Oh boy...I think I just got hosed by the Repair Man

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Megamorph
The break down on the repair bill was $190 for the part (shown in the link in this thread for $28) and $35 labor (standard hourly rate in my area). Someone in this thread suggested that I was exaggerating. I am not. If anyone has ever done this repair, you would know how simple it is. It literally took less than 10 minutes from the moment he walked through my door until he was pulling out of my driveway.

Here's what I think would have been reasonable...The $28 part probably cost him less since he owns a business a buys a lot of them. Let's say the part cost him $20. He could mark it up 300% ($60) and charge me the full hourly rate ($35) for a total of $95. Or if he really wanted to gouge me, he could mark it up 400% and charge me $80 for the part.

CHARGING ME $190 FOR THE PART ON TOP OF HIS FULL HOURLY LABOR RATE IS UNETHICAL, AT BEST.

Did you call the repairman over to fix your fridge? Does your fridge work now that he has left? STFU

If you were truly concerned, you should have asked him for an estimate prior to. Or you could have put forth a minimal amount of effort and figured out how to fix it yourself if it was so goddamned easy. Once again STFU

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Megamorph
The break down on the repair bill was $190 for the part (shown in the link in this thread for $28) and $35 labor (standard hourly rate in my area). Someone in this thread suggested that I was exaggerating. I am not. If anyone has ever done this repair, you would know how simple it is. It literally took less than 10 minutes from the moment he walked through my door until he was pulling out of my driveway.

Here's what I think would have been reasonable...The $28 part probably cost him less since he owns a business a buys a lot of them. Let's say the part cost him $20. He could mark it up 300% ($60) and charge me the full hourly rate ($35) for a total of $95. Or if he really wanted to gouge me, he could mark it up 400% and charge me $80 for the part.

CHARGING ME $190 FOR THE PART ON TOP OF HIS FULL HOURLY LABOR RATE IS UNETHICAL, AT BEST.

Did you call the repairman over to fix your fridge? Does your fridge work now that he has left? STFU

If you were truly concerned, you should have asked him for an estimate prior to. Or you could have put forth a minimal amount of effort and figured out how to fix it yourself if it was so goddamned easy. Once again STFU

Vic is completely right.

All you whiners have no idea how much it costs to run a business. If you do not have the knowledge to even attempt to fix the fridge yourself, you cannot complain. Knowledge is money. 😉

And as he says, if you were truely concerned.. you would've gotten a 2nd estimate.

You know what would've been unethical? If he said that your compressor is fried(even though it wasnt), and charged you 400$.

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: Megamorph
The break down on the repair bill was $190 for the part (shown in the link in this thread for $28) and $35 labor (standard hourly rate in my area). Someone in this thread suggested that I was exaggerating. I am not. If anyone has ever done this repair, you would know how simple it is. It literally took less than 10 minutes from the moment he walked through my door until he was pulling out of my driveway.

Here's what I think would have been reasonable...The $28 part probably cost him less since he owns a business a buys a lot of them. Let's say the part cost him $20. He could mark it up 300% ($60) and charge me the full hourly rate ($35) for a total of $95. Or if he really wanted to gouge me, he could mark it up 400% and charge me $80 for the part.

CHARGING ME $190 FOR THE PART ON TOP OF HIS FULL HOURLY LABOR RATE IS UNETHICAL, AT BEST.

I'll ask again... Are you sure you don't have the figures backwards? Are you sure he didn't write up the bill backwards.

I am convinced that it is backwards. There is no way that a repairman will make a house call for under $100. Did you happen to ask beforehand, as to what the service rates are?

 

[Spencer278]

You got hosed anyone saying other wise is just BSing them selves so they can sleep at night knowing they are doing the same to others.

 

[bmacd]

i hope the OP calls and complains, then is somehow "blacklisted" from ever having any serviceman come out to his house again. Dude...if you wanted to fix it yourself, you should have, but don't bitch about how good your fridge is working now...the guy did his job and fixed your fridge.

-=bmacd=-

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Spencer278
You got hosed anyone saying other wise is just BSing them selves so they can sleep at night knowing they are doing the same to others.

Yeah, right, 'cause you just work for food like DrPizza too, right?

Freakin' middle-school pimple-poppers who have never lived in the real world who think they can cast judgement on people who work for a living... :disgust: Remember then that your mommy and daddy bought your Xbox by screwing other people over too

:disgust:

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Spencer278
You got hosed anyone saying other wise is just BSing them selves so they can sleep at night knowing they are doing the same to others.

