c/appliance-repairers

Debate: Flat rate pricing vs hourly for washer repair calls

I had a job last Tuesday in Austin where a Samsung washer needed a new drain pump - took 45 minutes but the flat rate I quoted was $200. Guy complained it was too much for such a short visit, but I had to eat gas and drive time. Do you guys find flat rate or hourly works better for keeping customers happy without losing money?

Fighting a Maytag Bravos draining error for 2 hours before I checked the simple thing first

Used to always jump straight to pulling the pump and checking the control board, but last Thursday on a job in Omaha I finally stopped and just cleared the lint filter first. Took 30 seconds and saved me the headache. Anyone else learn the hard way to start with the obvious stuff?

That week my van broke down and I still finished 14 calls somehow

Last Tuesday my transmission gave out halfway to a job in Arlington. I had to call my buddy to tow me to the shop and then borrow his old Ford to finish my route. Managed to fix a washing machine, two dryers, and a fridge by 6 PM though. The worst part was the customer with the freezer who kept asking why I was 2 hours late. I ended up pocketing $780 for the week but spent $200 on the tow and repairs. Has anyone else had a disaster week that weirdly worked out in the end?

Had a washing machine door seal fail on a $2,500 job last Thursday

I was swapping a drum bearing on a Samsung front-loader at a client's house in Oak Park, and the new door seal crinkled when I closed it. After I ran a test cycle, water poured out from the bottom corner because I didn't seat that inner lip perfectly. Has anyone else had a brand-new seal give them trouble like that on the first try?

Why does nobody talk about using a heat gun on stuck washer drum bolts

I spent 45 minutes last Tuesday wrestling with a Samsung washer drum bolt that just would not break free. Tried penetrating oil, a breaker bar, even a little heat from a torch (bad idea, almost melted the plastic housing). Finally grabbed my cheap heat gun from Harbor Freight, aimed it at the bolt for about 2 minutes, and it came loose with a standard ratchet. Has anyone else had luck with a heat gun on those corroded laundry room bolts, or do you have a better trick?

Rant: That $80 part I replaced 3 times before figuring out the real problem

I wasted 4 hours and $240 on a Kenmore dryer heating element (part 3387134) before I realized the vent was clogged with lint from the roof down. A friend told me to check the outside vent first, but I didn't listen. Has anyone else thrown money at a part when the real fix was something simple?

Got burned by bad advice on a fridge compressor swap in Phoenix

Last summer a guy I met at a parts counter told me I could skip the start relay and just wire it direct on a Samsung fridge compressor. He said he did it all the time and it worked fine. I tried it on a job in Phoenix and the compressor kicked on for about 10 seconds then locked up tight. Customer was hot and I had to eat the cost of a new compressor and my time. Turns out that start relay is there for a reason to keep the compressor from drawing too much current on startup. I learned the hard way to double check every tip I get with the actual service manual. Has anyone else gotten bad info from a fellow tech that cost you money?

Shoutout to the guy who showed me the baking soda trick for dishwasher smells

I had this dishwasher at a client's house last Tuesday in Phoenix that smelled so bad I thought there was something dead in there. Took me like 20 minutes to pull it out and check the drain pump and everything looked clean. Then this old timer repair guy I ran into at the parts store told me to just dump a cup of baking soda and run a hot cycle before I go pulling things apart. Honestly felt dumb but I tried it on my own machine first and it worked like a charm. Now I do that as a first step on any smelly dishwasher call before I even start pulling tools out. Has anyone else found a cheap fix like that that saves you time on service calls?

Just had a Frigidaire control board die on me mid-repair

Was swapping a simple door switch on a fridge in Austin yesterday and the main board just fried itself when I plugged it back in, has anyone else had these boards fail that randomly?

That aftermarket water valve I swore by finally let me down last week

I used to only buy the cheap water valves for washing machines, saved about $30 each time. Last week on a Samsung in a basement, the plastic inlet snapped after 3 months, flooding the floor. I had to eat the cost of the new valve and the extra labor for going back. Has anyone else had better luck with OEM valves for newer machines?

That $12 'universal' ice maker connector nearly flooded my kitchen

I thought I was saving a few bucks buying a generic plastic saddle valve from the hardware store instead of the actual Whirlpool kit. Installed it on a customers fridge last Wednesday and by Friday morning they called me with water running down the wall. The plastic threads cracked under pressure and leaked all over their laminate floor. I spent 3 hours ripping out the waterlogged baseboard and replacing it with the right brass fitting. Has anyone else had cheap plastic connectors fail on them or was this just bad luck?

