6 February 2010

Mayner and Cochran, Thanks For Fixing My Washing Machine!

| joepublic
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I’d like to thank the outstanding job Mayner and Cochran (Fyshwick) did on my $750 Samsung washing machine.

A couple of months after purchasing our wm brand-new from The Good Guys (Fyshwick), the machine started making a loud, repetitive knocking sound.

As it was under warranty, we booked it in to the authorised repairer (Mayner and Cochran).

After only two months of waiting, I phoned to discover that our machine was fixed and ready to be delivered at a convenient time between 9am and 5pm the following Tuesday! As I only work from 9am to 5pm on week days, this was great news!

The big day came and I waited. Sure enough, at exactly some time between 9am and 5pm, the Mayner and Cochran van and two crewmen pulled up my drive way.

They opened the big doors at the back and spent almost 3 seconds searching the empty van.

It was only an hour and half later that they returned for the second time, this time with my washing machine. Outstanding work lads.

Mind you, when delivering a washing machine 30km away, you always want to check that it’s in the van before you get there (just an idea).

After work, we put a load of washing on and we were so happy that the washing machine stopped mid-cycle. Hilarious!

The friendly people at Mayner and Cochran were so happy to hear from us again that they raced around the next day to plug back in the heating element that one of the lads had left un-plugged (silly billy!).

And we were quite in hysterics when only a few weeks after that, the knocking sound returned and the heating element failed again. Outstanding!

Mayner and Cochran – You are the Best!

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Silentforce said :

In my opinion, as a long time Canberran who has owned a few appliances over the years, (some good, some not) the appliance industry, government policy – local and federal and owners of Canberra’s appliance repair companies past and present are responsible for the current state of affairs.

Here’s my take. It’s a shotgun approach but bear with it:

Good luck.

Post of the year. Knowledgeable and informative – well done, Silentforce!

The state of trades training in Canberra, and probably Australia, is a disgrace. I was talking to a builder last night and he said exactly the same of the building trades. It’s exacerbated in this case by M&C’s monopoly – with no competition they have no reason to provide competent service. Why not make it the same as the motor trade – you don’t have to take your car to the dealer for service, just to a qualified mechanic.

In my opinion, as a long time Canberran who has owned a few appliances over the years, (some good, some not) the appliance industry, government policy – local and federal and owners of Canberra’s appliance repair companies past and present are responsible for the current state of affairs.

Here’s my take. It’s a shotgun approach but bear with it:

For those of you with long memories, back in the day, most Tech’ courses were free with the exception of the Student Guild fee and some materials charges. After self government, course fees were introduced and continually rise. Apprentices could not afford to pay for these themselves, so these added to an employers costs on top of apprentices wages when they were both working and studying; workers compensation insurance, public liability insurance; holiday pay; sick leave, etc. At the end of the apprenticeship, the former apprentice could leave anytime before the employer/sponsor could recoup the value of these expenses and they would have to start all over again with a new apprentice. Many employers could not afford this. So as a result, fewer apprentices were engaged over a period of many years and there are less qualified tradesmen around. Because of this, it is now a tradies market when it comes to labour charges.

The secret to a successful repair is a successful diagnosis.

It may surprise some consumers to know that the person who shows up at the door to repair your appliance may not be a fully indentured refrigeration mechanic, electrician or gasfitter. These days, there are so called ‘Mickey Mouse’ (my words) or limited qualifications available that allow certified persons to conduct limited work at a premises but not everything. For example, a person with a restricted qualification may be able to service some components of your electric oven, but if they have to disconnect it from the hard wiring or find that the fault is at your meter box, you may have to pay another call fee and time for a licensed electrician to fix it. As a consumer, you get what you pay for. It pays to think ahead and ask questions when you speak to a service company.

In the late 50’s and 60,s there were 20 or so different manufacturers trading in their own right; Malleys, Whirpool, Crosby, Kelvinator, Metters, Frigidaire, Hoover, GE, Chef and so on. As Canberra was smaller then, there were only a few manufacturers’ agents and a handful of independent repairers. The reputation of all was generally high as there was good service and liaison. They all knew each other. Due to its size, Canberra then was a captive market but if they didn’t provide good service, their name was mud very quickly.

