To insure or not to insure…

I’ve always been the goto geek in my family and to my non-tech friends. The questions of what to buy, when to upgrade, how to fix this or that. Those are all easy questions to answer and I can always suggest a pretty solid reason as to why or why not. However, when it comes to insurance, it’s a challenging dilemma, as I personally have never needed it (knock on wood) for any of my devices, such as my iPhone or iPad.

So it’s not that I can give you a definitive answer here, but I’ll offer my point of view as a repair shop owner and with as little bias as possible. If you are someone who is prone to break your device more than once a year… then yes, insurance is probably worth investing in. If you are more like me, and have yet to break one, even though a few drops… then it would seem insurance is a waste of money.

So until this is a reality…

The real judgment here is understanding the true cost of the device you’re insuring and the true cost of the insurance. While you may think your iPhone 6 is worth $199 because that is what you paid, you’re in for a nasty wake up call when you try to buy a new one outright. The base 16 gig model will run you nearly $600. The repair for an iPhone 6 is currently $159 here at Mission Repair. You might pay $7-$10 per month for insurance and have a $50 deductible which is roughly $84 to $120 in premiums over the course of a year. Plus, $50 each time you break your phone. The worst part is the fact that you may never use the insurance, and over the years, forget you’ve been paying that monthly premium, especially if it’s autimatically paid on a credit card. Let’s just say that adds up to a lot of money over time… and you would still be required to pay a $50 deductible upon repair.

 

The bottom line is, insurance companies don’t build new office buildings because everyone is using the insurance. They make their money on the premiums that people are paying in over time and consumers not using the policy.  Sort of like casinos, they don’t build billion dollar resorts because the customer is winning more than the house! I would suggest buying a piggy bank, put in $10 per month and if the screen on your phone shatters… well time to crack open the piggy bank and come see us at Mission Repair!

Lastly, take a look at the fine print on your policy to see what is really covered and what is not. Water damage? Dropping your phone? Most likely neither of those are covered with a traditional cellular provider (AT&T, Verizon, Tmobile) insurance plan. That’s “extra” or you need to find a specialty insurance carrier that covers those specific types of damage.

I know that last part is a bit bias… buy hey, I need to earn my $10 to put in my piggy bank!

Have a great day!

Jeff

 

 

Gesundheit!

Good afternoon friends-

How was your Labor Day? I had a nice relaxing day yesterday…all except for the fact that my allergies to the pollen in the Kansas City area have been terrible. It feels like I’ve been eating OTC allergy medicine for my meals recently 😉 The last couple of weeks have been a little miserable, and it seems like Sudafed just isn’t helping any more at this point. So I’ve upgraded to the pseudoephedrine/cetrizine combination which seems to be working…

So I think I have the itchy eyes and sneezing under control this afternoon which feels great! I normally don’t have this kind of “hay fever” this late in the year; it probably has something to do with the climate changes in the world today.

Anyhow, that’s enough about my medical problems for today and I’ll be back tomorrow with a few great blogs. I have the ideas flowing. Did you see Melanie’s blog earlier today about our new pricing on the iPhone, 5, 5C and 5S screen repairs? It’s been a huge hit.

I’ll talk to you again tomorrow, have a good night.

Ryan

It’s prom time, and Casey isn’t immune.

Hi friends, do you remember going to prom? I do…

Here’s my son Casey and his girlfriend at his Junior Prom last weekend, the pictures just came through on the prom website. Is he going to “love” that I posted this here on the Mission Repair blog? Nope. I will certainly hear about it tonight…but it’s not intended to make fun of him or to in any way demean the experience; my prom(s) were memorable and exciting!

It’s that time of year – that time that the “tuxedo guys” are doing some great business and all of the hair stylists are booked up on the weekends.

So Casey, good job buddy – you’ve just made an excellent life memory. You will look back at this picture and laugh at your hair, or your tux, or your something else…I guarantee it. If I had the guts I’d post a picture of my 80’s Junior prom, but I don’t. I’ll keep that to myself but all I have to say is “mullet” and we’ll leave it at that!

