MiPhone Doctor of Boston – The local iPhone, iPad, and iPod repair shop that people would actually want to come back to. 

That happens……

Have you ever dropped your phone, not once, but three times in a row? Welcome to the club.

No, it’s not me. It’s my son who dropped his phone three times in a row. But I was the one who lamented the broken screen of his phone.

The first time he dropped his phone, we went to an Apple store. We were welcomed with a looooooong waiting line outside the store.

I knew endurance produces character and character produces hope, so we decided to wait in line. By the time it’s our turn to talk to the gatekeeper, we were greeted with three NOes.

“No, I can’t tell you what’s wrong with your phone. You have to check with our technicians.”

“No, you can’t talk to our technicians now. They are all booked. You have to make an appointment.”

“No, all appointments are booked for the next seven days. You have to come back seven days later to make your next appointment.”

We were out of hope… until we noticed a mall kiosk nearby for phone repair.

We handed over our phone. $189 to replace the phone screen. The fix was quick, as promised. The only problem? The screen lost its sensitivity to finger touch after the repair.

MiPhone Doctor of Boston

About a month later, for the second time my son dropped his phone. The screen didn’t crack, but it displayed mysterious Matrix-like color patterns.

This time, we asked around and found this store: MiPhone Doctor of Boston in Newton Center. Leon was the owner.

Leon had his price table posted online covering 29 common repairs. Each repair has a fixed price specified. No hidden cost and no surprise. Everything is transparent and upfront. To repair an iPhone x screen? That would be $119 in 30 minutes. No appointment is necessary. Plus, the BIG plus: Leon promised to use “the highest quality parts available in USA” and “make your device look like new again!”

We had our peace of mind when we handed our phone over to Leon. We knew it would cost us $119, it would take 30 minutes, and we would have our phone fixed. Period.

30 minutes later, we got our phone back. Everything was as expected, except we noticed that the phone was in a brand-new condition. If, and only if, you know how much my son has tormented his phone, you would be able to fathom the amount of joy this ‘brand new condition’ brought to me. Leon even added a screen protector at no charge.

My son was thrilled to get his phone redeemed. He joked he would like to come back to Leon again.

He got his wish. In two days, he dropped his phone for the third time. Three time’s a Charm – his phone screen completely blacked out.

I went to Leon again.

Leon told me he needed to open the phone to see what happened. I left with a sense of uncertainty. I knew my son messed up his phone big time. In the late afternoon, I picked up my son from his school and we went to Leon’s place. He told us he replaced the screen and would charge $79 for the mere cost of the screen. He basically labored for free. He said we were in his place a couple of days ago. He didn’t want to charge us much.

If that’s not good enough, he added an anti-slip phone case at no charge, to prevent my son’s phone slip out of his hands ever again.

Speaking of thoughtfulness.

If that’s still not good enough, he ordered a new part to replace the broken front panel sensor. At no charge, he insisted.

We were touched, to say the least.

What is it that makes MiPhone Doctor of Boston so special?

I know, nowadays, good customer values are hard to come by. So I became obsessed. I want to know exactly what is it that truly distinguishes Leon’s place from the other phone repair stores.

Is it the price tag – the amount of dollars we saved? Sure, Apple charges $279 to fix an iPhone x screen.

Is it the quality of repair – the thorough fix of a phone without lingering issues? Of course!

Is it the upfront transparency about the price and the repairing details? Well, that did give me a sense of assurance and peace of mind.

Or, is it the thoughtfulness – the screen protector, the anti-slip case, and the front panel sensor? Absolutely.

But not exactly. The abovementioned customer values are all explicit – something you can put your finger on. If you add all these four customer values together, you can even say that Leon got a brand, and brand can be measured by dollar values.

Yet there is something more profound – something that can’t be measured by dollar values.

And this thing is humanity. Not in a lofty sense, but just something as natural as oxygen in the air.

As businesses penetrate every walk of our life, that sense of humanity is long lost. Efficiency, effectiveness, and conveniences replaced human-to-human connection. AI, deep learning, the internet of things, and even zoom meetings are further diminishing us as a human race and separating us from each other.

If there is one customer need that grows strong and will only grow stronger over time, that is the need for humanity – the need to be appreciated as a unique human being and the need to have genuine connections with each other.

If there is one thing that existing businesses are failing, it is the celebration of humanity. More and more businesses see customers as mere data points to be categorized and measured in dollar values. Few are realizing that the most profound customer need is not about price, not about getting a deal, and not even about acquiring the best product or service (if they can sample the whole marketplace). It is the need to be recognized as unique individuals with names, stories, and real needs to be cherished – the celebration of humanity.

If there is one thing that is valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and hard to organize (according to Jay Barney’s VRIO framework), it is humanity. It is always the human factor that makes a business irreplaceable and indispensable.

I Googled iPhone repair services. Leon’s place is neither the highest-ranked nor the most reviewed in the Greater Boston Area. But who cares? I know his customers will stay with him. And that’s the stickiness of humanity.

Ever wondered how we found Leon’s place in the first place? My son’s classmate recommended it.

And till this day, my son is still using the anti-slip phone case Leon gave him……