What’s old is new again
John’s Repair Services brings devices of all kinds back to life
We live in a throwaway society. This is especially true when it comes to electronic devices, where consumers are primed to always want the latest and greatest. It’s been estimated that only 20 per cent of electronic products are collected and recycled properly.
John Coogan is doing his part to alleviate the problem of electronic waste. A native of Manitoba, Coogan has traveled extensively and most recently lived in Baffin Island where he ran a sewing machine dealership and repair shop.
“The Inuit sew a lot of their own traditional clothing,” he recalls. “I also repaired electronics — TVs and stereos — so that’s really how it started.”
It was December 2018 that Coogan and his family relocated to Nova Scotia, where he launched John’s Repair Services in West Paradise. Folks in this area have a tendency to retain older electronic equipment, Coogan says.
“It’s nice when people want to keep their old turntables and VCRs running,” he says. “If people can save a machine for a reasonable cost, they would rather do that than throw it away.”
About half of his business these days consists of repairing sewing machines, but there are also turntables, amps, radios and devices of all kinds. He is even repairing a combination radio/turntable from the 1940s with vacuum tubes, built prior to the days of transistors. It plays 78 rpm speed records, of which the majority of people alive today will have no recollection whatsoever.
Many of the older devices are family heirlooms, passed down through the generations. The owners have often given up on ever having the device working again and are pleasantly surprised to have a functioning machine.
“We get quite a variety,” he says. “The other day somebody brought in a Walkman cassette player. He was quite happy that I was able to get it going.”
And in a true blast from the past, one customer has even promised to bring in an old eight-track player to be refurbished.
“You can’t fix everything,” Coogan points out. “Sometimes you just can’t find the parts.”
When it comes to parts, Europe is far ahead of North America in “right to repair” laws, which require manufacturers to supply repair manuals and spare parts, and to facilitate their replication after the part is no longer produced.
“In a lot of cases the part just isn’t made any more,” he adds. Even when parts are available, they are often so expensive that it is more economical to simply buy a new appliance.
Nova Scotians who have older appliances and devices that need repair are hearing about John’s Repair Services through word of mouth, and customers come from more than an hour away.
Coogan goes the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction. With sewing machines, for example, he will set up the machine in the shop before the customer takes it home, so the customer can give it a run-through and ask any questions.
“I like to go above and beyond,” he says. “It’s what I like to call customer service.”