Bonners Ferry Wireless offers no-contract telephone options

BONNERS FERRY — Long-time local Ingrid Spears and recent import Joe Laffoon have teamed up to offer Bonners Ferry area residents no-contract wireless options at Bonners Ferry Wireless, open since Sept. 2 on the South Hill next to Conoco.

“We’re locally owned, and proud of it,” says Spears, showing off their new sign that says just that. “We love people, and we love helping them.”

Spears met Laffoon through church, after he and his wife moved to Bonners Ferry in 2013.

Laffoon had been managing a large corporation in Michigan, and thought he would semi-retire when he moved to Bonners Ferry.

“That lasted about two months,” he laughs. “I have a hard time doing nothing, and I got bored faster than I thought I would.”

The small building that houses Bonners Ferry Wireless was once a tattoo shop, and it has been quite a project for the pair to fix the place up.

With the help of Ingrid’s husband Bill, the place has been cleaned up inside and out, with new landscaping and parking bumpers, grading and a new sign on the way. For now, customers can find the place by looking for the sandwich board sign and colorful string of flags that mark the location at 6445 Main St.

The company offers service through Page Plus, which allows customers to access local networks without paying the contract fee, saving their customers money, they say.

“A lot of people just want a phone, but don’t talk on it much,” Spears says. “Others want unlimited everything. We can help them all.”

While some of the older clientele are looking for a simpler phone, without all the bells and whistles, many of them are starting to gain an interest in smart phones. Bonners Ferry Wireless is happy to help.

“We can show them all the tricks,” Spears says. “I have come down at 9 p.m. to help a customer, because that was the only time they could do it. We’ll do anything to make them happy.”

Customers used to contract plans can find it difficult to change, Laffoon says, but the no-contract phones can offer the same service for less.

“We offer smart phones, feature phones and flip phones,” he says, “What we don’t have, we can get.”

In addition to the phones, the company offers accessories, including a booster that can help customers get service where their signal is weak. Laffoon lives off Highway 2, and went from zero bars to three after installing a booster at his house, he says.

“Talking on the cell phone is important to a lot of people,” he says. “They have been asking about the booster so they can do away with their land line.”

Customers can find Bonners Ferry Wireless open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Call 267-1792 to find out more.