FINAL FILE DATE

October 8, 2012.

State Applications (Form STD. 678) must be POSTMARKED no later than the final filing date. Applications postmarked, personally delivered, or received via interagency mail after the final filing date will not be accepted for any reason. Applications must have an original signature; therefore, faxed applications will not be accepted.

SALARY RANGE

$4243 – $5108 per month.

It is your responsibility to make sure you meet the education and/or experience requirements stated on this

QUALIFICATIONS

major home appliances under the Bureau’s jurisdiction, one year of which must be at the full journey level. (Candidates may substitute college, technical, or trade school education training in home electronic or major appliance repair, or education in electronic or mechanical engineering for up to two years of the required general experience on a year-for-year basis.)

POSITION STATEMENT

This is the full journey level class in this series. Under general direction, incumbents represent the Bureau in connection with the administration and enforcement of the Electronic and Appliance Repair Dealer Registration Law; investigate and attempt to resolve consumer complaints; investigate and assist in the prosecution of cases involving suspected fraud, incompetence and negligence and perform technical electronic and mechanical work in the inspection and alteration of electronic equipment and major appliances.

Field Representative, Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair

Final Filing Date: October 8, 2012

 To view the examination bulletins, click on the following link:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/jobs/exams1.shtml 

Any response to this email should be directed to:

Jodice Garnett at (916) 574-8353 or jodice.garnett@dca.ca.gov

in the Selection Services & Recruitment Unit.

Members of the  PROFESSIONAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION OF CALIFORNIA that currently do not have Mitsubishi accounts are welcome to sign up for free.  

3diamonds account will give you access to troubleshooting information, service manuals, technical tips, training materials, Tech Files (training videos), and parts ordering by credit card.

Parts ordering, availability, shipment tracking and invoicing are all included with this account. At no charge.

Access www.3diamonds.com for parts ordering and technical document downloads

(Info about this….) 

Link to the Form: Mitsubishi provides free tech support to PSOC members

A library book out too long? There are plenty of surprising ways to damage those all-important credit numbers.

Each year PSOC hosts an annual convention. This carefully planned event, with a lineup of fantastic seminars and technical training sessions look, like a Smorgasbord. Classes go from morning until evening for the duration of the event, intended to help improve the education of the servicer. 

For 57 years repair professionals have benefited from their membership by participating in these conventions. This year’s Convention took place on May 16-19 in San Pedro at the beautiful Double Tree Resort Hotel.   PSOC, a California Organization, drew members from the western states such asUtah,Washington,Oregon,NevadaandArizona. 

Our partners, the Manufacturers, Parts Distributors, Third Party Administrators (TPA’s), and other service industry related vendors such as Insurance, Software, Internet, and others joined us as well. 

The great food served during the convention was sponsored by our friends: Andrews Electronics, Coast Appliance Parts, Encompass, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi,NEW, Panasonic, Reliable Parts, Rubin Insurance, Whirlpool and W.L.MAY. 

Their dedication was demonstrated by coming to the event and making themselves available to our attendees.   Attendees enjoyed new and past relationships. 

Wonderful door prizes were provided by Andrews Electronics, Coast Appliance Parts, Electrolux,LosMedanosCollege, Panasonic, Purcell Murray, Sharp, Reliable Parts, Whirlpool and W.L.MAY.  Many attendees walked away with great prizes. 

Technical training was provided by the manufacturers. They introduced new products and are helping to prepare technicians for future service events.  With technology quickly changing these truly first class, hands on classes, with schematics and Q&A session have become a MUST DO for every servicer wanting to stay up-to-date. 

