Warranty Company SquareTrade Partners with Repair Shops

Warranty Company SquareTrade Partners with Repair Shops

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SquareTrade could possibly be the newest ally in the smartphone repair industry, marking the first time a warranty company has partnered with a repair shop. After teaming up with the repair franchise UBreakiFix and Gadget Drop, SquareTrade released a statement including details of this newly formed alliance. Over 90 repair shops in the nation’s top metropolitan areas now form what SquareTrade is calling their SquareTrade Authorized Repair Network. This network of repair shops nationwide allows customers to get their smartphones repaired at a local repair shop with no out-of-pocket expenses. SquareTrade’s intentions for the consumer are made clear by their statement: "Our goal is to have an easy-to-access SquareTrade-authorized repair shop in every major city in America. Similar to how individuals have a network of authorized healthcare providers, SquareTrade customers now have access to a network of authorized repair shops to service their devices,” says president and CEO Steve Abernethy. Having a network of repair shops that SquareTrade policyholders can visit for some of the most common repair services is an obvious advantage for SquareTrade. They outsource the work to repair shops nationwide, instead of having those policyholders send their broken devices to a SquareTrade repair depot. But if there's no out-of-pocket expense for the SquareTrade policyholder, what benefit does this newly formed alliance have for the local repair shop? I spoke with Hadeer Babbie of Gadget Drop, who was approached by SquareTrade towards the end of 2013 to discuss joining their alliance of repair shops. Hadeer believes the exposure from partnering with the well-known brand SquareTrade will be great for both his retail business and for licensing additional Gadget Drop locations. "Not only has this increased awareness among the general population, the exposure has also boosted interest in licensing Gadget Drop stores. We only began offering this service in February but so far the exposure has been great for our repair brand." Hadeer only had positive things to say about his new partnership with SquareTrade, which continued as we approached the topic of compensation. "SquareTrade compensates the repair shop for the parts used and repair services performed. They calculate that price based on market analyses of parts cost and repair cost, so it depends on the repair. In most cases I believe compensation is fair but other times I think it's much more than fair!" So what will this new alliance do for small business repair shops and the repair industry in general? Hadeer is optimistic it will make a very positive impact; "I believe the consumer will have a higher degree of respect for small business repair shops that are associated with SquareTrade, which in turn will give the repair industry as a whole a more positive reputation in the eyes of the consumer." I also spoke with Justin Wetherill, co-founder and President of uBreakiFix, about the benefits he expects to receive through his company’s partnership with a cellphone warranty company. Justin is confident the opportunity SquareTrade has presented will be extremely beneficial for the UBreakiFix repair franchise. "Partnering with SquareTrade represents a huge growth opportunity for us... The exposure that SquareTrade is giving us to millions of new customers delivers far more value than traditional marketing campaigns could deliver. We see this as a large step forward for our brand and a significant advancement of our business." Insurance providers have been a touchy subject for the Repair Community in the past, but Justin feels this dynamic can change. "The repair industry has always thought of insurance carriers as competition, but we actually compliment each other quite well. A partnership like the one we forged with SquareTrade allows uBreakiFix to do what we do best - repair devices - and SquareTrade gets to offer another convenient option for its policy holders while saving money on claims. SquareTrade is always looking for ways to better serve their customers by making the claims process easier; leading the industry with this decision is proof of that."   We asked SquareTrade if they have plans to add more repair shops to their network. A representative from the company responded, "SquareTrade is excited about the launch of the Authorized Repair Network and working with local repair shops around the country. Moving forward, SquareTrade is interested in adding more locations to the network." While currently the odds seem to be in favor for the local repair shop, only time will tell if this partnership is the next big step for the repair industry. The exposure this will most likely offer for the repair shops involved extends far beyond the walls of their shops; this publicity could do wonders for the reputation of the repair industry as a whole. The more devices that get insured, the more devices will be repaired - which is great news for everyone!   Thanks to Hadeer Babbie of Gadget Drop and Justin Wetherill of UBreakiFix for speaking with us and contributing to this article. We wish them both the best of luck with this new partnership with SquareTrade! You can check out Gadget Drop on Facebook and follow them on Instagram @gadgetdrop for more. You can follow UBreakiFix on Twitter @UBreakiFix and Like them on Facebook, too!