69 replies to this topic

[Scottthewolf]

Maybe all the manufacturers need to go back to mechanical timers and say the hell with the electronic control boards.  That won't happen anytime soon, USA consumers are so lazy, they don't want to hurt their hands turning a timer dial.

[john63]

<<<USA consumers are so lazy, they don't want to hurt their hands turning a timer dial.>>>

 

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Which study are you referring to?

 

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<<<Maybe all the manufacturers need to go back to mechanical timers and say the hell with the electronic control boards.  That won't happen anytime soon>>>

 

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Why haven't the manufacturers said: "The Hell with Electronic Control Boards" ?

 

Enlighten us with your infinite wisdom on such matters...
 

[DurhamAppliance]

Whew...getting hot in here....must be the climate change. Anyhow, this plant manager made him this...that plant manager made him that..big deal. My wife was so impressed with the job I did repairing the bathroom the other day that from now on, I will be her "A number one" official toilet bowl plunger. Now who here can beat that?

Edited by DurhamAppliance, 21 January 2013 - 08:50 PM.

[john63]

 <<<It is academically interesting (to me, anyway) to ascertain what the Achilles Heel is in a particular machine.>>>

 

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Likewise :)

 

And an excellent idea for discussions in the DOJO--- all of the various "achilles heels" in appliances.
 

[Strathy]

Mechanical timers?  Really?  You guys remember those?  Fused contacts causing elements to stay on for ever on DW's.  Timer contacts fused causing units to fill forever ... spring arms breaking off and shorting out the whole thing with lots of smoke and burns everywhere.  I'm pretty sure I have pictures somewhere of these - not digital of course ... lol.  Sure mechanical timers made more sense to us old guys, but I'm NOT convinced they were any more stable or safer than electronic boards.  

BTW - what's with Scott and John?  You guys having some sort of lovers quarrel?  

[john63]

<<<BTW - what's with Scott and John?  You guys having some sort of lovers quarrel?>>>

 

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More like an Intellectual Gravitas quarrel...

 

 

 

 

 

[Strathy]

Thems words are too bigs for me ... lol.  Sounds painful whatever it is.   

[Cactus Bob]

I work on a lot of dish washers with mechanical timer , failure rates are still high

cost cutting is the problem , silver prices are high and a good contact contains silver

 

people really like the wow factor of push button controls

 

"knobs are for your grandma's appliances "

 

the control board interface is here to stay

 

when you get right down to it , more failures = more money

 

where would we all be if it lasted forever ?

[DurhamAppliance]

I'm NOT convinced they were any more stable or safer than electronic boards.  
BTW - what's with Scott and John?  You guys having some sort of lovers quarrel?  

Technically you may be correct but in practice, maybe because of shoddiness of current manufacturing, older mechanical timers have been more stable. But they also typically do fewer functions. I do know one thing for sure, roach infested appliances with digital timers/clocks do not hold up nearly as well as those with mechanical timer/clocks. This is also true with moist environs. But these are outside influences. So then I'll amend my first sentence to read, "technically and in a vacuum, you may be correct"

Btw yeah they be in wub

[john63]

<<<Sounds painful whatever it is>>>

 

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It is :)

 

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<<<I work on a lot of dish washers with mechanical timer , failure rates are still high

cost cutting is the problem , silver prices are high and a good contact contains silver>>>

 

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I agree

 

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<<<people really like the wow factor of push button controls>>>

 

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That's true to a large extent---though---some consumers are "luddites".

 

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<<<when you get right down to it , more failures = more money>>>

 

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Absolutely :)

 

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<<<where would we all be if it lasted forever ?>>>

 

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Quality built appliances does not eliminate the need for appliance service.

 

When I started back in the early 80s---there were more than a few appliances around from the early-to-mid-60s (and a few from the late 50s).

 

These were a marvel of longevity/durability/quality---and customers knew it.

 

They were very agreeable to repairing these older machines because it had served them well. Some consumers were even sentimental---"We bought that washer when we married and then had two children---now grown".

 

No. Quality *helps* the servicer.

 

If everyone bought their new appliances on the very same day in January 1960 (and I mean EVERYONE)---then yes---that would cause a "dust-bowl-type-drought" in demand for repair services for several years.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by john63, 22 January 2013 - 12:06 AM.

[DurhamAppliance]

..... more failures = more money
 
where would we all be if it lasted forever ?

Right on....man I really love the ADC technology in fridges. .. ADC standing for All Day Cha-ching!

[KurbyMstr]

Where I'm at we have 3 big power plants, each an hour away, and one little co op.  The co op serves a majority of the high end homes, cabins, etc.  I know that a mechanical timer in anything can take more beatings from power surges than an electronic board. Both are going to fail at sometime.  I can tell you there's a lot of boards that fail before they finish being manufactured and are reworked.  But with energy efficiency wanted by the government and bells/whistles wanted by consumers then we get job security.....

[Scottthewolf]

<<<USA consumers are so lazy, they don't want to hurt their hands turning a timer dial.>>>

 

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Which study are you referring to?

 

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<<<Maybe all the manufacturers need to go back to mechanical timers and say the hell with the electronic control boards.  That won't happen anytime soon>>>

 

***********************

 

Why haven't the manufacturers said: "The Hell with Electronic Control Boards" ?

