A local submarine sandwich shop, with three locations in the area, called Dutton Equipment Repair and ordered a complete Preventive Maintenance Service for their stores. This job would include HVAC, Refrigeration and ice machines. Also, he needed any future service work performed when called.

After about 7 months, the owner called and said he had found a less expensive competitor to handle his preventive maintenance and equipment service requirements for all of his store locations. He went on to say that he had no complaint about the quality and timeliness of the work we had done for him, but, this other company had promised to provide the same level of service at lower prices. With an eye towards his bottom line, he said that he wanted to use them to save money.

Later that same year, the owner called back and wanted us to look at several pieces of refrigeration equipment which were running hot or not at all. Upon arrival our technicians found the equipment was filthy, and, in some cases, broken down as well. After being made aware of the circumstances, the owner then asked if we would come back and do all the Preventive Maintenance as well as service work for all his store locations.

In the three months following our again taking responsibility of his Preventive Maintenance and equipment service needs, all of his equipment was clean and running properly. As a result, his preventive maintenance costs and his equipment service costs were lower than what the so called “cheaper” company had charged, with the added bonus of superior customer care.

Searching for the best price for any of your operating expenses is simply good business policy. But a cheaper price is not always the better choice. A Preventive Maintenance program that doesn’t get completed is not a good value, no matter how cheap the price.