the Price of Dishwasher Repair

The technician repaired leaking hoses running from underneath the dishwasher to the sink, as well as making minor adjustments to the existing plumbing under the sink where the dishwasher connects.

The technician worked under minimal supervision, accomplishing the task quickly, easily and independently, with minimal interruption to our activities of daily living. Upon completion, he described his findings and presented us with a piece of paper to sign, stating: "This is saying that I fixed your problem, and if there are any other issues relating to the original problem, that I will come back and fix it, free of charge." We signed the paper and the gentleman left. Our dishwasher has worked perfectly since then.

- Inspect the appliance and the area(s) used by the technician during the repair CLOSELY after the repairs have been completed. Some repair technicians work on a pay - per - job basis, and may be careless in their haste to complete as many "calls" per day as possible, damaging your personal property in the process.

This was the case with us, the newly laid hardwood flooring in our new home was badly scratched in the kitchen around the dishwasher and where the technician placed his equipment, it went unnoticed by us, as he turned off the light in the kitchen when he finished the job. This allowed only minimal outdoor light to come in, and obscured our view of the flooring. The piece of paper that we signed without reading (our mistake!), unfortunately, included a fine print obscurely worded waiver about personal property and work area damage. Which leads us to tip #2:

- Closely observe the technician as they perform the repairs.

When we contacted the orignal repair company regarding the damaged flooring, we were informed that they had contracted the job to a local repair company, and any concerns would need to be addressed through that second company, which leads us to tip #3:

- Find out whether or not the company that you contacted will be sending one of their own technicians, or contracting out the labor. If they are contracting the labor, ask to whom the labor will be contracted. This may result in a less costly repair if the contractor may be directly contacted, cutting out the middle man.

We were subsequently informed that the "verification of work done" form included the fine-print waiver, and told that it was not their problem. This leads us to the most obvious (and sometimes most important) tip of all:

- Read anything that the technician gives you to sign VERY carefully, pay special note to words (including but not limited to) like: waiver, disclaimer, terms and conditions, warranty, and guarantee.