RIGHT STUFF FOR IPADS
Charlottetown man starts his own business fixing mobile devices
Charlottetown man starts his own business fixing mobile devices
The Device Doctors in Charlottetown have seen it all.
Mobile devices that have been dropped down toilets, run over by vehicles, dropped in the tub, bent almost in half and even ones that have been shot out the snowblower.
And they’ve managed to fix every one of them.
The new business was opened in April at 220 Kent Street, the old Music P.E.I. location, by Cory Rusk, who named Mason Gong his technical support manager.
Before opening Device Doctors, Rusk’s background was in occupational, health and safety, having worked in the oil and gas industry that took him to 29 countries.
After things went down in that industry, he worked in Alberta for three years before deciding to come home.
With no job he went to the Internet for ideas.
“I saw that so many people have mobile devices – cellphones and tablets and iPads and iPods and just there’s really no one else out there that does the repair and if there is they’re fairly expensive,’’ Rusk s aid.
“We thought how can we create a business (that is) cheaper for the customer.’’
Rusk credits the support of his wife and others with helping him get the business off the ground.
“The jobs I had were great jobs. I was a manager (away) and came home to nothing.’’
It hasn’t taken long for word to circulate that a business that fixes mobile devices has opened. They average about 15 customers per day and Rusk expects business will pick up in summer.
“People will be out at the beach and will be doing so much more with their devices (such as) taking pictures, at the pool (and) camping.’’
He estimates Device Doctors will be business pick up to 20 to 25 devices per day.
Gong fixed mobile devices on the side while he went to university here.
Rusk and Gong came across each other on a website that involved cellphone repairs, met at Tim Hortons and decided to go into business together.
“We split up the work.’’ Rusk said most customers bring in mobile devices that have been dropped so he’s seen a lot of smashed screens.
“One gentleman brought in his iPad in and it had quite the curve on it. He told me he left his iPad under the blanket and the kids decided to have a jumping party on the coach . . . it was quite curved (when he brought it in).
“You also get the ones that have been run over by a truck and one guy had put his through the snowblower. So, you get funny cases and pretty upsetting ones when families had pictures on their devices and the (damage) is bad enough they can’t be repaired.’’
The good news, he says, is that 95 per cent of devices can be saved.