A guide to appliance repair in Houston
As the most populous city in Texas, Houston is an interesting and historic place to live and work. If you have decided to make this exciting city your home, your next step is to find an appliance repair company you can trust. After all, you do not want to worry about the air conditioning breaking down in the middle of the Houston summer without knowing who you can call to come and help you quickly.
In the U.S. today, we rely on many popular small and major appliances on a daily basis, like garbage disposals, washing machines and refrigerators. If something goes wrong with one of these machines, we want a home appliance repair professional to come and help us right away.
We will explore some key considerations you want to keep in mind and important questions to ask as you identify the appliance repair company that would be best to help you.
What to look for when choosing an appliance repair company in Houston
Selecting an appliance company is a big decision. We rely on the appliances in our homes to keep us comfortable and healthy. From our refrigerators to our washing machines, we rely on countless appliances throughout the day. As you look for a quality repair company for your home, here are some key ideas to keep in mind.
Online business reviews and ratings
To start your search, it helps to look at online business reviews and ratings. Companies themselves will write the most favorable possible materials about themselves on their websites. That is why online reviews from other customers can provide a far more accurate picture. You will see how other customers felt about factors such as the professionalism, standard of work and price of the companies throughout Houston, which can help narrow your search.
It can particularly help to look for patterns in the reviews. If you have several people complaining about tardy workers or poor craftsmanship, that might be a big red flag that you should avoid this company.
How long they’ve been in business
The track record of the business you are investigating can also provide insight into its reputation and skill. Over a third of businesses fail within the first four years, which means a company that has only been around a year or two might be a little green still. However, a company that has served your community for decades must be doing something right because it has outlasted countless others. While this should not be the only criteria you factor into your decision, it is a point in favor of the established business. Other customers over the years have found it worthy, which is why it has continued to serve customers and get enough people calling to keep its company in business after all these years.
If highly rated companies in your area have not been around for many years, that is not a reason to write them off. You might look at factors such as the experience of the employees themselves. Sometimes, professionals decide to start their own businesses after decades in the industry. This experience might indicate that they are well-qualified for the job.
Repair business qualifications
Many review sites, such as Angi, Yellow Pages or Yelp, have their internal ways of ranking businesses. The Better Business Bureau also carries its own certification. It can help you compare business options to look at these qualifications and see where your potential businesses rate.
You also want to see if technicians can earn any important qualifications or certifications that speak to their ability to work on your particular appliance. Some manufacturers offer certifications for those qualified.
Overall, check to see what you can learn about the training and education of the technicians you might hire. See if they have gone through any courses and how they remain current with changing technology. This can help you better understand their level of professionalism and skill.
Areas of Houston the repair company serves
As you begin to form your shortlist of potential appliance technicians, you want to review each and make sure they service your area. Many companies have certain geographical areas that they serve. Therefore, they might serve particular surrounding areas around Houston but not others. For example, a company might offer home services in Richmond, Cypress or Sugar Land but not Katy. Just because a company says it serves the Houston area does not mean it includes your neighborhood.
Go to the website for each company individually to see if it will come to your specific area. Cut any that will not make the trip from the list immediately. It would be incredibly frustrating to land on your top repairman only to discover that they will not come to your home and you have to go back to the drawing board, so make sure you do not skip this step.
Questions to ask your Houston appliance repair company
As you identify your top potential appliance service companies, you should also prepare to ask them questions about their services and how they do their jobs. Speaking directly with the companies can help you clarify anything you do not understand and ensure you feel confident in your hiring process. It also provides you with more information that you can use to compare potential businesses so that you can choose the one that you like best. Here are some key questions you should ensure you know the answer to before making your decision.
Ask about their service warranty
A service warranty helps to protect you from poor workmanship. When a provider offers this warranty, it certifies that you will not encounter the same problem again within a certain period. For example, with a warranty for a stove repair, the technicians might promise a one-year warranty that a particular electrical component will not break within the next 12 months. If that electrical component you just paid to have fixed does break within that time frame, they will come back and fix it again.
You will want to know if the potential appliance technician will certify their work and the conditions for that certification. For example, learn how long the warranty lasts and what problems are covered under the agreement. This provides insight into the business's trust in its work and gives you a great data point for comparing companies to find the best service.
Ask about their experience with your brand of appliance
You know that the brand options for your particular appliance can seem endless. If you want to buy a dishwasher or washer, for example, you have options that include major brands like Maytag, Kenmore, Whirlpool, Frigidaire and Samsung. While all of these different brands and models will have a number of similarities in their build and how they work, they will also have some differences. Because these brands have slightly different ways of building their appliances, it helps when your appliance technician has experience with this specific brand.
