SOS Appliance
About us
Mpls & North Suburbs: 763-420-4466 West & South Suburbs: 952-473-4499 St. Paul & East Suburbs: 651-765-4466 Tell us you found us on Angie's List and receive $20 OFF any completed appliance repair.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Appliance Service, Repair, air conditioners, and Installation - refrigerators, bathroom exhaust fans, coin-op, dishwashers, dryers, furnaces., garbage disposals, microwaves, ovens, range hoods, ranges/cooktops, washers, water heaters, wine coolers/chillers
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 82% | ||
| 4% | ||
| 4% | ||
| 4% | ||
| 6% |
The following morning we noticed a drop in water pressure in the shower and then noticed a lack of pressure in the kitchen sink. I thought that we would get use to the change in pressure and left it for some time. After a while, I ddecided to have SOS come back and see what the problem with the water pressure was.SOS came back out and reviewed their work. The repair person/manager informed me there was nothing wrong with the water heater replacement and the lack of water pressure had nothing to do with water heater replacement. I explained that this was the only change in plumbing in our house, at that time I was told "You should have a plumber look at." Needless to say I was annoyed.
I contacted our city inspector asking if they would review the repair, I was informed by the city that a permit is required when installing a water heater; either pulled by the homeowner or a licensed plumber. I then called SOS again to find out why a permit was not pulled and didn't hear back from SOS, although a plumber did call me the following week to set a time for the inpsection.
The plumber didn't find anything wrong with the installation of the water heater but did find debris from the installation in the fixture in the kitchen and the master shower; the same two appliances that I had mentioned to SOS during their second visit. The plumber assured me that this was common when repairs/alternations are made to plumbing fixtures. After cleaning the screens both fixtures work perfectly.
I will not be using SOS again, but did find a good plumber.
I intend to call them again with any appliance issues in the future.
That being said, I rated price a B, not because it was high, but just a really small thing I'd like to see improved for the future. Up front I committed to a diagnostic fee in the event I did not accept the service ( which makes perfect business sense and provides assurance that I'm a serious customer), but the repairman quoted me a price ( only verbally) that perhaps came from his computer or his experience, but I think I would have felt a bit of assurance myself to have seen a listing of prices next to services. Again, small thing, I'd still recommend SOS to anyone.
The clinking noise in the dryer was a loose screw that was holding one of the paddles secure (thudding noise), both were easily repaired.
The hot water on the washing machine stopped several months back, turned out the switch to command hot water was dirty. The technician was able to get hot water working very quickly.
I was thinking that I would probably have to replace them both and was a little scared of getting them repaired so $200 is a more acceptable alternative.
The issue ultimately ended up being a faulty Door Lock Latch that needed replacing. The technician stated this would cost $276 to replace, with our $79 diagnostic fee applied to the balance. This cost seemed extremely high to me, given that the technician only spent about 15 minutes working on the project. So I asked if the majority of the cost must be due to the part being incredibly expensive, which he affirmed.
Not wanting to forfeit the $79 diagnostic fee, we reluctantly agreed to the repair. However, when given the opportunity later to verify the cost of this part, I found that I could purchase it online at PartSelect (www.partselect.com) for only $49 (part number PS972231 for a GHW9400PW0 Whirlpool, for those of you who need this information for your own repair).
I then called S.O.S. Appliance to inquire as to what benefit I was getting by spending $230 more than what I could get the part for independently (now that I actually know what the issue was); had I been fully informed and not misled as to the price of the part, we could have saved $150 (gladly forfeiting the $79 diagnostic fee). Despite my directing their attention to PartSelect and the inexpensive washer part there, S.O.S. Appliance refused to offer any compromise on their pricing. So I informed them they would not be getting our business again, and we surely hope they will not get yours either.
