Samsung

2023 MX Repair Competition

In this image, North is depicted with a gray blazer.

Every year, Samsung Electronics America (SEA) hosts a competition which pits fifteen of the nation's highest graded technicians against each other in a competition within SEA's headquarters. This can be for various departments, such as the Home Appliance division, to their Mobile Experience division, covering devices like smartphones and watches. In 2023, I was lucky enough to be among the fifteen finalists Samsung has chosen for this year's event. After the travel to Samsung's Legacy headquarters in Plano, Texas, I had only a night's rest before the competition started, with no clue on what to expect on the following day. When that day came, I met the other finalists who flew in from all over the country; some within Samsung's own repair facilities, and some with business partners via uBreakiFix. While most of us were first-time contestants, there were a number of returning finalists from years past who were already sharing new repair experiences, how the industry has shifted, and new challenges the sector faces. Meeting with people who also possess the technical knowledge and passion in your daily work environment is already an important experience, but it doesn't compare to entering the building of the company behind it all, where it seems like its own society of enthusiasts for technology and preservation alike, seeing people from all walks of the world collaborate for a common purpose which benefits users around the globe.

Given the existence of Samsung Town in South Korea, it only makes sense that their subsidiary headquarters also aim to emulate this exact feeling.

The day started pretty early. We were told to expect a specific process of events, which had implications that the repairs we would be doing would be for real customers. For example, we were specifically told we would be graded for our customer service skills, as well as physical repair competence. But, in reality, it really seemed somewhat improvised on-the-spot. We were able to eat a small lunch in the general building behind the legacy Samsung headquarters while waiting for everyone to arrive. We were filled in on what to expect and were given a tour of the headquarters at this time, which was really magical. This tour alone showcased the positivity shown by employees who seemed to have a genuine affinity for their work and work culture, and created my personal life goal to work in this building at one point.

We were given pretty expansive freedom, with one finalist allowed to travel inside of an ID-only area without an actual ID. There were beautiful paintings and murals throughout the area. Eventually, we all reconciled at the general building to start the competition. I was the first to walk into the competition room, as shown in this video!

Things went slightly downhill at this point.

I misunderstood the instructions by the competition host. I had the option to perform disassembly and testing in an asynchronous manner, but was inclined to do everything one-by-one, inherently opening up the risk for errors along the way. In the actual shop, you seal up the phone to test it out after every step, which was redundant in this specific circumstance, so I ended up doing the repair twice. I ended up using the tools correctly, despite being my first time using them! However, I ended up damaging the display panel due to my inexperience - I did not realise the display had a non-removable cable connected to the motherboard (since I never disassembled this model in-store), so I slightly tore the screen cable while cutting through adhesive.

Ever since, my trust in my coworkers has somewhat dwindled, and I am now paying more attention to the documentation provided by the OEM rather than my direct coworkers. I hope there will be a next time, in order for me to perform at my most optimal environment. It was still very fun, and an unforgettable life experience. I just wish the circumstances leading up to it were different.

While I didn't receive the crowning placement, the competition went relatively smoothly and was finished in about two hours. We were also granted access to tour the rest of the Samsung Legacy HQ building afterward as well while the results were being tallied.

We learned about each judge and staff, including meeting the head of the mobile experience department of Samsung's legacy headquarters. They thanked us for our performance, and shortly after, we walked out of the building for the last time. The day ended with a celebratory night out with Samsung MX management and other finalists. Information about this event can be found on the Samsung Newsroom website. I won a Galaxy Watch6 for my placement, whilst the top 5 all won the latest Samsung phones.

MX Repair Comp. is a yearly event. You bet I will be returning for more!

2024 MX Repair Competition

From metrics and assessment results taken from technicians across the country, I've managed to become one out of fifteen top-performing finalists out of Samsung's repair technicians for the second year in a row. With another year's worth of new knowledge and experience, the confidence I have coming for the top spots is through the roof. There's a month away from my flight to compete with the other finalists at a repair event in Samsung's legacy headquarters... but this time, I'll be able to know what to focus on.

I'm also very excited to discuss and confer with others who live in my shoes and those who make my hobbies possible, as these opportunities usually only happen virtually, online. This month, I will be thinking of the best questions to ask, the best details to capture, and the best way to ensure my victory as America's top Samsung mobile technician of 2024. Sometimes, I thought my entry in 2023 could have been a fluke.

But this year will be my chance to prove myself wrong. Days before this, I also learnt that my manager and I achieved "store-of-the-month" throughout the entire uBreakiFix network of stores nationwide, both corporate and franchised locations. Working solo puts insane limits on our personal freedoms during any given work day, forcing us to work 8-9 hours without a break. It's really hard to say it's worth it.

But no one is going to remember the fact that I consistently lose sleep due to getting home an extra one or two hours later because I missed the bus while cleaning up the store as it closes. They're not going to remember my difficulty even arriving to work, relying on my own methods of transportation while being afflicted with seizures since 2020, preventing me from getting a license (among other reasons). It takes me an hour to get to the store as well as get back.

No one gives a shit about that, or the irony in forcing a person prone to seizures to drive in the bike lane as they can't get a license, which is inherently less safe for them.

They're going to remember events like these.

One of the biggest opportunities that could lead to me being able to eliminate these issues in the future...