In the appliance repair industry we refer to being “factory authorized” as a service company who is in a current contract with the manufacturer (the “factory”). You may have seen various stamps of approval or seals claiming “factory certified” or “factory authorized” throughout many advertisements, and you may be wondering what exactly that means?
Simply put, being (or not being) factory authorized should not be the only reason to sway your decision in which service company to pick from. There are many factors as to who and why a company is authorized or certified. Here are a few:
1. The opportunity to become factory authorized is not available to all service companies. The manufacturers will only allow a certain amount of “competition” in each area. This becomes a game of how well can you schmooze or who do you know?
2. Some service companies don’t want to be factory authorized because of low paying repair rates. There may be a fantastic service company who is non-authorized because they don’t want to compete with the company down the road charging the manufacturer below the cost of doing business.
3. Both factory authorized and non-authorized service companies have ample opportunities to get trained on new product.
When deciding which service company to allow inside your home you should ask a lot of questions.
- Has the technician been background and drug screened in the last two years?
- Do you carry parts for this make and model?
- Does your company carry general liability insurance?
- What is the warranty on the repair?
- If in California, what is the BEAR license #? (BEAR stands for Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair)
You should also check with BEAR for valid license verification, Angie’s List, Better Business Bureau, Yelp, and always ask friends, family, or neighbors for any recommendations.
