.” When I looked at the phone, I couldn’t see any physical damage at all. And I’ve replaced enough screens, LCD cables, and housings to know what impact damage looks like. Dropping the phone wasn’t the cause.
The customer was angry because the shop refused to cover it. They also mentioned they had an older phone that stopped working, which was the reason they bought this “replacement” in the first place. They said it was the same issue… and the same model.
Turns out there was nothing wrong with their original phone. (And by the way, the original phone was a better model than the one they were sold.)
When I plugged the original phone in to check it, it started perfectly. No issues. This is actually a common problem with some phones: a software glitch where the screen goes blank, the phone appears totally dead, and it stays that way until it’s rebooted or the battery drains.
It’s a very quick fix. At the Monkey Bar we’d charge $10 for that kind of quick phone fix—and sometimes I feel guilty even charging that. But we still have to keep the doors open. And it’s better than someone being charged $400 for a “replacement” phone that dies in two weeks. (So yes—customers are usually very happy to pay the $10.)
All the “phone tech” had to do was restart the phone. If the customer had come to us first, the total cost would have been ten bucks.
Example 2: Missing parts that conveniently lead to replacement sales
This one is literally on my bench right now.
A customer brought in two phones. Similar story, but this time it involved a “repair.” They paid for a Google Pixel screen replacement. The phone was sent away, came back, and the customer had it for a week before they allegedly “dropped it.”
Now—if there’s obvious physical damage, sure, that can void a warranty. But once again, there are no signs of damage on the screen or the body. The customer ended up buying another phone, which died within a few months due to damage that actually made sense. But they asked me to try reviving the old phone anyway.
When I opened the Pixel, I noticed something immediately: the metal clasp on the LCD connector was missing.
If you’ve worked on Pixels, you know exactly what I mean. The LCD connector uses a small metal retention bracket to stop the cable from popping loose. In my opinion it’s a design flaw—awkward to fit, easy to disturb, and if it isn’t seated perfectly the screen will go blank from the slightest bump or even a temperature change.
But in this case, it wasn’t just seated wrong.
It was gone.
I want to assume positive intent. I really do. But it’s getting harder when I keep seeing the same pattern, over and over, from customer after customer.
Example 3: Selling a new phone for an update issue fixed in a few clicks
This one made me genuinely angry.
In Australia, we have some of the worst phone carrier behavior. Recently there’s been a major issue where certain phones can’t connect to the carrier network after a software update—only with one carrier, and only in Australia. It’s not the phone. It’s the carrier.
Apple and Samsung have addressed it by releasing another software update.
A customer was sold a replacement phone without the shop even checking for updates first.
And here’s the part that really gets me: our sales person—who is not even a tech—was able to solve it with a few clicks.
There was no reason on earth to sell that person a second phone.
Once again, it was solved at the Monkey Bar.
Maybe the other guys will read this and get the hint?
Maybe the other guys will read this post and realize they are messing up. Maybe they will take the time and consider improving their game. You never know. I just hope that if there is an issue my customers will bring the phone back to me so I can fix it