CPR Franchise Opportunities Beckon Entrepreneurs

For a minimum start-up of $75K, you can own a brand new concept supercharged with massive consumer demand.

In the days of the not-so-wild Midwest, when Chicago was first becoming a metro full of cell phones in need of a fix, once upon a time when the companies who made them still had maintenance plans but didn't always honor them, a little business that could and would, was born, not in a manger, but in a building that became known as the place to take your cell phone when it breaks. "I dropped my Nextel, and its LCD, primitive as it was, cracked like a tiny windshield," remembered Eighties Geezer, who still has memories these days but is no longer a fresh bright twenty-something. "I took it to CPR for its resuscitation," he pronounced slowly in articulate English during his informative interview, "their first and only shop existing at the time."

He recalls little else from those bygone days of Reaganomics and Seventh Heaven.

Pinky Pearl White recalls foggy days in winters now distant when getting your cell phone repaired was a little like snowshoeing through Halstead with no direction home, to put it in Dylanesque terms. "The first CPR shop was the little shop where they fixed horrors, and it was like an oasis shimmering in the faded light of a Cyclops car with a headlight missing. I fixed a cell phone there, I do believe, my purple one that was shaped like a grape, only it was crushed." Pinky is a prose writer, talented as a computer's mouse, given to long rhapsodies on his cell phone of choice in those bygone days, and he later took successive electronic devices to other CPR locations in the Chicagoland metro, as the business grew and grew, mushrooming throughout the nation called America, until more than 20 locations had sprouted in the garden that eventually became Obama's, as the city once had seemed his but a little while ago.

Now CPR is the best and brightest name in the industry, and their shops repair G1 phones & Blackberries and Playstation versions that some would covet, along with water damaged devices, a species that competing independent repair outlets recoil from in horror. With billions of these gadgets owned by almost anyone, an opportunity to become part of a competent authorized repair center for a $75K minimum means that time is of the essence before the entry window slams shut, perhaps on your cell phone, perhaps on your fingers. It's up to you.

To learn more about Cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services, visit Chicagocellrepair.com.

CPR Franchise Opportunities Still There for the Taking

CPR, the largest cell phone repair business in the nation, with 20+ locations, offers a stellar investment bargain for canny entrepreneurs.

CPR began when the cell phone repair industry was in its infancy, back when it was almost impossible to find an Indy place to repair an ailing cell phone. Dissatisfaction with cell phone manufacturers had yet to crest, or even surge, and if you couldn't cajole your manufacturer to fix your broken cell phone, you had no choice; it was time to buy a new one. If you'd grown attached to the one you had and even given it a name like "Perky," it was too bad. You'd kiss it twice with tears in your eyes and then toss it into the nearest bin.

Those days are gone, like Little Mouse on the Prairie or Stanford and Son. The good old days weren't really that good when it came to cell phones and similar electronic gadgetry that began springing up. Was that a Y-Pod I once owned that a dog peed on and I had to throw out because it was suddenly gross and sticky and incidentally, no longer worked? Memories can be hazy, like halcyon summer days. It was also expensive to keep throwing these things out and buying new ones.

But along came CPR, like a fresh breeze. Pretty soon they developed a rep, as they say on the streets of Chicago, for fixing cell phones that manufacturers loathed touching after they'd closed the sale when you bought the thing. CPR became the most widely known and respected brand name in the Cell Phone Repair industry. Even their logo was trademarked by USPTO, where patents come from, don't you know?

Eventually CPR started fixing every electronic whiz-i-mi-gig that could break, from IPods to Xboxes, and their business took off, like Wii.

Now for a start-up minimum of $75K you can get in on the ground floor. Like the tail of the tiger, you can grab the phenomenon of cell phone and electronic whiz-i-mi-gig repair. Think about it. It's an industry with massive demand. One in two human beings on the planet are estimated to own a cell phone, and it's rumored that other whiz-i-mi-gigs also sell in tremendous volume. Such electronic marvels have become ubiquitous, but they break. Manufacturers seldom fix them these days; in fact, in today's recession, fixing something old and borrowed or blue, is a whole lot better than buying something new.