So to honor all of the prom goers that are out there this month, we’re going to run a 15% coupon today through Easter Sunday 4/20/14 at Midnight on our Mission Repair website. Just use coupon code “casey” when checking out online or when calling in your order. If you walk into one of our locations, print this blog and hand it to your sales representative for an instant 15% savings on your new order. This coupon cannot be combined with any other coupon. You’re going to need that iPhone to take pictures!

Get that boutonnière ordered!

Take care, Ryan

Tax deadline today – don’t delay! Coupon inside.

Hello friends- I’m having a hard time believing that it’s April 15th already. Not only that it’s tax time (remember to file by today!) but in fact I had a bit of “free” time last night so I went into my my basement to clean a few items up that I have been neglecting. You know, it’s easy to stuff things in the corner and forget about them, so I went through my “pile” to purge and organize. You know what I found? A few Christmas presents that I haven’t even used yet!

How do I use this thing again?

Now in my defense they are BBQ tools, and we here in Kansas are just getting into BBQ season (it did actually snow here yesterday morning) but for the most part Spring is upon us and things are really starting to get green in the area. I asked my wife for a steak “flipper” which is basically a large rounded “hook” that you pierce a piece of meat with, then can easily flip over on the grill. Yeah, I’ve seen them on cooking shows and figured it was my time to upgrade to this piece of equipment. I also received a BBQ spray bottle which I may fill with Apple juice or other “flavored” liquid to “baste” my creations when cooking. Apple juice is good because a lot of professionals use it to help tenderize ribs and give them their color.

What’s next? Well Easter is just right around the corner and I’m not even sure of our plans yet. We have family near and far that want to spend time with one another so we may just have to compromise and meet in the middle somewhere; but the fact that Easter is less than a week away makes me wonder where the time goes.

So I wanted to remind each of your that before time runs out, we have a 14% off coupon that is running through the end of the day today (4/15/14 at midnight to be exact) to synchronize with the 2014 tax season. Use coupon code “unclesam” on our site missionrepair.com to receive the discount off of your order today which is good for new orders only, and cannot be combined with any other coupon. Hundreds of people have already taken advantage of this offer via our newsletter (you should sign up if you have not already do so!) but it’s time to share with the masses on our blog. Place your order today and have that cracked iPad or iPhone repaired asap!

If I don’t talk to you soon, have a great “tax deadline day”, a spectacular Easter and get that BBQ grill cleaned up for the season – I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

Take care, Ryan

St. Patrick’s Day…it’s not easy bein’ green.

Sound familiar?

A quote from the great – Kermit the Frog – “it’s not easy bein’ green” has been a theme over at our new location that is due to open on 4/1/14. Why is that catchy Sesame Street song “sticking” do you ask?

We added some “Mission Repair Green” tint to the front glass at Mission Repair Express and when the sun hits the window just right…well…the picture tells a lot below:

It’s not easy being green.

So it’s a bit TOO green. Like emerald green. Everywhere! It feels like you’re swimming in a Shamrock Shake (a McDonalds treat if you didn’t know). The bottom line: Our excitement to add a little color took our “company colors” to a whole new level. We have a solution to fix this “St. Patrick’s Day” hue – so don’t worry. I promise you won’t get queasy if you stop by our new site at our grand opening!

Speaking of grand opening – it’s set for April, 1st, 2014. However we are running a bit AHEAD of schedule and you heard it here first; I am now shooting to be open starting on St. Patrick’s day 2014. A fitting day to commence the GRAND OPENING OF MISSION REPAIR EXPRESS!

So, this is aggressive for us and we’re on the right track. Flooring is going to be installed this weekend then it’s just the final touches that need to be completed. Will it be done? Will we have the luck of the Irish? Irish I was complete with project 😉 A silly pun is all the motivation that I need!

Thanks for all of the interest and calls about our new Mission Repair Express location – the press release will hit soon for the masses to read. But you heard it here first, another reason that check in with us here on the blog.

Thanks friends,
Ryan