Notable at the time Waltons and JB Young stores had their own service divisions. Frank Reynolds (Malleys/Whirlpool). Premier Appliance Service (GE & Hitachi) owned by the Boyds, a husband and wife team with a young family; Premier was later sold to staff and folded. Mayner & Cochran (Hoover) started by Bill Cochran and Al Maenner (later changed to Mayner by the company) and later sold to the Crudens, also a husband and wife team with a young family; M&C was later sold to staff; and Email Ltd’s (Westinghouse) company operated service centre which later closed.

In the 80’s and 90’s, the brand names were gobbled up by two major groups whose core business was not home appliance manufacturing and this was the beginning of the end for solid well built reliable home appliances made in Australia. These groups were Email Ltd and Southcorp Appliances, a subsidiary of South Australia Brewing Holdings Ltd- Southcorp (the wine people). So in effect, there were only two appliance ‘manufacturers’ in Australia. The NZ outsider, Fisher and Paykel was slowly and successfully chipping away at the market in the background. This meant there was less competition in sales and restricted spare part sourcing which in most cases resulted in higher prices.

To cut a long story short, Southcorp sold out to Email and the government allowed Email to sell the farm to Electrolux which all but monopolized the industry in Australia. Overseas markets saw opportunities to exploit this and retailers imported the all-plastic, low cost appliances we enjoy today. There is a lot more to this if you care to spend hours mining the Internet.

Anyway, as Canberra got bigger, business owners got older. Those whose reputations were built on service and customer loyalty either retired or moved on. Businesses were sold or closed down and the baton was taken up by others who did not follow the ethic that with good service and customer relations, the dollars automatically followed and a good living could be made. The new attitude was that “the old owners were too soft” and “I can do better”. “Stick to the words of the warranty and gouge them if it’s a day over”. This was also the Alan Bond/Christopher Skase era. Gordon Gecko’s character appealed to some who saw it for the first time. Just like film sequels, new management is not always as good as the original.

Returning to focus, in the end, the Law of the Jungle applies. Some repair business have gone bankrupt, and deservedly so. Some have been absorbed, bought out or both and some just closed the door. Mayner & Cochran has survived and consumers of the brands they are sole authorized service agents for must accept this until another lion takes over.

Commonsense would be to choose your household appliances as you would choose a new car. Look beyond the cost price. Research the reputation and reliability of the brand; cost and availability of spare parts and ask who the authorised repairer is. What is their reputation and how much do they charge for service? Is the work guaranteed; how long? If out of warranty, is a non-authorised (unrecommended) repairer a more viable option? Good luck.

A couple of months after purchasing our wm brand-new from The Good Guys (Fyshwick), the machine started making a loud, repetitive knocking sound.

perhaps it just wanted to come in?

I last had my Maytag washing machine repaired by Mayner and Cochrane about seven years – they were fine, prompt, friendly, reasonable charge, and no problems since (15-year-old machine). Howzabout not reviving a 2005 post unless you’re the OP-er with an update?

Mysteryman said :

JC said :

Have never liked or trusted Korean electronics, hence why I would never ever buy anything from Samsung or more to the point LG. Maybe they have lifted their game and are now ok, but my memory goes back to when the Korean brands started appearing in Australia en-mass, back then they were cheap and unreliable and of course had the effect of forcing Australian brands out with their cheaper labour costs.

The same thing happened with Japanese brands after WW2. They were pretty average but over time they improved and now they are quite reputable (generally speaking). It takes time to create a good product. Korean electronics are among the best in the world now.

More specifically Samsung are considered one of the best tech companies in the world. They are reliable, well-priced and research/produce some awesome new tech.

What is their business plan? Mayhem
What is their way of being competitive? Forget that. These knobs have been yanking theirs for so long no one else can get a look in. Get an Asko and go with a repairer starting with’D’

JC said :

Have never liked or trusted Korean electronics, hence why I would never ever buy anything from Samsung or more to the point LG. Maybe they have lifted their game and are now ok, but my memory goes back to when the Korean brands started appearing in Australia en-mass, back then they were cheap and unreliable and of course had the effect of forcing Australian brands out with their cheaper labour costs.

The same thing happened with Japanese brands after WW2. They were pretty average but over time they improved and now they are quite reputable (generally speaking). It takes time to create a good product. Korean electronics are among the best in the world now.

