Maker Pro
Maker Pro

repair shops dying (Boston Globe article)

P

Paul Hirose

Jan 1, 1970
0
The Boston Globe has an article on the decline of the neighborhood
repair shop in the U.S.

"[Sewing machine and vacuum shop owner] Spindler admitted he is
sometimes annoyed when something breaks at home and his wife goes out
and buys a replacement. But he knows he can't argue with the new
economic logic. 'We had a small $90 TV that broke after a year and a
half. I knew that to put it on a bench here would be $40. It wasn't
worth it. We just won't buy that brand again.'"

Spindler says there used to be four other shops like his in the area.
They're gone.

A stereo repair shop owner the Globe interviewed has found a niche for
himself fixing vintage gear. He's also an authorized repair center for
modern equipment. But he shuts down right after Christmas each year so
his techs don't have to answer 1-800 calls from people who can't
figure out how to operate gifts bought at big-box discount stores.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2005/02/10/the_fix_is_in_decline/
 
T

Travis Jordan

Jan 1, 1970
0
Paul said:
The Boston Globe has an article on the decline of the neighborhood
repair shop in the U.S.

That article was in the New York Times last weekend, and it is

© 2005 The New York Times Company
 
N

NSM

Jan 1, 1970
0
Spindler says there used to be four other shops like his in the area.
They're gone.

I sometimes idly think of starting up a shop repairing tube audio equipment
only. Those owners are probably ready to pay for the service.

N
 
C

Charles Schuler

Jan 1, 1970
0
It might not be such a bad thing (I mean by that the replacement approach as
opposed to repair). Having something diagnosed and repaired these days can
be like a tour through Dante's Inferno. Our pool heater (heat exchanger)
went out recently and it took five service calls to get it fixed (sort of).
It's not really fixed because now the bypass valve is screwed up (can no
longer bypass the heater), a pressure gauge is missing its cover and no
longer works, the cover of the heater is bulged out on the front as it was
improperly reinstalled, and the auto function of the heater no longer works
(no doubt a re-wiring error).

It seems to me that folks with a basic knowledge of mechanics and
electricity and a reasonable attitude about customer service are in VERY
short supply. I suppose that nowadays those with any ability go to law
school or earn MBAs.
 
N

NSM

Jan 1, 1970
0
Charles Schuler said:
It might not be such a bad thing (I mean by that the replacement approach as
opposed to repair). Having something diagnosed and repaired these days can
be like a tour through Dante's Inferno. Our pool heater (heat exchanger)
went out recently and it took five service calls to get it fixed (sort of).
It's not really fixed because now the bypass valve is screwed up (can no
longer bypass the heater), a pressure gauge is missing its cover and no
longer works, the cover of the heater is bulged out on the front as it was
improperly reinstalled, and the auto function of the heater no longer works
(no doubt a re-wiring error).

It seems to me that folks with a basic knowledge of mechanics and
electricity and a reasonable attitude about customer service are in VERY
short supply. I suppose that nowadays those with any ability go to law
school or earn MBAs.

No. The employers will only hire young, cheap workers. Anyone who knows what
they are doing doesn't interest them. They probably figure they work too
slow, so they can't make as much profit.

N
 
J

Jim Adney

Jan 1, 1970
0
longer bypass the heater), a pressure gauge is missing its cover and no
longer works, the cover of the heater is bulged out on the front as it was
improperly reinstalled, and the auto function of the heater no longer works
(no doubt a re-wiring error).

It was an experience like this which lead me first to start working on
my own car, then my own electronics, then the occasional repair for
friends. What it all boils down to is that no one cares as much about
your <insert product name here> as you do.

The unfortunate part is that those of us who care about quality in our
repairs will do them ourselves, leaving the customer majority
dominated by those who don't notice or don't care and the service
personnel dominated by the same attitude.

I'm afraid it's a downward spiral with no visible way out.

-
 
J

Jerry G.

Jan 1, 1970
0
If you are going to do that, be prepared for a high operating cost in
relation to the actual work you will get. Even though there are a lot of
fanatics for tube equipment, this is also dying off. We looked very
carefully in to that, and found that it may not pay so well.

