This washer repairman isn't lonely

David Crapo is the guy who comes out to repair your washer while the Maytag repairman is sitting around in that television commercial.

But he's more than willing to troubleshoot your problem and tell you how to repair the appliance yourself. Which is how one reader in Kirkland says he's been able to keep his dishwasher going for 35 years.

"My business theory is that if something's only good for me, it's just plain not good. I've never had to regret helping someone do it themselves, because if it gets to a point where they can't (do it themselves), then I know they'll call me," said the amiable white-haired appliance repair guru.

"A lot of people seem to operate on how much can I make today, and to heck with tomorrow," he said, "but I'm accustomed to treating customers the way I'd like to be treated. If you have a problem and I've been able to help you, you'll come back to me again."

Located on a back street of the Redmond downtown core, Crapo Appliance Service looks like a chop shop for hundreds of stoves, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers. Since 1968, David and his family and staff have been taking them apart and putting them back into warranty-backed condition.

No splashy ads in the Yellow Pages, just word-of-mouth advertising from customers as far away as Renton, West Seattle and North Bend. "And we do things a little bit different," David said in a bit of understatement. "We send all of our customers a personal 'thank you' for their business. And if for some reason we miss an appointment, we send the customer an apology and a bouquet of flowers. If we learn that another customer has referred them, we send that person a $5 check. I'd rather do that than spend money on the Yellow Pages."

One of 11 children raised on a Utah farm, David figures that "any work day is at least 12 hours, maybe more." The appliance shop hours are 8 to 5 weekdays and 9 to noon Saturdays, but David and three of his and wife Faye's 11 children and other staffers often are at work long before or after store hours.

At 66, David doesn't show any signs of slowing down, although he doesn't get out on service calls as much as he'd like. He truly enjoys meeting people and helping them deal with what many think are earth-shaking problems, such as an oven that dies the day before the big Thanksgiving dinner.

Appliances were a whole lot simpler and just plain scarce in Utah farming country where he grew up, and the young farm worker had no inkling of his business career until after two years of Mormon mission work in Puerto Rico and a subsequent Army tour of duty there.

He had just begun a vocational school course in refrigeration technology when his Army Reserve unit was called up during the Cuban missile crisis. David and Faye found themselves stationed at Fort Lewis, and a visit to the World's Fair in Seattle led to a friend-of-a-friend who needed someone to deliver appliances. Since then, David hasn't had one day when he could sit around an appliance repair shop like the Maytag repairman, waiting for calls.

Deliveries led to on-the-job learning how to repair appliances, "and I bought into the business," he said. Early on, he attended service technician schools sponsored by various major appliance manufacturers. "This was back when new refrigerators were just coming out with the frost-free feature, and many were still operated with gas," he recalled.

Some of the big names in appliances several decades ago -- including Admiral, Philco, Crosley and others -- have cut back or dropped out of direct brand manufacturing and retailing, and others have spread across brand names. "Most all of the Kenmore appliances used to be made by Whirlpool, but now many are made by General Electric," David noted.

He's more than a bit leery of product research reports, even though he's a long-time subscriber to Consumer Reports magazine. "One year they rated washing machines and the frequency of repairs; they had different ratings for the Kenmore and Whirlpool washer transmissions, even though they were identical," he said.

Some people just need friendly advice, like the friend whose electric clothes dryer wouldn't heat up. "He decided it was old and needed replacing, so he got a new one and that one wouldn't heat either. Turns out that all he needed to do was replace a burned-out fuse!" David chuckled.

Customers are "interesting," to use David's term. "Some watch you like a hawk during repairs, worried that you might be overdoing the job for more money. And others are so happy to have it working again that they want to pay you extra!"

The standard service call is about $40, plus $72 hourly and parts. If the job requires a second visit, there's no additional service fee, just the parts and hourly work charge.

The tiny front showroom might, on any given day, hold a variety of reconditioned ovens, freezers, refrigerators, washers and dryers. When we visited, a Maytag washer-dryer set was priced at $350 and "probably would be good for at least another 10 to 12 years, and many Maytags will go 20 years," David said.

My son and daughter-in-law bought a used washer/dryer set there several years ago, and she reports that "they're the only appliances in our apartment that work right."

Most of David's used appliances, once reconditioned, carry a one-year warranty on parts and labor. Delivery and pickup charges (if you just want to get rid of an old appliance) are $35 and $45, respectively. If you schlep the appliance into the shop yourself, the charge is $10 apiece, except refrigerators and freezers ($30 apiece) because refrigerant must be removed.

He regularly gets many almost-new appliances from dealers and either repairs them for resale or cannibalizes them for parts that might be used later.

And some are just trade-ins that new-appliance dealers don't want. "I had one, a 1939 General Electric refrigerator, that was working pretty good when it was traded in, so we used it here for employees to keep their lunches in," David said. "A customer came through and saw it and just had to have it, so I sold it to him for $50. But with no warranty."

Contact: Crapo Appliance Service, 7440 159th Place N.E., Redmond; 425-885-6001.