by Joyce Lancaster

John Jabero credits his strong work ethic and people skills to his father who passed away nine years ago. “He taught me to ‘treat people the way you want to be treated,’ and especially to respect older people. There isn’t enough of that these days,” John says.

Treating people right is high on John’s list of priorities and judging from the continuously crowded store and the number of customers he knows by name, he must be doing it right. Of all the Wireless Toyz franchises nationwide (there are currently about 100) the Main and Stadium location in Ann Arbor has consistently been in the top five in sales since it opened in 2004, and they have a table full of awards to prove it.

“My brother James and I are partners. We opened our original downtown store 12 years ago, and we still have that location as well as this one, and between the two stores we have 10 employees,” he says. “Those employees, he insists, are a large part of why they are so successful. We are in a business where the technology changes on a weekly, sometimes even daily basis, and we need people who can consistently keep up with that and pass the information on to the customers,” he explains. We also stress good service and do everything we can to keep our clients happy so they will come back. We can do all of the interfacing with the carriers, such are billing and selling phones, so they don’t have to.”

The Jaberos’ parents were born in Iraq. Both came to the United States because they followed siblings who were living here. John’s father suffered from diabetes, and his mother was his caregiver, so John spent most of his time outside of school working in a supermarket to pay the bills. When a friend in Ypsilanti told them of a store for sale in Ann Arbor, John and James bought Cellutel and sold pagers and Ameritec service. “Today we represent pretty much all the carriers, except AT&T. The technology has come so far since then. With the devices like the Blackberry, you can email, watch TV, listen to an MP3, video record, take pictures, pull up full web pages, and use a GPS. You don’t even need to open your computer anymore,” he says.

Despite his passion for his business, John’s true love is his family. He met his wife Eva through mutual friends and they have been married for nine years and have two children, Anthony three and a half and Kendall who is two. Their pictures are lovingly displayed at his desk. “I work such long hours that I would like to semi-retire early so I can spend more time with them” he says. John commutes every day from Farmington Hills so he can live near, and care for his mother and his in-laws.
When asked what would surprise people about him John says, “I guess that I have a big heart.”

Wireless Toyz Cellular Superstore
John Jabero
1336 S. Main Street.
Ann Arbor, MI
Phone: 734-663-1300
Email: store209@wirelesstoyz.com
www.WirelessToyz.com