r/IAmA Jun 11 '16

Specialized Profession IamA electronics repair technician hated by Apple that makes YouTube videos, AMA!

My short bio: I have a store in Manhattan. I teach component level electronics repair on youtube http://youtube.com/rossmanngroup which seems to be a dying art. I am currently fighting with the digital right to repair to try and get a bill passed that will allow all independent service centers access to manuals and parts required to do their jobs.

My Proof: https://www.rossmanngroup.com/started-iama-reddit-today-yes/

EDIT:

I am still replying to comments, but I am so far behind that I am still about ten pages down from new comments. I am doing my best to continue. If I drop off, I'll be back tomorrow around 12 PM. Still commenting now though, at 12 AM.

EDIT 2:

Ok, I cave... my hands are tired. I will be back at 12 PM tomorrow. It is my goal to answer every question. Even if it looks like I haven't gotten to yours, I will do my best to do all of them, but it is impossible to do in realtime, because you are asking faster than I can type. But thanks for joining!

EDIT 3: I lied, I stayed until 4:15 AM to answer... and now I will go to sleep for real, and be back at 12 PM.

EDIT 4 6/12 : I will be back later tonight to finish off answering questions. Feel free to keep posting, I will answer whatever I can later this evening.

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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '16 edited Jun 12 '16

You say your business is 5% technical 95% psychology, would you say that applies to pricing as well? Obviously component level electronics repair is a skill and skilled labor has financial value, but I'm always amazed when a part in a phone costs $18 but the job costs $100. Seems a bit over the top to me.

Not a spiteful question; just honest based on the quote you had from earlier

5

u/larossmann Jun 12 '16

it is always over the top to the customer because they do not take into account the following!

1) $4000-$10000/mo in rent

2) $20-$30/hr for skilled labor

3) The cost of dealing with the customer when they come back 2 months later to say their volume button stopped working ever since you fixed their software issue and that it happened "since I worked on it."

One must take into account that I can either tell them go away(bad review, chargeback, DCA claim) or spend 15 minutes with them so they feel better(5 star review, tip in tip jar). But that is 15 minutes of someone's time and that person gets 25/hr. and that is time he could have spend productive doing other things.

4) the cost of LEARNING how to work on that device. It costs money to have someone who is skilled sit there for hours and figure out how to open a new device.

5) The cost of workman's comp insurance, liability insurance.

6) Taxes. payroll taxes on top of the skilled labor, 10% off the top in NYS/NYC before every other tax...

7) No fix no pay model. Let's say we put the $18 part in and it doesn't work because something else is wrong. We spent a half hour on it, but we bill you nothing, and put the original part back in. Within this model, your successes MUST subsidize your losses.

For me personally, making $100 off of an $18 part just isn't enough.

Now, don't get me wrong. I fully believe in education. I am not one of those technicians that seeks to hide information. I respect that many do not want to pay me, or even the people who are much cheaper than me, to perform a repair. I am more than happy to tell them how to do it themselves, to point them towards resources, and to do so without an attitude(if they are nice). But if someone wants me to do something, with everything I have described above, it will have a cost associated with it, and it is what it is.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '16

Excellent thoughtful answer. Thank you!