OK, I admit it, I’m a bit of a control freak. I spend my life organizing and planning the events of my day.
When studying appliance repair, I found myself choosing to study the appliances that I thought would be most in demand for repair FIRST and the least likely to get service calls LAST.
One problem – I didn’t know enough about the business to make that call accurately.
Once I hung my shingle, I was no longer in control of that variable. People would call for stuff I thought I would hardly ever be servicing.
For example, I concluded that I didn’t need to study microwave repair early on because, heck, people just replace a $100 microwave when it breaks. Well, that part is true, but I never accounted for the high-end appliance or the oven/microwave combination unit. That’s much more costly to replace if the microwave dies, and that was one of my early service calls.
I found the random nature of service calls to be an eye-opening experience. It reminds me there is a lot yet to learn in this business and this is no time let my guard down. It’s a reality check that keeps me from slipping into a distorted view of what I think I need to know.
I have learned to embrace the random nature of calls. It gives me diversity in my studies and keeps the learning process energized. Each call is a new lesson and an exercise in the theatre of customers. Right now that’s just as important as the paycheck from the completed job.
Now I look forward to the random nature of service calls, and I know I’m gathering valuable experience to be that service technician I’m meant to be.