OLD Frigidaire oven will not get hot RBE97N

[wildimaginations]

Customer complained that 30 year old oven will not turn on.  Hoping it's not serious because it's a 23" wide oven and there is no replacement for it.


Got to the job, took one look and spent about 10 seconds to resolve the problem.  Customer looks at me and says, "THAT'S ALL???"   


"No, now I need to take care of the paperwork."  Collected $80.00.  The paperwork took longer than the repair.   









For all the newby techs that hasn't been around for 30 years, look for this easy fix and RE-EDUCATE the customer.

[AJ]

See that every now and then, but less often then I use to.

[HAS]

Thanks wildimaginations. I' m sure the next problem they have they won't call you. Hopefully they call me.

[whirlpooltech]

You seem quick to judge HAS.

How much would you have charged?

We have no idea if wildimagination had to drive a long distance to get to this call or any number of other factors.

If it was a good customer and I did not have to drive out of my way I would have given them a break myself, but that's just me.

I don't think wildimagination is hurting for work so he must be doing something right.

[bigbuck]

my charge would have been 89.00, so 80.00 is not bad.  no breaks.

[theoldstoveguy]

I try to help on the phone each call with the simple things. Check the breakers Etc.  I lose a lot of calls from advice that was correct but gain 3-4 new customers from that phone call. I always ask if there is any other appliance to look at as long as they are paying for the time. You don't pay me for what I do ,you pay me for what I know .

[wildimaginations]

That's ok HAS.  You can have the old coot when he calls.  I'm swamped with work all the time anyway. 

[RAH52]

When my van breaks down and its a "quick fix" ,I don't get a break .You need to charge to stay in business .

[HAS]

I'm sorry if I offended some people. I guess I'm old school. Normal charge for me is 80.00 local and 90.00 for the rest  I would have never charged them full amount, never.  Half or maybe a little less dependingon  the customer and the location.

[shillion]

I do the same thing theoldstoveguy do,guide the the customers on the phone to try to make sure it was not a timer setting problem.I will gain new customers thru being helpful.There are technicians who has big page ads in the yellow pagers and newspapers who has to find money to pay for them everyday so they cannot afford to spend time on the phone and not getting paid for.So there is a reason to do and not to do this free consultation.   shillion

[wildimaginations]

If I knew what I was up against, I would've instructed the customer how to fix their own problems over the phone for free.  But if I have to come to the house, it's an automatic $80.00 charge. I haven't worked on a 30 year old oven in awhile so I didn't think to ask about the oven timer. 

Business is business.  The gas station doesn't give me a break when I buy gas, the toll takers still charge me $5.00 to cross the SF Bay Bridge, Marcone doesn't give me a price break on parts; then I should tell people upfront that I will charge $80.00 if I have to come to their house and turn a simple switch or reset a circuit breaker.  I think that's fair, huh?? 

And when people ask me for a discount, I usually tell them that I will give it on their next repair job.  Most times, I won't see them after the one completed job.

[Mettalikatt]

Bah,  you guys ready to blow tops again?  Would've charged her our 10$ service call

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[ScottyMo1]

Not gonna blow my top, but I'm with Wild.... We get paid for what we know not for what we do. When we can repair something quickly, it's because of experience and training. I don't think there is alot we do on a daily basis that mechanically inclined folks couldn't handle. The difference is it's our job to know, diagnose, and repair. I can hang drywall, but not nearly as well or as fast as my friend who does it for a living and is a professional. Just as I am a professional appliance tech.

[RAH52]

I totally agree with ScotttyMo1 ...we get paid for what we know .I've got a lot of time and money invested in my career and I'll be damned if I give my service away for $10.00 .That said my service call is for 1/2 an hour so if I only take 2 minutes to set a clock to manual the customer will get their condenser vac out or vent cleaned or whatever so they get their moneys worth .