Several months ago, I found a repair shop in Wellington to fix my MacBook Pro. After more than half a year, I finally got my device fixed in another shop. Too many things about good and bad experiences are worthy to be noted.
All Good Experiences are Alike
When I look back on the good repair experience, the whole process was clear, fast, controllable, and effortless.
After I sent the device to the shop, I received a job number with a link through my email and SMS. That link led me to a well-organised note, which recorded all the detail, such as my contact information, my laptop details, the issue description, the engineer who is responsible for the repair, the parts that will be needed, and specific prices, and all the updated progress with the exact time.
What's more, I could receive an email or SMS notification if there was an update coming up.
This is a classic case that information technology makes our life easier. The whole experience was smooth through simply being transparent with an easy platform. I don't have to find the contact of the shop every time and then make calls by myself to ask the progress. Every update was sent to me in a clear way timely.
What's more, I know the sticky tag on the device can't be avoided during repair because it's the only way to distinguish the devices without starting it. But this repair shop used an easy-to-tear-off one that saves lots of effort.
All Bad Experiences are Exhausting
Before I found the repair shop above, I sent my laptop to another repair shop based on the positive reviews on Google Maps, but the experience turned out to be exhausting. I had to continuously call to track the progress or would receive no updates at all for a couple of months.
After a long wait, they informed me that the data couldn't be recovered. When I picked up the device, it was covered in many sticky tags that were difficult to remove. Additionally, they provided me with the wrong charger plug and cable, and both were very dirty, which I should know depending on the whole service they offered.
In the end, I received a call from the shop owner to say sorry to me and promise to change the cable if I could come after I wrote a review for their shop. Certainly, he requested that I could delete it and that should be the reason why they can a high score on Google Maps.
Conclusion
As a designer, I found some valuable insights for my future work. Transparent communication, customer-centered, and leveraging technology are key elements in creating successful services.