The upper hand of off-brand mobile service centres
Customers at mobile service shops of Parry’s Corner talk about the reasoning behind their preference for “local service centres” over branded ones
Mobile phones, in the current digital era, have become essential tools for people to communicate, keep track of everyday matters, get information and news, entertainment and to stay connected to the rest of the world. It is able to do so by having many different tools and machines such as calculators, calendars, maps, notepads, internet access and many other things, all in the same device.
The pocket-sized devices, however, may encounter software and hardware malfunctions, and technical glitches which need servicing or repairing by a skilled technician. There are a range of options for servicing from branded service centres to service shops which do not belong to any brand, often referred to as, ‘local service shops or centres.’
“Local service centres are better for phones because the treatment and cost is much better,” said Arjun, a 26-year-old at Jasper Mobiles in Parry’s Corner, Chennai to inquire about his phone overheating when he puts it on his wireless charger. “I have an Xiaomi phone and if I go to the brand’s centre, the first thing they will ask me is if I have warranty or not. My answer decides how they treat me and my phone.”
Lined up with mobile service centres which also sell phone accessories, Parry’s Corner, located in Chennai’s George Town, is known as a, “commercial hub,” for having wholesale shops for stationary, clothes and even electrical goods.
There are multiple shops on the corner of Kondi Chetty street in Parry’s Corner which service phones while selling chargers, tempered and gorilla glass, earphones and many more mobile accessories, said Raja Muhammad, the owner of one of such shops while showing options for popsockets to a customer. Muhammad, whose goods are sourced from Mount Road, said that their mobile servicing is done at fixed rates depending on the issue with the handset.
The shops, staying open from nine in the morning to ten at night, service both Apple’s smartphones along with Android phones. “We service both IOS and Android phones, we also sell second hand phones that we receive from Amazon and most customers come from word-of-mouth about Parry’s Corner,” said Nazar, a 10-year employee at Jasper Mobiles.
“When I went to Lenovo’s centre, they had my phone for a few days for a software issue with the display. They gave it back with a temporary fix without explaining what happened,” said Karthik, a self proclaimed ‘techie’. He further added that the problem came back after a few days, after which he decided to come to the service centres on Kondi Chetty Street.
“These local shops have an upper hand because it is much more cheaper and you’re more likely to know what exactly is being done to your phone here,” said Karthik. While touching upon his anecdote with Lenovo’s customer care, he said that overall, there exists a higher customer satisfaction from the local centres.
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