To learn more about Cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services, visit Chicagocellrepair.com.

Who Does Batteries?

It's rare as a chicken's foot in a potpie to find a cell phone repair shop that repairs batteries in electronic devices.

The machine was tiny enough. The "pod" preceded by some no-longer-mass-marketed universally popular letter contained an LCD screen that would be large enough for an ant's eye view if only it opened its compound peepers really wide. But inside the LCD was something more miniature still, something that couldn't be plucked out even with the most delicate of tweezers. It was my X-pod. I wondered why I had purchased it in the job lot store, a warehouse of all sorts of odds and ends. Why didn't my X-pod work? I wanted to dig out the microscopic battery with my clumsy fingers, but knew I wouldn't dare.

I knew there were independent shops that repaired electronic things such as my X-pod, and could dig out the batteries inside, while teaching them to hum. I made a dash for the nearest cell phone repair shop, and then another, and then another. I saw the heads of clerks and desk attendants shake back and forth like negative bobble heads; a supposed technician said that he wasn't "qualified" to open even a lowly X-pod's case. "I can't. It's internal," the guy with the dyed orange hair muttered, as if mouthing a pearl of wisdom from his foolish gob. I was beginning to grow weary of walking block after block, like a darn Quixote in search of a chicken's foot in a potpie. "You will need to find a trained and qualified technician to do that," said a cowardly technician with a lion-like mane who protested when I asserted that he was probably trained. "Do you want me to ruin your battery?" he finally said, "or maybe lose it on you?" This brought to mind a contact lens I'd once lost in a restroom at the airport, down one of those filthy sinks.

I kept walking, not daring to look back, as if somebody stupid might be gaining on me. Finally, I came to a storefront that gave me a tingle, and it wasn't Jimmy. My heart started pumping faster as if it had just been resuscitated in a cardio-pulmonary manner. I'd never been to Utah, but something told me, perhaps a tiny voice inside the battery, that this was indeed the place. I walked in, confident. "Do you do batteries?"

"I'm a trained and qualified technician," the dark-haired geeky guy said, "Let me see it. Yes I can."

"It's internal," I warned him.

"Duh," he said.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. To learn more about Cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services, visit Chicagocellrepair.com.

Few Cell Phone Repair Businesses Offer Franchising Opportunities

It's estimated that over half the people in the world own cell phones, and yet franchising opportunities are relatively rare.

Thirty years ago, a cell phone was something out of Jules Verne. Portable telephones were the newest thing. It was considered amazing when you could carry the entire phone with you to a different room, but if you dared bring it out of doors, weaker signals had a tendency to break up in the manner of transistor radios, another popular hand-held device that truly was portable.

By 1985, transistor radios were virtually obsolete. In the 1960s and early 1970s, these Marconi-spawned gadgets were ubiquitous as the children, often male baseball addicts, who carried them around everywhere except perhaps in the shower, which might have been shocking to some.

These days, cell phones along with their electronic contemporaries and offspring – IPods and IPhone, Blackberries and Xboxes, Playstation incarnations and the versatile Wii, along with their laptop computerized cousins -- although many of these devices possess LCD screens which resemble miniature desktop flat screen computer monitors – have become as ubiquitous as transistor radios once were, perhaps much more so. The irony is that on many of these devices, including cell phones, a user can not only watch an entire baseball game of their choice live, but bring up a variety of multimedia visual treats as they do so – baseball stats of their favorite players or teams, historical footage and documentaries, you name it, and baseball is only the tip of the interactive Wii. As for the ubiquitous cell phone, in some cases people too impoverished to own a pair of shoes own a cheap cell phone, and yet the logical entrepreneurial step of franchising cell phone repair businesses is not ubiquitous. But one gets the impression it will be soon. One company with more than 20 locations around the U.S. has already established a presence, initiated when they were merely a cell phone repair business. Their name, like a catchy tagline, implies an urgency that appears synonymous with cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, which is precisely what they do with your ailing cell phone, or any of the other electronic wizardries previously mentioned. Their franchises can be had for a modest investment of under $100,000. A German cell phone repair company and one in Australia appear to be following suit along similar lines. A smaller American company also offers cell phone repair franchises at less than $50,000, but sans an established presence in the industry, perhaps you get what you pay for. Still, in an industry with massive demand largely due to manufacturers shirking any maintenance responsibilities to those minions of communications gadgetry that they've spawned, cell phone repair franchising opportunities aren't yet ubiquitous, and that is surprising, akin to a transistor radio cradled to a boy's ear in the shower a generation or more ago, perhaps even shocking.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. To learn more about Cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services, visit Chicagocellrepair.com.

