How do I find a good technician/repairer?

This is a great question, and one I’m asked often.

Keep in mind that I don’t keep a list of repairers in your area, good or bad, and it’s unlikely that anyone else does either. That said, I’ve been alerting the public about the very worst repairers I know of for years, and logically, it’s worth seeking out technicians not featured in the Hall of Shame.

Above all, try to find technically focused professionals who provide evidence of their work, who solve problems and who have positive feedback. Avoid anyone who rants at customers in review responses, for example. You’ll never find me ranting at a customer, no matter what I think of them.

Try to:

• Find out who’s busy and recommended by reliable sources, like good retailers
• Look for the best technicians rather than the lowest rates – you get what you pay for
• Avoid sight-unseen quotes; nobody can know what your equipment needs without seeing it
• Look at reviews, good and bad, and the business owner’s responses to them
• Avoid recappers; a good technician will confirm that recapping won’t fix the vast majority of faults
• Remember, there are no miracles, no ‘gurus‘, only skilled individuals doing technically sound work

Ask Retailers

One useful piece of advice I can offer is to find the best hi-fi store/s in the largest city near you and ask an experienced staff member who they use/recommend for servicing and repairing the type of equipment you own.

Good retailers rely on technicians they can trust. Experienced staff should be able to recommend someone who can assist you or perhaps even arrange the repair through their store. Keep in mind that retailers add a charge for dealing with and arranging such work. This is perfectly reasonable, as it takes someone time to book in and arrange a repair job, and this will be an addition to the raw repair cost charged by the technician.

Other Considerations

Good technicians inspire confidence and won’t try to quote on a job before inspecting and testing the equipment. It may be tempting to go with a blind quote, or the lowest quote, but ask yourself these two very important questions before parting with your money:

1. How can a technician can know which of the many possible problems your equipment has without inspecting, testing and determining its condition and service history…?
2. When did you ever buy the cheapest possible good or service where it was any good, long-term?

Recapping is a fad typically carried out by unskilled repairers, hoping that shotgun parts replacement will solve a problem. The problem is that many or even most faults are not capacitor-related. Replacing lots of old parts might sound like a good idea, but it is best done after figuring out and fixing what is wrong with a piece of equipment.

Tracing and resolving electronic faults is challenging; that’s why few are really good at it. Look for someone who understands this and expresses it, and who is interested in finding the real cause of a problem and resolving it.