My cheap multimeter cost me a $400 compressor

I bought a $12 multimeter from a hardware store last month to check a fridge compressor. It showed voltage fine but couldn't handle the start capacitor draw. Ended up guessing wrong and fried the compressor relay. Replaced the whole unit for $400 after labor. Anyone else had a cheap tool cost you big money down the line?

Old washing machine timer I swapped out today was from '82

I opened up this Whirlpool today and the timer inside was stamped 1982. The customer said it was her grandma's machine and it had been running fine until last month. I found a NOS timer online for $45 and it fit perfect. Thing is built like a tank compared to the plastic stuff we get now with circuit boards. Made me think about how much simpler troubleshooting was back then. One timer, one motor, a couple switches. Now I spend half my time chasing bad solder joints on control panels. Anyone else notice older stuff is easier to fix even if parts are getting harder to find?

Switched from multimeter to a clamp meter for compressor starts and it saved me an hour on a fridge call in Tucson

Was chasing a no-start on a Whirlpool fridge last month. Old me would've spent 30 minutes probing terminals and second-guessing readings. Clamp meter let me check start cap draw in about 5 seconds flat. Anyone else made the switch and found it speeds things up that much?

An elderly lady in Duluth showed me more about dishwasher pumps in 5 minutes than 5 years on the job

She had a 1980s KitchenAid that was still running but made this scraping noise. Instead of me fixing it, she grabbed a butter knife and showed me how to pop the pump cover off right there on her linoleum floor. Has anyone else had a customer teach them something they should have already known?

Had a washing machine try to walk across a customers garage floor yesterday

I was doing a spin balance test on a Samsung front loader and that thing started hopping like a frog. Customer was filming it on their phone laughing while I was chasing it around trying to hit the cancel button. Has anyone else had a machine try to make a break for it on a smooth concrete floor?

Had a customer ask me why I always check the drain pump filter first on a washer

I was explaining a repair to a guy in Omaha last week, and he just asked 'is that always the first thing you look at?' It made me realize I do it automatically without thinking, but explaining it to him made me see how many calls it actually saves. Anyone else have a go-to diagnostic step that seems obvious to us but not to the customer?

I thought those 'smart' diagnostic apps were a total gimmick until a Samsung fridge in a downtown loft stumped me for two days.

A customer told me my work van looked like a 'rolling crime scene'

I was finishing a dryer vent clean in Phoenix last Tuesday when the homeowner walked out. He pointed at my van, which was covered in dust and had a few old parts in the open bed, and said, 'Man, with all that lint and metal, you look like you're ready to dispose of evidence.' I realized he was right, it was a mess. Now I keep a cheap tarp in the back to cover everything up before I drive to the next house. Has anyone else gotten a weird comment that made you change a simple habit?

My uncle said to never trust a multimeter reading on a fridge compressor without checking the overload first, and he saved me a $200 part last month.

I was ready to order a new compressor for a Whirlpool side-by-side until I remembered his advice, pulled the overload, and found it was just a bad connection on the relay.

Everyone says to avoid those old Maytag Neptune washers, but I had a great week fixing three of them.

Last week, a lady in my town had a Neptune from 2001 that wouldn't drain. The common fix is replacing the whole gearcase, but I found the problem was just a $12 coin stuck in the pump. Another one just needed the door lock actuator cleaned. The third needed a new motor coupler, a 20 minute job. People act like these machines are junk, but they're often simple mechanical fixes if you look past the bad reputation. Has anyone else had luck keeping these older models running without huge costs?

I just hit 10,000 service calls logged in my work van's notebook, which is a number I never thought I'd see.

Unpopular opinion: I hate those new Samsung fridge ice makers with a passion.

Got called out to a house in the suburbs last week for a 'no ice' complaint. Spent two hours just getting the damn drawer assembly out because of a single stripped Torx screw buried in the back. Anyone else have a better method for those besides just drilling it out?

I was checking dryer vent flow all wrong for years

Had a call for a dryer taking forever in a tight apartment complex. I always just felt for air at the outside vent, figured it was fine. This time, the owner mentioned a weird burning smell and I actually measured the static pressure with my Fieldpiece meter. It was over 0.8 inches, way too high. Turns out the run had two 90-degree elbows the builder hid in the wall that I never accounted for. Anyone else run into hidden vent issues that basic checks miss?

A customer in Tempe told me their fridge was 'haunted' and I almost believed them

Honestly, I got a call last week for a fridge making weird noises. The guy said it was a low hum that turned into a 'ghostly whistle' at 3 AM. I figured it was just a bad fan motor or a draft. When I got there, he showed me a video he took, and ngl, it did sound spooky. It turned out to be a tiny, dried-up piece of bell pepper stuck in the drain tube, whistling when the defrost cycle ran. Has anyone else had a 'haunted' appliance turn out to be something totally simple like that?