So are you telling us you run a charitable, not-for-profit appliance repair business?
Can you show us proof of your 501(c)(3) status?

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Spencer278
You got hosed anyone saying other wise is just BSing them selves so they can sleep at night knowing they are doing the same to others.

Yeah, right, 'cause you just work for food like DrPizza too, right?

Freakin' middle-school pimple-poppers who have never lived in the real world who think they can cast judgement on people who work for a living... :disgust: Remember then that your mommy and daddy bought your Xbox by screwing other people over too

:disgust:

How much would the repair man have to have charged for a 28 dollar part before the OP can claim to have been hosed? 300? 400? maybe if the repair person charged 500 dollars the OP could claim to be hosed?

 

[Megamorph]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Megamorph
The break down on the repair bill was $190 for the part (shown in the link in this thread for $28) and $35 labor (standard hourly rate in my area). Someone in this thread suggested that I was exaggerating. I am not. If anyone has ever done this repair, you would know how simple it is. It literally took less than 10 minutes from the moment he walked through my door until he was pulling out of my driveway.

Here's what I think would have been reasonable...The $28 part probably cost him less since he owns a business a buys a lot of them. Let's say the part cost him $20. He could mark it up 300% ($60) and charge me the full hourly rate ($35) for a total of $95. Or if he really wanted to gouge me, he could mark it up 400% and charge me $80 for the part.

CHARGING ME $190 FOR THE PART ON TOP OF HIS FULL HOURLY LABOR RATE IS UNETHICAL, AT BEST.

Did you call the repairman over to fix your fridge? Does your fridge work now that he has left? STFU

If you were truly concerned, you should have asked him for an estimate prior to. Or you could have put forth a minimal amount of effort and figured out how to fix it yourself if it was so goddamned easy. Once again STFU

Vic, it's nice to see that you finally felt the need to respond to me after ignoring my emails and PM's. It's almost ironic that you decided to chime in on this thread. How "elite."

And yes, I did call the repairman over to fix my fridge; however, that does not give him the right to charge me whatever he sees fit. Using your logic, he could have charged me $1,000 and it would have been okay b/c I CALLED HIM. That's ridiculous. My lack of knowledge does not give him the right to take advantage of me. This is exactly why these types of repairmen are featured in Dateline and 20/20 segments. Remind me to never do business with someone of your mentality and ethics.

And in regard to getting a second estimate, repairmen make it difficult to do so, b/c they have a minimum charge of $60 for coming out if they do not do the job. This deters people from getting more than one opinion.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Spencer278
You got hosed anyone saying other wise is just BSing them selves so they can sleep at night knowing they are doing the same to others.

Yeah, right, 'cause you just work for food like DrPizza too, right?

Freakin' middle-school pimple-poppers who have never lived in the real world who think they can cast judgement on people who work for a living... :disgust: Remember then that your mommy and daddy bought your Xbox by screwing other people over too

:disgust:

How much would the repair man have to have charged for a 28 dollar part before the OP can claim to have been hosed? 300? 400? maybe if the repair person charged 500 dollars the OP could claim to be hosed?

*knock*
*knock*

Completely irrelivent. When you buy something, you are obviously not just paying for the part.

You're paying for the guys knowledge, time, gas, expenses, profit, etc.

If the guy charged 500$, so what? It would still be the OP's fault if he didn't shop around.

Besides, we have no idea what the going rate on the service performed was. For all we know, all other shops could be more expensive.

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Spencer278
You got hosed anyone saying other wise is just BSing them selves so they can sleep at night knowing they are doing the same to others.

Yeah, right, 'cause you just work for food like DrPizza too, right?

Freakin' middle-school pimple-poppers who have never lived in the real world who think they can cast judgement on people who work for a living... :disgust: Remember then that your mommy and daddy bought your Xbox by screwing other people over too

:disgust:

How much would the repair man have to have charged for a 28 dollar part before the OP can claim to have been hosed? 300? 400? maybe if the repair person charged 500 dollars the OP could claim to be hosed?

*knock*
*knock*

Completely irrelivent. When you buy something, you are obviously not just paying for the part.

You're paying for the guys knowledge, time, gas, expenses, profit, etc.

If the guy charged 500$, so what? It would still be the OP's fault if he didn't shop around.