Microsoft's Xbox Will No Longer Be Supported

Microsoft has announced that service repairs for its original Xbox video game systems with expired warranties will no longer be available. So if yours breaks, what happens now?

On March 2, 2009, Microsoft announced tersely and without compassion that service repairs for its original Xbox video game systems with expired warranties will no longer be available. While still offering "other" technical support; documents and content; maintaining an "upgrade" program; and support for consoles still under warranty, Xbox owners with expired warranties are heretofore out of luck. What, me worry? What can go wrong with an Xbox?

A veritable Murphy's Law of wrong can go wrong and probably will. Lurking just around the corner of continued use is the dreaded DRE, or disc reading errors, when you learn in a moment of panic that your "games are not reading." Other "issues" that your once coveted console might have include freezing or overheating, a sudden and inexplicable loss of sound, power, or video (how did that happen?), you keep getting a litany of error messages, you keep getting a "call customer service" message every few seconds (it's taunting you as if it KNOWS that its warranty has expired), your controller won't respond, you can't modify; or, if it's the Xbox360 you're pitifully holding in your hand, you're getting three red lights, also known as the "Three Rings of Death" and this is real, you're NOT standing in a Tolkein-like mythical land of Mordar.

When one or more of these symptoms of despair begin turning your Xbox into something diseased, a real poxbox, and your warranty has expired, it's time to start hunting – for an independent repair shop either in close proximity or else a shop with a reliable mailing address. You'll be pleasantly surprised that many of these shops have access to the parts they need and are staffed by expert technicians, so that maybe, just maybe, your treasured Xbox can be fixed. Goodbye dreaded DRE. Hey, now you've got sound -- power is back -- video has returned -- your controller is responding. Once again, all is right with your world, or at least your Xbox.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. To learn more about cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services visit Chicagocellrepair.com.

Independent Repair Shops Can Fix Those Tricky Game Consoles

Game system repairs are increasingly being performed by independent repair shops, as manufacturers grow reluctant to repair consoles, even ones under warranty.

Microsoft's recent decision to discontinue repairs for original Xboxes no longer under warranty is merely a continuation of a trend. In fact, many customers owning Xbox consoles had already taken their business elsewhere, preferring to seek out independent repair shops when their consoles began to fail – even while their units remained under warranty. There are several reasons for this. In the case of the Xbox, customers often ended up dissatisfied with manufacturer repairs, service, or combinations thereof that were performed. This unfortunate situation has become emblematic of an industry that is willing to sacrifice long term customer satisfaction in favor of short term high volume sales of their premium ticket consoles. In fact, many industry insiders argue that game system repairs should properly be delegated to independent repair shops, because maintenance, service, and repair is certain to dangle over a manufacturer's profits like the proverbial Damocles sword.

If so, then independent repair shops seem ready and able to fill any "fix-my-game-please" void. Sooner or later, most of these games, intricate circuitry and quality control or not, break. As for Xboxes, these contraptions can become booby trapped with DREs, can suddenly freeze up or overheat, begin incessant "call customer service" warnings even prior to any trouble, or suddenly light up with "red light syndrome" – a techno-plague laden with signal error that can mean anything from general hardware failure (one red light) to the cancer of overheating (two red lights) to the cursed "red ring of death" (three red lights) to the flashing of four red lights – which ironically has the simplest solution – tightening or replacing a loose cable. Sony PSP game consoles and Playstation 2 and 3 repairs are somewhat similar symptomatically, but can show their own quirkiness; such as the mournful grinding wail sometimes heard with a sick Playstation 2 – a sound more agonizing than a toenail being pulled out. "Fix my game please, it's broken" is becoming a more common refrain, but fortunately certified independent repair shops are there to keep those game consoles working. When your Nintendo Wii won't let you load or eject that tricky disc, at least there's somewhere your game can be taken to -- if it's to become "good as new" again – at least for a while.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. To learn more about cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services visit Chicagocellrepair.com.

