That's not reality, of course. More realistically, you want to be able to find a technician easily, pick up the phone and call, and get a live person, not a recording. You want the technician to arrive in a reasonable amount of time and not waste your whole day, make the right diagnosis, have the right parts in his vehicle, and fix your equipment correctly the first time. All for a reasonable amount of money. And when problems do occur (and sometimes they just do), you expect to be able to pick up the phone again and handle it easily.

For the technician's part, they know that you're stressed. They know that you didn't call them because you want them there. You're calling because you need them there. Between that and the media trying to convince you that all service technicians are out to deceive the public, they know that the situation can be sticky, and emotions can run irrationally high. In our experience, those circumstances, more than any other, are where disputes come from.

Money

Another reality is that phones and repair vehicles and parts stocks cost money. Labor costs money, even when that labor is driving to your house, waiting in line to buy parts for your job, or waiting to answer your phone call. Yellow page advertising is not cheap. All these things you justifiably expect as a convenience; but deep down inside you know that convenience comes with a price.

Your cost should be roughly $75 to $100, plus parts, for an hour's repair. That's reality. That's our cost plus a reasonable profit. Very few people are getting rich repairing residential equipment.