Q & A with TAZ- Tech Accessory Zone's founder

What initially drove you to start TAZ?

Guy Driver - I started TAZ with a passion, i have been in retail all my working life and have a passion to make things happen.  I started TAZ because i wanted to have a retail store that offered the widest range of Apple iPhone Accessories and where people could touch feel and see the product.  I also saw the potential that the cellphone repair market was providing due to the vast increase of smart phone usage and the cost to replace the devices.

What do you attribute your success too?

Guy Driver - Simply one fact, Service, yes i know everyone says they have the best customer service.  I say one thing and that's that we take every transaction to heart.  It really stresses me out if we are having a problem with any device we are repairing because i take it so personally.  For me, when you choose TAZ you did so because you felt comfortable and confident and that's why i will do everything humanely possible to give you the best service possible.  My desire is to satisfy every customer that walks through our doors to do business with us. Sometimes that's difficult because electronics are not something you can always control.

How come you have not opened up more stores like your competitors??

Guy Driver - Well that's a great question.  I feel that until i can open up a second or third store, i need to have all my ducks in a row and must have the ability to give the same quality service at each location.  I think its imperative to be well prepared and insure that everything is done right.  Opening store after store is easy.  The difficult part is to do it right.  All i can say is that i will be opening more stores and that i have big plans for the future of TAZ.   I see my competitors opening up stores all the time around me, but i know where i am going and what i am planning, so it does not bother me.

Does the competition effect you?

Guy Driver - Competition is always good, i see a lot of great things my competition do and sometimes i am very impressed by there tactics.  Competition is healthy and i can only learn from them.  I only consider three companies here in Tampa as competitors.  The rest are just getting by.  As long as the competition is professional and ethical and keeps the standard, then i am all about good competition.

What is your next move?

Guy Driver - Well we do have a rather cool innovative plan that i hopefully will be getting off the ground within the next month.  I hope that this will change the game a little and a new way we do business.  So until then I'm all mum the word!

You repair all makes and models of Cell Phones, is it not better to specialize?

Guy Driver - Well we do, we specialize in repairing all Apple iPhone, iPad's, iPod's and Apple Mac'.  That is what we are specialists in, but we have competent techs that can fix everything and for that reason we can do all makes and models of cell phones.  Not everyone can do that, that's why they don't and we do.  I am very hesitant to just do repairs on anything.  So if we say we can repair it, then we will.

Have you noticed recently all the new cellphone repair service centers opening up all over? Well of course they are, As smart-phone use escalates and gadgets play a bigger role in people’s personal and business lives, a related industry is growing: cell phone repair. Cell phone repair shops can be found around Tampa's urban areas. Their niche is quickly repairing phones so that users can have them up and running ASAP. Until recently, cell phones were easily discarded when they became physically damaged, and people simply bought new replacement devices. In today's market, however, due to the high price of cell phones and the recent Smartphone phenomenon flooding both corporate and consumer markets, people and businesses have limited options when their complicated, expensive devices become physically damaged.
Consumers are left with a fragile phone that's unlikely to survive the typical 2-year contract. Trained professionals in the cellular repair industry, however, can service and repair consumer phones that are no longer under warranty and not insured through their carriers, thus, saving consumers from having to replace their expensive phones, sign new contracts, and add to the landfill.

Smartphones like the iPhone, Blackberry,Samsung, LG and HTC—are not only a means of communication, but they are also an essential item for navigating efficiently in today's intense business and social realms. People are not afraid to admit their dependence on these fragile devices and, therefore, subject them to heavy daily use that often results in damage. That's where professionals at Cellular Repair Centers like TAZ -Tech Accessory Zone can help.

Cellular Repair Centers give consumers the opportunity to repair their devices for less money rather than pay full price for a new phone. The trend for now and the future is definitely smartphones. So is the need for more advanced devices and bigger screen which all mean more cost which means more opportunity for repair centers to stay in business and provide a great service for a win win situation for both consumer and repair company.

Is The BlackBerry Finally Dead

One of the fundamental precepts of great businesses is to narrow your market focus and expand your yield. Great companies are maniacally focused on who their customers are – and who they aren’t. Jim Collins made that clear in his seminal book Good to Great.

BlackBerry, at one time, was an absolute killer device.  Never actually  had one and so can't say I actually loved it, but knew many, many people who did and professed to love it and swear by it.   Ever since the iPhone came out, and the smart phone category exploded, BlackBerry has been struggling with finding its place. The Storm was a disaster (on all counts), and they continue to lose market share.  Does anybody even buy BlackBerry anymore??  are there any available?? Oh sorry i forgot! all the South Americans and everyone else who lives by using the free service called BBM, Thats the only reason BlackBerry still lives today, because the rest of the world needs the free BBM service.

To fight that, they keep “innovating” and coming out with new products. A recent view of their website highlights seven different models to chose from. So I ask, what is a BlackBerry?
In contrast, Apple offers one model (two if you consider the fact that they are still selling the 3GS), and no one need ask the question, “What is an iPhone?”
Watching BlackBerry’s approach reminds me of the 1991 movie, Other People’s Money. In it, Danny DeVito played the memorable character Larry the Liquidator. In trying to takeover a dying company, he said:

We’re dead alright. We’re just not broke. And you know the surest way to go broke? Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market. Down the tubes. Slow but sure.

Think about this for a moment. Who loves – I mean really loves – their BlackBerry?

Heavy duty email users – that’s who.  But then are they really getting a superior e-mail format??  the iPhone has made huge head roads into this field and i don't think they are doing a bad job.  I see a large migration from BlackBerry to iPhone's in the corporate world today.

Email was the entire basis of BlackBerry’s success to begin with. They invented technology and a device that solved a critical problem for people.
Now, what’s their newest device? The BlackBerry Style. Huh?! What?! If someone is buying a phone for “style;” guess what – they’re buying an iPhone.
People who buy BlackBerrys buy them for function. BlackBerry BBM or they just cannot get the hang of the touch screen and have to have a keyboard, Right!

What Should BlackBerry Do?
To ensure its future, BlackBerry needs to stop playing other people’s games. They need to focus on their core market – heavy duty email users.
Is that a smaller market than the size of their current business today? Yup. But guess what, BlackBerry isn’t as big as it thinks it is.
BlackBerry needs to answer the same question that small and mid-market companies are faced with every day:

Do I keep fighting for volume and size which will result in less profit and greater vulnerability, or do I accept the market for what it is and focus on what we do best and become relevant?

Now let me be fair and say this!  The BlackBerry has always been a great phone, really great quality, good communication device as far as making calls, superior email device, but sadly that was it and thats not all people were looking for.  I wish you the very best BlackBerry.

What's your next Smart Phone??