We all know the frustration when an appliance breaks down and we call to have it repaired. We’re given a window of several hours or half a day. The technician comes in, fiddles around for 10 minutes and then charges $150.
Or he says it needs a new part — for an additional $200 — and he’ll check to see if it’s on the truck.
“When people go to a doctor, they’re paying for knowledge; the same is true with a technician,” said Vernon Schmid
Mr. Schmidt, who works out of Indianapolis, likes to tell a story to demonstrate what he means: “A guy comes in to fix something and he hits it with a hammer, and says, ‘That’ll be $250.’ The customer says, ‘What for? You just hit with a hammer.’ The guy says, ‘That’s $50 for hitting it with a hammer, and $200 for knowing where to hit it.’ ”
That’s a humorous way of saying that repairs may look simple, but they’re often not.
Mr. Johnson is an authorized service provider for many companies, including Jenn-Air, Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Maytag.
“At least twice a year, I travel out of town to attend training on new products and service pointers,” Mr. Johnson said, adding that he is responsible for all his travel costs and hotel stays, if necessary.
Also, of course, there is insurance, liability, truck maintenance, office equipment and other fixed costs that people don’t think about when the serviceman arrives at their door.
Most service technicians charge a flat rate to diagnose a problem, and if they can’t fix it on the first visit, will not charge for a second visit. You will still, however, have to pay for any parts and labor.
Mr. Schmidt, who usually works with high-end appliances, charges $119 for a visit. He said the national average is about $70 to $80 for the initial visit for the most common (not high-end) appliances. He said he would be suspicious of the work quality of anyone who asked for substantially less and also suggested reading the fine print carefully if anyone is offering free service calls. There is usually a catch.
So the technician arrives and checks out your refrigerator or washing machine. He clucks his tongue, nods his head sadly and says it needs a new something. You don’t quite catch the word, but you have a feeling of dread. This is going to be expensive.
Call 915-585-2811