Ross Mobbley with Electrolux did a great presentation on their French door bottom mount refrigerator.  The training materials and service manuals he provided are a great help to service technicians.  Larry Chatfield from Purcell Murray did an excellent job making the BOSCH dishwasher repair simple to understand. He also provided excellent training on U-line refrigerators as well as provided service tools and training manuals on a flash drive.  Whirlpools Tim Burdick and John Ybara (the new CA RSM) provided valuable information on the VMW washer and the new dual evaporator refrigerator.  Bill Osborn from Lok-Ring held a great class on how to repair refrigerator sealed system repairs without using a torch, and gave valuable information on the new R600a refrigerant that the industry is starting to use.  The gas range class on Bertazzoni, taught by Chris Figueroa, from ServicePower was very well presented allowing participants hands on experience along with great service pointers. David Obeso from Coast Appliance provided an introduction class to HVAC repairs. 

Jerry Doubrava, LG Electronics, with a wealth of information taught the 2012 Plasma Troubleshooting methods.  Steve Gelman from Sharp expertly introduced and explained their latest technology on Video White Boards, 70 and 80 inch LCDs.  Herb Chin from Panasonic taught an in-depth class on troubleshooting techniques with full diagnosis and teardown on their 2012 Plasma. Eric Aaron from Mitsubishi demonstrated the best way to replace the DMD chips, as well as introduced the newDLPtechnology. Steve McNiel fromNEWtaught the Sanyo – Plasma class giving valuable information on troubleshooting tips. 

None of the words we use here to describe these events really do justice to the quality of the information provided to the Appliance and the Electronics Service Technicians. 

PSOC did not leave out the service companies office administrators.  They were treated to fantastic classes as well, covering a large number of very important topics. 

“The Right Attitude” presented by Lori Harvey, owner of a Company by the same name, aided us in understanding how to overcome negative attitudes in order to provide our customers with the best service experience possible. 

 Ms. Tonya Blood was introduced at this convention as the newBEARChief. The topic of discussion was the protection of the consumer.  Mike Dwyer fromBEARexplained the importance of properly written estimates and repair Invoices in his “Write it Right” Workshop. 

Those looking for new ideas enjoyed the seminar Jim Rushton from Encompass presented.  The first one was “Sharing Business Ideas” and the second was called “Onsite Service Call Solutions”. Both were very inspiring, and motivating. 

Business owners were amazed at how even the slightest change of numbers on a P&L statement can affect the bottom line. This point was clearly demonstrated in the “Service Management Guidelines” class presented by Craig Parks from Whirlpool teaching us the importance of understanding our CODB. 

Being progressive thinking, PSOC addressed our need to understand Internet presence and Internet advertising. Sean Marshall from Social Rocketship explained how to leverage our business. Watch our web site for contact information from Sean. Frank McMillan from Starr Companies captivated the attendees with an outstanding presentation on the art of selling service contracts. Frank talked about the opportunities available in the home while servicing a product to sell the consumer a contract. Twenty percent buy, thirty percent say no and fifty percent say maybe. The odds are in your favor since you have a seventy percent possibility of a sale. Great bottom line incentive. 

Stay tuned for information regarding the 58^th annual convention planned for 2013.

The association has been fortunate as it has had quite a few  repair professionals volunteer their time and expertise to help manage day to day activities since 1955. Their goal has always been to create a better environment for their industry and help to continue growing their business.  The repair professional understands that continued business and technical training will secure their ability to provide a great service experience to the customer.

This is why it is important you align yourself  with an association. If you operate a business in California or surrounding states you might want to join us at our convention. This venue is a perfect opportunity for you to diversify your business and sharpen your skills.

PSOC will be conducting meetings at the convention concerning the future of the repair industry so make sure you attend. We need your opinion and ideas.

The agenda will include the latest technical product training on appliance and electronics including touching on older product.  On the business side, classes will be conducted on first call completions, having a web presence, understanding operating statements and balance sheets, plus laws and regulations when operating a business in California.

Please go to www.psoca.org for current agenda updates .

Sincerely,

Eloy Fierro

As you know the Professional Servicers Organization of California (PSOC) conducted these meetings because both major appliances and electronics repair is faced with serious issues that have a direct impact on our existence. These issues were identified thanks to the open sharing of member concerns with us.

It is the goal of this organization to take immediate action and bring about correction.

We feel that it is imperative to find resolutions for the protection of the American consumer as well as the wellbeing of our entire industry.

