Questions
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are actually asked on the phone in Downtown San Diego, answered the way we would answer them there.
Questions
Answers before you call
Can you work inside my building, or does the HOA make that complicated?
Towers are most of our week, so the building is part of the plan, not a surprise at the curb. Give us the address, floor and unit number at booking, whether the front desk needs your name, and whether the freight elevator or loading dock has to be reserved. Mention vendor paperwork if your management office keeps it.
Do you really answer at night, on weekends and on holidays?
Yes, around the clock, every day of the year. A freezer column carries less mass than a wide side-by-side, so it loses ground fast once a fan or the defrost circuit quits, and an alarm at eleven at night is worth ringing through. Same-day appointments are common, often within a few hours.
Will my refrigerator have to be pulled out of the cabinetry?
Almost never. Built-in refrigeration is serviced in the opening: condenser behind a lift-off grille, with the evaporator fan, defrost heater, thermistors and control board reachable in place. In a condo that matters, because a 36 inch column often will not turn in the hallway it came down, and dragging one over a hardwood loft floor risks the panel and the flooring.
What are the odds it is finished on the first visit?
Good, and better with what you tell us. The parts that fail most ride on the van: evaporator fans, defrost heaters, thermistors, door gaskets, ice maker modules and water inlet valves, all genuine. The rest depends on the model and serial from the data tag. Downtown a second trip can mean waiting on the next elevator reservation.
How is a repair priced, and how do I pay?
You hear the price before the work. Once the fault is known, the repair is quoted as a single total, the part and the time to fit it together, and it holds. Payment when the job is finished: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, debit cards and personal checks. If the finding is an overdue water filter or a grille packed with lint, you hear that.
Is the work warranted?
Both the parts we supply and our labor are covered, with the terms printed on your repair invoice, so keep it. In a condo it is also what a management office asks for later if water was involved. If the factory warranty is still on the unit, say so first: sealed-system coverage can depend on who does the work.
Is a built-in worth repairing, or should I replace it in a downtown condo?
Repairing usually wins, and in a high-rise it wins by more. Replacing an integrated column is not swapping a box: it means matching an exact cabinet opening, remaking or reusing a custom panel front, and getting the new unit through a corridor the original passed before the millwork was finished around it. The faults we actually see are ordinary parts.
Do you only handle Sub-Zero, or the rest of the kitchen as well?
Sub-Zero refrigeration is the bulk of it, and the rest of the built-in kitchen comes with it: Wolf ranges, rangetops, wall ovens and cooktops, Viking ranges and refrigeration, Thermador ovens, induction cooktops and refrigeration columns, and Cove dishwashers. Downtown they are specified together by one builder, which is why a warm wine column call often ends at a cooktop igniter clicking for a month.
Appliance down in Downtown San Diego?
Tell us the brand and what it is doing — we can usually name the likely repair before we arrive.