Besides, we have no idea what the going rate on the service performed was. For all we know, all other shops could be more expensive.

How much would the total bill have to be before the OP is justified in claim to have been hosed?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Megamorph

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Megamorph
The break down on the repair bill was $190 for the part (shown in the link in this thread for $28) and $35 labor (standard hourly rate in my area). Someone in this thread suggested that I was exaggerating. I am not. If anyone has ever done this repair, you would know how simple it is. It literally took less than 10 minutes from the moment he walked through my door until he was pulling out of my driveway.

Here's what I think would have been reasonable...The $28 part probably cost him less since he owns a business a buys a lot of them. Let's say the part cost him $20. He could mark it up 300% ($60) and charge me the full hourly rate ($35) for a total of $95. Or if he really wanted to gouge me, he could mark it up 400% and charge me $80 for the part.

CHARGING ME $190 FOR THE PART ON TOP OF HIS FULL HOURLY LABOR RATE IS UNETHICAL, AT BEST.

Did you call the repairman over to fix your fridge? Does your fridge work now that he has left? STFU

If you were truly concerned, you should have asked him for an estimate prior to. Or you could have put forth a minimal amount of effort and figured out how to fix it yourself if it was so goddamned easy. Once again STFU

Vic, it's nice to see that you finally felt the need to respond to me after ignoring my emails and PM's. It's almost ironic that you decided to chime in on this thread. How "elite."

And yes, I did call the repairman over to fix my fridge; however, that does not give him the right to charge me whatever he sees fit. Using your logic, he could have charged me $1,000 and it would have been okay b/c I CALLED HIM. That's ridiculous. My lack of knowledge does not give him the right to take advantage of me. This is exactly why these types of repairmen are featured in Dateline and 20/20 segments. Remind me to never do business with someone of your mentality and ethics.

And in regard to getting a second estimate, repairmen make it difficult to do so, b/c they have a minimum charge of $60 for coming out if they do not do the job. This deters people from getting more than one opinion.

NO. You are wrong, at least partly, because you have no idea the going rate for the service you requested

The repairmen on Dateline and 20/20 segments only get "busted" if they do do unethical things, like say things are broken when they are not.

Sure, they tell you when a repair outfit charges more than normal(others), but so what? If thats how much they charge, then that is how much they charge. 😕 How can it be any other way?

It is YOUR job as a consumer to be a smart shopper. If you've been buying all your milk at Grocery Store A at 3.50/gallon for the last 10 years, and you discover that Grocery Store B sells milk for only 2.50 a gallon, are you going to be pissed at Store A, yell and scream and say it is allllll their fault?

Give me a break. It is your fault for not shopping around!

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Spencer278 You got hosed anyone saying other wise is just BSing them selves so they can sleep at night knowing they are doing the same to others.

Yeah, right, 'cause you just work for food like DrPizza too, right?

Freakin' middle-school pimple-poppers who have never lived in the real world who think they can cast judgement on people who work for a living... :disgust: Remember then that your mommy and daddy bought your Xbox by screwing other people over too

:disgust:

couldn't have said it better myself...

hell where i work charges a MINIMUM of 1 hour labor @ $85 an hour to fix computers. This one company had a bad floppy drive, which we charged them $15 for the floppy and $85 for the labor. Took me 5 minutes to do, they gave me a $100 check and said "Thank you"

If they could have done it, i'm sure they would have, but this was an accounting firm, and that $100 was probably nothing to them, they just wanted their sh!t fixed

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Bootprint
Ouch,

Refrigerator Compressor 3-in-1 'Hard Start' Kit - 1/4-1/3 HP?

$28.60 for the part.
$196.40 for knowing which wires to hook up with the wire nuts.

Cold beer--Priceless.

BTW, I agree that you were hosed, but I think it's hard to dispute the cost at this point. No harm in trying though, invoke the BBB 😛 . Did you ask what the cost would be before he used the hard start kit? Lemme guess, he had the refrigerator in pieces, so you felt obligated.

 

[Daaavo]

As a new home owner, I suggest you find a good appliance parts store. 100% of the time that I've had something go awry in one of our appliances, I go to this same store, describe what the problem is, and then the parts guy tells me what parts could cause the problem, what the common problems are, and then sells me the part at a 'normal' price. I honestly can't think of one time where I've had to go back for another part for the same problem.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: Megamorph

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Megamorph
The break down on the repair bill was $190 for the part (shown in the link in this thread for $28) and $35 labor (standard hourly rate in my area). Someone in this thread suggested that I was exaggerating. I am not. If anyone has ever done this repair, you would know how simple it is. It literally took less than 10 minutes from the moment he walked through my door until he was pulling out of my driveway.