 

Enlighten us with your infinite wisdom on such matters...
 

Hey, I need SOMETHING to tell my customers when they complain that their appliance is only 2 years old or just out of warranty and already it needs a repair, and then they go on and say my old washer, dishwasher etc. lasted 20 years without a repair, bla bla bla.  I try to let those complaints go in one ear and out the other, but sometimes it gets annoying listening to the same old broken record, especially after I have done this job for 20 years.

[Strathy]

My reply is 'since there has been appliances, there's been appliance repairmen. They all break sometime - always have and always will.'

[DurhamAppliance]

Hey, I need SOMETHING to tell my customers when they complain that their appliance is only 2 years old or just out of warranty and already it needs a repair, and then they go on and say my old washer, dishwasher etc. lasted 20 years without a repair, bla bla bla. I try to let those complaints go in one ear and out the other, but sometimes it gets annoying listening to the same old broken record, especially after I have done this job for 20 years.

Understand then empathize. Great sales tools. Making a point, not so much ie "So your older washer lasted quite a while, huh? Having a durable appliance is really a good thing, isn't it? That'll be $350. Have a nice day."

Edited by DurhamAppliance, 23 January 2013 - 10:16 PM.

[john63]

<<<Maybe all the manufacturers need to go back to mechanical timers and say the hell with the electronic control boards.  That won't happen anytime soon, USA consumers are so lazy, they don't want to hurt their hands turning a timer dial.>>>

 

<<<Hey, I need SOMETHING to tell my customers when they complain that their appliance is only 2 years old or just out of warranty and already it needs a repair, and then they go on and say my old washer, dishwasher etc. lasted 20 years without a repair, bla bla bla.  I try to let those complaints go in one ear and out the other, but sometimes it gets annoying listening to the same old broken record, especially after I have done this job for 20 years.>>>

 

<<<Having a durable appliance is really a good thing, isn't it? That'll be $350. Have a nice day.">>>

 

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Seriously?

 

I've been in business over 30 years---and I LOVE my job. I LOVE interacting with my customers.

Striving to be the best-of-the-best always has been and always will be my goal.

Winning awards and accolades is par-for-the-course---a natural for me.

If one of my customers ever complained about me (disparaging remarks/cavalier cynicism)---I'd take that very much to heart.

I've *always* conveyed a positive attitude in a customers home---including personal conduct and in describing the state-of-things in the appliance industry---such as government energy mandates etc.

Customers appreciate being educated on those topics that we service technicians are so familiar with---*without* the condescending remarks/unprofessional attitude.

If you talk to customers the same as  you're doing so here---that's suicide.

A death-of-a-thousand-cuts.

It will not earn you repeat business/quality of service awards/A+ ratings on angieslist.com etc.

 

Now---if all this cynical commentary is for the purpose of entertaining us---off-the-cuff on the forum---that's fine.

 

If not---then if you guys are going to the ASTI convention in Orlando---there's a class on Friday March 08 (1:30pm to 3:00pm)

titled:

 

"TECHNICIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS"

 

"There's a right way and wrong way to approach customers"

 

I'd strongly recommend it :)

 

[Scottthewolf]

I don't need to be lectured, but it does get annoying listening to customers complain about how the old appliances lasted so much longer than the new high tech, state of the art appliances.   I bite my tongue and  I DO keep a positive attitude and  explain to the customers about how  the new appliances have to meet the energy efficiency standards that the old ones did not and all the features the new appliances have versus the old ones.

 

Sorry, John, I think you missed your calling.  You should have been a teacher. I love how you patted yourself on your back.

 

 

WHY are you always picking on me and critiquing what I say?

Edited by Scottthewolf, 24 January 2013 - 02:16 AM.

[DurhamAppliance]

Respecting others opinion is professionalism at its best. Sometimes not challenging a customer's negative opinion about your favorite machine neither reflects your enjoyment of what you do nor your expertise in doing it. When you take a customers disparaging comment to heart, you risk losing your objectivity.

Customers, after battling a machine for a length of time, can also developed heartfelt feelings. I, for one, am not a washer-customer social worker nor appliance relationship counselor. Others may elect to be such. I will, however, repair their machine and educate them about it. If the customer still feels his machine is a piece of crap, so be it. I'm not a believer in the maxim "a customer is always right" , but I do subscribe to a principle found in How to Win Friends and Influence People, one of the best books on sales techniques ever written. That principle suggests when dealing with people, many times it's best not to be right...even when you are.

Edited by DurhamAppliance, 24 January 2013 - 02:32 AM.

[john63]

<<<Respecting others opinion is professionalism at its best. Sometimes not challenging a customer's negative opinion about your favorite machine neither reflects your enjoyment of what you do nor your expertise in doing it. When you take a customers disparaging comment to heart, you risk losing your objectivity.>>>

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You're addressing this to Scott, I presume?

 

 

[DurhamAppliance]

<<<Respecting others opinion is professionalism at its best. Sometimes not challenging a customer's negative opinion about your favorite machine neither reflects your enjoyment of what you do nor your expertise in doing it. When you take a customers disparaging comment to heart, you risk losing your objectivity.>>>
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You're addressing this to Scott, I presume?
 

 

It is simply an opinion. It serves no good or useful purpose to say to whom it was addressed. if, in fact, it was addressed to any one or more particular person or persons.