Not sure if we have any small appliance repair People on this forum but wondering what it should cost to
replace 2 Solenoid Valves on a Gas Dryer.
thanks.
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Not sure if we have any small appliance repair People on this forum but wondering what it should cost to
replace 2 Solenoid Valves on a Gas Dryer.
thanks.
Hey Big Mac, I am a gas fitter, are you talking about the main fuel valve that allows gas through to the burner? What are the symptoms of your issue?Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG MAC
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Oh it's fixed, just figure the guy ripped me off, they are solenoid valves and maybe the size of my thumb and just over 1" long.
If he changed the whole valve, $2-300 range for the part is reasonable, if just the coils were changed, they are normally around $50 a piece.Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG MAC
What did he charge you anyway?
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Orginially $240. dropped down to $200. After I called him a Thief and told him to get out of my house.
I got the B S story on how he had to drive an hour to get the parts blah blah blah. Have already written up a report on the company on homestars. it's the fact he said he was changing the whole Valve and not the 2 solenoids that pissed me off.
if you Google gas dryer with no heat the first thing that pops up is the Solenoids, guessing that is why he didn't mention them.
we are selling the house and dryer is staying so in long run cheaper than buying a new one.
So Jerry do you think the guy was a thief, or was the price about right?
I also should have stated or maybe did, changing of parts 15 minutes, letting dryer cycle 15 minutes. 30 mins in total.
Well to be honest $200 to have an appliance guy come out and change a valve is reasonable. I dont know what residential guys charge hourly as I only work commercial/industrial but a 2hr minimum is standard on any call. The issue is he changed the whole valve, as 99% of service techs would have because most parts suppliers wont stock just the solenoids (coils) but do stock the whole valve. This is common practice. Me personally, simple troubleshooting would have found defective coils, I would then give the customer the choice to order the coils from ebay or the manufacturer. If you are willing to live without the dryer for 2 weeks waiting for a coil then thats up to you, most people arent so we pick up what the supplier stocks and have you up and running same day. You did not get ripped off, you actually got a really decent price. I know its upsetting having to pay to have someone repair your appliances but look at it from our side. We went to trade school, apprenticed for years, buy tools, a service vehicle, gas/maintenance/insurance for said vehicle, liability insurance for being a tradesperson (not cheap), contractor registration paid annually, uniform costs......etc....etc. The cost of being a service tech, a proper professional one anyway, is significant, the payoff is not as high as a customer thinks. Markup on a part is between 10-20% plus your hourly rate. In your case, the part was probably $100-120, add the Markup $120-140, charged you $240, so his take home would have been $100-120. Dropped it down to $200 for you so his take home was $60-80 ($30-40hr). Out of that came his expenses to operate, so my guess he put $30-50 or $15-25/hr in his pocket (if you paid cash with no receipt) if not his take home would be $20-40 or $10-20/hr. Of course this is all relative, actual cost of the part, how long he was there plus time to travel to and from supplier, if the part was actually new or not (a lot of guys salvage old parts and sell them), and if said gentleman was licensed/insured.Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG MAC
Not trying to cause an issue just trying to shed light on actual cost associated with a professional coming to your house and helping you out. We as service techs deal with youtube/google experts all the time, and the odd time a customer is mechanically inclined enough to do their own repairs. Most of the time they call a trained professional after not being able to get it to operate. Again, not trying to cause an issue just trying to enlighten you on the business. I cant speak as to the guy you hired or his work ethic but from what you described you got a pretty good deal. Calling him a thief and poop talking him on a public review website for doing his job and giving you a deal at that isnt a very nice move in my opinion, but I wasnt there and cant speak for him, just for myself and other professional service techs that do an honest job everyday.
Sorry you felt "robbed" and "ripped off" I just hope you have a little more understanding as to how the service industry operates.
Good luck in the move brother!
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Thanks Jerry that is about what I thought, as I had washer repair work done just recently.
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....
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG MAC
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaycee
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
Last 25 years of what? Are you a service tech?Quote:
Originally Posted by gbk
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
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by gbk
Cheers brother.
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