I recently had a repair done on my Freezer, It was intermittly was going on and off. The tech came and $429 later (he spent less than an hour) I felt I overpaid. He replaced a circuit board that took a total of 10 minutes. Teh part I found on Appliance pros was $137 (GE Authentic) Here was his response. Any feedback to either say I was charges a fair price or he is overcharging you in this area would be helpful.
"There are several factors that going into pricing in this industry which most people on unaware of, please allow me to explain. To begin with, I can only purchase repair parts from a licensed factory parts distributer, rather than anywhere on the internet. I am licensed and insured and have guide lines that I have to follow to conduct this type of business in this state. I also go through licensed factory distributors to protect my clients as my insurance will not cover failures from parts purchased through non licensed factory distributors. On top of parts there are many other factors that are included in the calculation of setting rates. It's not as simple as just parts and labor, I wish it was. California has very strict rules with services like ours and therefore assess high state and Fed taxes, certifications, EPA fees, licensing, and crazy rates for insuring in home services like mine.
"I went over you invoice to see if is anything I can do to assist you with, and here is how your repair rate was set.
Parts $178
tax $10
Cost for hazards material disposal fee $60
total parts cost $248
COB (cost of doing business) i.e. Licensing, insurance, state and federal taxes, vehicle, training and tech support, equipment, marketing, etc. $95
Total cost on your repair was $343, the total invoice was $429
The amount earned was $86, which was for a factory trained professional technician with 30 years of experience coming to your residence, and completing the repair.
As a point of comparison, most factory service technicians, like Maytag, GE, Sears, charge anywhere from $100 to $130 just for a house call and some like Thermador/Bosch charge $149 for the house call and charge by the minute while the tech is at the home!
I hope this helps clear up any concerns or questions you may have had. My Goal is to provide the best value and customer service possible while not cutting corners on quality. As always, I offer a price guarantee that says I will beat any written competitors quote for the same repair by 10%, no questions asked.
All this being said, my goal is to keep you 100% satisfied, kindly let me know if there are any other concerns that you may have or if there is anything else I can do assist."
