iPhone Repair From Local Shop or Only Apple Store?

I was using my iPhone not too long ago and the unthinkable happened – I had too many things in my hands and I dropped it.

The screen shattered into tiny pieces right before my eyes. I dropped it once or twice before and I guess this was the last straw. I knew I was going to need to get it fixed as soon as possible. Which begged the question – should I get an iPhone repair near me or should I head out a little further to the Apple Store and get it fixed by a “genius”?

Ultimately, I decided to get my iPhone screen fixed at a local third party repair store, and here are the reasons why:

I wanted excellent customer service.

I thought about the kind of service I wanted, and I wanted someone really sympathetic to my problem to fix my phone screen. I didn’t want to deal with a large corporation focused on fixing my iPhone and getting me out the door because my device meant a lot to me.

I did some research and looked into third-party repair shops near me. A lot of them had really good reviews on Google Maps and Yelp about techs that were friendly and patient and took time to answer all of their customers’ questions.

I wanted to know how to prevent my screen from getting broken another time so I wouldn’t have to pay for iPhone repair near me again and I had some other questions about general maintenance.

I also didn’t want to be up-sold on stuff I might not have needed – I just wanted my phone fixed. I’m not saying Apple would have definitely done this, but after reading online reviews about the local store that I ended up choosing, I knew these techs wouldn’t try to upsell me.

I wanted to be a “big fish in a small pond.”

I wanted a company that would be personable with me and I wanted to work with techs that would remember me and my iPhone in case another part of it broke in the future.

I was able to call my local store and immediately talk to a technician with experience. I knew that big retailers sometimes make you jump through hoops to talk to an expert. For example, if I called the Apple Store, I might have to talk to a customer service rep instead of being able to immediately chat with who would be fixing my iPhone screen.

I wanted everyone at my repair shop to be cross-trained.

I figured at the Apple Store I might be dealing with a bunch of employees who are experts in their position only.

So the cashier ringing up my repair might not know important details about my iPhone because they hadn’t been trained in iPhone repairs.  

At the local repair shop, I knew the techs would be doing everything, from customer service to fielding calls, to compiling quotes, to ringing up my repair when I paid for it.

I wanted to easily access information about my repair.

Although the shop I chose ended up fixing my iPhone screen while I waited (bonus!) I wasn’t sure how long the repair would take before I got it fixed. I was worried if I needed to call up the Apple store to check on the status of my repair, I would be put on hold because they were repairing so many other devices and it might take them a while to find my specific repair.

I wanted to drop my iPhone off when it was convenient for me

The Apple store books appointments for repairs and I didn’t want to have to take off of work to be able to get my iPhone screen fixed. I also read that sometimes these appointments can be too short to get proper service. Plus, there are only so many Apple stores around. The closest Apple store to me was thirty minutes away – which would have been an hour round-trip. My local repair shop was a few blocks away.

Ultimately, I think I made the right choice when I decided to go to my local repair store to get my iPhone repaired. As I mentioned, they fixed it while I waited during my lunch break and I didn’t have to make an appointment to it done.

They were able to give me a friendly, non-rushed service, and it took me ten minutes to get there. They also gave me a bunch of tips I could use to protect my iPhone and answered some questions I had about the battery. If I break my iPhone screen again for any reason, I will definitely go back to a third-party repair store for iPhone screen repair near me.