Appliance (white goods) repair engineer opportunities

[Den]

Hi folks. New to this forum so be good to me.

Im toying with the idea of moving to France. Does anyone have experience of working in the appliance repair business, and if so, is a good living to be made in this line of work.

Thank you in advance for any advice recieved.

       Ta,  Den

[Dick Smith]

In our nearest town the proprietor of the quincaillerie does it. I don't know how it is in bigger towns.

[Nick Trollope]

I'd say that there are plenty of people doing it already and that noone gets a washing machine repaired anyway. Which doesn't make much sense, but it is my impression. I don't normally do impressions. Like Dick, I am a sit-at-the-back-and-titter sort, really.

 

[Dick Smith]

What I meant was that in the smaller towns where most of us on this forum seem to live those sorts of activities seem to be pretty tied up by locals, and in the case of Mortain it wouldn't be a full-time occupation anyway - Michel (I think that's his name) runs the quincaillerie, installs woodburners, mends washing machines (he mended ours, Nick - the mice had eaten through the tubes) and does other bits as well, including selling gaz. And he isn't rich! He doesn't employ anyone, it's just him and his family.

In bigger towns there might be some work, but all the usual things about fluent French need to be applied, of course.

[Gardian]

Den .............

No experience of working in the business, but some personal (previous life) involvement in Field Service and as a 'user' over here .......... so:

• A myriad of suppliers, with kit going back decades.  Nothing that would phase you (if you know what you're doing), but getting the spares ........... could be iffy and you might well spend hours trying to track down the source. 
• Your catchment area over here could well be huge. If (for the sake of arguement), you are currently operating in a large town of (say) 60k people, you might have had 90% of your calls within 20 kms of your base.  Doubt that would be true here: smaller towns, vast distances to travel between calls.  Double the radius = quadruple the area (I think!)
• Setting up in business here is far from impossible, but needs researching - there's loads of stuff on this forum, which you should spend the time to study at length.  Others can provide more specific help.
• Just as in the UK, if you're thinking of setting up in any particular line of business, then you need to check out the competition.  Your location has to be a mix of where you can make a living and where you'd like to live, with the emphasis on the former rather than the latter.   

Ian

[Tresco]

Hi Den

I read a very interesting article yesterday about appliance repair in UK

The only items people seemed to be prepared to really pay repairs for were Dyson Cleaners (because they are a big investment) and Dualit Toasters (ditto, for a toaster, at any rate).

Something many people say about France, is that it's 20 years behind the UK in many aspects, so perhaps people don't chuck things and buy new as readily here.

Anyway, have a read and see what you think. It mentions one of the items on Gardians 'list' - suppliers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1990421,00.html

[RumziGal]

Big places like Darty have their own repairers.   Have you looked in Pages Jaunes to see what kind of similar services are on offer in your area?

You will also need to speak French.   You'll need to be able to converse intelligently and confidently about timer mechanisms, controllers, dented drums, things stuck in pipes, heating elements, coolants, spare parts, and all that stuff.

You should have plenty of work though.   Built-in obsolescence is the order of the day here, just like anywhere else.  [:)]   

[Dick Smith]

And mice...

[Will]

Are there many mice needing repair, Dick?

I wouldn't normally mention this, but as it's you, I will. Earlier I noticed the obviously deliberate typo in your location [:P]

[Dick Smith]

Ah. I was a bit unsure there...

[Will]

Thanks Dick, pedants rule OK.

Seriously I know what you mean. We had a mouse in a washer dryer in a house in England; didn't know until it started leaking. The mouse had been eating the rubber hoses. We get plenty of mice in the house in France, brought in by the cats. They all seem to take up residence in the workings of the fridge.

[Loiseau]

I thought cats were supposed to get *rid* of mice  [8-)]

Angela

[Will]

Angela, they are too well fed to bother with preparing their own food after the fun of catching it. I think they feel the need to bring in a present, trouble is (but not for the mouse) they don't know they are supposed to kill it first. But to be fair, some of the cats are very good at disposing of their catch by themselves.

I must put out a plea to the mods to be gentle with me because I realise that it's really my fault that we have gone off at a tangent. They are probably baying and drooling, having tasted blood recently, and looking for another user to ban. Please do not let it be me - I am enjoying this too much [;-)]

[Miki]

[quote] I must put out a plea to the mods to be gentle with me because I

realise that it's really my fault that we have gone off at a tangent.

They are probably baying and drooling, having tasted blood recently,

and looking for another user to ban. Please do not let it be me - I am

enjoying this too much [;-)] [/quote]

Have no fears, make a run for it Will................... Batman Miki and the boy wonder Robin Smith, to the rescue (can't do the music on here !)

We will carry on off topic, whilst you go quickly to another thread and get back on topic [:)] That'll save yer Mr Conq  [;-)]

Up an' away Robin, to the Batofftopic mobile.............................der der der der der der der..... Smithee....(that's the music if you were wondering, OK [:)] )

[nimportequoi]

Everyone around here uses the local Gitem, and the guy who runs it is always rushed off his feet with work. They are part of a big network and can obviously source the spare parts which are required easily. People in this area are generally not very wealthy and will get things repaired rather than buy new straight away.

[Gardian]

[quote user="Susan"]Everyone around here uses the local Gitem, and the guy who runs it is always rushed off his feet with work. They are part of a big network and can obviously source the spare parts which are required easily. People in this area are generally not very wealthy and will get things repaired rather than buy new straight away.
[/quote]

So there you are OP - there may be a market out there, but ..........

• spares
• language
• geography
• business setup (i.e. French bureaucracy - not necessarily bad, but 'demanding')
• hard work

Any one of these could trip you up, but all the best in your possible venture - keep us posted.

p.s. S/E's are thin on the ground down here!  The one guy we used charged an arm & a leg, probably because we were rosbifs.

[Den]

Thanks for the replies chaps and chapesses.  Seems like a mixed bag of answers. Nevertheless, more than I knew before.

Half way through my Michel Thomas cd set, so will be fluent by March (as if)!!

Always toyed with the idea of living in France after several motorcycling holidays there (GS1150 bmw for all you bikers here).

I will trawl through the forum and learn more.    Thanks ... Den