Electronics repair shops (1 Viewer)

[Kevin_Breeze]

Well, I decided to get the HK AVR7000 fixed (left channel not working)and I just dropped it off at this authorized repair shop last Saturday:

http://www.sandroselectronics.com

I asked the guy about how long it would take and he said HK is notorious for being slow at getting parts out but he said it would be about a week;

Well, i called Wednesday night after work about 5:15(near their closing time) and asked them how it was going -this was a different guy on the phone, but he was like "oh yeah we didnt get to that yet". i asked him when they were going to look at it and he was just like "ahh in the next few days" and kinda casually said "I'll call ya"

is this normal with electronic repair shops. Do I have a long road ahead of me to get this thing back. I get pissed off when places are like this but I don't know if its just to be expected when taking receivers in for repair...

 

[gene c]

I sent an H/K DVD-5 to European Tech in Torrance last summer for warranty work (my fault. I bought it as open box at Fry's, the WalMart of electronics) and it took 6 weeks to get it back. I used my old Philips in the mean time. I keep my old stuff as back-up. Still can't believe H/K has no repair shop in the S.F Bay Area .

 

[Kevin_Breeze]

Hmm, well I guess than its kinda normal. I just don't understand why it takes so darned long! I mean how many hours does it really take to fix the thing?? Granted they may have to order parts too, but still...6 weeks! Thats BS as far as I am concerned.

I would have preferred to take it to an actual HK shop as opposed to an HK "authorzed" service center, but hopefully they will do a good job. According to the website they have been in business a long time and they are authorized for many makes of audio equipment,

Call me paranoid, but another thing that I was wondering if any of these places actually take out good parts from the receiver and put in cheap ones or do something like that b/c you can't actually see what they are doing or what they have done unless you take it apart which they know most people will never do...

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I think I would have taken it to a local HK dealer that does repairs. I really don’t like these “we fix anything, any brand” places, and I’ve had bad luck with them. They are in business simply to make money, whereas the dealer’s repair accommodations are just as much for customer service as making a profit. Plus, if there is a major screw-up, you’ll have better recourse with a Circuit City or Tweeter than you will with a mom-and-pop store-front repair shop.

Really my preference is to ship the unit off to the repair dept. at a manufacturer’s US headquarters. There you get technicians that specialize in your brand, and their function is entirely customer service. You often get a great rate this way, often a reasonable flat rate. The only downside is added shipping costs, and the risk of damage in transit, especially if you don’t pack it right. Both are an issue with something big and heavy like a receiver.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Kevin_Breeze]

Yeah I totally agree with you Wayne, the only thing was I knew it would cost a lot to ship this receiver which is very bulky and weighs 50lbs. But I would have definitely felt a lot more comfortable if it was actually at Harman kardon as opposed to this shop, no doubt.

What I did was go to the HK website and look up their authorized repair places and I didn't see any major ones listed like Circuit city and the like...

I just hate this not knowing not only when I will get it back, but also not knowing what it will cost or if they are even going to do a poor job of fixing it....or worse...

 

[StephenHa]

what we did was set up a staging area, the tech would look at a unit figure out teh problem call teh customer with estimate, order parts, then next unit. If we were busy (like after a severe storm) it may be a week before something gets looked at (some things take days to trace and diagnose and it's usually first come first serve)

 

[Robert Cowan]

i think the problem with repairs taking so long is that the general quality of electronics is going way down. the majority of stuff today is just junk really... they are pretty loaded down.

and, it takes more time than you think to diagnose a problem. i had a problem with an amp that i personally built, and it took me about 2 weeks just to figure it out. and i built it, and it was a VERY simple schematic...

 

[Shane Martin]

Kevin,
The situation you are experiencing is nothing abnormal. I worked in a repair shop for about 6 months(before I got tired of the owners beligerant attitude).

 

[Steve Berger]

Kevin , Saturday to Wednsday was only 3 working days for the shop , only during a dead period would that be likely (or a trivial nuisance problem). Plus , even a good parts distributor (the local corner suppliers are all gone) will take 3-5 working days to get you parts. Intermittent problems take at least as long as the second or third time they act up after they are disassembled on the bench.