Yes Mayner and Cochran are indeed a beacon of light for Canberrans who have no choice but to use them for many appliances. I asked them to look at our fridge which occasionally stopped freezing. For a service call of $116, a service man came out, glanced briefly at the fridge and suggested a new power board was required. Fine. A week later he comes out with the part, has a better look and informs us that the condenser has gone and we need a new fridge. Hang on… most of the time the fridge works fine, surely it can be fixed? End result, a new fridge when we are still unsure if we needed one. Is this what service and repair has come to? Take me back 20 years please; or at least show me a half competent repairer who knows what he is doing. You wont find one an M&C.

SickOfBadService5:52 pm 28 Jan 11

I can’t believe what these Mayner & Cochran guys get away with, charge through the teeth, lie through the teeth and all the big names still use them to service the ACT. When I hear their name I run a mile the other way.

Joe Public sympathises with your experience, Bergamot. Mayner and Cochran, like the equipment they sometimes bring to their jobs, are tools.

It seems, Internet research into prospective products is not enough. Trawling through online product reviews is insufficient. What happens if the product breaks down?

Buyers requiring higher levels of purchase confidence need to obtain the product’s warranty details to identify the local authorised repairer and then research that company before making a decision. Phew!

Had Bergamot found this blog pre-purchase, they may have saved some time and money.

However, Mayner and Cochran may have a monopoly on white good warranty repairs in Canberra, as some have posted above. They certainly do have a monopoly on not quite grasping the concept of delivery.

What brand was the machine? I’m guessing Samsung, LG or something else from South Korea.

What are warranty’s for? A warranty is a manufacturer’s peace of mind that anything wrong with their product will be argued over between the authorised repairer and the customer, and not them.

Oooh may I bump this and share my story? I had simply googled “mayner and cochran” and it came up as a recent story so I figure, why not?

We bought a new washing machine late April, also from Good Guys Fysh. We had scarce done 10 loads in the machine and it stopped working, power wasn’t getting to it.

Called the warranty guys over, but then the machine decided to switch itself on so he just waked away. 2 days later the same thing happened again – I was praying it would stay broken so they could see we weren’t mad, and would fix it. The guy came, took the top off the machine, banged around in there with his screwdriver and decided yes, it was a loose electrican connection, and ordered a part to replace the “control panel” or something.

A week later. Part arrives, girl calls and says he will come and fit the part. Guy turns up, asks, “has it been working since I left?”. “Yes.” Guy walks away and says, oh well it must be fixed.

One week later. Broken again. This time, mid cycle, full of dirty water. I have to work out how to drain the machine and get the dripping wet, soaking, dirty clothes out to the line and hope they dry, and hope they are not stained!

I email and state my disappointment in the level of service and expect priority service to replace the part. They do not get back to me. I phone to follow up. I am pleasant to receptionist as I realise it is not her fault. They cannot get someone here today. I become unpleasant. How long will the job take, I ask. She says she doesn’t know. I say, well the technician should know because he ordered the part and decided not to put it in!!!! Surely a loose electrical connection was going to become loose again, I suggest, given the guys aid it was not soldered properly in the first place.

Tell me intelligent people – what is a warranty for? I am sure if I was paying for the part and service out of my pocket it would be fixed by now!!!! Glad we didn’t pay to get the extra warranty period. I will be going elsewhere.

KB1971 said :

The two month delay would more than likely be waiting for parts for an imported product (a cross we all have to bear as we have very little manufactureing in OZ anymore)

I’m surprised at the seemingly lack of care in obtaining a part. With the expansive white goods spare parts suppliers within the country, surely initiative would have been on the job description for any M&C staff. However, modern day commonsense in modern society is declining rapidly.

KB1971, why don’t YOU just apologise. YOU initially blamed Joepublic for the appalling customer service he received. Look through the comments mate and you will find the majority agrees with how bad the customer service was in this case. To even have a sense of humour and write such an article should be commended as it not only informs the public but maybe even educate those service providers who thinks that substandard service is acceptable. KB, YOU misinterpreted the point of Joepublic’s experience, lambasting him for his choice in purchase. I’m sorry, didn’t YOU just subtlely call him a stupid consumer and it was clearly his fault for making such a stupid product purchase because maybe there’s a design flaw? Design flaw? Gee whiz, if he was as smart as YOU he would have done research beforehand to realise that the internet will tell you all the design flaws out there on every product. Maybe he should have purchased three times over before realising how bad a brand is. Yes, 3 strikes – that’s what smart people do.

