The bench does not pause for the phone
A repair counter is one person, sometimes two. One is at the bench with a heat gun and a screen that needs to stay still. The other is helping a walk-in and cannot walk away from the glass case. The shop phone rings on the shelf behind them.
Shoppers rarely wait. Someone with a cracked screen has already searched, picked three shops and is calling down the list. Whoever answers first gets the walk-in.
What people ask a repair shop
Phone calls to a repair shop are short and repetitive. Do you fix this model. How long will it take. Do you have the part. Can I walk in. Is my phone done. Can you save my photos. Do you do charging ports.
Many answers are in your head: which models you work on, what you can do while the customer waits, and when you close. A few belong to you only, like what a repair will cost.
How Nora answers
Calls you don't pick up go to Nora, the phone assistant we set up for your shop. She answers in your shop's name, in English or Spanish, from the facts you approve.
- Model and problem. She asks which phone and what is wrong: cracked glass, a battery that drains, no charge, water damage, a speaker or mic problem.
- Walk-in or drop-off. She tells them your hours and address and, if you take bookings, offers a time. Otherwise she notes that walk-ins are welcome.
- "Is my part in?" If a customer is waiting on a part order, the call lands on their card with a ping to you. She does not guess at the arrival date.
- Quotes. She does not give a screen or battery price. She tells the caller you will confirm the quote after seeing the model, and takes the number for a callback.
Checking on a repair
"Is my phone ready?" is the most common call in the trade. If you tell Nora the repair is done, she says so and gives the pickup hours. If not, she says the shop will call back, and you see the customer, the phone and the question on one card.
That keeps you from stopping a repair to say "not yet" three times in a day.
Spanish-speaking customers and after-hours calls
Many shops serve customers who prefer Spanish, and some call from work in the evening when the counter is closed. Nora answers in English or Spanish and takes the model, the problem and the best time to reach them, so you open the next morning to a short list of real requests instead of a voicemail box full of silence. You can still decide which ones to call first.
Look at your own calls
Pull last week's call log and count the missed ones between noon and 2 pm and after 5. Call your own number while you are at the bench and listen to what a stranger hears.
The free report shows how your shop looks online next to the other repair counters nearby, and the 15-minute review covers what answering the phone for you would look like.
Questions owners ask
Can Nora tell a caller the cost of a screen?
No. Repair prices are the owner's. She takes the model and the problem and says you will confirm.
Can she tell whether a part has arrived?
Only if you have told her. Otherwise she takes the request and pings you.
Does she speak Spanish?
Yes. She answers in English or Spanish, depending on the caller.