Sears ripoff on installation prices Shreveport Louisiana
I called Sears to come and fix my Kenmore oven. The man came out informed me that it would be $300.00. I told him that I know how much the ignitors are because I have replaced them before. ( I thought the problem might be elsewhere is why I even called them) The ignitors are $50.00 each. He said that they are $75.00 off of his truck. I said ok, that adds up to $150.00, do you mean to tell me that you are going to charge me $150.00 for the installation of the two ignitors?
He said that it is not by the hour, it is by the "job". I am a single parent mother. I have no training that involves appliance repair. I have changed both ignitors in that same oven in a 30 minute time frame. I called the customer service center and was given the run around stating that the prices "per job" came from the Chicago office and that the $150.00 installation charge was correct. I could not get anyone to explain how they justify charging $150.00 for a job that a housewife mother, with no training, can do in 30 minutes. I informed them that I would never call Sears to fix anything at my house again. I will go buy the ignitors at the parts store (not Sears) and fix it myself for $100.00. I understand markup and a business has to make money to stay open but this is insane.
Tamra
Belcher, Louisiana
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Cory
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Have To Agree With Sears
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, August 27, 2004
I hate Sears with a passion. With that said, I have to agree with Sears on this one. You called the guy out on a service call and then didn't like his prices because they were higher than if you went and bought them yourself. His time, travel, and knowledge are worth something. The only thing different should have been 1 service call and ignitor at $150 and the second at $75. That would have been fair. Just don't blow yourself up by making a mistake when you do it yourself.
Becca
Boise,Idaho,
U.S.A.
A little more information on Sears Repairs
#3UPDATE Employee
Thu, August 26, 2004
I am sorry you had such a frustrating experience. I work on the parts end of the business and see many people like you who would rather get the parts for a repair and do it themselves than pay labor charges.
The job charges are based on the average time and cost that go into a given repair. This includes obvious things like diagnosis and parts installation. It also includes things like travel, scheduling, bookwork and part ordering, which people generally don't think of as being a part of their repair. Your particular repair may take more or less time, it may even take two trips in the event of a part order, but the cost stays the same. This is the way Sears has chosen to simplify the price structure for repairs. You may agree with it or not, but at least I hope you can understand that the people you talked to weren't trying to mis-inform or cheat you.
I haven't researched oven repair costs in particular, but on the smaller appliances, which I deal with on a regular basis, I have checked prices of local repair shops and found them comparable. I did this on my own so that I would be able to make the best recommendations to the people I see every day.
I, like you, sometimes find that the cost to have someone else repair something for me isn't worth it to me. This is why Sears has parts centers with people like me, for people who don't want to pay for the labor costs.
I hope you got your oven working well again.
Best wishes.