Joepublic, thanks for the heads up on Mayner and Cochran. I am glad you had a sense of humour throughout mate.

Well, KB, you will get no argument from Joe Public on the idiot potential of customers in general.

That is quite some list you have of moronic, careless and disgustingly unhygienic customers. Not to mention the irresponsibility of manufacturers – where is the pride? Just this week in the news, we have seen the recall of 2010 Toyota Prius and 2005 Ford Territory following an investigation into faulty parts.

A benefit from blog sites like this is to expose idiocy and carelessness. This in the hope of raising the bar. I think from reading this entire blog, we all should have learned to be a little more careful and respectful in our responsibilities as customers, manufacturers, mechanics and deliverers.

Only then will Joe Public be happy.

Joe,

I just found you bashing of M&C petty & samll minded due to the large number if variables involved in the production, sales, repairs of mass produced equipment.

OK, they made a mistake with delivery, at least they came back that day. They could have just left it until tne next run, which may have been a week later.

The two month delay would more than likely be waiting for parts for an imported product (a cross we all have to bear as we have very little manufactureing in OZ anymore).

My experience with Samsung was early in the piece when it was widely advertised that their stuff was good. 3 strikes & your out is my policy. Having said that I am happy to buy LG products, one of which we have had fail but was able to be repired promptly. I research the internet for feedback on all impending purchases, the internet is a wonderful thing & can provide you with the tools to avoid a dud purchase (but as with all thinkgs mass produced nothing is failsafe).

I understand the inconvenience of having no washing machine but there are laundrymats to help out.

In answer to one of your questions, no, mechanics service machinery as well as repairing. The point I was trying to make is that not all things are equal (especially in mass production), a cheap product may not be the most reliable way to go. Some products are worse than others, some of these do not even have to a cheap product (ask any Jaguar owner).

Now where do I start, no, I have not had people forget their car (they just dont turn up) but I have had people take their keys, leave the wrong keys, leave dirty nappies in cars on hot days, forget to pick up their cars ( I was abused for that one because we locked it up after hours for protection), expect to have their engine changed in 2 hours, accuse me of damaging their cars, abuse me in front of other customers, abuse me because the brake parts in the Clubsport are more than 3 times dearer than their Executive Commodore (their choice to buy that sort of car mind you, not mine).

Then there is the poor design of motor vehicles, plastic parts in engine bays that break if you look at them, poor quality bolts that snap off & add an hour to a job you have just quoted 2 hours to do, cars that need brake rotors replaced with pads due to to design (adding to cost), head gaskets that blow after an oil change at 35,000km (I was accused of causing the head gasket to blow), temperature guages that do not read correctly once there is no coolant around them so the owner is oblivious that their engine is about to sieze (an MX5 V6 is an expensive thing to replace).

Need I go on?

You might think “gee he wasnt a very good mechanic” but at the time when I left the trade I was running an 8 bay workshop in Tuggers turning over “management-happy” figures each month and booked out for two weeks in advance the majority of the time, I must have been doing something right.

Oh, one more, there was the idiot who I had never seen before and turned up on Xmas eve wanting a rego check. We had finished for the day, cooking a BBQ for the staff & on my second stubbie (4.30 on a Friday afternoon mind you). We wanted a check & he wanted one now (on an obviously unroadworthy trailer), I said no. He got cranky & screamed out of the driveway nearly running a customer over near the petrol pumps.

I would love to see half the people in Canberra live in a regional area where things are not availaible instantly.

KB1971 said :

Mmm, YOU bought a cheap brand of electrical goods.

This cheap brand may have a design fault.

The people at M&C did not design & build this particular product, they are only trying to placate the situation by being a third party in a transaction YOU were part of in the first place.

I would be taking up the issue with Samsung to see if there is a quality problme there.

Disclaimer: After having three Samsung products that have failed, I will not touch them with a barge pole.

Disclaimer 2: being a motor mechanic by trade I have been in this exact situation where I have been blamed for the choices somebody else has made (like buying a known unrelaible vehicle & then blaming every body else for the decision). I did not design & build the thing & if the consumer had made a better choice then maybe, just maybe you would not be having an issue.

