Managing workflow and giving consistent wait times is a major challenge in this line of work. I decided to go into some detail on how I do this.
Electronics repair is a high volume business. Many repair shops end up being stacked floor to ceiling with equipment. Stuff can sit for months in these places before it is looked at. I understand how this happens but I do not see it as an acceptable or even a viable way of operating my business. I aim to turn most basic jobs around within a couple weeks and most overhauls around within a month or two.
To keep things under control and going smoothly requires balancing a few considerations. First, I maintain a fairly narrow specialty. When I stick to the right jobs, things generally go smoothly. But it is very easy to waste massive amounts of time on the wrong jobs. I will turn away certain kinds of jobs to minimize this risk.
I’m still trying to find the optimal way to manage workflow. There’s been times where I’ve waitlisted every job until I catch up. The issue with this is there are some jobs that are much faster than others. It doesn’t make sense to have 30 minute jobs waitlisted for months behind 3 day jobs. Business is also most profitable when I have a mix of larger and smaller jobs. I can get a bunch of small stuff done while waiting for parts, or when I need a break from more challenging jobs.
I’ve been taking in smaller jobs while waitlisting overhauls. This works a bit better though some smaller jobs can turn into overhauls. I could get into a unit and decide there is no sense taking half measures. So I admit stuff ends up jumping the waitlist this way. It doesn’t make sense to put a unit I’m already invested in back together and have it picked up to bring it back later.
I’ve continued to refine my specialty further. I’ve stopped doing tape decks, but am occasionally stupid enough to agree to one. Too often they are more trouble than I quote them to be. I’ve started turning away very early solid state (pre 1970) gear as they are weird designs that are hard to work on that aren’t anything to write home about at the end of all that.
At the time of writing this, I’ve decided to stop taking general/basic service requests for vintage amps and receivers until I can get through my waitlist of overhauls. I will continue to add overhaul requests to the waitlist but please hold off on requests for general service jobs on these units until I indicate on the contact page I’m accepting them. I’m only comfortable being so far behind. I will continue to accept turntable and speaker repairs without waitlist and these are the smaller jobs that fill in the gaps in time.