FITNESS INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS
What You Need to Know
Residential service calls make up roughly 4% of our business with commercial clients covering the other 96%. That said, we promise to provide you the same quality service that we provide to our large multi-facility clients. Below is an extensive writeup of best and worst-case scenarios so there are no surprises for you.
For residential appointments, we are not the cheapest in Alberta. In fact, some companies are almost half the price for the first service call. Many of these companies employ other tactics to increase their bottom line making the total repair much more expensive than if you were to deal with us from the beginning. These tactics include high markups for parts (we do not markup residential parts) as well as other hidden fees. We have even encountered companies that quote more parts than are needed for the repair. The cheapest service provider is usually never anywhere near the best. Not saying you will not have a good experience with a competitor offering these service calls at a discounted rate, that is up to you to find out!
With SOS you will have a dedicated point of contact at all times, ethically trained and factory-certified technicians that are frequently tested and rated by "mystery shopper" clients so we can keep improving our clients experience in dealing with us. Add in the fact that all of our employees are also stakeholders of the company, they have an invested interest to ensure you have the best quality service provided. Rest assured that your fitness equipment is in great hands when you are dealing with SOS Fitness Services.
First Service Appointment
This service appointment is to diagnose the problem(s) with your equipment. Once the issues have been pinpointed, our factory-trained certified technician will make the repair right then & there. If additional parts are required for this repair, our technician will add this info into his work-order, and you will receive an email & phone call within 24 hours from our business manager (the person you originally booked the appointment with) providing you a quote for the parts required in addition to the second service call to finish this repair.
If we can fix it in the first call, we will do our best. We can not promise that we can repair it in one call without first knowing if additional parts are required.
Do You have the parts in stock?
Short answer: No.
We carry a wide selection of commercial parts for the most popular brands. However, with residential models, it is impossible & not cost-effective for any business to keep residential equipment parts in stock. There are simply too many brands with too many models & variations of the same machines to make it cost effective for both the company & their clients. In most cases, residential parts must be ordered. It is our policy that all residential clients must pre-pay for parts ordered.
Do I have to pay for the second service appointment?
If your equipment is still under service warranty from the manufacture, then no. If it is not under service warranty, then yes, you will have to pay for the second service appointment. We provide a discounted rate for the second appointment if you require additional parts to complete the repair. If a third appointment is required for the same issue during the repair, you will NOT be required to pay again.
Is it even worth fixing?
Great question! If you purchased your equipment or home gym in a big box store on special, then it might not be worth repairing. If parts are required, (that means a second service call) then your best case scenario would be a total of around $300-$400 for the service & parts. If you paid only $800 for the treadmill, then you might have an issue paying almost half the amount to fix it. However, if you purchased from a fitness equipment store, and your machine is worth thousands of dollars, then a treadmill repair service call is a great deal at a fraction of the cost of buying a new machine. It all comes down to the brand, model, part availability, how old the machine is, etc.
Our business manager will be able to help give you as much info as possible to help you make your decision on if the service call and repair is worth it for your particular piece of equipment. Every one of our techs specialize in all types of fitness equipment repair.
What warranties do you offer?
We offer a 30-day warranty on repairs for residential machines. If your machine has an issue & you contact us within these 30 days, a technician will visit to reassess and repair the machine at no additional cost providing it is the same issue. If it is not the same issue, we will still visit at no additional cost, but you could be charged for additional parts required and if there is a subsequent service call required for the repair, you will be charged for that appointment.
Most parts come with a 90 day warranty. Since all residential equipment manufactures use third party service companies, we can not provide a free service call unless it is within our 30 day service warranty. These are very rare instances, but we are bringing them up to you to ensure you have all the information beforehand.
What do you require from me?
We require you to be at home to meet our technician at the time and date of your appointment. We ask for a 2-hour window of when the appointment is scheduled for. For example, the appointment is scheduled for 11am Monday. Our tech will be there between 11am & 1pm. We try to avoid late appointments by scheduling residential calls first thing in the mornings. Most service appointments will take an hour or less, unless otherwise specified during booking. If you need to reschedule your appointment, please let us know ASAP. There is no cancelation fee unless our technician is already on their way or have arrived at your location. If you fail to cancel the appointment, a travel fee of no more than $50 will be charged. If you need a more specific timeframe, we request that you ask to be booked first thing in the morning.
Can I order just the parts from you & install them myself?
If you know what parts are required to fix your machine & would like to install them yourself, you are welcome to do so. However, we do not bear any responsibility should the part you have ordered not fix the issue. We offer no promises or warranties for repairs that we have not first diagnosed. Furthermore, we can not guarantee that the manufacturer will accept returns on parts that have not been installed by a certified technician.
If a return on ordered parts is required, and the machine was not first diagnosed by one of our technicians, the client will be responsible for the costs associated with shipping and possible restocking fees.
How to pay for your service appointment
We require a credit card to hold your appointment. Your card will not be charged until our initial service is performed. At that time you may wish to use a different credit card or have us bill the card originally provided. If you do not have a credit card, you may pay for your appointment online prior to the service through Debit, Online Banking or through Paypal. We discourage cash payments as our technicians do not carry change on them & people tend to forget the GST.