Kelly's Korner - How to Find a Good Appliance Repair Company

Hey, All,

So you go to put a load of clothes in your washer, load up the clothes, add detergent and turn it on and NOTHING!!  Or you go to pull a pint of ice cream out of the freezer and everything is melted or defrosted.  What do you do?

Do you try to fix it yourself?  Call Mr Fixit next door?  Or call a professional appliance repair company?  If you are sure of your repair abilities and/or of your personal Mr Fixit, then fine, but what do you do if it's beyond your abilities?  Yellow pages?  Google?

Your best sources would be friends and neighbors - check to see who they use. They will give you an honest opinion on the experiences they've had.  Angie's List is another.  If you use Google, Yahoo, or the Yellow Pages, it is buyer beware!  Do some thorough checking on a company before you call them.  It is probably a good idea to do this in a non-emergency situation so you are not panicked when an appliance does break down.

Creative Commons license on image.

Some questions to have answered are:

• Do they take debit/credit cards?
• Ask questions about their charging system - do they charge a service call no matter what?  What is the total amount of the repair going to be?
• If they have to come back to finish the repair, is that going to be an additional charge?
• How long have they been in business?
• Are they insured in case something gets broken or damaged?
• What is their guarantee on parts and labor?
• Ask for references
• What kind of training have the techs had - are they factory authorized to work on your appliances?

I did a previous blog about questions that a servicer needs to ask, so take a quick look at that and have all the information ready when you call - it saves a lot of time on both ends.  Also, make sure that the area that the tech is going to be working in is clean and cleared out - he more than likely will have to move the appliance out to work on it.

Having a good appliance repair company on call is a great idea - not only will they come out for the emergencies but will recommended preventative maintenance calls and products to help your machines run better - cleaners, filters, etc.

Have a great week!