PSOC officers are working on formulating a campaign to resolve the problems which have been identified that effect on our ability to provide our customers with the best possible service experience.

A real concern was expressed about the timely procurement of repair parts. Under California’s Song-Beverly Act, manufacturers are required to make repair parts, schematics and service information available for seven years after the last date of production.

For some brands of digital televisions, especially those made in the People’s Republic of China, parts are almost nonexistent. For some appliance and electronics brands, parts are in short supply and can remain on backorder for weeks. Customers don’t like waiting for repairs. When parts don’t arrive in a timely manner, service dealers lose jobs and these customer’s future business.

Worrisome is the fact that we now have parts which have been harvested from used or recycled products, and end up in customer’s unit without their knowledge or authorization!

The bottom line is that the American consumer is being damaged by these actions.

Inadequate compensation from third-party service contract administrators is been a topic that no longer can be ignored by the industry. Some contract sellers ignore facts of what our costs of doing business (CODB); cost to provide professional repair work in the field really is. They have chosen arbitrary rates pulled out of the air without substance, they offer these to service dealers on a take-it-or-leave-it basis thereby pressuring servicers to work below their base line, below their minimum sustainability, below their CODB.

The Song-Beverly Act places the starting point for any rate negotiations at the servicers regular COD rate. The presumption of the law is that your COD rate is in fact your warranty rate! It became evident in our meetings that this is not the case at all. The question: how much longer servicers can provide service and stay in business with these rates was answered with shrugs and a deafening silence.

To understanding your CODB and to negotiating rates in good faith is critical for the survival of any business. We teach these and many more important business classes in our annual conventions.

Some third party administrators (TPA’s) are forcing servicers to accept as much as a 50 to 60 percent lower than the average COD rate in order to get business from them. Without exception every servicers present in our meetings had a serious issue with this practice. Many chose to refuse to do business with those particular TPA’s that clearly don’t care about the survival of professional servicer.  

Note: A manufacture or contract company does not have to do business with a servicers, but if they choose to do business with them, then they must negotiate with them based on the Song-Beverly Act!

With the change in doing business came along the “simplification” and “cost reduction” of parts ordering. The truth of the matter is that parts ordering is just as hands on as it has been before they came up with the idea of “helping us” by taking away our ability to buy good parts from good sources and have eliminated our markup. It is not ok to have zero profit on parts considering all the work of part research and parts ordering and parts handling that servicers still have to do. This discussion led to the suggestion that servicers should include a 25% increase on labor rates to at least recoup the amount of time/labor spent on the parts processing with each job which requires parts.

Furthermore for any Parts received defective, rebuilt, new defective, or used which result in multiple trip repairs and which shipped from an administrator or a manufacturer should be billed for a second, third, fourth trip or as many trips as it takes to complete the call.

Discussed were background checks which manufacturers and service contract administrators require before servicers can be authorized to support warranties and/or contract repairs to be conducted on all their employees. PSOC members and non-members understand the need for background checks. The only objection is the expense for those checks by multiple agencies. There are currently two large companies performing background checks and several smaller ones. Individual manufacturers and contractors typically specify which firm they want for verification, thus requiring repair professionals to submit to checks from several firms. This puts an unfair financial burden on small local independent repair firms. It is recommend that manufacturers, contractors and repair professionals agree on one background check standard. It is necessary to come up with one standard criterion which would allow the repair professional to hire any background agency to perform their employee checks. This process should include all associations and background check agencies interested in creating a standard.  If they insist on different standards than they should be prepared to reimburse the repair professional for the expense.   Note: A committee has been formed to create the standards and PSOC is participating.

Maintaining a professional image for the repair industry is not an option but a must. In their quest to secure support for their warranties or service contracts at the lowest possible rates, several manufacturers and service administrators have chosen repair providers that fall short in basic standards of service experiences thereby damaging the image of the entire repair industry.