Here's what I think would have been reasonable...The $28 part probably cost him less since he owns a business a buys a lot of them. Let's say the part cost him $20. He could mark it up 300% ($60) and charge me the full hourly rate ($35) for a total of $95. Or if he really wanted to gouge me, he could mark it up 400% and charge me $80 for the part.

CHARGING ME $190 FOR THE PART ON TOP OF HIS FULL HOURLY LABOR RATE IS UNETHICAL, AT BEST.

Did you call the repairman over to fix your fridge? Does your fridge work now that he has left? STFU

If you were truly concerned, you should have asked him for an estimate prior to. Or you could have put forth a minimal amount of effort and figured out how to fix it yourself if it was so goddamned easy. Once again STFU

Vic, it's nice to see that you finally felt the need to respond to me after ignoring my emails and PM's. It's almost ironic that you decided to chime in on this thread. How "elite."

And yes, I did call the repairman over to fix my fridge; however, that does not give him the right to charge me whatever he sees fit. Using your logic, he could have charged me $1,000 and it would have been okay b/c I CALLED HIM. That's ridiculous. My lack of knowledge does not give him the right to take advantage of me. This is exactly why these types of repairmen are featured in Dateline and 20/20 segments. Remind me to never do business with someone of your mentality and ethics.

And in regard to getting a second estimate, repairmen make it difficult to do so, b/c they have a minimum charge of $60 for coming out if they do not do the job. This deters people from getting more than one opinion.

You seem to assume that this guy is running around doing nothing but theese ten minute repairs. then bhe must be billing at least $10K a day😉

He got out there the same day.

You are paying for the following things.

1. the part
2. his time
3. someone to do the books
4.his cell phone
5. inventory costs
6. warrenty
7. his time to get to you
8. his time to sit and wait for you to call

I was offered a job consulting that could pay as much as $1K a day yesterday and I am unsure if I will take it.

I need to ensure that my $20 an hour job will allow me to do it. It could be as often as twice a month and as infrequent as twice a year.

I will jump on it if my job will allow me to take a day off here and there but I will run from it like the plaque should they say no.

The reason is simple. When I would go on site I billed a MINIMUM of $100 an hour and usually it was closer to $225.

WHY? There are costs involved and the bottom line is especially in the line of repairing things there is a lot of down time. what if the guy only had one call that day. All of a sudden he is doing BAD.

When e3thics come into play ask your self.

DID THE GUY LIE?

DID HE DO WHAT HE SAID HE DID?

DID HE DO ANY UNNESSISARY WORK?

I once had a doc complain about a 200 dollar bill. I charged him $75 Service and $100 labor as well as a $25 cable. I was in and out in about 15 minutes. He bitched and moaned (much like you are doing) But The facts were this,

1. I had to reschedule over 1K in work to get to him same dayservice and by doing that it gave my comptition an opportunity to go in and get the biz.
2. He called and we responded in less than two hours.
3. He was not charged a rush charge.
4. If he had ANY OTHER problems with that equiptment in the next 30 days I would have been there within 24 hours and He would not have paid a service call and if it was a bad cable he would have gotten it fixed free. anny other problem he would have paid for parts only.

You fail to see the big picture. If you feel it is such a racket then you should get the schooling in appliance repair and go into bussiness I mean hell You could charge half and bill 5K a day

 

[DrPizza]

If you elite morons would read the friggin thread, the issue wasn't the price for labor. The issue was the guy was ripped off on the price for the part. Suppose I was a plumber and you called me because your hose was leaking. You asked how much I charged per hour - "50/hr, minimum 1 hour charge." Then I come to your house, replace a washer, and give you a bill for $200 because I felt like charging $150 for the washer.

Same situation. You morons are arguing that because of the guys knowledge and someone has to do the books, and he has to pay for gas for his van, and he has down time, etc., that gives him the right to mark a $25 part up to $190. That's what was so wrong about this. BTW, should small mom & pop stores double their prices because there are a lot of times when there aren't customers in the store? That's assinine. If you open a repair company, excessive down time is your fault - either the market is over-saturated with repair people, you don't advertise well, or word of mouth has gotten around that you rip off customers on parts prices.

