Why Most Repair Shops Feel Busy but Still Struggle
One of the biggest frustrations I see in phone and tablet repair is this: You’re busy all day.Repairs keep coming in.But at the end of the week, profit doesn’t feel proportional to the effort. This usually isn’t a skill problem. It’s a decision problem. Most repair businesses lose money in quiet ways: - Underpricing to avoid uncomfortable conversations - Choosing parts based on cost instead of failure rate - Accepting repairs that should have been declined - Treating rework and warranty as “just part of the job” Each decision seems small in the moment. Over time, they stack. A repair that looks profitable on paper can turn into a loss once you factor: - Unpaid rework - Time spent dealing with issues - Customer expectations that were never set - Stress and interruption to workflow The shift that changes everything is this: Profit is decided before you start the repair. Not after.Not when the customer pays.Before you even open the device. That means: - Pricing needs to survive mistakes - Parts choices need to be predictable, not cheap - Not every repair should be accepted - Saying “no” is sometimes the most profitable decision - Busy shops that struggle usually aren’t doing anything wrong — they’re just missing structure. If you’re feeling busy but not confident in your margins, you’re not alone. This is one of the most common stages repair businesses go through before they either burn out… or level up. Curious to hear from others here:👉 What part of the repair business feels the most frustrating right now — pricing, parts, difficult customers, or something else?