How to know if i'm being ripped off $?

[happypyka]

I'm looking to fix my appliance and live nowhere near a big (major) city. For someone to take a look at my dishwasher has been somewhat of a mission impossible. I've been quoted from $45 per hour and that includes the time it takes him to drive, all the way up to $90 per hour. What are the average costs in city vs rural areas. Someone please advise and thanks in advance.

[16345Ed]

I could give you an idea if you told me what type appliance and what is wrong. 

I do flat rate pricing based on the type of appliance and type of repair  

if you decide not to have the repair made expect a service fee for the house call and diagnosis usually in the $75 to $100 range   

 

Also remember you often get what you pay for...

 

 

[BrewHobbyTech]

1 hour ago, happypyka said:

I'm looking to fix my appliance and live nowhere near a big (major) city. For someone to take a look at my dishwasher has been somewhat of a mission impossible. I've been quoted from $45 per hour and that includes the time it takes him to drive, all the way up to $90 per hour. What are the average costs in city vs rural areas. Someone please advise and thanks in advance.

It all depends on what section of the country you live and what the going rates are there......give or take. I'm abby normal......and am way low on what I charge for my service call, and my total cost of most repairs is less than 90% of my competition, but I work out of my house and have low overhead costs and am in the metro Detroit area which has a pretty concentrated population and the costs of standard of living is among the lowest in the country, so in my area service calls will be a bit lower here on average than in most other parts of the country. The standard cost of a service call in my area normally ranges from $30-$75.......I'm even lower than the low stated there, but as I said, I'm not the norm, I'm kinda abby...... 

My service call includes coming to your door, going inside your home and actually diagnosing the problem of your appliance.......and then I give you an estimate of the repair. The last few years I've gone to a flat rate, my own flat rate, not the national average flat rate, which is really high IMO.....way high.....but hey, if people are willing to pay it and are happy about.......it's all good.  

Now, on to answering your question.......I have no magic answer, but I can ask a question in return........

If you feel the company or repair tech represented him/herself honestly(as for what the price of the service call included), and/or if they repaired your appliance and did a good job.......and the price quoted was agreed upon before service was performed.....and the appliance was repaired and in good working order when they left........can you ever say you were ripped off??

 

I guess it's all in context and what you would believe is reasonable. But many people are happy no matter what they paid for the repair, especially in the higher priced neighborhoods......as long as the job was done correctly and the tech was honest and the appliance is working as they expect it should. I treat every customer as a neighbor, or someone that lives just down the street. Plus I enjoy BS'ing with customers.......shooting the s##t.......and they know I'm honest.......If they believe you're honest, even if they don't get the repair done, they will still call you back in the future if another appliance breaks down and/or they will recommend you friends, neighbors and family members. 

I probably left some stuff out, but I think I said most of what I wanted to say.......

 

Any questions??  LOL  

 

 

[BrewHobbyTech]

1 hour ago, 16345Ed said:

I could give you an idea if you told me what type appliance and what is wrong. 

I do flat rate pricing based on the type of appliance and type of repair  

if you decide not to have the repair made expect a service fee for the house call and diagnosis usually in the $75 to $100 range   

 

Also remember you often get what you pay for...

 

 

Just wondering what part of the country you're in. If I charged that for a service call and had the same volume of calls I have now........I wouldn't have to repair anything, not one appliance all year and would probably just be able to pay my bills, both personal and business expenses. All I'd have to do is show up at the door and check out the appliance and give an estimate. I'm guessing you probably have less of a mark-up on parts than I do.....but I have gone to flat rate repair costs/estimates. For example, I try to make an average profit anywhere from $70-$100 per call......of course some generate more money than others, such as my specialty.......refrigerator system jobs. Anyway.....just saying......

 

[16345Ed]

I do very few service fee only calls. I want my reputation to be of a fixer not a charger. 

I can usually talk with a customer on the phone about the issue and based on age of unit known problems with the design, etc  I explain ahead of time that it could be a fatal problem. Most times people thank me for my honesty and buy new units. Others want me to come but are then fully aware of the fee, I live in a rural area I can travel as far as 60 miles round trip to get to a customer. I need at least $100 to make it worth my time and gas to go that far, in town I only charge $75. Of course I've been known to give breaks to the elderly. 

You'd be surprised how many return calls I get from those people when they have another appliance issue. 

[AlboGator]

2 hours ago, 16345Ed said:

Also remember you often get what you pay for...

