Appliance Repair

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Originally Posted by BIG MAC

Guys, I'm an Licensed Electrician by trade so know about the costs and time I spent to get that license. I just felt a bit steep for the time he was here, and probably the main fact that he said was changing the whole valve and not the 2 solenoids is what was more upsetting than anything,. To me as a tradesman I would have shown you the parts I was changing. eg. the 2 bad breakers you have.

done with and house will be sold next week.

I guess when I do work for people I work to cheap....

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Hey sparky, like I said, on the gas side, they dont normally stock the solenoids rather the whole valve, very common practice. You may have ordered the solenoids but would have to wait up to 2 weeks for them. 99% of the time the whole valve is changed. Time on site plus time to pick up part plus the part for $200.....you didnt get ripped.

Its not a matter of you not charging enough, its a matter that you as well as the guy that fixed your dryer are not a charity. He fixed it quickly like you would change a switch or outlet in 10 mins or less because its your job and you're good at it. You wouldnt travel to someones house and change an outlet for $10.00 would you? If so, please pm me your number and I will have tons of work for you.

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I would think running an appliance repair business these days is a tough gig. Judging by the amount of appliances by the curb most people choose to replace rather than repair. When you look at the cost of any type of service these days 200 bucks seems like a steal to me. The alternative is poking around with your fluke and get on Amazon for some parts.

A lot of consumers have a hard time understanding why they are paying for us to drive for parts. Even if the supplier is close it’s the better part of an hour by the time you get back. Although I may have only been at the house for an hour, I spent 2 hours dedicated to the job with picking up the part and installing it. You can’t be successful working 2 hours and getting paid for 1. However, if it’s a part you normally have in stock I can understand dropping some time off the final bill.

Here's a little story about appliance repair;
A good number of years ago, my furnace fan became noisy, I called the company that serviced our oil furnace, they had their serviceman call me , I explained what was wrong and he said he knew what the problem was. He came out 3 days later and replaced 2 bearings and a shaft in the fan housing, total bill was with tax , just under $400.00 wow! I asked why so much , he told me that the bearings 2 of them were $160.00 , the shaft was #80.00 the rest was his labour and the tax, he was there for less than 1 hour. I thought it was rather expensive, but paid the bill and he was gone

Since then , I have bought the bearings, identical to what he bought for #17.00 each , and the shaft for #22.00, totaling that up , comes to #63.28 with the tax.

That so called repairman and the company he works for are crooks, [BIG OUTFIT] they have called me since and asked why I do not call them for service anymore, I told them why , and also explained that I called them after I had the original repair done and that they ripped me off, their reply was , well these parts are expensive and you are paying for expert service.
I also told them that I have since done the same work that their serviceman did back then, gave them the current price I paid for parts, they told me that I must have gotten inferior parts , , I told them ,they are exactly the same from the same mfg. in the U.S.
To make a long story short, I no longer deal with them for furnace service, have found someone else that is very satisfactory.

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Originally Posted by jaycee

Here's a little story about appliance repair;
A good number of years ago, my furnace fan became noisy, I called the company that serviced our oil furnace, they had their serviceman call me , I explained what was wrong and he said he knew what the problem was. He came out 3 days later and replaced 2 bearings and a shaft in the fan housing, total bill was with tax , just under $400.00 wow! I asked why so much , he told me that the bearings 2 of them were $160.00 , the shaft was #80.00 the rest was his labour and the tax, he was there for less than 1 hour. I thought it was rather expensive, but paid the bill and he was gone

Since then , I have bought the bearings, identical to what he bought for #17.00 each , and the shaft for #22.00, totaling that up , comes to #63.28 with the tax.

That so called repairman and the company he works for are crooks, [BIG OUTFIT] they have called me since and asked why I do not call them for service anymore, I told them why , and also explained that I called them after I had the original repair done and that they ripped me off, their reply was , well these parts are expensive and you are paying for expert service.
I also told them that I have since done the same work that their serviceman did back then, gave them the current price I paid for parts, they told me that I must have gotten inferior parts , , I told them ,they are exactly the same from the same mfg. in the U.S.
To make a long story short, I no longer deal with them for furnace service, have found someone else that is very satisfactory.

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Very common issue in the service industry. With google and ebay you cant be anything but honest with your customers these days. You got ripped off plain and simple. And if its the company I am thinking it is you most definitely got ripped off. Superior parts and expert service is a crock and taught to a lot of young guys coming up in the trade. I was fortunate enough to have been taught and trained by a couple of professional and honest men that taught me working hard and making sure the customer is happy when you leave they will always call you back and you will never go hungry.

There are bad apples in every trade that give us honest hard working guys a bad name. Thats just the way life is. So we strive to do what we can to ensure our customers are happy. Sometimes there is nothing you can say or do, people are just going to be rude so you cut your losses and chalk it up to all being part of the grand life experience.

In the case of Bigmac, he was not ripped off IMO, and to call the guy a thief and poop talk him and his company on social media was unnecessary and damaging to the guy.

Have a happy sunny Saturday all!

