Showing posts with label kenmore appliance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kenmore appliance. Show all posts

Friday, July 20, 2012

Exploring The Possibilities Of Home Appliance Repair Projects


Appliances by thatianbloke


Several years ago I bought a new refrigerator. I ended up with a Sears Kenmore with the freezer on the bottom. While I like the layout of the refrigerator, I have been less than happy with Sears and their way of doing business. Here is my list of top 10 reasons not to buy an appliance from Sears.

#10) They charge a $50 delivery fee. I think it is over the top to charge a delivery fee on a high-ticket item such as this. Amazon waives their shipping fee on any purchase over $25, why should Sears charge $50 when I live right around the corner from them?

#9) Limited service/delivery days. Once you make your purchase, you want to have it immediately. But Sears only delivers or makes service calls on certain days of the week, depending upon where you live. Forgive me, but if I live right around the corner from your store, I shouldn't have to wait more than a couple of hours to have my product delivered. And if you live in a rural area, you can easily wait a week or more.

#8) Nine-hour service window. For either delivery or a service call, all Sears will give you is an nine-hour service window - as in the product will be delivered between 8AM and 5 PM. Who gives a nine-hour window anymore? Even the cable company no longer does this. I've got better things to do with my time than sit around with my thumb inserted rectally waiting for the time period in which Sears will grace me with its presence.

#7) Unprofessional delivery drivers. When they finally decided to deliver my refrigerator, they sent a damaged model. Now, I know these things happen. I don't expect perfection. But, I think it's criminal (notice a trend here?) that the Sears delivery people tried to talk me into keeping my damaged refrigerator, claiming that since the dent was in the back of the unit, no one would see it! Meanwhile, the dent was right where the processor was, meaning chances were good I would run into problems later on.

#6) Poorly trained representatives. When I finally did get a refrigerator that wasn't damaged, I was unable to get the ice machine hooked up because the setup man did not know how to connect my model. This is really unforgivable.

#5) Overpriced appliances. I needed a refrigerator as soon as possible, so I chose Sears because of its name brand and the proximity to my house. If I had the luxury of price-comparison shopping, there's no way I would have picked this brand. And the proximity turned out to be no bargain, either.

#4) Scores poorly in consumer satisfaction. According to consumer ratings on Yahoo, Sears scored just 2.5 stars out of 5 from 137 people across the country. This included numerous consumers who rated it just one star. My guess is they would have rated it lower if that was an option.

#3)$59 Service Fee. Your Sears appliance is going to break down and require service. Chances are, quite often. Sears recognized an opportunity to make money off of this fact and decided to charge a $59 service fee. This is on top of parts and labor and does not guarantee that they will even be able to fix the problem. If you are into price-gouging, Sears is the company to do it to you.

#2 Limited parts in truck.. OK, you've agreed to the outrageous service fee, you've been waiting all day for the service truck to arrive, the technician has diagnosed the problem… but your appliance still isn't fixed. Why? Because the part is not in the truck. And if there's no part, you have to go back on the list and wait for the next time service comes to your area and hope that they remember to put the part in the truck this time

#1) Countless Web sites devoted to poor service. It can't be a good sign when your product and service are so bad that ordinary people go out of their way to start up Web sites with the sole purpose of trashing your product. Put in the phrase "Sears Sucks" into Google and you come up with 430,000 hits. That's a lot of dissatisfied customers.



Visit these sites for more informataion http://www.qualityappliancerepairs.com/appliance-repair-las-vegas/ or http://www.qualityappliancerepairs.com/appliance-repair-in-chicago

Monday, July 16, 2012

Excitement And Inspiration For Your Home Appliance Repair Projects


Appliance Product Photography by KYULAB.com


What's a gal to do when she moves to a new town with her 10-year old washing machine, and it conks out on her right as she starts a new job? Learning who is reliable in a new town can be a difficult chore, but here in Abilene, I found a great answer in Don's Appliance Service.

Perhaps banging around in a borrowed farm trailer for six hours on the move from Brenham to Abilene had something to do with it, or perhaps the key factor was reaching its tenth birthday, but, at any rate, my washing machine did not work recently, right after I had filled my black Kenmore Ultra Fabric Care with a load of darks and hit "No" (I have had to hit "No" after "Start" to make the built-in computer bypass the detergent dispenser ever since some type of computer glitch struck six years ago; finding that bypass spared me from having to replace the entire motherboard). The machine filled as usual, but the moment agitation began, Holy Moly! It made a hideous grinding noise, as if it were chewing on rocks. I turned it off pronto.

I decided that a repair service was in order. My husband agreed. Since the machine is a Kenmore, we started with Sears. After waiting about four minutes on hold, I took the pre-recorded voice's suggestion to check out the Sears website. To do this, I had to register with the site. Once in, I learned that there would be a minimum $65 service fee. I worried that they might get here, find the problem, and have to make a second trip with the proper parts. Further, although I could schedule the date online, I had no control over the time of day. This was a serious problem for me, since I had just started a new job and could not take time off. Disenchanted, I decided to do further research.

I first called West Texas Appliance Parts and Service. Their fee for a service call was less ($58.95), and the hourly rate was $60. The person on the phone warned me that if the repairman needed to return with parts, there would be a minimum cost of $30 in labor for the second trip. I decided to check on some others.

The next number I called was for a service no longer in business. I had an informative dialog with the former business owner, Joe, and he referred me to Don's Appliance Service. Don was on another job, but he called me back within ten minutes. His estimate was much less, and he came over immediately. He found that the problem was the drive coupling, as he had suspected from our conversation. He offered me a choice of a $12.95 part or a heavy-duty one costing about twenty-five bucks. Curious, I asked him which was more appropriate. He asked me if I had ever had trouble with the machine before. When I told him no, he explained, "Well, you see, some folks constantly overload their machines with comforters, or too many towels and jeans at once, and after they've broken the coupling several times, I offer them the heavy-duty one. Too heavy a load will still break the coupler, but it takes longer." I was impressed by his honesty with me.

The repair was done in a flash, it was successful, and my total bill for parts, labor, and tax was $78.97. (Joe had predicted $125.) Don charged me $60 for the service call, but he listened to me on the phone first, and made only one trip. I do not know what the other companies would have charged for the part, but I could have started with $90 in labor for two trips due to not having the proper part (though, to be fair, the necessary part was so common that they would most likely have had it with them). What I really liked was that Don was there on the very same day that I called, within an hour. I did not have to make any arrangements with someone else to be there, nor ask for any time off. I was very pleased to make the acquaintance of Mr. Don Warren.

A caveat, though: he doesn't work on the computer parts. Avowing that a washing machine needs no more than three buttons, he prefers old-fashioned models, not the computerized plethora of cycles and controls afforded by computerized models. So if the problem could be with the motherboard, you should call someone else. But when you know you have a purely mechanical problem or a simple electrical one (like replacing the electrical harness or a lid switch), Don's your man. As an added bonus, Don claims to be the only repairman left in Abilene who still rebuilds motors. In some cases, rebuilding a motor might cost a customer far less than buying a new one--and on an older model it might not be worth replacing the motor with a new one, anyway.

Don's Appliance Service is located at 2234 Poplar in Abilene. His number is 325-675-8421. Don also repairs dryers and and other appliances.