So, what exactly happened when "Sears" came to fix the fridge?

[Celebration]

I have a Kenmore, but no current service plan. My refrigerator was dripping water on the inside so I knew something was stopped up. I ordered a service call through Sears website, and agree to pay a minimum of seventy bucks for a service call.

So the subcontractor comes to fix the fridge, and then states that the price of unstopping the drain would be $220. I sort of gasped and asked how long it would take. He said fifteen minutes. I told him it was a ripoff, but since I already owed the seventy bucks just go ahead and do it, and I told him I wasn't happy (but was respectful of him, blaming Sears). So he starts to fix the thing and he asks me for a towel and pan. I said, I will rent you a towel and a pan for a hundred bucks. But I got it and gave it to him.

Then after about two minutes work, he finishes, and adjusts the bill to $140. He says, "I hope I don't get into trouble."

Huh? I wasn't trying to bargain with him. What is the deal? Was he purposely ripping me off with the first price to get a higher commission? What is the actual policy of Sears wrt service call costs? Do they approve of this? Honestly, I don't know whether to be happy with the guy for adjusting the bill, or unhappy with him for the original price, or unhappy with Sears. Mostly I am perplexed. Definitely I am not calling Sears for appliance repair in the future unless I have a service plan. I'm rethinking Sears in general.

Weird. I haven't had an appliance repaired in awhile. This one had me scratching my head.

[blogslut]

1. So sad

Sears used to have the most amazing repair service ever. Changing times, I guess.

[Celebration]

9. Yep

Long ago and far away.

[redwitch]

2. I'm sure he felt guilty.

Although it is Sears that should feel guilty.

[Celebration]

8. I'm wondering

if he was trying to charge me more originally because he gets a cut of the bill, and then thought I might call Sears to complain, or something.

Again, he could tell I was a bit pissed off, but I had no idea I had price bargaining power.

Is there business model now price discrimination? Rip off people that don't complain, and cut the price for those that do? I can't figure it out.

[driver8]

3. We were charged $160.00 for the repairman to vacuum the bottom of our refrigerator.

It took him less than ten minutes, and I think he used our vacuum cleaner!

Fucking crooks.

[Celebration]

10. Sheesh

That is all he did?

[gvstn]

4. My dad always gets the service plan.

Last time I called Sears to come out because his relatively new oven wouldn't go into the Clean cycle it was a scam. The repair bill was $1080.00 the oven cost $980.00 new a few years before. He didn't have to pay anything since he was already paying for the extended coverage.

A bill like that is ridiculous. I can't believe an independent contractor from the phone book would charge like that. (I haven't had to have any major appliances repaired recently so I don't know the going rates)

$140 to clean the drain in the refrigerator is sadly about right. $70 to come out and 30 minutes time with no parts necessary. (If the drain is the one inside the refrigerator under the produce drawers you take a garden hose with a trigger spray attachment wrap a towel around it and put it on top of the hole and make a seal with the towel and spray for minute until it drains freely.)

[Celebration]

7. I have a fantastic plumber and I thought he might be able to fix it

And he said he couldn't. I was surprised. Oh, well.

[gvstn]

11. I worked in a supermarket for years

And watched the repair guy do it all the time. Slow moving drains like refrigerators allow bacteria to grow and create a goo like substance that clogs the drain. Hot water pushes it out. Most refrigeration problems are either an icing problem because of a stopped drain or dirty condenser coils.

Your plumber may not have wanted to come out on an appliance call because he would have had to charge you and if it wasn't a plugged drain and he didn't have parts he wouldn't have been able to fix the problem.

***
On pricing I think Sears gets a cut for arranging the call and it probably also guarantees the work so it takes a cut for that as well.
The sub-contractor probably agrees to charge Sear's rates. The repairman probably is encouraged to rack up as much labor costs as possible. So a 30 minute minimum or more if he can drag things out. He may not get a cut but his employer may give him trouble for not charging their suggested minimum labor time.

I know my heater guy last time he was out to light the pilot told me he had to charge for the call and a 30 minute minimum. He cleaned the heater while he was there to kill time after fixing the pilot.