I agree that there are some very good mechanics whom should not be blamed when a faulty product stubbornly sustains that condition. However, I find it difficult to imagine what mechanics and repairers would do all day, if we didn’t take them our faulty products to be fixed. Do mechanics and repairers spend all day fixing products that aren’t broken?

Furthermore, seeing as you yourself admit to owning three Samsung products that failed, at which point were you unavailable at the screening of your own advice not to buy cheap brands? Surely, you yourself would not have bought them in first place? Perhaps the mechanic in you subconsciously supported the cause of keeping repairers employed?

But I do take away from your message an important point to be appreciated by all. It is not always the fault of the mechanic/repairer. Some things can’t be fixed. Let us all give each other a little slack – we are only human afterall.

Finally, regarding a widely ignored and key issue raised in my blog, I have a question: has a customer ever turned up to your garage and forgotten to bring their car?

numberonebbqer7:35 pm 10 Feb 10

Yeh laughed my ass off, bit worried though, over the last 2 months I have just purchased Samsung LED TV, LCD TV, fridge, door locks, laser printer and 3 days ago a Samsung front loader. so fingers crossed!

That was one of the most entertaining posts I’ve read on here for ages. Who cares about the details. 10/10 for entertainment value.

Mmm, YOU bought a cheap brand of electrical goods.

This cheap brand may have a design fault.

The people at M&C did not design & build this particular product, they are only trying to placate the situation by being a third party in a transaction YOU were part of in the first place.

I would be taking up the issue with Samsung to see if there is a quality problme there.

Disclaimer: After having three Samsung products that have failed, I will not touch them with a barge pole.

Disclaimer 2: being a motor mechanic by trade I have been in this exact situation where I have been blamed for the choices somebody else has made (like buying a known unrelaible vehicle & then blaming every body else for the decision). I did not design & build the thing & if the consumer had made a better choice then maybe, just maybe you would not be having an issue.

Yes I am technically minded, trained in electronics repair. Whilst of course it is always impossible to diagnose faults 100% it is no excuse for guessing (to save time), charging a customer for parts they don’t need, then have the hide to charge yet again to fix the fault you were payed to fix the first time. The problem with repair companies these days is they employ monkeys who don’t do proper fault finding, hence why people sometimes (quite often it would seem too) have to take their kit back many times to be fixed.

Now with your doctor analogy, one major difference between humans and machines is a human you cannot rip apart to find out what is wrong, except maybe at a post mortem, but come that time it is too late. Machines provided you have the parts, can be pulled apart to really see what the fault is.

JC said:

“Silentforce I don’t think people have overlooked the fact they are a business. The problem is they seem to be incompetent and charge good money for their incompetence.
Also when it comes to your analogy, repairing a machine as simple as a washing machine is far different from repairing a human.”

A practical response. Para 1 shows me no difference between the professions, except that Medicare does not apply to appliance repairs. Para 2 leads me to believe that you may be ‘in the trade’. Humans are basically unchanged for more than 10,000 years. Many advancements have been made in laundry technology since the corrogated iron washboard. I’m sure those of us who have posted in this thread who do not know the difference between a “simple” transmissiom and “simple” brake arm solenoid feel quite inferior about now.

I’ve had two experiences with them, both positive. The second moreso because the repairman didn’t even charge because he’d looked at the same washing machine 6 months earlier.

Once is bad luck, twice a co-incidence, third time enemy action.

I use M&C and have never had any issues with them… Maybe it was just bad luck?

Silentforce I don’t think people have overlooked the fact they are a business. The problem is they seem to be incompetent and charge good money for their incompetence.

Also when it comes to your analogy, repairing a machine as simple as a washing machine is far different from repairing a human.

I bought a new fridge from the Good Guys, well after 2 years and 4 months the fridge started playing up, the freezer would freeze and the fridge was not being cooled, I called a place out at fyshick, Appliance and parts service, they came out and were supposed to fix my fridge, told me I needed a new motor, that was under warranty but labour was 4 months out, a week later the fridge did the same thing, and I was told to turn the fridge off for 24 hours and it would work, so did I need a new motor? I asked an independant repairer about the fridge which is a lemair, I thought the Russins made them as I remember my mother saying what a good brand it was, that was years ago, no they don’t make them anymore but the Koreans do, I was told to throw it out as their all the same, it has gotten worse, it’s going this weekend.

It has been overlooked that M&C run a business and it costs money to do this. Posters have given the total cost of repairs but have not provided a break-up between call out fee, labour and parts.

