On Jul 20, 7:40*pm, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
snip



Fifteen years ago the local Yellow Pages was full of TV repair shops.
Except for me there are now two other guys still involved in
television within 50 miles. One is 85 and rarely opens the store. And
even if he did it looks like a page right out of 1950. The other guy
is about the same age and does some sales I guess but little else. So
for all intents and purposes, for the time being anyway, (and I don't
see any young guys lining up *to be TV repairmen) *it's me, and I've
been told only me. If not for the commercial work we would really be
scratching.

I wonder how some of you guys also in the consumer electronics repair
business have handled these sort of things?
Lenny

Most electrical / electronic stores do not employ any kind of service
technician these days, because there's simply not enough work to justify it.
Enter me. I hire myself out to multiple stores as a self-employed tech. I
have fixed charges per equipment type, which allows the store to quote to
their customer with a high degree of certainty. For sure, it's a 'some you
win, some you lose' situation when you are working on fixed prices, but
overall, I win, and so does the store. Also, I don't get involved with
holding accounts with manufacturers for parts. I let the store do that. I
just tell them what part is needed when it's not a simple resistor or
transistor or whatever, and it's then up to them to liaise with their
customer about any extra costs. If it's all agreed, they get the part, and I
fit it. That allows them to mark up the part cost as well, if that's what
they want to do. If the customer decides not to go ahead, then I still get
my fixed exam and admin charge, which comes out of the deposit that all of
the stores charge.

It's win all round for me really, as I have a steady supply of work (most of
the time anyway) from multiple sources. I don't have to get involved with
the public and their shenanigans, and I don't have to do field calls. The
stores are happy because they don't have to employ anyone that might be idle
half the time, and they still make a good wedge for themselves, for merely
'fronting' me.

Arfa
Hi Arfa
I spoke to another guy on a different group who also does a "flat
rate" sort of thing. I guess if you really feel confident in the long
run that you will prevail on most jobs then I suppose I could see it.

I charge 50.00 for a TV diagnostic fee. It's 25.00 for receiver,s
VCR's, (don't see too many of those anymore), and small stuff like DVD
players etc. (I don't know what that would equate to in British
pounds). In the case of TV sets, 50.00 covers my looking at the set
and giving an estimate. However when a TV set is dropped off at my
shop, (house), I collect 100.00 up front. I explain before they bring
it in that the additional 50.00 will cover the disposal fee if the set
is abandoned. (Because in this country it's getting to the point where
you almost can't throw anything away anymore without paying someone to
do it). However if the set is repaired the entire 100.00, (or if the
job is less then what ever portion is necessary) will be applied to
the repair. If the set is not repairable or if the customer declines
the estimate and picks up their set then 50.00 will be returned.
Although I do get some calls from outraged freeloaders who expect you
to work for nothing, most people find this policy agreeable.

But lets say you get a set in and diagnose a bad power supply. So do
you have the store obtain the part for you? And if so then what
happens if you ultimately determine that in fact it wasn't the power
supply but a secondary circuit that was putting the supply into shut
down? If something like this were to happen, who winds up eating the
power supply? Lenny