After dealing with every dealer in town at one time or another for the past 22+ years for having my sewing machines serviced or repaired, I have not been happy with any of them for one reason or another. Last October I took my Bernina sewing machine in for repair to Ryan's as it stopped working. I was told it would be 6-8 weeks before a tech could even look at it. Ridiculous!!! But I wasn't happy with any service place, so I left my machine there. 8 weeks later I was told it couldn't be repaired because it had a cracked bushing. Bernina doesn't make the part anymore I was told by the service tech. Sadly, I took my machine home and thought I would sell all the accessories and machine for parts, but I couldn't deal with that yet.
A few months went by and I thought I would take photos of everything I had to sell and start selling my Bernina things. I listed in a Bernina Buy & Sell group and listed some presser feet and sold some and sold my bobbin case.
Meanwhile, Tara needed her Brother machine repaired. I know she didn't want to be without her machine for 2 months, so she was referred to Affordable Sewing & Vacuum (located on Eubank) by another repair shop. Tara was pleased and impressed with Rick. She got her machine serviced and fixed and back in a couple of days for less money too. She said her machine worked better than it ever had before.
So that got me thinking, why not see if maybe Rick could repair my machine? It was worth a try to see if it could be repaired. I emailed Rick and I was impressed he responded back that same day. I had emailed Ryan twice over the years and never got a response back either time. Why have an email listed on your website if you don't bother using it?
I took my machine in on Wednesday morning. Thursday afternoon it was ready. The traffic was too heavy then, so I went on Friday morning to pick it up. Rick fixed the problem which was NOT a cracked bushing at all, but thread wrapped around the inside. He removed the handwheel and the handwheel needed to be replaced because the last person who removed it didn't replace it properly and broke it. It wasn't too costly to replace. The stitches Rick stitched out on a piece of fabric looked like a brand new machine had stitched it! The new handwheel turned so nice and easy now. It had been impossible to turn when everything was jammed up.
So if anyone ever tells you your machine is broken and cannot be repaired, please get a second opinion and take it to Rick to see if he can repair it. Those dealers are trying to sell you new machines because there is more money to be made for them, so they don't care how much you might love your machine. In this throw away society it is so refreshing to find someone like Rick who loves to repair machines (sewing and vacuum) and does it well. He takes his time doing the repair, yet he still manages to get it serviced or repaired in a few days, which is 2 months sooner than some dealers.
I am so happy to have my Bernina working again, but I was sad and now angry that I was told it couldn't be repaired. I ended up buying a new sewing machine (not from Ryan's) which turns out that I didn't have to or need to buy another machine at all if I had only been told the truth about my Bernina machine. So shame on Ryan's Sewing and all the other dealers that also tell the customer their machine cannot be repaired! So people get a second opinion from Rick at Affordable Sewing & Vacuum Repair before you get rid of a machine that you were told cannot be fixed.
I want Rick to stay in business because he is honest, affordable, responds back to you the same day, does a thorough job, gets it done quicker than anyone else, and isn't a dealer with something to sell you. He worked for a few of those dealers and so he knows the games that are played at the dealers. Rick loves to repair machines as much as we love to sew on our machines. If you want to buy a new sewing machine then you can buy from any dealer you like, but leave the servicing and the repairs to a pro like Rick and save yourself time and money. I wished I had known about Rick before I ended up spending so much money on a new sewing machine and having to buy parts and accessories that I sold all because I was told something that was not true.
So yes I am giving a huge thumbs up to Rick because we need more people like him. And if he gets so much business that those 2-3 day turnaround ends up becoming a week or 2, well I am willing wait longer to get a top notch job done.
Normally I wouldn't use this blog to promote a business, but I am tired of getting poor service from others and find it refreshing to find someone who is passionate about repairs like Rick is. My husband owned his own business too and he is much like Rick in giving great service and doing it right and getting it done quickly. People would come to my husband's shop because they liked talking to and dealing with the owner and not just an employee. This is another reason I want to give Rick my business because I can deal with him directly.
If you take your machine to Rick you can tell him that I sent you. And please write a review for Rick on Google reviews and Yelp too. Let's help to spread the word and keep him in business. You will be happy you took your machine to Rick and will be amazed at how great your machine is working now.