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There are many horror stories like this,and in the 25 years or so I have seen more bad apples then good ones.That is not an opinion,but my experience.
The worst case of a service guy attempted ripoff was-my relatively new furnace broke down.That of course happened on weekend.I needed repair ,so i called a reasonably sized company(no names so i am not "badmouthing them"just sharing my experience).The service guy came for repair ,Sunday afternoon.He replaced a totally different stuff(that is another story-where he came 2 x for the same repair, then his boss came the 3 rd time to actually fix my issue)and the guy charged me 2 x price for his hours,and 2 x price for parts.The bill was HIGH.So i asked why-he said Sunday is Overtime ,which i accept.Then he said the parts are also 2 x price because he installed them in OT................:D:D:D,he took the parts out from his truck in front of me,so he even had it on him........When i told him it is not fair,he dropped it to a 1 x price...........and while leavening ,he told me ,if you need more help .just call me,i will come any time ,and give you more discounts............The furnace broke again soon, he had to come back once more(when asked the Company for help they dispatched him).I called the company and demanded PROPER repair when it broke again.When 3 x happened,he did not come, because i told the company my brief story and demanded someone else for repair.To be fair with the company the 3 rd repair fixed the issue,and they did not charged for it at that time!

Morale of the story
1 There is no shame to stand up for your(as customer)rights,and question the final bill,....as there are many bad apples out there(this guy was by the way based on his age, an old school guy)
2 If one finds a GOOD and REPUTABLE service company(MANY are out there with many awesome GOOD persons with a LOT of knowledge) then STICK with them, as long as they are around.


my 2 cents

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Originally Posted by gbk

There are many horror stories like this,and in the 25 years or so I have seen more bad apples then good ones.That is not an opinion,but my experience.
The worst case of a service guy attempted ripoff was-my relatively new furnace broke down.That of course happened on weekend.I needed repair ,so i called a reasonably sized company(no names so i am not "badmouthing them"just sharing my experience).The service guy came for repair ,Sunday afternoon.He replaced a totally different stuff(that is another story-where he came 2 x for the same repair, then his boss came the 3 rd time to actually fix my issue)and the guy charged me 2 x price for his hours,and 2 x price for parts.The bill was HIGH.So i asked why-he said Sunday is Overtime ,which i accept.Then he said the parts are also 2 x price because he installed them in OT................:D:D:D,he took the parts out from his truck in front of me,so he even had it on him........When i told him it is not fair,he dropped it to a 1 x price...........and while leavening ,he told me ,if you need more help .just call me,i will come any time ,and give you more discounts............The furnace broke again soon, he had to come back once more(when asked the Company for help they dispatched him).I called the company and demanded PROPER repair when it broke again.When 3 x happened,he did not come, because i told the company my brief story and demanded someone else for repair.To be fair with the company the 3 rd repair fixed the issue,and they did not charged for it at that time!

Morale of the story
1 There is no shame to stand up for your(as customer)rights,and question the final bill,....as there are many bad apples out there(this guy was by the way based on his age, an old school guy)
2 If one finds a GOOD and REPUTABLE service company(MANY are out there with many awesome GOOD persons with a LOT of knowledge) then STICK with them, as long as they are around.


my 2 cents

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Last 25 years of what? Are you a service tech?
Also, relatively new furnace would have had warranty (assuming you bought a decent one).
2x on the parts because its Sunday?........lmfao, I have never heard of that so thats a good one.
I agree, there are a lot of bad apples, like I said in my last post. The fact of the matter is the OP did not get "ripped off" by a "thief" but rather felt he did. I explained to him and any other person reading the thread as best and eloquently as I could that it was simply not the case. I think the OP got it, and learned some insight into the Gas technician side of the trade. Just trying to shed some light, not trying to defend the bad apples but rather open peoples eyes to the good ones. I am sorry your 25 years of experiences with furnace repair technicians has left a bad taste in your mouth but IMO you are wrong about this particular case. The simple fact is the guy did his job correctly and a customer slammed him on social media. If you feel the need to go on social media and slam someone because you feel you got ripped off by all means do so, at least take some time and do some research and make an informed opinion instead of slamming them because of your "feelings".

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Hi Jerry!
Few answers for the questions above:
25 years of what?
Since as it was said it is open for interpretation,let me explain it-last 25 years of being a gas furnace owner .Before that i did not owe a gas furnace.
Are you a service tech?
No ,i am not.I would likely repair it on my own if i was one.
Relatively new furnace has warranty.......
This is where i screwed myself,due of lack of proper info .I DID NOT know that the furnaces have warranty on parts ,for 10 years.Plus the service guy coming out for repair never told me so....Mind you this happened like 20 or so years ago,so maybe at that time there was no mandatory parts 10 years warranty legislation.I am not sure in this one.It was about 4-5 years old at that time,and it was a decent one providing i can make that statement .It lasted me 25 years,i just had to replace it few months ago due to rust on the furnace housing( that is another story for itself why it rusted).
Other than that,cheers

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Originally Posted by gbk

Hi Jerry!
Few answers for the questions above:
25 years of what?
Since as it was said it is open for interpretation,let me explain it-last 25 years of being a gas furnace owner .Before that i did not owe a gas furnace.
Are you a service tech?
No ,i am not.I would likely repair it on my own if i was one.
Relatively new furnace has warranty.......
This is where i screwed myself,due of lack of proper info .I DID NOT know that the furnaces have warranty on parts ,for 10 years.Plus the service guy coming out for repair never told me so....Mind you this happened like 20 or so years ago,so maybe at that time there was no mandatory parts 10 years warranty legislation.I am not sure in this one.It was about 4-5 years old at that time,and it was a decent one providing i can make that statement .It lasted me 25 years,i just had to replace it few months ago due to rust on the furnace housing( that is another story for itself why it rusted).
Other than that,cheers

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Good answers GBK. 20 years ago, may not have had warranty at all back then. You most definitely got ripped off, sorry to say but the guy was an a-hole. Like you said, if you do find an honest hardworking technician keep their number, they are rare, especially in the appliance repair thread.

Cheers brother.

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