When consumers purchase a new product or contract they are buying peace of mind or are they? An overwhelming request was made by servicers, that the consumer be educated. On our part effort needs to be put into practice to make the consumer aware before they make a purchase. We have a unique opportunity to advise and inform consumers if a manufacturer or TPA supports a product with timely service, if good parts or good customer service is provided by them or not. Consumers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the hours spent calling customer service and then not being able to communicate with the person answering the phone.

A greater emphasis should be used when choosing repair firms who maintain professionalism in appearance and service skills. Customers place higher value on quality of work performed than on the cost. Many customers are willing to pay more to get it.

Going forward the PSOC Board of Directors will be sending questionnaires to the companies mentioned in the meetings. Questionnaires will also go out to companies known not to support the product they sell. We support companies that are pro consumer and offer total support for the product they sell and denounce these that don’t. This stand across our Industry would eliminate the majority of the problems we are facing today.

It is the PSOC’s intention to make all of our findings public.

On behalf of the PSOC membership and Board of Directors I want to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Happy New Year.

To the betterment of our Industry,

Eloy Fierro

President

Huge brand once household names are mere shells of what they used to be. They are almost as extinct as some of the American names like Zenith and RCA. In the not so distant past these companies always took care of their customer by providing a great service experience either through their ASC’s or their Factory Service. All of them made sure that any parts needed were made available, that training was provided and that the service literatures were made available. Through these actions they developed customer satisfaction which resulted in brand name loyalty. Some are still doing their best to support their product.

Today off-brand manufacturers treat the American consumer market as a dumping ground for their, in every way, inferior product. Consumers are lied to that their purchases are a “great deal” but they are not told for whom. Customers are oblivious to the fact that the new low prices are directly proportional to the “quality” they are buying.

The only goal these manufacturers which flooded our market, had was to secure a lion share giving no thought of the problems they are creating for the consumer, or the servicer, not to mention the environment by creating tremendous amount of hazardous waste.

The appliance industry still has a chance to correct its attitude toward the market share by continuing to provide quality product and still make a profit. Sad to say, but they too seem to be slowly sliding down to the levels of the electronic manufactures in that they are cutting back on the support provided to their customers. Another area where this is also evident is in the drastic decrease of product training, lack of technical literature, and not least the low repair rates which are insufficient to sustain their Authorized Service Centers.

Luckily the appliance manufacturers still have enough American presence to kept offshore manufactures from dumping their products on our market creating loss. In my opinion all manufactures owe Whirlpool a big thank you because they are the ones that brought the action to the Department of Commerce and won.

In recent history we have seen many independent repair service centers as well as big retailers close down their operations. Sears and Kmart just announced they are closing over 100 stores.

I fondly remember my own beginnings with the “mom and pop” retail store. They knew how to make a profit by making their customer their prime goal. Business dealings required nothing fancy; a simple hand shake was enough. Along came the big boys with their huge discounts and with their hands wrapped around the manufactures throats; contracts that only lawyer can interpret, and customer support became an old fashioned outdated concept.

Friends, none of this happened overnight. We are at the crossroads and some of us feel that we can take the higher road out of this mess and make a difference. The question we should be asking the manufacturers among others are these: Are you aware that Consumers in growing numbers are becoming fed up with hi-tech, low-end disposable, non-serviceable product? Will you continue eroding your own profits until you are forced to close operations or can you change your course and bring back this entire industry to a healthy and profitable level?

Let us work together to make 2012 the year of positive changes. Only when we get serious about the future of OUR BUSINESS will we be able to move forward, to raise the standard of expectation for services rendered, to eradicate the trunk monkey, to eliminate zero profit on parts which hurts our existence, and to request a re-evaluation of repair rate offered in compensation. It is time to re-group and get into survival of the fittest mode.

First we change the way we see ourselves, and our business then we ask our industry partners to bring about change on their end. We can insist on bringing back Customer Support. Increase effort to raise the levels of Consumer Satisfaction. Create ads that educate the Consumer about the value of their money. Either it is thrown away, or it is invested. If invested then they deserve to get peace of mind. If they lack that, then they need to ask for it.

