Ask a Repair Shop
philip.yurchuk.com
Ask a Repair Shop
1–10 of 135 posts
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#2Ask the company for other customers you can talk to and then take a few members of the system engineering team responsible for supporting it out for dinner to learn the real story.
In truth though, a lot of enterprise software sucks and it sucks to support but there are usually few better options. Often velocity is the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priority so it's easier to pickup some shitty software and spend some engineering resources to 'make it work' than it is to try to internally sell investing the resources needed to build a better bespoke solution.
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#3 I got a full education on washers, including a lot of industry dirty laundry.
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#4Always nice to read a post from someone with a) experience and b) succinct writing style.
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#5If you ask an enterprise vendor if their software has feature X, the answer is always, "Yes!" You'll find their software is infinitely customizable with just a bit of configuration. What they're not telling you is that their configuration tool is really a poorly implemented, proprietary programming language. You won't be able to configure the software yourself and must now hire consultants to read your watch and tell you the time.
The good news is that the enterprise sales folks know all the best restaurants in town. Cocktail bars, too.
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#6I got a full education on washers, including a lot of industry dirty laundry. Please tell us more.
This was an interesting read on why many appliances are no longer built to last: https://recraigslist.com/2015/10/they-used-to-last-50-years/
Previously discussed on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13909365
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#7This reminds me so much of my experiences working in a computer repair shop ~15 years ago.
Funniest thing about it is that as a sales rep I sucked, but once I got moved into repair, I was absolutely destroying our sales team in sales often by 4x their best rep without even trying.
There were a couple of Black Fridays where the store made all computer sales take place at the repair center because of it.
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#8I got a full education on washers, including a lot of industry dirty laundry. Please tell us more.
This was an interesting read on why many appliances are no longer built to last: https://recraigslist.com/2015/10/they-used-to-last-50-years/ Previously discussed on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13909365
Honestly the answer to the appliance problem is to just buy Miele. I'm not really a huge fan, because you do pay a lot for the brand and they're not always as technologically advanced as, for example, Siemens, but you do get a long warranty and high quality.
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#9Ask the company for other customers you can talk to and then take a few members of the system engineering team responsible for supporting it out for dinner to learn the real story. In truth though, a lot of enterprise software sucks and it sucks to support but there are usually few better options. Often velocity is the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priority so it's easier to pickup some shitty software and spend some engineering…
The difference between doing that and talking to 3rd party integrators is the ability to compare across vendors.
Re: Ask a Repair Shop
#10I got a full education on washers, including a lot of industry dirty laundry. Please tell us more.
A friend asked me the same, so here's my info. It is dated, and you're best calling a repair shop before buying, but likely still some nuggets of truth here.
Big trend is consolidation in the industry. Whirlpool, Maytag, and Kitchenaid are all the same company now. For dishwashers (and I got this info recently), repairman said they all have the same motor and core components, which is the most important. They differ on the control panel, aesthetics, and price. He also said that LG dishwashers have a problem with hard water, which is problematic in SoCal.
BTW, this was a call for a dishwasher problem on a Kitchenaid my brother bought used. The door kept popping open during washing (just enough to stop the cycle), and he said the problem was that the frame was slightly bent, probably during transport. My brother got a great deal buying a matched set of appliances used (you nearly always do), but sadly there was nothing he could do for a bent frame and it had to be ditched.
For washing machines, the guy said "Buttons and knobs, the simpler the better. No electronics. When these things have problems, it's always the electronic control panel, which is expensive to replace." He also suggested Whirlpool and Maytag, so I went with Whirlpool since again, same company, cheaper price.
Some years ago, a vacuum cleaner shop explained that everyone is racing to put out a lighter vacuum, and hence they switched from metal gearing and components to plastic. This greatly diminishes their lifespan. He had a number of used models he personally serviced and felt good about selling used. Afraid I forget the model he was really excited about, but again, your local vacuum shop will likely have something.
And thanks to all the nice comments, this really made my day!