By Tamas Mondovics
For Marc and Morgan Malaj the dream of owning their own business was never a question, only a matter of time and, of course, finding the right product and fit.
Today, the couple is proud to celebrate the grand re-opening of their second Verizon wireless store, located at 1019 E. Bloomingdale Ave. in Valrico, which now serves the Bloomingdale and surrounding communities.
“We tried a number of different kinds of businesses including real estate, a landscaping company, a furniture store as well as a gift shop, but it was Marc’s expertise and passion for the technology that led to business success,” Morgan said.
In 1998, at age 17, Marc moved to the U.S. from Albania leaving behind family and friends to look for a better life and opportunities as he put himself through college, graduating from Ohio State University with a degree in international business.
His love and passion for the wireless business began with his first Verizon job selling cell phones and pagers.
“As outdated as those phones might seem today, I loved the technology,” Marc said.
Armed only with the knowledge of the industry, the desire to do better and improve on a great company and a great business model, the Malaj’s opened their first store under the Verizon umbrella at 205 Apollo Beach Blvd. in Apollo Beach in 2010.
After two years of hard work, a second store location in Valrico opened, prompting Marc to credit the business’ success to friendly service, customer focus along with the great phone specials, which he said separates his stores from the others.
“People travel out of their way just to come to our stores because they know or have been told that we will do whatever he can to help them and fix their problems,” Marc said. “It takes patience and knowledge to provide the highest level of customer service,” he said. “We’ve heard a lot of stories of other locations not treating customers properly, but having lifetime customers is far more important than a quick sale.
Right now both stores are open seven days a week offering the fast and sleek Samsung Google Nexus for free with a two-year agreement.
For more information or to get a great deal on the latest wireless products, call 644-2767 or visit either store location.
