You're about to hand a stranger a $1,000+ device that has your entire life on it. That deserves five minutes of due diligence.
We've been on the receiving end of this conversation for 15 years across our Valdosta and McDonough shops. Here are the 8 questions we wish every customer asked before dropping off a device — anywhere.
1. What warranty do you offer on parts and labor?
The industry-typical answer is 30 to 90 days. A shop that says "1 year on parts and labor" is telling you something meaningful: they trust their parts and their techs. A shop that quotes a shorter term is signaling that they don't expect the repair to last long enough to matter.
Ask specifically whether both parts and labor are covered, and whether the warranty resets if the same issue recurs. Vague answers here are a red flag.
2. What grade of parts are you installing?
There are three tiers in the market:
- OEM — original manufacturer parts, hardest to source, most expensive
- OEM-grade / premium aftermarket — high-quality copies that match OEM specs
- Cheap aftermarket — the cause of most "the screen went out after 60 days" stories
A good shop will offer at least two of these tiers at different price points and be upfront about which you're getting. If they only quote one price with no explanation of parts grade, ask again.
3. Who is actually doing the work?
Some shops are staffed by rotating part-timers. Others have a small team of dedicated technicians who have been there for years. It matters — a lot.
Ask: "Will the same technician who diagnoses it be the one who repairs it?" and "How long has your senior tech been fixing phones?" You want experience continuity, not a hand-off chain.
4. Can you do board-level (micro-soldering) work?
This is a fast filter. Ask: "If it turns out this isn't a screen or battery problem — if it's a chip or a trace issue on the board — do you fix that in-house, or do you send it out?"
Most shops do not do board-level repair. That's fine for screen swaps and battery replacements, but it means if your problem is deeper, they can't help you. A shop that does micro-soldering in-house can save otherwise-dead devices that another shop would tell you to replace.
5. What happens to my data during the repair?
For most repairs — screens, batteries, ports, cameras — the shop does not need to unlock your phone and your data is completely untouched. Ask them to confirm that, and ask what happens if a different issue comes up mid-repair.
For diagnostic or software work, they may need your passcode temporarily. A good shop will tell you exactly when and why, and never keep your device unlocked longer than necessary.
6. What's the free-diagnostic policy?
The right answer is: free diagnostic on every device, no obligation to repair. Some shops charge a "look-at-it fee" that only gets waived if you agree to the repair. That's a soft-sell tactic — you should be able to walk in, get a real assessment, and leave with a quote you can compare elsewhere.
7. How long will the repair actually take?
Most screen and battery repairs are same-day at a well-run shop, often within an hour or two. Board-level repairs and water damage cases take longer — 1 to 5 days. Console work is usually 1 to 3 days.
If a shop quotes you a suspiciously fast turnaround on a complex repair, it usually means they're going to swap a part without properly diagnosing the underlying cause. If it's back within a week, they'll blame the new part rather than acknowledge the misdiagnosis.
8. Can I see reviews from real customers in my area?
Google reviews from your specific city are the fastest way to sanity-check a shop. Look for:
- Volume — a few dozen reviews is fine; hundreds is better
- Consistency — a solid 4.7+ average across a wide sample
- Content — real stories with specifics ("dropped off my PS5, HDMI port fixed the next day") beat generic five-star praise
- Response — do the owners respond to negative reviews professionally, or ignore them?
If a shop has 20 reviews and they're all five stars from three months ago, that's a different signal than 800 reviews built over a decade.
The short version
If you don't have time for all eight, ask these three:
- Warranty length — 1 year or nothing
- Parts grade — OEM or OEM-grade
- Board repair in-house — yes or referred elsewhere
Those three answers will tell you whether you're at a real repair shop or a part-swap counter.
What to expect at Mr Fix It
You'll get straight answers to all eight questions before we touch your device. Every repair carries a 1-year warranty on parts and labor. Every diagnostic is free. Board-level micro-soldering is in-house — no ship-outs, no "we don't do that."
Come to our Valdosta store on Norman Drive or the McDonough store in the South Point plaza. Same-day on most repairs, and we'll tell you upfront if it's not worth fixing.