For most problems the local authorized servicer is your most cost effective repair. For major or oddball (anything microprocessor based) problems then the factories are the servicer of last resort; but they tend to be very expensive , slow , and some manufacturers simply don't have one.

If a company has outsourced a product (all VCRs , almost all HTIB , many DVD players , all combos -- TV/DVD/VCR/etc) then parts can take 6 months or more (especially DVD/VCR combos).

I would give them a little more time.

 

[Kevin_Breeze]

Thanks for the input guys.

Steve, I just realized I forgot to mention in the original post that when I was dropping it off I asked the guy (different guy than the one I spoke to on the phone) about how long it would take and he specifically told me they would look at it TUESDAY and that I would have it back in about a week. So I waited until the end of the day Wednesday before I even called. Also, i see it as 4 day's not 3 b/c I dropped it off early Saturday and they are open until 6pm.

Anyhow, here is what I have a problem with:

1.)Be upfront/honest/realistic with me about when you will start on it and when I can expect it back.

2.)Now granted we all know you can't plan anything perfectly and sh*t happens, but when I call at the end of the day after you told me you would get to it, and you werent able to get to it, have an apologetic attitude and an explanation. Don't act like I am bugging you and blow me off.

This is what a lot of places seem to do it whether it be your car they are working on on stereo, its at first they are all like oh yeah bring it down will get to it today or tommorow, than once they have it there the service goes right out the window. You call like 4 days later and they are like, no we didn't have a chance to get to it, i'll call ya when we do, bye.

By the way its Saturday and still no word from them....

 

[Kevin_Breeze]

Well I just got off the phone with them and I spoke to the guy who wrote me up when I dropped it off and he told me they didn't get to it yet and they will probably next week. I told him that he told me tuesday when i dropped it off and he said that said "PROBABLY" and that there is no gaurantees. So I said you are not even sure if you will get to it next week? And he just said most likely. So as it stands right now, they may not even get to it all next week either.

By the way, at no point in the conversation was there even the slightest indication of an apology., not even a quicky sorry thrown in there....

So apparently in their minds this is just the way it is, you drop off your equipment and don't count on getting it back anytime soon. By the time I get it back the unit will have depreciated below the cost of the repair, lol.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Wayne makes a good point, and I think it is very applicable to most consumer electronics, but sometimes the authorized places are not the best placed to turn to first. In the pro world, getting things fixed can cost thousands for something that used might cost that much to buy, and techs floating around out there in the DIY world may be better places to turn to first. Otherwise I think wayne is right on.

 

[StephenHa]

in my store that would have been unacceptable, sure we sometimes have things we tell customers wrong (who doesn't) but if we give bad info the customer always gets an appology (and probably moved up the list too)

 

[ChristopherDAC]

I would say, inquire at your dealer. I have LaserDisc players, and I have had them repaired at (a) an electronics repair shop, Pioneer-authorised and (b) a local dealer's who have been in the business 50 years and sold a lot of LDPs during the product's lifetime. They don't turn up as a "factory-authorised service center" on Pioneer's web site, and they don't have a sign for it... but they did a very good job, more quickly and at a less price [for comparable work] than the Authorised Service Center, plus being closer. Happy happy.

 

[Steve Berger]

ChristopherDAC makes a good point about "Servicing Dealers" also known as self-servicing dealers (SSD). No manufacturer ever lists them for referals because they have "right of refusal" (if you didn't buy it from them , they don't have to take it in). In some markets dealers hate each other so much that they never take outside sets in. In others the dealer sees it as an opportunity to gain a new customer and relishes the new contact.

It is , however , very important ot check out the reputation of the dealer since they are usually not required (unlike authorized servicers) to attend training , have any equipment , or maintain any professional standards. Some are very good (Champaign Illinois has one) Some are very poor (locally , the SSDs ship everything -- even RPTVs -- out of town or out of state and charge extraordinary prices to boot -- and refuse to even acknowledge the existence of the local authorized servicers)