Buffalo-area residents can find a fast, easy way to stay connected with friends, family and community by simply stopping in at their local, family-owned Verizon Wireless Zone Premium Retailer.
Facing Highway 55 from its home at 637 Ryan’s Way in Buffalo, this hometown outlet, owned by Bob Cheney and his son, Shawn, is a premium, full-service Verizon store.
“Pretty much, anything you can do at any other Verizon store, you can do here,” Shawn said.
And that encompasses quite a bit. In addition to popular electronic devices such as phones, tablets, mobile Wi-Fi and a large selection of accessories, they also service phone issues, and Shawn says that 70 percent of what they do is teaching people to use their devices.
Connecting with people
“What’s really key for us,” Shawn said, “is trying to connect with people. Buying from us is different from buying online, and a big part of that difference is service.”
“The advantage to the customer is the time they save and the service that they get,” he said. “They leave our store with their device all set up and working, and they understand how the device is going to do what they want it to do.”
Another value they add at Buffalo Verizon is that they put the right device into the right hands, Shawn says, “So you can make the device work for you – instead of you working for the device.”
Connecting to the community
At Buffalo Verizon, providing quality merchandise at competitive pricing with superior service is merely the first half of the company’s vision.
“The second half of it is that we’re not just a business,” Shawn said, “that when we opened the store, we knew we wanted to make a difference in the community. We try to stay connected to the community.”
Over the past two years, Buffalo Verizon has given more than $26,000 in gift certificates to the high school grads and teachers of Buffalo, Howard Lake, Maple Lake, Montrose, Delano and Rockford High Schools. A member of Buffalo’s Chamber of Commerce, the Verizon store has also sponsored events to raise money for local food shelves and scholarship funds, and was a major sponsor of last year’s parade, as well.
Since 2011, Bob has served on the board of the Wireless Zone Foundation for Giving, a charitable organization that is an extension of their franchise system. Through the Foundation, Bob explained, store owners can nominate charities to receive support. In the years 2011-2013, the Midwest area of the Foundation donated $108,000 to Feeding America. In addition, Minnesota charities received $21,000 to Loaves & Fishes, Too, and $3,000 each to the Minnesota Military Family Foundation and the American Diabetes Association.
“For every phone we activate,” Shawn said, “a portion goes to Feeding America. We’re not just a corporate entity. We’re family-owned company that cares about the community.”
Superior service
Open since December of 2008, Buffalo’s Verizon-Wireless Zone has spent the past few years enjoying recognition by its parent company for superior service, an award based purely on customer ratings gathered in random surveys. Providing a significant assist in that endeavor are five helpful and knowledgeable employees, trained and equipped to match each visitor with his or her perfect personal communication device, whether that might be a smart phone or a flip phone.
“We have a solution for everybody,” Shawn said. “We’ll help you figure out what the right thing is for you.”
And at Buffalo Verizon, Bob added, “We make the whole process a little less intimidating.”
The IPhone 6 is available now, and as Android and Samsung also prepare to launch new devices, Bob and Shawn Cheney invite you to visit and explore the variety of products and services they have to offer. For further enticement, Buffalo Verizon is offering a $150 bill credit to every carrier-changer, for every line switched to Verizon.
“We’re real people,” said Shawn. “This is a real family-run business. And service is important to us.”
Buffalo Verizon is open 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays. For more information, visit www.wirelesszone.com/buffalo or call 763-684-4252.
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