Had a service call for an icemaker problem on a GE refrig., 1 month over warranty. $79 for service call, $90 for 20 minutes labor, $150 for new icemaker for a total of $319.
GE "assisted" me by not charging for the part. Hmmm....
Now you know why this is such a busy group
Lou
"Service is a bitch". You might think it is high but after you start up your own company and purchase trucks, parts, insurance, health care, occupational licenses, gasoline, tires and repairs, workmenscomp, taxes and a wealth of other costs, you'll begin to understand why you actually got a pretty good deal. Bubba
I have my own small office machine repair company. I currently charge
100 bucks a hour for labor plus extra travel for long distance calls.but the costs are horrendous. my big competitor charges $250.00 for the first hour. now thats stunning..........
sears rip off service charges 2 travel charges for the same tech to service a furnace with air.
I quit shopping at sears over this blatant rip off.
generally small local repair companies cost less than big operations
Yes, and the number one reason why new businesses fail. Many don't realize what it costs to run a business and decide they can do it for much less and then quickly go out of business when the bills come in. Especially a service business where you loose so much time because of travel.
You could probably have saved some money by taking the refrigerator to the service department...
This summer I had all sorts of things break around my house. I knew how to fix everything myself and spent around 2k on parts for this and that.
I can't imagine how much I would have had to pay if I called for pros to fix everything. I'm sure glad I am a "mechanical" type...
I tried, but when I got it out to my car, it would not fit in the trunk.
I retired 10 years ago but even then I wouldn't start my car for less than $100 and I was the cheapest guy in town.
Exactly the reason to start fixing things yourself. The more you do it, the better you get. The younger you start, the more you learn, and the simpler the tasks tend to be.
When I fixed my icemaker, it cost me a few $ for a plastic gear.
I had a rooter style plumber come over to rotorroot a toiler and it turned out to be a bad toilet. (the toilet was falling apart internally, so I didn't feel bad about replacing it)
His only avaiable charges were $120 drain clean, a $400 toilet, etc. I did the job myself, and tossed him $50 under the table as a diagnostic payment.
"Bob F" wrote in news:fKCdnfsj4ehdZZzUnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:
RepairClinic,com is your friend...among others.
Typical. Most places charge similar rates. Included in that price is travel time, the van, insurance, fuel, wages, benefits, telephone, dispatcher, parts inventory, rent for the office, taxes, health insurance, etc. Sure, they make a profit, but not as much as most people think.
I use service labor frequently and the cheapest I pay is $65 an hour. Most are $80 to $100. The most expensive are the service techs for our machines that have to come from Austria. $1200 a work day, $800 per travel day, plus expenses. We can usually get a break on airfare as it may be split amongst two or three other companies they visit.
Bubba wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Well said Bubba. I do realize those things even though I've never been in business.
I would think though that a service call includes some initial amount of time. Maybe the 20min/$90 the OP spoke of was for time beyond that.
Some do. Some dont. Mine does. I charge one price to come out and diagnosis the problem. If it takes me 3 hrs to diagnose, it looks like you win. If I diagnose it in 5 mins, I guess I win. Its kind of an "average". I charge what it takes to keep my doors open and make a descent profit so I will be there the next time your appliance needs repair. Bubba
I had a new guy come fix the furnace. He turned a valve, talked a lot, tapped on another valve with a crescent wrench, then charged $167 for his time. The furnace was making heat, so I paid it, but he won't be getting a call for all the rest of the stuff he wanted to do "for" me.
Poo!
Have you checked the rates for "Exotic Services" in Craigslist?
$180 for a half-hour!
There oughta be a law!
Thank you for affirming my decision to buy a stove with no electronics, no motherboard, no touch screens or buttons. It does have a fan for the convection though.
I had a guy come and look at my oven. $79 service charge. Wanted $500 for a new motherboard. I pulled the oven out, got to the tech sheet, plugged in the oven, got the error code, and fixed it myself for $49. It was the automatic lock on the self clean. I also got back my service call money, after threatening to take them to the local TV station.
Steve
I'm with you. That sounds like the kind of stove I'd have in my house. Actually, I have a Whirlpool washing machine the last folks left. In 1994. It needed the motor oiled, and then about 8 years later, the motor needed oiling, again. I still use it, to this day.
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