All repairers- mechanics, appliance repairs,etc I have dealt with will porvide their charges or a qoute if asked. It cost the same to send someone out to fit a 20c part as a $200 part.

What guarantee do doctors give they will cure you when you go to one?

If I have a dispute, I would back consumer affairs to give me a better outcome than the Medical Board.

This whole post sounds suspiciously like viral advertising..

Astroturfing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing

This whole post sounds suspiciously like viral advertising..

Really? For whom?

In no way associated with M&C but I’ve found them to be really good on the few occasions I’ve used them. Expensive but good.
Never for warranty work though.

I have had a similar experience with these idiots…

However, they didnt charge me extra for all the attitude that I got from the repair guy…

Gungahlin Al10:10 am 08 Feb 10

JC said :

Had two bad experiences with this mob before, not quite as bad as yours.

Ditto. Needed a replacement heating element for my old F&P fridge and was facing a replacement of over $2000.

They advised that because the fridge was 18 years old they were no longer available (quite apart from the model being little changed for years) and that my only hope would be to ring around parts places and see if they had left over old stock.

Started doing that and the third number I tried turned out to be the official F&P parts warehouse, and the woman had the part. Told her what M&C said and she was very surprised as she said it was still a current part, and she had 40 in stock. $30 in the mail next day, 30 minutes to fit it, fridge lives on.

Have never liked or trusted Korean electronics, hence why I would never ever buy anything from Samsung or more to the point LG. Maybe they have lifted their game and are now ok, but my memory goes back to when the Korean brands started appearing in Australia en-mass, back then they were cheap and unreliable and of course had the effect of forcing Australian brands out with their cheaper labour costs.

JC said :

Had two bad experiences with this mob before, not quite as bad as yours. Though must ask what do you expect buying a Samsung washing machine?

Samsung washing machines are probably one of the best out there. Can you believe that there are still machines being made that don’t have lint filters? *cough* Whirlpool *cough*. A lot of manufacturers are still in the dark ages and barely changed their (problematic) designs in 10 years or more.

Snarky said :

FWIW M&C do carry a huge range of parts from all sorts of old and/or out of date machines if you can do your own repairs. We’ve got a big ol’ Maytag toploader from 1992 whose lid switch broke late last year. Did a bit of checking, rang up and confirmd availability and went and collected a new switch on the same day.

Had a similar story, when our oven element in our 20+ year old oven broke and I took the part in, M&C tested it on the spot for me for free, then found a new part from an overseas source, even though the manufacturer has long since disappeared. Around a week later, they called to let me know it arrived, and by that evening Id fitted it, and we were cooking again.

Maybe not the recommended repairer, but Id definitly recommend them for parts and advice.

neanderthalsis said :

Makes one think that it may indeed be easier simply to replace broken appliances rather than endure the suffering of having them repaired.

Great advice – I’ve learnt that the hard (expensive) way.

We took our washing machine to M&C with two problems which I made clear and was written on the repair order; a) wasn’t moving on to the rinse cycle, and b) was leaking water onto the floor.

Once repaired, I paid the bill (over $100 all up) and picked the machine up. Took it home and tried it out but the machine just kept filling with water and overflowed. Rang M&C back and they asked me to take it back out there to them. I had a great deal of trouble convincing them to come to my house rather than send me back there with the machine (it was their mistake after all). They eventually turned up, put something back together and left again. The machine then filled and moved between cycles but still leaked water. They came back again and advised that the machine was stuffed and needed replacing.

Why on earth did they fix and charge for one problem and then decide that the machine is stuffed due to the second problem. WTF!!!

In future I wont be wasting time and money dealing with repairers such as this. I’ll just head out and buy a new one.

Mayner and Cochran fixed my Maytag a few years ago. I could tell it was a lemon – and M&C were fantastic, they brokered a replacement machine from I think it was Harvey Norman, once the same fault had appeared twice. There had been a small communication problem with their new worker on the switch at some stage I recall, but nothing major. The guys who dropped off the machine were friendly. I suspect M&C are sometimes caught in the middle between retailers and customers, and at the mercy of parts suppliers.
And as for the delivery guys not loading – probably wasn’t their fault. It was probably back at base, so why cane the lads? Chill a bit. Did you lose any pay over it? If so, bill them. If not, meh!

neanderthalsis2:19 pm 07 Feb 10

Makes one think that it may indeed be easier simply to replace broken appliances rather than endure the suffering of having them repaired.

