Business & Tech

New Family-Run Business Saves People's Electronic Lives

The fourth CPR-Cell Phone Repair shop and retailer in Illinois recently opened in Orland Park by Larry Leonard and his family, and will be holding their grand opening Saturday.

Larry Leonard holds a shattered and split-in-half iPhone 5 in his hands, while in the workshop area of CPR-Cell Phone Repair in Orland Park.

“This was my son in law’s phone,” Leonard said. “He’s a farmer and he ran over it while disking the fields. We’re going to try and see if we can take the motherboard out of there and put it back in to a unit where the motherboard is shot.”

With the proliferation of cell phones, tablets and other handheld electronics, a multitude of ways we can damage them have followed. Whether by hitting hard surfaces, falling into water or other versions of our clumsiness and circumstance, Larry and his family are willing to try fixing them before people decide to simply cough up more money for a replacement.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“The biggest hurdle we have to overcome is people don’t know they can get their devices fixed,” Leonard said. “They don’t know water damage can be repaired. It’s not 100 percent. It’s in the realm of 50 to 80 percent, but it’s worth trying.”

Leonard speaks from personal experience. His family first learned about CPR-Cell Phone Repair after his wife Paula was cradling her cell phone against her ear while doing dishes and it fell into the sink. They tried sealing the phone in a bag of dry rice, only to find out two days later it still wouldn’t work. A Verizon dealer said their store couldn’t help, but directed them to a CPR location in Chicago’s north side, and the store on Damen was able to bring her phone back from dead.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Larry Leonard was considering a new line of work at the time. He was let go from a top position with Keystone Calumet in Chicago Heights, and after 38 years in corporate steel, he began looking at franchises as well as other personal businesses.

“I wanted to build something for my family for the long term instead of helping other companies make money,” Larry Leonard said. “This seemed like a good business model. We keep a large inventory of parts in-house. We can also repair cameras, computers and game systems, and our warranty is six months, while most others will offer 30 to 90 days.”

Aside from repairs, CPR-Cell Phone Repair also buys and sells used phones. People who either lost a phone or want a cheaper addition can find a used unit at their store.

“We help people stay with their carriers and not have to get new contracts,” Larry Leonard said.

The business is family run. Larry and Paula’s son Phil performs repairs, while oldest son Russ handles marketing and outreach with area wireless dealers. Daughter Caroline helps with social media, and Paula works the register.

“It’s really cool to see when somebody brings in something all scratched and broken, and you give it back to them looking like it’s brand new,” Larry Leonard said. “We enjoy giving them their babies back. People are attached to their electronics, and our corporate motto is ‘Saving Your Mobile Life.’”

Since opening on April 11 in the Lakeview Shopping Center at 15864 LaGrange Road, Larry Leonard said he’s learned a few pointers on how to best deal with a damaged phone.

“I always tell people to back up their phone data,” Larry Leonard said, which includes contacts and photos. “Number two is put a good case on them. That goes for any device.”

Water damage is a common hazard. Simply turning a phone on after it has been in water can cause irreparable damage, even though most people want to immediately check if a phone is working after getting it wet, Larry Leonard said.

One customer used her phone for three weeks after dropping it in water, only to find a black burn on the phone’s motherboard from the battery.

“If anyone gets a phone or any other device wet, they should immediately bring it in and for $45 we’ll try to save it,” Larry Leonard said. “We’ll work on it for a couple of hours. Frequently we can restore it. We can’t do every one, but if we can, it’ll last longer than just waiting for it to dry out and turning it on.”

  • Event: CPR-Cell Phone Repair Grand Opening
  • When: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, June 15.
  • Where: 15864 S. LaGrange Road, northwest corner of 159th Street and LaGrange Road in the Lakeview Shopping Center.
  • Details: Food, drinks and a chance to win iPads, iPods and other handheld electronics will be available, as well as 10 percent off repairs all day.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

There are plenty of ways to keep up on local news:


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here