News / Shops
Award-winning phone repair shop marks 15 years
Gloucester Road is renowned for its kaleidoscope of independent shops but on the flip side, it has also seen the rise and fall of many well-loved shops.
In an era dominated by online shopping that guarantees next day delivery, independent shops had to evolve and offer something online retailers could not offer; personalised service. That seems something The Phone Shop (TPS) has in spades as they survived the test of time.
When we visited the shop on a Monday afternoon, Shane, who has been with the team for 10 years, was giving some advice on the latest iPhone models to a client. The advice was comprehensive and unhurried. And the client was still browsing when we left the shop.
Founded on the back end of the economic downturn that ravaged independent shops, TPS opened its doors back in 2009. Despite the ups and downs of the economic trends including a pandemic which threatened the survival of small shops, TPS not only survived but excelled.
Zacc (on the left) and TPS team with the “Best Cell Phone Repair Shop in Bristol” award – photo: TPS
The founder, who is simply known as Zacc to clients, spoke to Bristol24/7 on TPS’ journey which began from a spare room in his home. He started fixing smaller devices and then the rest was history. He said: “It started small, fixing the odd devices here and there from home and finally got a shop to have a base.With the building reputation came the work to follow. Each year we grow and grow and tech keeps changing every year as well , so there is never a boring day”
TPS has recently won the BestThreeRated Award for the “Best Cell Phone Repair Shop in Bristol”. Each entry for the award is measured under 50-point rigorous criteria where local reviews, cost, business standards and history are taken into consideration.
The Phone Shop (TPS) boats of a vast stock of phone accessories at competitive prices with 20 per cent discount for students – photo: Milan Perera
Zacc singled out the customer service to be their forte. He said: “With TPS we’ve always aimed to be helpful first, we understand tech is complicated nowadays and providing the help needed without all the fuss of booking appointments, talking to robots or something along these lines, we are here offering a face to face service of help with tech devices.”
The services range from fixing general issues and screen repairs to hefty repairs of smartphones and tablets. He said: “So that’s fixing them all the way to setting them up and helping with general issues, screen repairs , new batteries etc.
“Even the bits some don’t bother fixing we tend to be able to fix them. We love repairing tech of all sorts, mainly phones , MacBooks and tablets.”
Speaking on marking the 15-year milestone, Zacc said: “To be celebrating 15 years of business is a crazy thought. It’s honestly flown by. We are very grateful for everyone who chose to come to us for their repairs and we are super proud to be in the local community we are in. It’s awesome.”
TPS opened its doors on Gloucester Road back in 2009 and enjoyed a steady rise of trade – photo: Milan Perera
Main photo: Milan Perera
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