Maybe overcharged for an oven repair, should I even bother saying anything ?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Maybe overcharged for an oven repair, should I even bother saying anything ?

surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#261582 4-Dec-2019 20:48

Our bosch oven recently failed, so phoned bosch and they gave the number of a local service agent. They diagnosed a fault, ordered the part, and replaced the faulty part.

On the invoice, i was charged travel time, labour time, parts, and shipping for parts.

But recently I ordered from bosch and shipping was free (for orders over $100 which this was)... so I was wondering why the service agent charged me shipping.

Curious, I make a test order for the same part from the bosch website.... ordering the part directly from bosch is 30% cheaper and shipping is free...

Maybe I should just ask, out of curiosity.

I'm actually pretty happy the oven is working again, the other option was to buy a new one.

lNomNoml

1808 posts

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#2368453 4-Dec-2019 21:31

It's understandable, it's a third party you pay for their time and anything they do, just because you get free shipping from Bosch doesn't mean the third party will carry over those savings. I personally wouldn't charge the client if I got it for nothing but I have seen others do so.

wellygary

8342 posts

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#2368651 5-Dec-2019 09:58

The price points that Bosch have for the public, may not be the same ones that they have with their service agents,

They may also not offer "free shipping" to their agents,...

I've heard of situations where clients have ordered parts separately from the supplier, and the agent fitted them,

because it was cheaper than the agent getting them direct from the supplier.....

1101

3122 posts

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#2368672 5-Dec-2019 10:43

surfisup1000:

But recently I ordered from bosch and shipping was free (for orders over $100 which this was)... so I was wondering why the service agent charged me shipping.
Curious, I make a test order for the same part from the bosch website.... ordering the part directly from bosch is 30% cheaper and shipping is free...

the public have no idea what its like for repairers
the margins are often too small .
He has to cover ALL his costs with getting parts , QUICKLY . If theres an issue , its on him. He has to factor that into his costs
Repairers NEVER sell parts at the lowest price anywhere. He cant spend time hunting around for best deals. He gets from his suppliers , suppliers that he has
a good relationship with if he needs to return it or there are issues

Where I work, we buy from 3 suppliers . We cant compete with lowest price ever , theres no point selling parts for zero markup.
And yes, it costs money to order parts, freight costs are real , accounting/paperwork costs are real . Thats the world repairers live in .

so please , feel free to next time order that part yourself, in advance , and deal with ALL the issues if its wrong part, doesnt fit, fails, doesnt fix the issue
not a dig at you personally, just generalizing . The guy has to make living . Or every repair service will literally dissapear , as they are trending
:-)

For repairers , the sad fact is its sometimes cheaper to buy retail, than buy from official channels .

surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#2368695 5-Dec-2019 11:01

1101:

the public have no idea what its like for repairers

so please , feel free to next time order that part yourself, in advance , and deal with ALL the issues if its wrong part, doesnt fit, fails, doesnt fix the issue
not a dig at you personally, just generalizing . The guy has to make living . Or every repair service will literally dissapear , as they are trending
:-)

For repairers , the sad fact is its sometimes cheaper to buy retail, than buy from official channels .

Fair enough, points accepted. I was mainly wondering if shipping was legit, possibly it is if they have different rates for wholesale clients.

He did a good job, so I'll say nothing :)

And thanks, advice appreciated.

sidefx

3714 posts

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#2368697 5-Dec-2019 11:14

How old is the oven? (Assume you decided CGA wasn't worth pursuing?)

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

mattwnz

20175 posts

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#2368981 5-Dec-2019 18:23

Yeah, how old is the oven, and what was the fault?

1101

3122 posts

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#2369497 6-Dec-2019 10:57

surfisup1000:

Fair enough, points accepted. I was mainly wondering if shipping was legit, possibly it is if they have different rates for wholesale clients.

To be honest, who knows . I'd be surprised if a wholesaler/supplier gave free delivery for wholesale prices .
However, many firms just tack on standard charges regardless . It should have been just part of the cost of that parts, rather than tack on charges .

Where I used to work , there could be 4 additional small charges tacked onto the bill . eg $5 for 5c worth of cleaner .
I know that used to p8ss off our customers . It p8ss's me off when I see see it & I have to pay it .
My boss back then was a cheapstake , thats the only reason we used to have to do it . He couldnt see the bigger picture and how it made his company look.

Its like when mechanics charge customers for things like cleaning overalls (yes)