I was charged ‘home visit fee’ by air-conditioner technician despite no repair

The other day, my air conditioner suddenly stopped working. I searched online for an air-conditioning repair service and contacted a technician. He arrived after about half an hour, carrying a heavy toolkit. He opened the air conditioner, checked the system, and said a component was broken and that he needed to return to his shop to fetch the replacement part.

We had used it for years and though it consumed quite a lot of electricity my family still wanted to keep using it. However, this time, I decided not to repair it and instead buy a new one. The technician then asked for VND200,000 (US$7.80) as a "travel fee."

A technician repairs air-conditioners in a workshop. Photo from Pexels

In my opinion, the mindset of judging whether a technician’s fee is cheap or expensive is one reason many young people today are not interested in learning or working in technical trades. They prefer occupations that bring in immediate cash each day, such as delivery or ride-hailing, instead of spending time waiting for customers.

For repairmen who make home visits, each trip means leaving other jobs behind, spending time traveling, and carrying heavy tools, without knowing whether they will get paid. Checking and diagnosing faults require both skill and experience.

If you calculate carefully, VND200,000 for a home inspection is not expensive at all. Many people think "he only looked at it," but identifying the problem requires technical expertise. Training in refrigeration repair takes at least a year, and the tools cost tens of millions of dong. These workers spend the entire year working under harsh weather conditions.

Many people, when hearing such stories or facing similar situations, say "that is too expensive." But if you think it is, why not try fixing it yourself? The real issue is that most small repair services today operate informally, without any posted price lists or clear rules for calculating labor fees. The technician and customer must negotiate directly.

Sometimes the customer pays based on emotion, and sometimes the technician quotes a price based on experience. This lack of transparency often leads to disputes: the technician says "it is not worth the effort," while the customer complains about being "overcharged."

*Readers' opinions are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress' viewpoints.