New Norwich store will try to fix your broken electronic devices
Norwich — In the two weeks since the new Ubreakifix store opened at 30 Salem Turnpike, its three tech-savvy workers have helped four exuberant Nintendo players with broken game consoles, fixed five iPads, a hard-case construction phone and helped one customer who smashed his iPhone when he closed a car door on it.
Ubreakifix will tackle repairs on “anything with a power button that connects to Wi-Fi,” store manager Brandon Kinzly said Wednesday. That includes smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, laptops, smart watches, computer game consoles and smart speakers.
“We're here to help fix the oopsy-daisies,” Kinzly said.
Ubreakifix was founded in 2009 by two partners in Orlando, Fla. The concept and storefronts expanded to 700 locations across the United States and Canada, a news release on the Norwich store opening said. Recently, the corporation was acquired by Asurion, a company that insures electronic devices.
Customers who have device insurance from Asurion or any other insurance services will be referred to the local outlet through claims they file with the insurance companies. The store also is open to walk-ins with broken devices, who need tech help with troubleshooting or a diagnostic examination.
The Norwich store, located in the plaza between a T-Mobile store and Chipotle restaurant at 30 Salem Turnpike-Route 82, had a soft opening March 1, Kinzly said. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
The store sells some device accessories, including smartphone cases, screen protectors and earbuds, and offers Asurion’s Home+ insurance for more than two dozen “smart” devices in homes, except appliances.
Kinzly, 30, drives to the Norwich store each day from his Hamden home. He is a veteran of once ubiquitous RadioShack stores. When those closed, he worked in blue-collar jobs before finding the opening for Ubreakifix expansion into southeastern Connecticut.
Kinzly is joined in the Norwich store by technicians Nate Ward of Norwich and Noah Dziengiel of Waterford.
Dziengiel, 23, a 2017 Montville High School graduate, was working in blue-collar jobs before he was hired by Ubreakifix in November for the Manchester store. He moved to the Norwich store when it opened March 1.
Ward, 25, a 2014 Norwich Free Academy graduate, also worked in various jobs before working at Apple for three years as a technician. He was hired by Ubreakifix in December for the new Norwich store and will specialize in Apple device repairs.
“It’s a pretty cool place,” Ward said. “We’re always here to help out our customers.”
A large glass partition with the company logo surrounded by dozens of small illustrations of electronic devices divides the front lobby from the technicians’ workspace, where wall shelves house bins of commonly needed parts. Basic repairs might take a few hours. For more unusual items, the store might need to order parts or send the device elsewhere for a repair. Kinzly said the store hopes to return repaired items to customers within one to three days.
But Kinzly and Dziengiel had some discouraging words for the many people who have dropped their phones into water. “The rice thing is a myth,” Dziengiel said. While rice does absorb moisture, it cannot completely dry out the internal mechanisms of a device, which will corrode if not dried out. Salt water, he said, is the worst.
When not working on repairs, Kinzly has been spreading the word the old-fashioned way, driving to cellphone stores, Staples and electronics stores and dropping off fliers and business cards to alert customers that the Ubreakifix store is open.
It didn’t take much, Kinzly said. Before the store opened, people were pulling on the locked door. A grand opening ceremony will be held sometime in April, he said. And a Groton store near the Navy Submarine Base is expected to open in April. Other Connecticut stores are in Glastonbury, Manchester, New Britain and Newington.
“Everybody now is tied to their phones,” Kinzly said. His goal for the store is to watch people who come in upset to drop off a dropped phone or a device that just stopped working, and have them return a day or two later with smiles as they pick up their repaired device.
Biz snapshot
What: Ubreakifix, an electronic device repair shop
Where: in the plaza at 30 Salem Turnpike-Route 82, Norwich
Hours: Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
Contact: (860) 383-1397
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