The goal of your 57 year old PSOC is to help Servicers remain in business. It is our goal to continue to be the voice for the independent appliance and electronic repair specialist. Be sure to check out our new website which recently underwent a successful facelift. Please don’t forget to renew your dues for 2012. Also don’t forget to keep an eye for the upcoming convention. As you know your PSOC conventions are educational, motivational, inspiring, and are a fully deductible business expense. We need you and your valued input to create resources which will financially benefit you and others. May 2012 be the year we look back on fondly.

All the best to you and yours

Eloy

PSOC

At our annual convention we have programs in place for government education, manufacturer relations, as well as business and technical training. We pioneered quite a few of technical tests including criteria for a professional repair center.

The association benefit I value the most has been networking with not only other repair professionals, but with manufacture reps, parts distributors, and servicer contract companies I have met throughout the years. These people who are involved with the organization are making a difference with their involvement and with their dues. Without them PSOC would be silenced forever and would in fact cease to exist. To prevent that, we must work together and cooperate with each other for the betterment of our industry and the protection of the lifeline of our very existence, that being the consumer.

PSOC has taken on every challenge to protect the well being of the industry and the consumer including going to the Supreme Court to fight for repair parts. We helped create changes in the contract industry which ultimately removed unscrupulous practicing companies. All too often today the contract company’s actions are hurting the service industry. These company’s need to stop pulling labor rates out of the sky and start negotiating based on the CODB plus a reasonable profit. They claim to use an “average” cost for repairs when they should be using the COD average versus their take it or leave it mentality.

I mention a few of these Association accomplishments because plain and simple we are in jeopardy of losing our voice. Our Association is not exempt from the same failing economy we all face. PSOC depends on dues and proceeds from our convention to cover our operating costs. Dues invoicing will be going out soon and without your membership we will not be able to continue. If you value this association, what it stands for, and what we can do together please don’t let it go by the wayside. “We need your help.”

This past year has been a challenge not only for the repair professional, but the manufacturer that still cares for the customer, and the parts distributors that feel the pinch as well.

Today we face a greater challenge than before. There are far too many offshore manufacturers and service contract companies that have forgotten about customer service. They manufacture, sell a contract and try to provide service with little to no parts (or expect us to use used parts), and in many cases parts are defective, no longer available, or we experience lengthy backorders. The very customer they spend millions to attract suffers their failures.

America is no longer a manufacturing country accept for a few still building product here. But it’s up to us to see that we are still a country of repair professionals. Just because manufacturing has eroded that does not mean service should erode as well. All manufactures should embrace the concept of Panasonic and Subzero; “Take care of the customer at all cost”. These two companies have empowered their repair professional partners (ASC’s) to provide the best service experience to the customer when needed. They consider their ASC’s an asset not a liability or a necessary evil. They provide the ASC’s with every tool necessary to make their customer happy. This dedication will certainly lead to loyal “brand conscious” customers.

We repair professionals seem to be first in line for their cost cutting measures. They cut our rates, our training, etc, etc, etc. It appears when these decisions are made we are not part of the calculation. I want to remind all of you that we are the point of contact for the customer. After all don’t we advise our customer’s when a product is not worth repairing, don’t we recommend brands, places to purchase, and aren’t we often asked if extended warranties are worth the money? We have a large influence over market share.

It is time for every sector of the industry to come together and figure out what direction would be the most effective one to provide the consumer the best service possible while allowing all of us to make a profit. The consumer should not suffer.

To the repair professional PSOC is providing an avenue for you to voice your concerns.“If you don’t like what is happening to our industry, you are most welcomed to join with us at our next town hall meeting and share in the discussion.” Together we can make a difference.

We are conducting town hall meetings throughout California. Our first meeting was held in Fresno. The main concerns were 1) parts 2) Compensation 3) Background checks and 4) Professional image. We are convinced that these concerns will be similarly voiced in subsequent meetings. After our final meeting we will share the information with everyone.

Eloy Fierro
PSOC President