"I am really sorry this customer felt misled. It is never our intention to deceive our customers and we take all customer complaints seriously. Unfortunately, the in-field technicians do not have access to specific part prices. They use a national, flat-rate pricing book for all jobs. The standard price or a door latch replacement, as stated by this book, is $276.31. We also replaced the door strike for no additional charge. The price we paid for this part is more than the customers claims to have found it for online. We did check out the website he referenced and were unable to find the part as cheaply as he claimed. Even if we had been able to replicate this online price, it is our policy to not purchase parts from unverified online sources. When ordering parts online, there are too many variables and we want to feel secure we are providing our customers only the best. We source the vast majority of our parts from well-known, local distributors (except for specialty parts that are ordered directly from the manufacturer.) Because, while it may be cheaper to purchase parts online, you generally get what you pay for in this situation. The site mentioned by the customer charges $12.95 for 2-3 day shipping and $24.95 for next day shipping, in addition to sales tax on the total. We had this customer's washer up and running approximately 24 hours after he first called us. The parts website mentions offers a 30 day return period on unused parts and a 10 day warranty on defective/damaged parts. SOS Appliance offers a one-year parts and labor warranty on all work we perform. We sent a highly-trained, knowledgeable technician to the customer's home. He correctly diagnosed the appliance, provided the customer with a quote from a national pricing book (which the customer approved prior to any work being done), and had his appliance up and running quickly. Our goal is to provide the highest-quality, dependable appliance repair service in the industry, and we feel the price this customer paid was fair for the level of service he received."
Both my dryer and dishwasher needed motors replaced that needed to be ordered in. Estimate on getting them in was 5-7 days, so imagine my surprise when I got a call 3 days later that they were in, and they would be able to do the repairs the next day (Friday, 11/18). They were actually early for the Friday repair appointment (they called first to make sure it would be no inconvenience to show up early), and had both appliances fixed in 45 minutes. The final cost was exactly what was quoted - just under $600 total which included 2 service calls, 2 motors, plus the diagnosing and repair of both appliances.
I could not be happier with this experience, and would not hesitate to call them again!
"When this customer first contacted SOS Appliance, in April 2011, her initial complaint to the call taker was that her stove was not maintaining the proper temperature. She paid $369.00 for the replacement of two oven burners and two oven igniters to fix the temperature issue. (The best price we found for a comparable replacement stove is $3350+ tax.) A very typical problem with Viking ovens, and the situation with this customer’s oven, is that the oven igniters are positioned too close together. The heat from these igniters warps the metal on the burners, causing them to fail. Whenever we replace these burners, we also replace the igniters with a different type of igniter that does not get as hot, but still provides the same electrical specifications. This oven igniter/burner failure is very common in any Viking oven and we always check the burner and igniter conditions on all Viking oven complaints. When Chad was in the customer’s home, she mentioned she also was hearing a “whooshing” or “puffing” noise from the oven. The oven burners and igniters that were replaced do not make any sort of noise. Chad’s original diagnosis was this noise could be caused by low or improper gas pressure to the appliance. He recommended, back in April, that the customer have the gas pressure measured by either SOS Appliance or the local gas company, as sufficient gas pressure is critical for proper operation on a Viking (or any other commercial-type) appliance. The customer declined having SOS Appliance do anything further in regards to measuring the gas pressure. When this customer contacted our office in November 2011, she told the call taker that the oven was “clicking.” Since the oven burners and igniters we replaced in April 2011, have no noise related to them, this led the call taker to believe it was a new issue and unrelated to the work we previously did for this customer. But, if it is the “puffing” noise the customer is again hearing, we would suspect it is related back to the gas pressure problem the customer was told about in April. The oven burners and igniters SOS Appliance replaced for this customer in April 2011, are covered under our 1-year parts and labor warranty. Standard service call charges are good for 30 days. Even though we stand behind Chad’s original diagnosis of the issues this customer was experiencing, we take all customer complaints very seriously, and did offer to send out a different technician. The customer declined having anyone else come out. If another service company tells this customer that the oven burners and/or oven igniters we replaced were improperly installed, or in any way faulty, we’ve asked that she contact us. We absolutely stand behind our work and would do whatever we could to make it right."
Licensing
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