Therefore, ask the business about its experience with your appliance make and model, regardless of whether you need a washer repair, freezer repair or ice maker repair. This can help you better gauge its relevant experience.
Ask about pricing, fees, estimates, forms of payment and more
It can also help to speak with the business about payments. When hiring a company to come and fix your appliance, you must consider many factors in the pricing structure.
To begin, you have estimates. Some businesses will offer free estimates. Others might have a pricing structure where you pay for the estimate, but they credit the amount you paid toward your final bill if you hire them. Know exactly how the company structures its estimates so you do not get surprised when the bill arrives. If you have access to free estimates, it is generally a good idea to secure a few to make sure you have a good idea of the pricing options.
You also need to consider the payment structure. You might not want to pay the entire amount upfront, particularly for larger jobs. In that case, know whether or not this business offers payment plans and if it has finance options. This allows you to evalwwwe your budget for the project.
Finally, you want to make sure you know all the details about any applicable fees for your job. Verify what factors go into your bill and how it will be calculated. For example, will you pay the workers by the hour? If they realize they need an additional part after they give their estimate, how will this be calculated and communicated?
No one wants a surprise when they get their final bill, so make sure you ask all your questions upfront.
Ask about the repair company’s insurance
The insurance plan of your contractor plays an important role in protecting both them and you. If something gets broken during the job, even if it is not related to the repair, you want to know how you can secure the appropriate compensation. Say, for example, a technician drops your washing machine and breaks your railing; you want to know what you can do about the sitwwwion.
Knowing the type of insurance the business covers and the sitwwwions it can help will give you peace of mind. You also want to make sure you thoroughly understand your own liability and responsibilities. For example, know what your responsibility would be if a person falls and injures themself on your property and what your obligations might be to help avoid accidents.
Check the repair company’s appointment availability
As you plan for your appliance repairs, you also want to keep in mind that when a problem with your appliance occurs, you do not want to wait a long time for someone to get out to fix it. If you need an oven repair, refrigerator repair, dryer repair or dishwasher repair or have trouble with your cooktop, you need someone to help you as quickly as possible, preferably even the next day.
Therefore, once you decide on your top appliance repair firm options, you want to check their availability. Know when they can get out to take their first look at your appliance. Note also that many appliances will take more than one appointment to fix. The technician often has to diagnose the problem and order parts. Therefore, ask your preferred technicians about the total length of time you should expect before your appliance is repaired.
What to do when you have an appliance emergency in Houston
Sometimes, appliances break suddenly, and the sitwwwion becomes urgent. You might have water leaking out of a washing machine, for example, or your refrigerator may have stopped cooling, and your food will spoil soon. Therefore, you also want to plan for these appliance emergencies, particularly if they happen outside of normal business hours.
As you evalwwwe your top appliance repair technicians, note those with emergency lines that can take a service call any time, day or night. Often, you will have to pay more for same-day service. However, when you end up needing same-day appliance repair, you will find that professionalism, expertise and rapid response matter more than price.
What’s the best appliance repair service in Houston?
The best appliance repair service in Houston will be the one that can provide you with the quality work you need when you need it. In other words, this will vary depending upon factors such as your location, your price point and even the appliance repair you need.
We recommend reviewing the criteria mentioned above to find the best appliance repair company. Narrow down the available businesses according to factors, such as:
- Their reviews
- Their experience
- Their expertise with your appliance and model
- Their service area and appointment schedule
- Their pricing and warranties
Using these factors will help you focus your search on the technician that can keep your appliance running well throughout its life span.
Let Cinch handle the process of finding a professional repair person for you
As anyone who has ever scrambled to find a technician to fix an appliance knows, finding the optimal business can be a challenge. It can take a lot of time to sort through the companies to find your top picks.
Those who want to take the protection of all the appliances in their home to the next level can turn to the Cinch Home Services Appliances plan to simplify the entire process.
When you have a home warranty with Cinch, all home appliances covered by the package have expert protection. If something goes wrong with one of your appliances, all you have to do is call Cinch. We will send out a technician we have already vetted and verified to have insurance and all the proper credentials. We will also get you a technician as quickly as possible so you do not have to deal with a malfunctioning appliance for too long.
See how you can protect your home with Cinch and eliminate all the worries associated with finding the best technician. You can count on Cinch to do it for you. Get an instant quote today!