Why I Do Repairs The Way That I Do

I've been working with NuTone products since 1981 when I went to work for one of the largest NuTone distributors in the Bay Area. Back in those days, NuTone provided training for Service Centers, especially on all of the products that contained electronics.

All NuTone Authorized Service Centers were independent businesses that were contracted by NuTone to represent the Factory on Warranty and Service related issues. Since Service Centers were the face of NuTone to the consumer, they were expected to be the very best.

We were trained and coached to wave the NuTone banner proudly, and for that effort we were treated well, and we were given the authority and respect to represent NuTone in our communities.

I started my own business as an Authorized NuTone Service Center in 1988, after being approached by NuTone. For new Service Centers there were never any promises made beyond the support that would be given by the local NuTone representatives. How successful I would be was all up to the amount of effort I put into my business.

In the early years, I relied on a few other Service Centers to repair Intercoms that I had no experience with. This is where I learned about doing proper and complete repairs for customers.

There was a Service Center owner named Jerry who specialized in repairing NuTone Intercoms from the early days. These vacuum tube models were a mystery to me at that time and it was better to send them to Jerry for repair.

Most of these units were really crusty and dirty and many of them hadn't worked in years. I would pack them up and send them to Jerry with a description of the problems. A few weeks later, these Master Stations would be returned from Jerry's shop.

Opening one of Jerry's packages was always fantastic. Inside would be this clean and shiny Intercom Master Station that worked perfectly the very first time it was plugged in.

Jerry had the magic touch. He knew that a first impression was very important, and he took pride in the work he did. Every unit would be dismantled and cleaned and repaired before it was put back together. Missing items like knobs and name plates would be replaced and every unit would be tested to make sure it worked properly. All of this work and effort was done for $88.00.

As time went on, I learned more about older intercoms and fewer units were sent to Jerry, but I never forgot what I had learned from him. This is why I repair intercoms the way that I do.

The repairs I do are thorough repairs, not minimal repairs. When someone makes the effort to ship their Master Station across the country for repair, the repair work needs to be done completely.

The difference between a minimal repair and a thorough repair is about 1 hour. The time it takes to replace 24 components instead of 6 is nothing. The master has already been taken apart, so lets take the service one step further and clean everything and make it really shine.

My goal it to return every Master Station in as close-to-new condition as possible, with a repair and rebuild that should last for another 10-12 years.