Another month, another batch of repairs! We had nine attempted repairs last night (and one alteration) and of those five of those were at least partially repaired, which is about average for what we see come through. Frequently people will have already tried to fix them at home, so we tend to get the more difficult ones.
We’ll show off some pictures of this month’s items (as usual) and then talk about some of the bigger trends we’re seeing and what you can do to make things better.
Why aren’t things fixable?
To those who had something we could not repair, I’m sorry. We do our best, but we’re fighting an uphill battle here.
Things are made to be as inexpensive as possible and repair is almost the opposite of what most manufacturers want. It’s much more profitable for them if you buy another TV than if you can repair the one you already have. So a cracked LCD TV screen is not repairable. Replacement screens are generally not event available for TVs or standalone monitors.
Where does the Repair Cafe shine?
We do very well with small, simple electronics (e.g. lamps, night lights, radios), kitchen equipment (toasters, stand mixes, blenders, pressure cookers), clothing (shirts, pants, Halloween costumes), and mechanical repairs (coffee tables, pot lids, broken cases). The repairs aren’t always pretty, but they get the job done. Other times we fix things up and they look like new, it just depends on the item and the specific problem.
Tablets and laptops often have replacement parts available, but getting it fixed at a repair shop will frequently cost more than to buy a replacement. This is where our Cafe really shines. Our whole operation works on donations. The people who are willing and able to pitch in are what enable us to have tools and supplies on hand.
Items that are irreplaceable are another category where we do well. When repair is the only option because you can’t buy that product anymore, we’re here to help.
Where does the Repair Cafe struggle?
We don’t have the money (or space) to stock parts for every possible make and model of stand mixer, TV, tablet, laptop, coffee table, and article of clothing. This is in contrast to businesses where they only work on one type of object and stock parts for most things they work on.
Along those same lines, we only have events once a month, which means that if you need to order parts, you have to wait until next month to get help fixing it. Although we can often provide enough advice that you can do it at home when the parts come in, sometimes they require special tools. We do our best to mitigate this by having Open Hours at the Makerspace every week, twice a week. During open hours, it’s just whomever wants to come in and work on a project (or just hang out). As such, we can’t guarantee there will be a person there to help you with your repair (although most people are willing to drop what they’re doing to help others; the Makerspace is filled with kind souls).
Our entire operation is run by about half a dozen volunteers. The main coordinator puts in at least 8 hours a month for this project. Doing what, you might ask?
- Collaborating with other organizations like RepairCafe.org, the City of Urbana (Community Development Department, Philo Road Ahead, the Parks District), Cunningham Township, The Idea Store, and others.
- Creating fliers to post online or in person
- Getting the word out (posting physical fliers, posting on social media, going on the radio, podcasts, blog posts, etc.)
- Documenting processes so it’s easy for other volunteers to jump in and help
- Organizing the parts and tools at the Makerspace so we can find things quickly on repair nights
It’s taxing to wear so many hats, and having more people to help with these behind the scenes tasks would be helpful (especially with the “marketing” type tasks). There are far more people interested in doing the actual hands-on repairs than there are who want to do the other tasks required to run a successful event. I can sympathize. Me too!
How can you help?
Honestly, the biggest thing is spreading the word. If we can reach more people and let them know what we’re doing here, we’ll have more people bringing things in to repair, more people willing to pitch in and be a mentor, and hopefully more donations to buy the tools we don’t have, stock common parts so we have them on hand and so forth. We don’t have money to spend on billboards and radio ads, and even if we did, we’d rather use that money to invest in tools & materials that will let us better serve the community.
The second biggest thing you can do is volunteer to help. This could be as simple as posting fliers, telling/reminding community groups about us, connecting our coordinator with your favorite radio show or podcaster who might like to have us on their show.
Finally, bring things in to repair. This helps you in that you might walk away with something that works, but it also helps us in that we have a repair to talk about and show other people to illustrate what we do and how we help people. It also gives you a story to tell your friends, family, and co-workers about how great we are, which goes back to spreading the word.
What productions should people buy?
I wish we had a suggestion for what manufacturers are better than others for their ability to be repaired (or upgraded), but it’s honestly pretty grim. There are specific devices that are designed from the ground up to be fixable, such at the FairPhone, Framework laptops, and Pine64’s laptops, tablets, phones, smart watches, and earbuds. But as for most consumer electronics (TVs, computer monitors, tablets), it takes effort to find a better alternative.
For example, Google is leaving Nest users in the dust, taking the “smart” out of “smart thermostat” (no more apps, no remote controlling the device), but most people don’t know about the HestiaPi, which is a wifi-enabled thermostat that can never take away features like like Google is doing this month.
These alternatives almost always exist, but they’re often hard to find. Aside from the examples above, which I came up with off the top of my head, we have to research these things like anyone else. We’re willing to help advise you, but keep in mind that this is on top of all the other things that we’re already doing and there are fewer people running this whole operation that it may seem.
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