Furthermore, appliance repair isn't that complicated. The necessary knowledge is minimal. Personally, I'd avoid "repair only" types of places in favor of established businesses that carry the appliances and replacement parts. Thats why some of these guys have a lot of "down time." A majority of service problems are fairly routine - there aren't that many parts to most appliances. At least, not that many parts that frequently need servicing. (Although, most parts aren't interchangeable between brands/models and some brands charge far more for similar parts than other brands (I believe GE is one of those companies)).

In my case, when the pizza shop calls me, I walk out the door knowing it's a 5 to 10 minute job. They usually give me enough information on the phone that I can diagnose the problem before I get there. The most common problems are a spring on the oven door (actually, they're a pita to replace) or a gas control module - 4 screws, 7 wires. The last time the owner called in a repairman (major $$ since the guy has to drive 1 1/2 hours each way to get to us, thus 4 hr minimum service fee) he commented that someone else replaced a thermostat to the oven. He told the owner that if I could replace that, I could easily replace anything else on the oven. Ever since, we've stocked one of almost every part that fails within 4 or 5 years. (And, they just changed the control module... hopefully they'll last longer than 2 years each now) I've chatted with the service guys when picking up parts in Buffalo - they HATE to drive down to our area - basically, it means fewer calls for them - thus they can't charge 1 hour labor 3 or 4 times in the same hour. (wink wink) Also, as far as "down time" goes... They were scheduling repairs 1 to 3 days in advance... they didn't seem to have a problem with down time. If you're good, you'll get repeat business and referrals from other customers. If you suck and rip off people on parts prices, then you're going to have a lot of down time.

I'm happy to drive 3 minutes, spend 5 minutes swapping a part, and get a large pizza, 2 liters of pop, and maybe a couple of subs for the effort - dinner for the family for my 15 minute "inconvenience". Other times, when there're other unusual tasks that need to be done, I'm often paid quite well for doing them. (I'm already paid quite well on a per hour basis - one of the reasons I've clung to this part time job on weekends)

 

[DurocShark]

Doesn't matter where the $$ was made... Parts or labor. If he had listed $200 for labor, would you be happier?

How much time did your doctor spend with you last time? How much do you pay for insurance/copay?

Here's another way of looking at it. Because a video card can be had for $99 at NewEgg, but Fry's sells the same card for $125, is Fry's ripping you off? Heck no! Fry's has more overhead to deal with. Just like that website ya'll are throwing around that lists the part for a few $$. You think a local parts place will only charge $28? How about Home Despot? Bah.

Crying wimps. Deal with the fact that HAVING A REAL HUMAN PERFORM LABOR COSTS MONEY!

 

[DrPizza]

Duroc, so I assume that if you take your car to the garage to have some work done on it, they quote you $55 an hour for labor, then tell you that you need your battery replaced, then turn around and charge you $400 for the battery, it'd be alright with you?! Hey, they have to make their money somewhere.

There's a huge difference in markup between $28 online, $40 in a retail store, vs. charging someone $190 for the same part after it's installed. To conclude your "here's another way of looking at it", suppose your wife/gf called me to repair her computer. It turned out to be the video card. I charged $100 for labor, and then charged $700 for the video card. Would that be okay with you? Or, suppose I charged $200 for labor, then charged $700 for the video card?

Would it be better if I charged $400 for labor, then $700 for the video card? There's a gray line. On one side is reasonable mark-up on a part. On the other side, it's ripping someone off. Megamorph was clearly ripped off. Thinking you can play games by decreasing the hourly rate and increasing the mark-up is complete bullsh!t. Labor and parts are two different things, not something to be interchanged by creative accounting.

I'll agree wholeheartedly that $35 for labor was cheap for the repair. Nonetheless, if that's the rate the company set, that's the rate they should charge. That doesn't give them the right to rip him off on parts though.

People with the logic of some of you is the reason the government was paying 1000's of dollars for hammers. Well, you know, they guys selling the hammers have to make their money somewhere! They had a lot of down time. They have a lot of overhead - secretaries to pay, book keepers. Would you rather they charged only $20 per hammer, but $40,000 for delivery?

 

[Squisher]

Why do repairman hose you............because they can.

