Facts About Service Costs

Don't Judge Service Charges Solely By The Time Our Technician Spends In Your Home Or Business

Without years of training, it would not be possible for a doctor to make a diagnosis and prescribe a remedy. Consider for a moment that it isn't just his initial training but an ongoing variety of continuing study, and the expense of maintaining an adequately equipped staff and office.

As a patient, you pay for his knowledge and skill plus a share of his business costs (overhead). Even if he spends only a few minutes with you.

This analogy holds true in any service business. The charge for providing service in your home cannot be determined solely by the time it takes the technician to make repairs.

A qualified service organization's cost begin with the salary of the professional technician. This amount is the same whether the technician is actually making repairs on customer premises, traveling to keep service appointments or participating in training programs to sharpen his skills.

The cost of doing business (overhead) must be added to the technician's salary. These overhead costs can amount to substantially more than the technician's salary.

Now comes the profit. A 10% net profit on a job, although seldom realized, would be ideal. Accordingly, if your service charge is $200.00 and we are efficient enough to earn 10% of the $200.00, we earn 20 taxable dollars. We are sure you'll agree that is not excessive for providing top quality services on your premises.

All things considered, the cost to a service organization for its service technician's time on the job is the same whether he works with tools or not. A service call that results only in a diagnosis and estimate warrants a service charge.

Good service doesn't just happen.

Why Consumer Reports is Wrong!

Commentary by Jay Miskin

Consumer Reports recently printed a chart recommending that you should replace your appliances as soon as it reaches as little as 3 years. They recommend replacing all appliances regardless of any factor should it fail between 6 and 8 years. (Other than built-in ovens). I cannot believe that a person would just throw away a refrigerator or washer that cost more than $1200 without ever knowing all of the facts. Your decision should be based on valid information before committing to spend hundreds of dollars.

To say that most appliances are not worth repairing after a set period of time is speculative at best. Why is your neighbor's appliances lasting 12 years and counting, still running strong, when you have the same brand but are told to replace yours after six. Are they on borrowed time for 6 years?

Used appliance dealers are finding that 75% of the appliances discarded are not broken or in need only a minor repair. In fact, when we visit our customers, 80% choose to have their appliance fixed. The average repair is around $200. This is a great return on your investment. You can expect to receive more than 2-5 additional years of service.

Energy Star appliances are wonderful for saving energy compared to an appliance from ten years ago. This is, in reality, only a few dollars of savings per year in most cases. Due to the increasing government standards, manufacturers have cut energy usage by installing complex electronic parts in new machines. This leads to repairs that are more expensive. Electronic parts are often connected to each other. When one component fails, it may damage attached motherboard assemblies. Additionally, manufacturers pass the higher cost of appliance production on to you, the consumer.

Bottom line, if your appliance breaks prematurely, either the product is poorly engineered, it was installed incorrectly, or was not used in the manor it was intended. You may be one of the unlucky few to have gotten a "lemon".

If you have a professional replace the worn parts on a good appliance, you can expect many additional years of service. Your decision to repair or replace the appliance should be based on the condition rather than an arbitrary age.

Is My Appliance Worth Repairing?

The chart below gives a snapshot of major household appliance types and the life expectancy for each product. The question of whether or not your appliance is worth fixing is ultimately up to you. However, before you decide, ask yourself these questions...

1. Do I like the performance of my current appliance under normal conditions?

Keep in mind, if your appliance has provided you many years of trouble free service, it may be wise to invest some money into it. Troubled appliances tend to break frequently, so if yours is "bug" free, keep it!

2. How much will it really cost to replace my appliance?

Don't forget, when comparing repair cost vs. replacement cost, be sure to calculate down time, installation fees, delivery fees, and possibly lost time at work. For instance, installation of a new dishwasher could add an additional $150 to your cost of replacement. All of these factors may help you decide to repair your current appliance. Appliance Doctor repairs over 80% of the appliances that we service on the first trip!

3. Are new appliances made of the same quality as my current appliance?

I think you already know the answer to this question...Major appliance manufacturers have for years attempted to keep foreign brands from entering the U.S. market. In order to accomplish this, with rising labor costs, the materials get cheaper. Your 10 year old washer is most likely superior in quality to that new washer you have your eye on.

4. Isn't this is a perfect opportunity to get one of those "high-tech" appliances?

This answer may really upset you. High Tech appliances introduced in recent years have produced a lot of work for us and at a much higher price tag for you. For example, front load washers save you a lot of water, but some have mildew problems, computer board problems, and when they do break, and they will, you will be stuck with a repair bill that is probably not what you signed up for when you purchased that high tech appliance.