Mayner and Cochran are Canberra’s authorised repairer for most (at least reputable) brands – so you really have no choice. On the occasion that we have had a choice (Stupid Electrolux Dishwasher), the ‘mom & pop’ alternative that turned up were WAY worse, and she – answering the phone – was often abrupt and on at least one occasion – downright rude (so much for “Superior”). On one occasion, when we inquired how things were going after a looooong wait, she responded “well – have we called you yet?”, then a month later, when we rang, she said “you should have called earlier”…

If an appliance breaks down, you’ll have AT LEAST a three week wait… a week for them to schedule you in, another week until parts arrive, and at least one more until they can schedule you in again… Extended warranty is the most important option in purchasing new appliances, as “they don’t make ’em like they used to”…

moneypenny261211:21 am 07 Feb 10

M&C did a repair on my (then new) Whirlpool washing machine a few years back. It took them forever to source the part, and they charge like a wounded bull for the installation (it took less than 5 minutes). While they didn’t stuff up the repair, their customer service is not great.

M&C seem to be the dominant player in the ACT for ‘authorised repairs’. How does one become an ‘authorised repairer’? And why do there seem to be so few of them in the ACT? … It is just a matter of poor marketing or is this some kind of closed shop?

I hope my kelvinator fridge doesn’t break down any time soon, as M&C are listed as the authorised repairer there, too – I’m not keen on using them again. Not sure who else services the Electrolux group in the ACT.

Oh dear – that’s abysmal customer “service” on M&C’s part. Of all the electrical gadgets in our house, the one that’d stress me most if we lost it is the washing machine. Everything else (including the fridges) you can work around for a while, albeit with a fair bit of inconvenience. But with no washing machine and 4-5 loads a week at the laundrette you’re BROKE!

FWIW M&C do carry a huge range of parts from all sorts of old and/or out of date machines if you can do your own repairs. We’ve got a big ol’ Maytag toploader from 1992 whose lid switch broke late last year. Did a bit of checking, rang up and confirmd availability and went and collected a new switch on the same day.

Still, this’ll make me think twice before using their repair services.

swamiOFswank10:01 am 07 Feb 10

I have a Samsung washing machine – it’s brilliant, never has gone bung, and I’ve had it for at least 7 years. I’d gladly buy another Samsung washing machine. Is the song it plays at the end of the cycle the Korean national anthem?

On the other hand…my Samsung DVD player bit the dust soon after the warranty expired, and the super-large Samsung widescreen TV only lasted 3 years before it developed problems, finally blowing up in a puff of blue smoke. Samsung microwave did much the same thing.

As for Mayner and Cochran…they charged me $230 for replacing the tiny plastic clip on the soap dispenser on my Fisher & Paykel dishwasher. Took the guy about 30 seconds to remove it from the packaging, and at least 40 seconds to install it. Sooooo worth the money.

NOT

While reading the OP, my sarcasm meter blew up. Do you reckon Mayner and Cochran could fix it?

Love a good name and shame 🙂

Sounds very similar to an experience I had, wont be using them again.

JC said :

Had two bad experiences with this mob before, not quite as bad as yours. Though must ask what do you expect buying a Samsung washing machine?

They’re not that bad: we’ve had a Samsung washing machine for a decade; it gets a good workout with six people’s demand (and a missus who only uses towels once between washes!). It’s not looked after, gets no attention, and is even kept outside the house and it just keeps going! We have not once had to have it repaired, or have any moving parts replaced, whereas my mum’s whiz-bang super-expensive American thing, which is very carefully cleaned and cared for between loads, has had four repairs in five years!

Bit of luck I think.

Devil_n_Disquiz6:55 am 07 Feb 10

“………the recommended repairer.”

Had two bad experiences with this mob before, not quite as bad as yours. Though must ask what do you expect buying a Samsung washing machine?

Do I sense some sarcasm here?

Hmmm so I take it they failed to manage expectations?

Id be seeking a replacement from the Good Guys,

Hopefully you’ve learned your lesson and next time will buy an Asko.

That said, I’ve been very happy with my $800 Samsung front-loader that I bought in 2002. It has been near flawless

Did someone recommend them?

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