Poasters

Off the Wall => Home Improvement => Topic started by: Bill on November 17, 2019, 14:54 hrs

Title: The Garage
Post by: Bill on November 17, 2019, 14:54 hrs
Early last week my garage door opener stopped working.  Fortunately I could tell the drive belt was slipping but the motor seemed fine.  I called the local company the handles Lift Master and they scheduled a service call for the next day.  Much to my surprise, the workman that showed up was dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, not a workman at all, but an "inspector".  He brought nothing, no tools and had to borrow my step ladder to look at the Opener.
After a brief glance he concurred, a slipping drive belt.  So I asked him to replace it, his response was "oh not me" I don't do that kind of work.  So why are you here I asked, to inspect your problem says he.
Turns out this local company is one that operates on other people's money, no real repair staff, absolutely no inventoried parts.  "We can order you a belt, but if you call the company you can get one free with the lifetime warranty."  I asked for the company's number, he didn't have it. I had to call the local company office twice.
So I called the 800 number and they were very nice, yes I can get a replacement, but we need 3-4 bits of information about the model, age, hp, etc., none of which was given to me by the inspector.  Now angered, I called the local company and complained, loudly.  Ten minutes later I had a part number to call the manufacturer with. 
Ok, so when can I expect my replacement belt, "oh, 7-10 days by UPS if we have one in the warehouse.
I went so far as to price a new unit, but the cheapest starts around $250, that's a fair amount of ammo.
UPS says it should be here Thursday,  we'll see...
Title: Re: The Garage
Post by: scuzzy on November 17, 2019, 21:40 hrs
What the hell kind of scam are they running over there? Are those ass-clowns your only option?
Title: Re: The Garage
Post by: Bill on November 18, 2019, 08:45 hrs
The short answer is yes. There is a second company but they handle a different brand of opener.
Title: Re: The Garage
Post by: Bill on November 23, 2019, 09:36 hrs
Yesterday the new garage door belt was installed. 10 days to wait for the belt, 15 minutes to install.  He did in the process re-adjust how far up and down the door travels.  All is well again....
Title: Re: The Garage
Post by: scuzzy on November 23, 2019, 10:14 hrs
Glad it's fixed, but a 10-day turnaround is ridiculous.