---
title: "Southington Observer: A quarter century of Wireless Zone"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/3453ed15-3651-44b8-92bc-a53188911b03
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/southington-observer-a-quarter-century-of-wireless-zone-1657
category: "Retail"
industry: "Retail"
published: 2015-05-18T15:10:42.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T22:34:27.455Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8d777f385d3dfec8815d20f7496026dc8818.png
---

# Southington Observer: A quarter century of Wireless Zone

**TL;DR:** Wireless Zone franchisee Rick Barrows reflects on the brand's 25-year history, attributing its success to dedication to customer service. Barrows has been with the brand since 1989 and has seen the industry transform due to technological advances.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-05-18. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/southington-observer-a-quarter-century-of-wireless-zone-1657).*

## Story

When Rick Barrows opened his first store in 1989, there were no smartphones. Since then, he’s watched the industry completely transform thanks to the digital age. Even though technological advances can make the industry unpredictable, Barrows feels that Wireless Zone continues to be successful because of its dedication to customer service.

“I think with a lot of our customers we build relationships; they come here and see the same faces in here year after year,” Barrows told the Southington Observer. As one of the original franchisees of Wireless Zone, Barrows’ experience and knowledge of the industry make him a huge asset to the brand.“The wireless industry changes on a very regular basis,” David Staszewski, executive vice president for Wireless Zone, told the Observer.

“Rick has been able to change with it. He has been doing this since there was just an ‘end’ and ‘send’ button on phones and now cell phones are like mini computers.”Click here to read the original story.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Retail (sector)
- customer service (topic)
- Wireless Zone (company)
- franchise history (topic)
- industry transformation (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/southington-observer-a-quarter-century-of-wireless-zone-1657). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/3453ed15-3651-44b8-92bc-a53188911b03).