Need Commercial Appliance Repair – Whom Do You Call?

By J.R. Weber – Director of Sales
It’s Friday afternoon and your prep team arrives at your restaurant to get ready for the busy night ahead. The weekend is here, the weather is beautiful and you are expecting a large crowd. You go to your combi oven to turn it on and you get an error code. Your combi oven is just out of warranty and you need to get it operational as soon as possible as this is the heart of your kitchen operation. Who are you going to call? Commercial kitchen equipment is an investment in your operation regardless of what industry segment you are in (quick service restaurant, casual dining, fast food, institution, business and industry, etc.). Proper preventative maintenance and choosing the right commercial appliance service company to perform your restaurant equipment repair and maintenance are critical to getting the most out of your equipment, reducing downtime, and getting it repaired quickly when those unfortunate breakdowns happen.

Determining Whom to Contact When You Need Commercial Appliance Repair

Trying to determine whom to call can be overwhelming, especially during those critical times when you require commercial appliance repair for the first time. The good news is that you likely already have the answer! When you purchased your equipment, you may have had that equipment installed by a factory Authorized Service Agent (ASA). If an ASA did not install it, you likely had a new equipment start-up or performance check done by an ASA shortly after installation. A factory Authorized Service Agent should be your first choice when it comes to the maintenance and service of your commercial kitchen equipment. By choosing an ASA, you will have the comfort of knowing that the technician showing up to help you, understands how your equipment is supposed to operate and has the skills to troubleshoot, diagnose, and make the appliance repair because that technician has spent time going through factory training and likely already has an idea of what the problem might be based on the trouble reported and his or her experience. Not only does the factory ASA have technicians that are trained on your specific equipment, but they also have the parts on hand to ensure a quick repair after the diagnosis.

Another resource you have when trying to find a quality commercial appliance company to repair your equipment is the Commercial Food Equipment Service Association (CFESA). CFESA is an organization that sets the industry standard for commercial food equipment and appliance repair. Through its technician training program, technicians have the opportunity to enhance their training and become certified to service electric, gas, steam, and refrigeration equipment. Those who complete at least 3 of these training programs are awarded a CFESA Master Technician certification and these technicians are among the most knowledgeable skilled workers in our industry. CFESA has a directory of certified CFESA companies that is available for you on their website at www.cfesa.com and is a great resource for finding a certified company in your area.

Factors to Consider

Now that you have a couple of resources to find a quality service company, what happens when there are multiple factory ASA’s and/or certified CFESA companies in your area to choose from? How do you make your decision then? There are a couple of questions you can ask to help to vet out your opportunities. Most quality service providers are measuring their first-time fix rates (FTF) and it is a good idea to find out what their FTF is and the data to support that rate. It is also good to understand what a company’s average response time is. The industry currently has a technician shortage and understanding how long it is going to take for someone to arrive on site during your time of need is important. If you call in an emergency service call and they tell you it will be more than a week, you may consider continuing your search. Finding the right service company can be stressful. However, sticking with companies that are factory-trained and CFESA-certified should be what you need to make sure your equipment is getting the care it needs.

Contact General Parts Group Today!

We at General Parts Group have worked to be Authorized Service Agents for over 400 commercial food equipment manufacturers. Contact us if you have any questions or need help with any of your commercial appliance repair or service needs.