I remember being young and dumb and calling out a guy to look at my washing machine that was thumping terrible on spin. The guy came in, squatted, pushed the washer back and reached under without looking, pulled off the belt and put a new one on in less 15 seconds. $84


I was thinking about taking up heating and cooling to do when I retire, but I hear they need tool and die makers in Vegas with the military bases out there. I guess I'll keep doing what I do best.

 

[fredtam]

You didn't get screwed. You paid for:

Insurance (a couple of different types)

Gas (expensive as you might know)

Inventory (he had the part so you didn't have to wait, shops keep thousands of parts in inventory just in case)

Advertising (call the yellow pages and ask how much an add is not to mention any direct marketing)

Vehicle/ vehicle maintenance/ mileage/lettering

Employees (is he a sole proprieter? If not he you are paying the salary of the Tech, the owner, wharehouse clerk, secretary etc.)

The time he is not somewhere else. They usually have to schedule jobs 2-3 hours apart because they have no idea how long they will be there. There is a certain amount they need to make and you are charged accordingly.

Tools

Education.

Storefront/office/wharehouse space (rent ain't cheap

Electricity

Water

Business phone/800 #

Office supplies

Is it a franchised business? Franchise Fee

Cancellations/lean times (again an average amount of money needs to be made to make being in business worthwhile)

etc.

I work in the real world and I can tell you it isn't cheap. Sometimes what seems like outrageous prices yeilds very little profit. Why shouldn't he make a good living? Because you assume that because his education is limited to tech school he should settle for minimum wage?

 

[Jzero]

PSA:
Ask for a written estimate of part and labor costs PRIOR to getting the work done.

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Duroc, so I assume that if you take your car to the garage to have some work done on it, they quote you $55 an hour for labor, then tell you that you need your battery replaced, then turn around and charge you $400 for the battery, it'd be alright with you?! Hey, they have to make their money somewhere.

No, because I could do the work. And if I couldn't, I'd shop around.

It's called "get an estimate". If you don't shop around, don't gripe.

The OP said $35 is the going rate in his area. I dunno about you, but I couldn't live on only 3 or 4 $35's per day. He probably paid around $40 for the part. So a 500% markup is a bit much (a lot much). But the OP wasn't hosed. He was stupid for not asking for an estimate first. But $250 really isn't bad for a fridge repair service call. I've had a couple that were quite a bit more. In fact, one was so bad, even after getting several estimates, that I bought a new fridge and SAVED $100. :Q

In the repair industry, you kinda have to look at the total price. Just like tires. You can see an ad for tires at one place for $25 that are going for $50 elsewhere, but the first place is prolly gonna charge $25 for a stem, mounting, and disposal. You pay for it either way.

Appliance repair service companies will never make the Hot Deals section. Neither will good mechanics. But you still need their services, and they still need to make a living. Overhead costs on ANY home service company is way higher per sale than any retail store.

BTW: When was the last time you ate out? How much did you pay for that Coke? 'Nuff said.

 

[DrPizza]

Well, according to your profile, you live in Anaheim - I would expect in that area that things are much more expensive. But, that doesn't mean that in other areas 4 $35 service calls wouldn't provide a decent living wage. I do completely agree that it was the OP's fault for not getting prices first.

I wonder if the OP could remove the part and return it for his money back?! Then order the replacement online? 🙂


incidentally, I ordered out for every almost every lunch and dinner for about the last 2 weeks. (usually take-out) but not once did I get the drinks from the restaurants. That reminds me... I better go finish the walls in the kitchen! Remodeling time. And before the remodeling is done, I've got to get out the manual that came with my dishwasher, look at the parts, and figure out why it stopped working this week. I'm guessing a pump, but I've never repaired a dishwasher before. The repair might set me back an hour or two of my time, but in the end, I'll be able to troubleshoot and repair most problems with dishwashers.

 

[Eli]

You can paint it any way you like.

He may have gotten "ripped off", but what the repair store did was hardly unethical.

It is not the place of businesses fault if they charge 5 or even 50 times the "normal" rate for a service.

It is your fault for going there. End of story.

I cannot believe there are people that do not understand this. How can it be the businesses fault?! You called them into your house, and they performed the service you requested!

Again... If you buy a laptop for 2500$ somewhere, and then you notice the exact same laptop for sale at another place for 1500$..

You say to yourself, "Damn! I got ripped off!".

That's where it ends, because that's all you can do.

Buyer beware. YOU are responsible for your actions, nobody else. Christ.