6 replies to this topic

[Patricio]

Fielded a call about a frontload washer that won't fill. Refered to me by thelocal parts house owner. Their Maytag won't fill, so they being DIY youtubers figgure their unit must need a pressure switch. They buy it & install. Then call me 'cause it did not work. So I come & take a look. Lids off & their telling me it cost them a whopping $30 & can't understand why they cannot return it because it did not fix the problem.

I first asked what the error code was, they don't remember. Then ask if they unplugged & replugged unit. Unit was unpluged fror two days while chasing part, furter informed me that inlet valve screens were clean. Both persons telling me this at same time, olderly couple.

I ask for them to turn it on. Machine locks door & starts to dribble fill. I hear door unlock, lock, unlock, lock, etc. The water divider is rotating back & forth with each lock/unlock. I ask if while they were DIY'ing if by chance they checked the drain filter. Trying to analylize the situation, taking the bottom panel off, top already off. they are under foot, asking everything I am doing. Of course I am checking wiring, connectors at this point.Loosing control panel. I am thinking electrical is not having a good connection (door lock situation).

Clean drain filter (stinky with debri). Reach under & mess with lock connector, jiggle contol leads, look for wiring breaks. Put control panel back together, don't tighten screws yet, want to try to run cycle Again. The whole time they are stepping all over my tools on floor, kicking screws, complaining, generally being pain in the butts. I smile politly asking them to give me room to work. They don't hear me. He is giving me all kinds of advice, she is trying to clean unit as I am working.

Finally I go outside letting them do what ever it is they want. Come back in They start complaining again about President, plastic, machine breaking down. I go about putting machine together cause I am about done with them. I inform them I will cycle unit & if no go I will go & research later.

He goes online to research hisself. Unit works like a charm I energize. they are under foot again as I clean up. She is trying to help complaing that soap dispenser is crooked, she put it in crooked, complains that panels are not lined up correctly, screws are not tight yet. I can go on but bottom line is unit filled &drained all cycles.

Kicker is that when I asked for my service charge, measly $65, should have charged 3 times that, He acted pissed off, she said I did not do much, the part they put in only cost $30 I did not put any parts into it. Wanted to know what I did to charge the money.

Told them I got it to work because I am the paid technitian who does this for a living & although you tube is nice it does not have the analytical skills that a technician has. Then after giving me the check, hope it does not bounce, call me if they have any more problems. I do give great old fashion hometown service. And I will call them in a few days making sure the Maytag is still working.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Dayyam, Brother Patrick, you are much more patient man that I am! One of my maxims during is a service call is, "Take control of your work space." If you're not in control of the work space, you introduce potential for confounding errors from outside sources (pets, people, etc.) If a dog is pesky albeit friendly I ask the customer to remove the dog. And I will not tolerate anyone stepping on my tools or spilling liquids on them (which will also happen if you don't take control of the work space).

I'm there to fix an appliance, not conduct a classroom. I will not get into discussions with the customer while troubleshooting because 1) I need to think! and 2) the distraction makes me miss things and make stupid mistakes. Most people understand when you explain to them that you need space and quiet while you're troubleshooting. I have even asked customers to turn off the TV when it is too loud or to quit smoking near me. You can do these in nice, non-offensive ways. If someone takes offense anyway, there is another maxim, "The customer is NOT always right IF they're not the RIGHT customer."

[Patricio]

Yes I have more to learn, never had a problem this bad. I was at my end of my rope. I do think about my reputation & did not want to come off strong. Not that it matters now, I am sure they will complain to others about my charge. Sometimes Life's a bitch but it goes on. Patricio

Edited by Patricio, 08 November 2012 - 04:42 PM.

[kdog]

Nobody should be expected to work with a "YouMack Bird" on his shoulder - if they know so much about it, why'd they call you ?

[Patricio]

Cause they could not Fix it. People like this hate to pay for things they think should be easy to do.

[kdog]

"YouMack Bird"

[nickfixit]

If they call again, I would not go back. It's a no-win deal, if you fixed it for free, they would find something to bitch about.