CPR's Game System Repairs Are Fast and Reliable

CPR expert technicians are now specializing in repair of game consoles – and not just Xboxes.

It was only a matter of time before CPR moved into the game system repair niche. Like any electronic contrivance these days, manufacturers are growing increasingly reluctant to repair these expensive "toys" – especially once their warranties expire. Microsoft has recently (as of March 2nd) discontinued repair service for original Xboxes whose warranties have expired. In the cases of such consoles as the popular Nintendo Wii, or Sony products such as their PSP or their Playstation 2 & 3, the moans of distressed and frustrated customers grow ever louder. What can go wrong with these games touted by shrill marketing voices as the "next generation" of intricate video games? The variety of complaints is like a cornucopia. The Xboxes often pain their owners with DREs, an inability to read a game or games within the assembled configuration. Xboxes, whether the original models or the Xbox 360, can freeze or overheat, or suddenly lose sound, power, or video. Error messages and non-responsive controllers are common complaints, as are colorful troubles with the red lights – depending on which is flashing possibly indicating whether or not your unit's destination should be the nearest landfill. Sony PSP consoles sometimes need a full shell replacement. A Playstation 2 can make a clicking or grinding noise that mimics the mating call of the giant earwig. The disc on your Playstation 3 might not load or eject. Your Nintendo DS Lite might have broken hinges.

Whatever the problem that your game system might be having, a friendly & certified expert CPR technician can provide a solution that you won't have to wait an eternity for. Chances are your game can be fixed, no matter what the issue might be. CPR provides warranty on all game system repairs. If the problem is simple enough, a technician might even be able to fix the contrivance while you wait. Try asking a manufacturer to do that.

To learn more about cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services visit Chicagocellrepair.com.

Let CPR Game System Repairs be Your Island in an Ocean of Frustration

Manufacturers used to fix their game system consoles with reliable results. Increasingly now they won't even fix 'em.

Repairs for game systems like the Nintendo Wii or DS Lite, the Sony PSP or Playstation 2 or 3, or Microsoft's Xbox original or 360, used to be performed by manufacturers while the unit was under warranty or not. It was part of the perks for customers after they'd purchased a popular toy that was dancing off the shelves. Full support implied repairing the thing when it broke. While America's economy has slipped into some kind of unpredictable netherland (we're not talking Holland here), incentives to fix the games when they break even while they are under warranty has become less attractive to the giant companies charged with the making of such coveted "toys."

Thankfully, CPR is picking up the slack. Certified and expert technicians known for stressing customer service are doing more and more to fix the games. When your Xbox original starts doing those distressing DREs, or three flashing red lights make your 360 resemble a Trojan horse in a miniature Doomsday scenario, a CPR technician can make it work again.

When your Sony PSP goes silent, ceasing to produce any reassuring sound, power, or video, and you begin to think you’re suddenly a recycled Tommy from the Who's now ancient rock opera, deaf, dumb, and blind, a CPR technician can make you feel alive again, or at least fix your game console.

When your Nintendo Wii won't load its disc, and you are so frustrated you're about to scream like a Banshee, a CPR expert technician can restore that feeling of all being right with the world – at least as far as your treasured Wii is concerned.

CPR is quick to the joystick, too: Sometimes your beloved game can be repaired while you wait. Even if it can't, once it is fixed in a timely fashion, it's under CPR warranty. That should bring some cheer back into your life, even if next Christmas is a whole solstice away.

To learn more about cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services visit Chicagocellrepair.com.