That customer in Dallas tried to talk me into fixing a 15-year-old fridge for free

I had this old guy in Dallas last April who wanted me to fix his fridge from 2009 for free because he said it 'should last forever.' The compressor was shot, and I told him it would cost like $700 minimum to even try. He got all huffy and said I was just trying to sell him a new one. I ended up spending 20 minutes explaining how the R600a refrigerant switch made his model obsolete anyway. He finally left, but I still think about how some folks just don't get that parts wear out. Has anyone else run into a customer who thought appliances should work forever?

2 comments

2 Comments

tylerr391mo ago

That guy probably watches those old TV shows where appliances last 30 years and thinks that's normal. The truth is most stuff now is built to be replaced, not fixed. A 15 year old fridge has already outlived its expected life by a few years at least. I had a lady in Austin last summer who wanted me to warranty a washing machine motor that had rusted through because she left the lid open in her garage for months. Sometimes people confuse normal wear and tear with a manufacturing defect, and it's tough explaining that without sounding like you're making excuses.

joel_patel1mo ago

Man, I remember reading somewhere that the average fridge lifespan went from like 20 years down to 12 or something over the past few decades. It's wild how much things changed. My parents still have a washer from the 90s that just won't quit, but I almost feel like newer stuff is built to fail right after the warranty runs out. That lid rust story though, that's a rough one. People really don't think about how humidity and open doors mess with electronics. It's like they expect everything to be a tank but get mad when it's not.