"Appliance Appliance Maintenance Service Management Measures" Will Implement Good Appliance Maintenance

Also in the summer, appliance repairs have entered a peak period, and disputes have frequently occurred. The Ministry of Commerce recently released the "Appliance Management Services Industry Management Measures" how to regulate the appliance repair industry? How do all departments form a joint force for supervision? What are the active explorations in various places? Please read the "Disease diagnosis and treatment of home appliances maintenance chaos" series.

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Administrative Measures for Appliance Repair Service Industry" (hereinafter referred to as "Measures"). According to the "Measures", home appliance repair operators and practitioners must not "falsely list, exaggerate, falsify maintenance service items or content", and must not "improper use of home appliance manufacturers' trademarks or special maintenance marks." The "measures" will be implemented as of August 1 this year.

The relevant person of the Ministry of Commerce stated that he may impose a fine of no more than 30,000 yuan for serious violations of the above provisions.

With the advent of summer, appliance repairs have entered a peak period, and home appliance repair disputes have also occurred frequently. How will the "Measures" play a standard role in the appliance repair industry?

Maintenance disputes plagued consumers Consumers’ complaints against consumer complaints last year amounted to 138,800 cases. Mr. Qi, who lives in Beijing's Tongzhou District, had encountered an annoyance not long ago. The air conditioner in the house was broken. He rummaged through the cabinet to find a Haier air conditioner warranty telephone card in 2001. After the contact, he soon had a maintenance staff come in for repairs. Cleaning the body, replacement parts, etc., a total of 1,600 yuan charge. As a result, the air conditioner did not operate for a long time. Calling the service again is not a time when nobody answers or is busy for a long time. After he dialed 12315 to reflect the situation, he learned that Haier’s maintenance telephone number had already been replaced by a unified 400 number. The number he dialed had been abandoned by Haier for many years and was stolen by fraudsters.

Although most brands of home appliance companies today have established official websites, they have enabled unified service calls. However, some cottage appliance repair sites produce websites similar to the official website and apply for service calls starting with 400 and 800, so that consumers can't distinguish between true and false. In fact, these cottage appliance repair points do not meet the standard requirements for regular maintenance points in terms of maintenance personnel, technology, equipment, and accessories. Some cottage sites often use occasionally changing web pages, changing telephones, etc., and “playing a shot for a place”, causing great trouble for consumers.

According to the calculation of the Ministry of Commerce, in 2010, there were about 300,000 registered enterprises for home appliance repair services in China, and the income from maintenance services reached 121.5 billion yuan. There are more than 3 million employees working in the industry for many years and short-term employees (such as summer air-conditioning installation services, etc.) nearly 3 million. People have become an important livelihood service industry. According to the statistics of the China Consumer Association, in 2011, the National Association for Consumers Association accepted 138,800 complaints for home electronics and electrical appliances. Although it was 15.1% lower than the previous year (163,500), it was still at a high level.

The phenomenon of unlicensed posts and the existence of a simple component will be hundreds of yuan According to the information provided by the China Consumers Association. From the situation where consumers from various regions accept complaints, the chaos of appliance repair mainly includes the following aspects:

The technical level of maintenance personnel is uneven, and the maintenance quality is not too hard. The management of after-sales service personnel of some home appliance manufacturers is not standardized, and the technical level is uneven. The phenomenon of unlicensed employment is widespread.

Maintenance standards are not uniform, and "overhaul minor illnesses" has become a common phenomenon. Maintenance is a highly professional industry. When an individual is not in good faith when repairing, it is obviously a minor fault, but it is enlarged, and parts that are not necessary to be replaced are replaced.

There are a large number of charging items and some maintenance services are suspected of repeated charges. Appliance repair charges vary, such as material fees, maintenance fees, door charges, and boot fees, etc., while door-to-door fees and activation fees should not be charged separately.

In 2011, a survey conducted by the Consumers Association of Huzhou City in Zhejiang Province showed that the problems reflected by consumers include: after-sales maintenance of home appliances is not timely; some maintenance personnel come to home without quotations, and do not inform consumers in advance; Some maintenance personnel even “steal the column”, “darkness”, “unauthorized pricing”, and a simple component opening will cost hundreds or even several hundred dollars.

Take control of appliance repair industry "entrance"

Clearly lead departments and employees are required to apply for certification. The "Administrative Measures for Appliance Repair Service Industry" implemented on August 1 this year will be clarified. The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for the industry management of appliance repair service industry. The competent commercial authorities at all levels are responsible for the administrative region. Internal appliance repair service industry guidance, coordination and supervision and management work. Relevant experts believe that this clearly clarifies the lead department in terms of laws and regulations, and is conducive to the integration of forces to carry out rectification of the “small misalignment” problem of appliance repair sites.

“The appliance repair market is too big and it faces various specific demands. Therefore, it is vulnerable to criticism. However, all sorts of confusion currently arises because the industry’s threshold is too low and the regulatory power is dispersed,” said one industry expert. It is understood that, at present, there is almost no entry threshold for the appliance repair industry. Only by registering with industry and commerce, can it be registered as an appliance service maintenance company.

With regard to the qualifications of employees, the "Measures" clearly stipulates that home appliance repair workers should have professional and technical qualifications to engage in corresponding maintenance activities. Personnel engaged in special operations such as high altitude operations, welding and thermal cutting operations, refrigeration and air conditioning operations, electrician operations, and hazardous chemical safety operations shall have the special qualifications prescribed by the State and shall be required to apply for posts.

The "Measures" also made it clear that home appliance repair operators should prepare occupational qualification labels for job-seekers and require them to wear or present to consumers at work.

According to these regulations, consumers are invited to visit their homes to repair air-conditioning and other services. However, this regulation will play a big role, and many consumers are still skeptical. After all, the "Measures" do not specify how the employees will obtain qualifications, how the competent commercial authorities enforce the law, and how to supervise and inspect the details of such posts.

In this regard, relevant persons from the Ministry of Commerce stated that the competent commerce departments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, in accordance with the Measures, combine with the actual conditions of the local appliance repair service industry, and formulate relevant implementation measures in conjunction with the relevant departments.

It is understood that some places have begun to explore the lead department of the Ministry of Commerce in charge of maintenance associations, personnel training, while nurturing brand enterprises and promoting the healthy development of appliance maintenance industry.