[Celebration]

18. re: the plumber

He was already at my house for something else. And he does all kinds of unrelated tiny things for me. I just knew he would be able to do it. All he did was move the fridge out, and shake a piece of rubber behind the fridge, and said to call an appliance person if that didn't work.

I have to say that he probably could have fixed it if it was his own fridge. I guess? He probably needed time to think about it.

So you think that $220 was the Sears rate?

I wondered if $140 was the Sears rate, and the company and/or repair person was trying to gouge me?

[gvstn]

19. I think he was just trying to add another unit of labor to the bill.

Sears probably doesn't have a specific rate to clear a drain but may have an hourly rate that the contractor must agree to accept. He changes how much he charges you by changing how much time he says the repair took.

So if he arrived at 12:00 if it was fixed at 12:20 he would charge you $140 if it took him until 12:35 he would charge you $220 and take 10-15min. to "watch" it or clean up or to prepare the invoice to pad out the time. Since clearing the drain only involves labor and no parts he can only add or deduct from the bill by changing the amount of time he charges you for.

[Curmudgeoness]

12. Not an appliance, but my dad had a service contract with Sears

for his exhaust system. He took the car in when the exhaust failed, they replaced the whole exhaust system. Then, when the bill was being done, he pulled out the service contract. The guy at the Sears service center was so pissed, said he would not have replaced the whole exhaust system if he had known about the service contract ahead of time. So, he was actually admitting that he was just trying to rip off some old man. Either that or he was have just rigged something up. And this was no subcontractor.

And that was when I lost my faith in Sears.

[hippywife]

5. I don't know why you'd be mad at Sears.

They just sent the guy. If he's a subcontractor he has his own business and charges his own prices unless he is working under warranty.

If there is no warranty in place, it doesn't hurt to go looking around for the problem yourself first, then call someone if you can't locate the problem and fix it if it's simple.

:hi:

[Celebration]

6. So Sears doesn't control the subcontractor at all?

Sears used to have their own repair trucks. i didn't even know they would send a subcontractor. And to send a subcontractor that rips people off? Not good.

What I want to know is how the money works. Sears gets a cut, the subcontractor gets a cut, AND the repair person gets a cut? Is that the business model?

[hippywife]

16. I don't know what their particular arrangement

would be, but I imagine they just pick different contractors in an area and "authorize" them as Sears repair services. But I imagine they don't really discuss price for services where there is no warranty to worry about.

[Celebration]

20. well, it would be ridiculous for them not to discuss price

Because if people are price gouged they won't be happy with Sears. It is bad business.

[Kali]

13. you have been misled

into thinking you are not qualified to fix something yourself

even before the internets, there were do-it-yourself manuals available in libraries and bookstores
and before you say you have no desire to do that kind of work, I will say ok, but at least if you know what might be involved you can gauge what a fair price for someone else to do it would be.

$140 to 220 for cleaning a drain tube? ouch

http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6566976_clean-drain-tube-kenmore-refrigerator.html

[guitar man]

15. Exactly

I fix my own stuff and when I can no longer fix it I go to the second hand appliance store and get another one. I'm rather proud of some of the things I've actually repaired myself :)

[gvstn]

17. Since the drain tube is only about 12 inches long

Your method is easier than mine. An old piece of electrical wire sounds easy enough.

With the price of a service call and the ease of getting parts off the internet I often attempt to fix things on my own. I'm usually pretty lucky.

I'm particularly proud of fixing my power windows in my car. I had ruled out any bad connections but had no idea what the relays and such involved did. So I took it to the dealer and they were going to replace all 3 relays for about $600. I couldn't stand not being able to lower my driver's side window so I said ok. Well 3 weeks later they still hadn't gotten the parts. I went on the internet took a stab at one of the relays that sounded most likely to be the problem, got the part in two days, swapped it out, put everything back together and was back in business for $70. The dealer called two weeks later to schedule the appointment and I said never mind.

It is said that service people don't really try to fix things, they try to sell you new parts.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

14. Since no one else is going to say it: Well Played, Cel!

[Deep13]

21. I think he just agreed with you. nt

[Schema Thing]

22. You probably could have pushed to have him do it for 70.00

I would complain to Sears.