Tech company focuses on repair, not replace

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This article was published 20/04/2023 (869 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba-based tech retailer focused on repairing and selling electronics has opened a storefront in Brandon as one of its first ventures outside of Winnipeg.

Mobile Tech Lab’s new Corral Centre digs at 825 18th Street North are one of nine locations run by the company. Seven of those are in the provincial capital and another is in Thompson.

If all goes well, the company plans to open its first location outside the province in Lloydminster, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. (The store would be situated on the Alberta side.)

Speaking to a Sun on a visit to the Wheat City on Wednesday, company co-founders Kyle Jagassar and Daniel Okagbare and operations manager Gilles Laurin said their business is trying to separate itself from the competition by focusing on customer service and helping their clients extend the lifespan of their devices.

While the accessories on sale in the Brandon store are very smartphone-oriented, they do repair video game consoles, computers, tablets, televisions and other consumer electronics.

Basically, if it’s electronic and they can find the parts to fix it, Mobile Tech Lab will give it a shot. At one point, they were able to help a customer who brought in a motorcycle helmet with a broken built-in Bluetooth device.

“It cannot run on coal,” Okagbare quipped when asked how old a device the company will service.

In coming to Brandon, Laurin said part of the goal was to provide a location where locals can get electronics repaired that they couldn’t before.

Though they do not perform warranty work on Apple devices, for example, they are an Apple independent repair provider, meaning they have access to authentic parts for items like iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.

Apart from in-person service, purchases, repairs and trade-ins of old devices can be organized through the company’s website, mobiletechlab.ca.

The company is committed enough to the idea of repairing devices that it opened a training centre at one of its Winnipeg locations where both Mobile Tech Lab employees and employees from other companies can take a three-day technician training course called WISE, Wireless Industry Service Excellence.

“It’ll cover everything from the basics of how to open a phone to change a battery or perhaps change a screen to more advanced things,” Laurin said.

It’s the only place in Canada offering that program, they said, and the company is partnering with the Manitoba Institute of Training and Technology to train students.

“Bell, Rogers and Telus just want you to continue to replace, replace, replace,” Jagassar said. “We want consumers to know there’s another option. They can repair, they can continue the longevity of their device.”

Another way the company says it aims to be different is in its approach to selling used goods. Jagassar and Laurin said most retailers will try to sell customers the latest and greatest phones on the market, but Mobile Tech Lab stocks refurbished older models to sell at a lower price with a one-year warranty.

Currently, the Brandon store has just one employee working from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, but the goal is to hire more so it can be open on weekends as well.

Having worked for companies with leadership in other countries, Brandon technician Kelly Paddock said she was glad to join a Manitoba-based employer.

“I’ve worked at cellphone repair companies where our head office was in the States,” she said. “It makes day-to-day life nearly impossible when you’re in the store day-to-day and the people making decisions, they’re never in the store. As you can see today, the people who make the decisions come to the store … that really makes a difference.”

Only a couple of racks of accessories are currently on display, but more are expected to arrive as the team continues to set up fixtures and settle in.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark