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Husband Starting his Own Appliance Repair Business

2,112 1,206 October 11, 2018 at 12:58 PM in Chat
Hi everyone!

My husband will be starting his own appliance repair business in AZ, after working for several big name companies for 20 yrs. He already has his uniforms with logos, van with vinyls, business cards are almost done.. He's pretty much all set, but I'm afraid of not being totally prepared..

Do any of you have any tips on how to manage our business expenses, if we need an accountant, what sells, what doesn't sell in this line of business, what you would love a home appliance repair company to do for you, how do we discipline ourselves and keep track of receipts, which credit cards to sign up for.... I mean, anything you guys can teach me or advise me, I will take!

Thanks!
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Joined Jun 2005
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shhaggy
10-18-2018 at 12:08 PM.
10-18-2018 at 12:08 PM.
Quote from SlickForLife :
Can you guys think of a way to encourage customers to leave reviews? I'm the kind of person that relies alot on reviews when purchasing something, and I know I'm not the only one..
Just send them a follow-up email asking for a review on whatever site you prefer (i.e.- Yelp).
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Joined Oct 2009
Shop smart. Shop S-Mart!
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ashcampbell
10-18-2018 at 01:22 PM.
10-18-2018 at 01:22 PM.
Quote from SlickForLife :
Thanks!
Did you create a LLC?
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SlickForLife
10-18-2018 at 01:26 PM.
10-18-2018 at 01:26 PM.
Well, I was surprised my husband really liked the idea of sending his picture to the customer, before arriving to their home! He rarely ever takes pix! lol

He got approved by a few home warranty companies to do work for them, and had his first real call today.. Problem is that with the home warranty company, it's really open to all repair people. So they send out a mass notification to everyone in the area that there is a service request available, and whoever clicks on it first, gets that call.. Within seconds, these get taken up, so I'm trying to figure out ways to accept each order faster than anyone else. Running a script perhaps? Problem with that is that in order to fully accept to commit to do the service, you have to also select a date and time you are willing to visit customer's home - Script would not know our availability, and we don't even know how to do scripts..lol

Regarding reviews, what do you guys think about sending the obviously happy customers an email 2 days after our service, thanking them for choosing us, and then telling them that if they leave a google review and prove it, we will run a drawing once a month for a $25 walmart gc? Would that encourage you guys to do a review?

How about an online generated scratch-off, that is personalized with our business info (you scratch our tablet with your finger), and then you get an instant 5-15% discount, "simply because we are running a christmas/new year promo? Anyone knows where I can get that app done for cheap?

Should we get a facebook page? I found a few cool appliance related memes we could post once a week, but besides that, I don't feel we add much value to the business by having a facebook account..

Ps: Yes, we have LLc, are licenced, bonded, insured.
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ProfessorChaos
10-18-2018 at 03:50 PM.
10-18-2018 at 03:50 PM.
Another means of promotion might be to advertise in homeowner's association newsletters. I know people in those neighborhoods look at them, and will often patronize advertisers because they appear to be "local." It's a good way to build word of mouth advertising, too, since people will tell their neighbors about good service people.
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Joined Sep 2006
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Fallacy
10-19-2018 at 10:04 AM.
10-19-2018 at 10:04 AM.
Please don't do scratch offs or offer returning customers 10-15% off. I stay away from businesses like that as if they have the plague. Because I know they're not taking that 10-15% out of their pockets, they're adding 10-15% to the cost and then taking it off. Like the fake sales all the department stores run.

Be honest, give reasonable prices, do your best work, be honest. That's about it. I know more than the average home owner, when I call you in for service, don't assume I'm an idiot and try to up-sell me on something I really don't need. That'll guarantee a poor review and me never calling you back.
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Joined Sep 2007
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SlickForLife
10-19-2018 at 11:56 AM.
10-19-2018 at 11:56 AM.
Quote from Fallacy :
Please don't do scratch offs or offer returning customers 10-15% off. I stay away from businesses like that as if they have the plague. Because I know they're not taking that 10-15% out of their pockets, they're adding 10-15% to the cost and then taking it off. Like the fake sales all the department stores run.

Be honest, give reasonable prices, do your best work, be honest. That's about it. I know more than the average home owner, when I call you in for service, don't assume I'm an idiot and try to up-sell me on something I really don't need. That'll guarantee a poor review and me never calling you back.
Well, there really wouldn't be any "upselling" during that promotional period. We would charge the same as any other period, except that the customer would get an instant discount to make them happy and remember us.

As for the honesty part, it seemed like every time I turned around, it was the big mouth, macho, crooks, know-it-all, types of people that would get promotions or make the big money.. But I've come to realize, and I shared that with my husband, that there definitely are people that get impressed with fluff and big talk, but there is just as many people in the world, if not more, that get impressed with those that are straight up, polite, humble and honest.. Hopefully this journey will prove that!

What the heck, man! You brought out the philosophical weirdo in me!
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iRabbitt
10-19-2018 at 12:10 PM.
10-19-2018 at 12:10 PM.
It would be original to offer a prostate exam with every furnace/AC tune up.
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Iaaaiws
10-19-2018 at 12:34 PM.
10-19-2018 at 12:34 PM.
I agree with staying away from the gimmicky discounts and such. Do top-notch work, be extremely knowledgeable about the appliances you work on, and above everything else be put honesty and integrity above everything else. If I am trying to build a loyal customer base I don't want the main thing they remember about the experience to be that they got the work done with a big discount. That will become the expectation every time. Those aren't the repeat customers I would be aiming for. Charge a fair price for the work performed and then provide nothing but the best service.

If I was going to start a business in this line of work I would be doing my best to emulate BikerEric.
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ProfessorChaos
10-19-2018 at 01:19 PM.
10-19-2018 at 01:19 PM.
Quote from iRabbitt :
It would be original to offer a prostate exam with every furnace/AC tune up.

You'd have heating and cooling problems weekly, then?
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weapologize4any...
10-19-2018 at 02:28 PM.
10-19-2018 at 02:28 PM.
Quote from SlickForLife :
Regarding reviews, what do you guys think about sending the obviously happy customers an email 2 days after our service, thanking them for choosing us, and then telling them that if they leave a google review and prove it, we will run a drawing once a month for a $25 walmart gc? Would that encourage you guys to do a review?
it's too small for many people to bother with. might want to do a quarterly drawing for a $100 GC. if you were to go higher ($300+), MANY customers would be more likely to leave reviews. I'd leave one for a shot at $300+.

also give multiple GC choices (walmart, target, grocery, gas), since some people despise/don't shop at walmart.
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Last edited by weapologize4any... October 19, 2018 at 02:30 PM.
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cr8ter
10-19-2018 at 03:53 PM.
10-19-2018 at 03:53 PM.
You should hire Michael Avenatti as your spokesman, your slogan could be something like "Stormy might swing around a pole wearing a used thong, but that's not going to fix your furnace"
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