The best type of service to get in to is for industrial types of clients.
Support and sales of industrial instrumentation for laboratory applications
is the most viable today. Each sale is expensive, and a small mark-up on
these items will generate a descent income. After the sales, there is the
support part, which you can charge for the services. You will need however,
a source of financing from your bank to put out the big dollars in advance
before you get paid. Most of the corporations will pay only after 30 or 60
days, depending on their policy.

--

Jerry G.
======



Spindler says there used to be four other shops like his in the area.
They're gone.

I sometimes idly think of starting up a shop repairing tube audio equipment
only. Those owners are probably ready to pay for the service.

N
 
M

Mark D. Zacharias

Jan 1, 1970
0
Repair shops have been dying at a rate of about 15% per year. Most remaining
shop owners are at or near retirement age. Those of us who remain are being
deluged with calls from stupid people with information requests, usually
referred by Radio Shack people who _don't_ have any answers.

Mark Z.
 
D

Doug

Jan 1, 1970
0
Newspapers are eager to report the demise of service shops. "Don't
repair, replace!" is the mantra of the retailers who spend the big
bucks on ads. We've had some of that on the local level, where the
papers interviewed only shop owners who were discouraged or closing.
They never came to talk to any of the local shops who are doing well.
If we want the public to know that we're here for them, we have to
advertise. Not in the paper, though.
 
J

Jerry G.

Jan 1, 1970
0
If you look at the cost of the average new appliance today, they are
priced so low, it is not worth to repair these. This is another reason
why the manufactures no longer keep an infostructure to supply spare
parts. The admistration for spare parts is also costly.

If you buy a VCR for $80, would you pay a service tech an hour or two
of his time, plus the parts to fix it? If you look at the service
tech's overhead just to do the basic work, the repair cost would easily
exceed the price of a new unit!

I have seen these new types of units come in, and they are very crapy
built as far as their mechanics are conserned. The performance of the
electronics are very good for the low cost.

As for dependability, most of the new products may last about 2 years
on the average. For the low prices that they are asking, I would not
expect much more than that anyways...

Jerry G.
=======
 
B

Bob Urz

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mark said:
Repair shops have been dying at a rate of about 15% per year. Most remaining
shop owners are at or near retirement age. Those of us who remain are being
deluged with calls from stupid people with information requests, usually
referred by Radio Shack people who _don't_ have any answers.

Mark Z.

So what happened ot the radio shack slogan on tv:
"you got questions, we got answers" ???

;)


Bob
 
N

NSM

Jan 1, 1970
0
They ran out of answers?

I don't believe they ever had any. Go ask them for a plug for you Model I
Video Monitor and see what they say!

N
 
C

cl

Jan 1, 1970
0
NSM said:
I don't believe they ever had any. Go ask them for a plug for you Model I
Video Monitor and see what they say!

N

That reply was off the hip, much as I thought their slogan was.

cl
 
J

JR NORTH

Jan 1, 1970
0
It's been reversed. They now have questions, not answers. Go into Radio
Shack, and it's "hows your cell phone doing?"
JR

Bob Urz wrote:
 
S

sofie

Jan 1, 1970
0
You can say what you want about Radio Shack.... but if most repair shops
were doing as well as most Radio Shack stores this whole thread about repair
shops dying would not have been started.
 
N

NSM

Jan 1, 1970
0
sofie said:
You can say what you want about Radio Shack.... but if most repair shops
were doing as well as most Radio Shack stores this whole thread about repair
shops dying would not have been started.

Do you want to hire Radio Shack employees to work for you?

N
 
S

sofie

Jan 1, 1970
0
What do people expect for minimum wage? ...... certainly not a tech behind
the counter, anyway customers would not pay the higher prices associated
with staffing the store with higher wage "clerks" with technical skills.
 
N

NSM

Jan 1, 1970
0
sofie said:
What do people expect for minimum wage? ...... certainly not a tech behind
the counter, anyway customers would not pay the higher prices associated
with staffing the store with higher wage "clerks" with technical skills.

That's true, but don't blame me for the hysterical laughter at the new
'slogan'.

N
 
Top