Yes but not always. There's about 6 legit companies here but a lot of crooks and swindlers. Lead generation companies have really enabled the swindlers around here. There's one company that charges $368 for anything, even if it's not fixed. My best advise is do your homework. Good techs don't come cheap but liars and cheats will con you into thinking you got your moneys worth. Do your homework before you let someone in your house. 

My service charge ranges from 80-125, but it comes with a guarantee and a code of ethics.

Ask them if they're a member here if you're worried about it as that would say a lot for them. Remember to trust your instincts, they are there for a reason. 

[BrewHobbyTech]

2 hours ago, 16345Ed said:

I do very few service fee only calls. I want my reputation to be of a fixer not a charger. 

I can usually talk with a customer on the phone about the issue and based on age of unit known problems with the design, etc  I explain ahead of time that it could be a fatal problem. Most times people thank me for my honesty and buy new units. Others want me to come but are then fully aware of the fee, I live in a rural area I can travel as far as 60 miles round trip to get to a customer. I need at least $100 to make it worth my time and gas to go that far, in town I only charge $75. Of course I've been known to give breaks to the elderly. 

You'd be surprised how many return calls I get from those people when they have another appliance issue. 

Awesome......you can't beat honesty.........you're a good dude........and you have to charge what you gotta charge, I have no problem with that. As I said, depends what part of the country you live, and in your case.....yeah......being rural means you may normally have to drive more miles than average. It's all relative...... 

 

 

[BrewHobbyTech]

2 hours ago, AlboGator said:

 

My service charge ranges from 80-125, but it comes with a guarantee and a code of ethics.

Ask them if they're a member here if you're worried about it as that would say a lot for them. Remember to trust your instincts, they are there for a reason. 

I'm guessing you're on or near the east or west coast.............

[BrewHobbyTech]

Darn......."gator" should've been a clue.........hey, maybe not east or west.....but near a coast........okay........anywhere near a Gulf coast somewhere in the south....??? I dunno.........anyway........just fooling around.....and hopefully we've answered the OP's question.......but I'm open to as many questions as they care to ask.......at least until my beer is gone......

 

 

[AlboGator]

I'm near new orleans, about 30 miles north as the crow flies. We have a lot of rural areas here and I go about 30 miles in any direction. 30 backwoods miles can turn into a lot of time eaten up. I work on all major brands but a "premium brand" service charge is $125. Monogram, Sub Zero. 

Edited August 18, 2016 by AlboGator
added info

[BrewHobbyTech]

On 8/17/2016 at 9:26 PM, AlboGator said:

I'm near new orleans, about 30 miles north as the crow flies. We have a lot of rural areas here and I go about 30 miles in any direction. 30 backwoods miles can turn into a lot of time eaten up. I work on all major brands but a "premium brand" service charge is $125. Monogram, Sub Zero. 

Yep, you have to charge what ya gotta charge, and that's probably pretty much the going rate in you area of the country. High end appliances like sub zero's can definitely be a premium charge. Tell ya what though, never underestimate the stupidity of people......about 12 years ago I ran a call on a sub zero refrigerator, needed a condenser fan motor and the condenser blown out. I told the guy $240......total job out the door(I used to stock a bunch of Gemline condenser motors which were pretty cheap). He thinks about it for a second and then asks me......

What does a new unit like this cost?? 

 

Yeah.......pure stupidity. 

 

When I told him 4 or 5K........he still thought about it for about 10 or 20 seconds and then said okay.....go ahead and fix it. 

 

You can't fix stupid........  

 

 

 

[AlboGator]

4 hours ago, BrewHobbyTech said:

What does a new unit like this cost?? 

 

[BrewHobbyTech]

46 minutes ago, AlboGator said:

 

LMAO........

I freaking love that movie man......awesome......

I gotta buy it....so I can watch it whenever I want. 

 

[BrewHobbyTech]

........Darn.......I'm still laughing........I may have a hard time going to sleep now......and it's already way past my bedtime......

 

.....I'm gonna remember this......and I have a busy day tomorrow.......

It's my fault but now I'm probably gonna blame you.......

...hey, paybacks...........LOL  

 

Thanks for the laugh though.......it's freaking funny....... 

 

 

[Hiroshi]

Here in Chicago-land you want to pay $200 (give or take)  for a dishwasher repair- and that is if the racks are perfect... Considering new racks tend to be in the 300 dollar area and that you can get a Whirlpool tall-door dishwasher new for around 400 bucks, it makes most dishwasher calls a matter of economic cost/benefit analysis, rather than whether it is actually repairable. There are certain exceptions depending on model, but if you have a sweet, belt-drive Maytag with perfect racks: pay whatever it takes!