Staying positive:
Store offers battery repair, wide selection

By Megg Crook
Thursday, November 16, 2006

Motorcycle, laptop, cell phone, PDA, mp3 and, of course, toys. Almost everything we encounter daily uses a battery. That's how Christopher Shea makes a living.

Shea recently opened the first of what he hopes will be three Batteries Plus franchises in Massachusetts this past Monday, Nov. 13. Batteries Plus sells ... well, batteries, every kind imaginable, and if he doesn't have it, the extensive Batteries Plus catalog will, and Shea will gladly order it.

"I think the demographics are good in Woburn," Shea said about choosing Cambridge Street (Route 3) for his first store. "I like the layout of the store, and Four Corners is a crossroad of towns."

Batteries Plus it located between 7-Eleven and KFC, in a building that used to be a Carvel ice cream shop. The store needed extensive remodeling, and Shea gutted the inside and started over before officially moving into the store. The result is a clean, new looking store full of batteries and ready for business.

Batteries Plus is a national franchise with 275 other stores, but only one is in New England. Shea says it's difficult, and expensive, to open a small business in the Boston area.

"It took me 10 months to get this place," Shea said. "I'm taking a big risk. But I believe the concept is good, and people in Boston need it too."

Shea's business is batteries, beyond the familiar AAA Duracells. Batteries Plus will recycle any type of batteries at no charge. They will also repair batteries that people assume are dead, but really need to be reconditioned, or maybe even repaired completely.

At a repair center, a welder will work to repair battery packs for such things as electric drills or even just recondition the battery - drain it completely and recharge it overnight. Often, Shea said, a battery that seems dead really just needs to be recharged, and will last a little longer.

Shea said customers need to assess their battery needs. According to Shea, many people have high-powered batteries in objects that only need a low amount of power, like clocks. Rechargeable batteries are also useful for devices such as digital cameras, which use batteries quickly. By offering customers the option to spend a little more by getting a battery charger, he hopes to save them money in the long run.

"We're hopefully selling knowledge to people," Shea said. "I offer a variety of what can be done," Shea said. "We can recondition the battery, rebuild the battery or I can sell them a new one. I try to give people choices, let them decide what they want to do."

This is Shea's first time working in retail, and he is eager to expand Batteries Plus. He plans to work on agreements with local businesses such as Verizon and Geek Squad, a computer repair company that makes house calls. Shea's hope is that when employees are out making calls and need to replace a battery, they will come to Batteries Plus.

He is also offering assessments of hospitals, companies and schools. Between computers, smoke detectors, emergency lights, exit signs and other appliances around the building, batteries are everywhere, he said.

"We'd like to help identify what your battery needs are," Shea said. "There's an amazing amount of places they're using batteries, but you don't realize it, because it's spread across departments."

He is also willing to recycle batteries not just for ordinary customers, but also for people who go through more batteries than an ordinary household.

"Police departments and prisons, with the two-way radios, go through batteries all the time, Shea said. "They have nothing to do with them once they're dead."

In exchange for supplying them with all their battery needs, Shea hopes to recycle the surplus of dead batteries that accumulate.

"This is such a neat concept, all batteries for all uses," Shea said.

Batteries Plus, 173 Cambridge Road, Woburn, 781-933-9093. Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., www.batteriesplus.com.