Clark Service Group

"Let me start by saying I gave Clark Service Group every opportunity to discuss a remedy for the situation we experienced. Although courteous, the only “remedy” we received was an “Oh I surprised that happened” and a “Oh, I’ll be sure to discuss this with my staff”. We had a top heating element stop working on our toaster (a conveyer type) and called the manufacturer. The manufacturer recommended we contact Clark Service Group. We explained the issue and scheduled for a technician to come out. The HOURLY rate was quoted, however no other fees were disclosed. A couple days later the “technician” arrived, and we showed him the appliance and how the top heating element was not working. He said no problem and began taking the outer cover off the toaster. He also laid the screws he removed, as well as tools, on a food prep station. I asked him if he could place the tools and screws elsewhere and he moved them closer to where he was working. After removing the outer case, he got on his phone and started a FaceTime call with another person. Three of us heard the conversation and we were a bit baffled. The person on the other end of the call was talking him through where to put the camera and what to do. We were a bit surprised as we thought the gentleman that was here was the technician. Someone (I assume the person on the other end of the phone) determined that an element was broken, and the “tech” here showed me the part. The part was/is located on the outside under the now removed cover. When then heard a conversation, that went on for some time, to determine if the appliance was still under warranty. Now mind you, the make and model and other information was given on our initial call. We were told this was “standard practice” however I was not given any explanation as to why this wasn’t checked when we gave the information over the phone. The appliance was not covered by any warranty. The “tech” showed me where he said he was able to temporarily attach the element and showed us that both the top and bottom were working. He said this should hold until the new part arrived. He put everything back together and left. To add insult to injury, we found to metal washer on the floor that were not replaced properly on the housing. The next day we received two surprises – One, the estimate for the repair exceeded $450 to swap out a part that cost less than $30 and only took the “tech”, on FaceTime no less, 1.5 hours to remove the outer housing, talk via FaceTime, rig an element to work, and replace the housing. The estimate called for three hours of labor. On top of that, there was a “zone charge” of $110 added to the estimate and another $19 for “miscellaneous supplies” (To date I have not received an explanation for that fee). The total estimate for the repair was $457 (not including tax)."