Training a New Repair Technician: The First Two Weeks

A new technician can shape a small shop's reputation within a month. Rushed onto the bench, they tear flex cables, misquote jobs and pick up habits that are hard to undo. Given a plan, most become productive in two weeks. Here is an outline you can adapt.

Before day one

• Create their own login with technician-level access. Never hand over an existing account.
• Prepare a bench with their own tools, an anti-static mat and a parts tray.
• Choose one experienced person as their go-to for questions.
• Collect a few donor devices, broken phones nobody minds sacrificing, for practice.

Days 1–2: the shop, not the screwdriver

Keep the first two days away from customer devices. Walk through how a job travels from the counter to the bench to pickup. Have the new hire shadow check-ins and watch how tickets are opened, prices quoted and statuses changed. Explain your warranty terms, which actions need a manager and how parts are recorded. Cover safety early: battery handling, heat tools, and what to do if a battery swells or smokes.

Days 3–5: practice on donor devices

Start with your most common job, usually a screen on a popular model. The trainee takes a donor phone apart and puts it back together several times, then repeats it while someone watches. Focus on the details that cause comebacks: seating connectors, matching screw lengths, adhesive, cleaning before closing. Time every attempt; speed comes later, but the times show progress.

Days 6–8: supervised customer work

Move to real jobs, but only the repair types already practiced, and only with a senior technician checking each device before it goes back on the shelf. The trainee updates the ticket personally: status, work done, comments. Anything outside the practiced list goes to someone else.

Days 9–10: the counter, then a review

Let them handle a few check-ins under supervision, so they learn what customers are told and why accurate intake notes matter on the bench. At the end of week two, sit down for a short review: what they can now do alone, what still needs a second pair of eyes, and which repair they will learn next.

A simple sign-off sheet

The mentor's role

The go-to person makes or breaks the plan. Ask them to check in at the start and end of each day, answer questions without sighing, and explain the reason behind each step rather than just the step. Short daily notes on what went well and what to repeat tomorrow are worth more than one long talk at the end. If the mentor is too busy on a given day, say so, and keep the trainee on donor practice instead of real jobs.

Mistakes to avoid

• Letting a trainee quote from memory instead of the price list.
• Skipping the safety talk because they "have done this before".
• Giving feedback only when something goes wrong.
• Adding new repair types before the first ones are solid.

Where RepairAmigo helps

RepairAmigo is designed so newcomers find their way quickly: big color-coded tiles on the main menu, a built-in Standard Operating Procedure, and no training manual to wade through. Each person gets a Technician, Manager or Owner role and a staff profile. Because quotes are built from the shop's price list, a trainee prices a job exactly as an experienced colleague would, and sensitive settings need a manager password. Every list keeps a change log, so a manager can see what was edited during the training period. It runs on your computer (Windows PCs and Intel Macs), with a 30-day free trial, then an optional one-time $99 paid version with no subscription.