A city centre business which has become the first call for people seeking repairs for broken gadgets is planning to offer a free DIY service after moving to bigger premises.

The team at Stuf say their idea has been branded as madness by friends who fear they will lose trade, but co-founder Paul Green is backing their customer service to make a difference.

He said: “We plan to run workshops one night a week for a couple of hours free of charge to show people how to carry out basic repairs to their mobile phones and other gadgets.

“Some people have said it’s madness but we see customer service as very important and it is an extension of that. People don’t have to by the parts from us, but we think they will if we look after them properly.”

Paul and his best friend Richard Hewick launched Stuf in South Street, Hull, nine years ago. They now lead a team of seven and were determined to stay in the street when the time came to move premises.

Paul said: “Our shop was the foyer for Tivoli House but the building is up for sale and has planning permission for apartments so they’re going to want it back at some point. We could have looked at premises elsewhere in the city centre but we love this street. It’s full of independent traders and we wanted to stay here and keep our customer base here.

“We’ve now got much more space for people to browse what we do, and that should help the business. We’ve got less storage space but that’s not a bad thing because we became hoarders. Now we’ve had to become more streamlined and more professional!

“Our new idea was inspired by austerity, helping people to cut the cost of repairs, and by the extra space – we didn’t have the room to do anything like this across the road.”

Kathryn Shillito, HullBID city centre manager said: “The team at Stuf have become well known for taking a fresh and innovative approach to their business and the idea of the workshops is something which is different again.

“The new service could directly benefit staff from other businesses in the city centre and it can also help in other ways – it’s an example of another of our many excellent independent traders going the extra mile to provide great customer service.” 

For details of the free workshop call Stuf on 01482 221014 or visit the shop in South Street, Hull.