Bob’s refrigerator is broken. The freezer is lukewarm, and it’s leaking water all over the floor. He wants to find a reputable, authorized service company to come to his home and repair the unit. By searching through the phone book and the internet, he finds that we at Lake Appliance Repair are exactly what he’s looking for. The first step he needs to take, even before contacting us or any service company, is to examine his fridge and locate the model and serial number tag. The model/serial tag is usually found on the inside of the unit, on the lip where the door rests against the body or frame. This is true for most all appliances, from washers and dryers, to ranges, etc.
It is extremely important to have the model and serial number on-hand for several reasons. First and foremost, when a technician comes to a customer’s home to diagnose the problem with any given appliance, 99% of the time replacement parts will be needed for the repair. The model number is required for our techs to research and locate the correct parts for any given unit. As an authorized servicer for almost all major brands, we cannot warranty our work or the parts we install if a valid model and serial number are not accessible to us at the time of the repair. Having this information readily available can also cut down on the amount of time needed for the job as a whole, as we can order the necessary parts before coming to the customer’s home, and often times complete the repair in one trip.
The model/serial number tag is also extremely important when purchasing a secondhand unit. If the tag is missing from any appliance, chances are that an authorized servicer inspected the machine at some point and diagnosed it as being unrepairable. Once an appliance has been designated as unrepairable by an authorized servicer or warranty company, they will remove the model/serial tag. This is a surefire way of letting anyone who inspects the unit in the future know that it’s “totaled” and cannot be covered under warranty or worked on by an authorized servicer. Unfortunately, there are some non-reputable companies who will take these unrepairable units and fix them using unauthorized parts or methods, and then attempt to resell them to the unsuspecting public. Whether it’s through an ad in the newspaper, on Craigslist, EBay, or any other source, this practice is illegal, and authorized servicers like us will not take on the risk or liability of working on them. So be sure that any appliance you plan on purchasing still has its model and serial number tag, and save yourself the headache and hassle of purchasing a machine which will cost you time, effort, and most importantly, your hard-earned money!
