uBreakiFix, Fremont

uBreakiFix CEO Justin Wetherill spoke with Groupon about the importance of protecting your smartphone and the challenges of fixing a phone that has been dropped into a deep fryer.

On the worst thing you can do after cracking your smartphone’s glass screen: “Don’t just put it into your pocket and continue to use it,” Wetherill says. The broken glass can actually cause serious damage to the phone’s inner components and turn a relatively simple fix into a costly repair job.

On the repair process: "Look, this is something we do every day," Wetherill says. "You are not the first person to break a phone.” Collectively, uBreakiFix's highly trained technicians repair more than 20,000 devices a month, drawing from a library of high-quality parts that are tested twice before they ever get used in a repair service. Free diagnostics are a staple at all uBreakiFix locations, so customers understand the problem before any work is done.

On growing his business: uBreakiFix began as a business based out of Wetherill’s living room, and it now boasts more than 60 locations nationwide. “We are proof that the American dream is alive,” he says.

On unusual repair jobs: Wetherill remembers one fast-food employee who dropped her phone into a restaurant’s deep fryer. “It smelled pretty bad,” he said; however, the repairs were successful. Another customer lost his phone in a cement mixer. After some serious effort, the technicians were able to safely recover all of the important data, but the phone died a few hours later. As Wetherill pointed out, “it did go through a cement mixer.” Some miracles just aren’t meant to be.

On the importance of a one-day turnaround time: Repairs at uBreakiFix’s store locations can often take as little as an hour, according to Wetherill. This is a critical part of the shops' focus—something Wetherill personally understands. If forced to choose between spending the weekend without his smartphone or his left arm, he jokes that he would pick the arm. “Of course, this is assuming that there wouldn’t be any pain,” he laughs.