Uber expensive repair at United Radio

Ya probably could have hired the engineers who designed it to fix it for 1/2 that rate. Hourly rate to me was quite high. Low overhead business. Biggest variable on cost is pricing in risk of destroying your stuff.

I've dealt with United for several years,  mainly with Consumer level receivers, amplifiers, etc.  I've also been in the AV business most of my life and have owned all kinds of the good stuff as well.  Being in the business and having to deal with Customer Support all these years, CS has really gone down the tubes with a lot of the Vendors, esp. this past year. You can't blame Covid for poor CS, in most cases, I believe.  Business that care about there Customers will find a way to make things work, or at least give it there best shot.  So where am I going w/ all of this?  I've had 3 high end receivers that were sent into United this past year on separate occasions.  I have not experienced the level of quality that they provided by any service center that I can ever remember.  I filled out their forms, sent the pieces in, got an email response when they were received at United, plus received a status call on when it was shipped, and a follow up after I received it. The repairs took less time than they had estimated as well.  Needless to say, I'm impressed with there service, esp. with all that is going on. It made me want to do better at what I do, too.   I can also tell you that a lot of the manufactures aren't taking in equipment for repair because of the parts shortage that's out there.  A friend of mine works in a very High-End audio store, and when you walk into one of the rooms there are stacks of products sitting there waiting to get an RMA so they can get it fixed or replaced.  There are some products out there that have been at the Manufacture for over a year, waiting for parts.  The largest DAC chip manufacturer burned down in Japan last year and it's affected AV, Automobiles, etc.   Anyway, it's ugly out there in the electronics world.   That's my soapbox!

The OP may or may not have a point about his experience with United, BUT I do believe that there are now numerous examples of the ’repair’ shop trying to gouge the customer. Just yesterday I called up my car dealer for a simple oil and filter change. Since I have a newer vehicle, I prefer to go to the authorized dealer for service. The dealer tells me that they won’t just do an oil and filter change, they have to check that the headlights work, the windshield wipers work, the turn signals work and the tires have the proper tread life remaining. Therefore, the cost of the ’service’ is about $650-, of which the oil change portion is about one quarter. ( which is still pricey). So, what happens when i ask how much are they charging for checking that the headlights work, I get a laugh as a response ( I kid you not!). DO you guys think this kind of attitude/business plan and CS is acceptable, after all I knew the estimate up front?

snratio

Ya probably could have hired the engineers who designed it to fix it for 1/2 that rate. Hourly rate to me was quite high. Low overhead business.

You do not know what you are talking about. Proper electronics repair requires a suite of test equipment and personnel capable of using it. Neither come cheap. Then there’s rent, insurance and all the costs associated with running a real business that has earned its reputation over a period of decades. So it’s a very different overhead requirement than you starting up as an Amway rep.

Minorl and abg2018, thank you for some good insight and personal experience.  I think you have added to my understanding of what goes into a service request.  Given how little the owner of the gear can actually know about the actual cost of the repair, it is easy to suspect that one has been taken advantage of by the shop.  It helps to know that that might not be the case.