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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 23, 2012 at 12:30pm

Here's a good read from the archives for you.

As far as service for your machine, your first calls should be the manufacturer and the people you bought it from.

As far as looking for a tech that is reliable and affordable... I see little wrong with reliable, but would add competent, honest, familiar with your model of espresso machine, and well-stocked to that list as being much higher priority than affordable. Street rate and final invoice are often only somewhat related - you usually get what you pay for.

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Permalink Reply by David Myers on January 23, 2012 at 5:23pm

Most of the manufacturers with USA offices offer espresso tech courses. You do have to go to their offices for a few days which is expensive for travel and hotel.

The manufacturers should also have a list of service providers in your area. Many service more than one brand, but not all stock parts for all brands.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 23, 2012 at 6:24pm

Espresso Southeast in Atlanta may well be your closest techs, btw.

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Permalink Reply by Scott on January 26, 2012 at 11:28pm

Very few manufacturers require certification - mostly for super-automatics.  Your local municipality may require a "boiler operators licence", but that's mostly gone away I think.  I know of no actual licence to work on espresso machines.  More likely you need a general contractors licence if you provide services to the public.  Carry insurance, post bond, and get a business licence, etc.  It varies from state to state.  Also, what you can do after that varies from state to state. For example, in Illinois only a plumber can touch the plumbing - i.e. you need a plumber just to connect the machine to the mains (someone from Illinois speak up here, I think that's what our tech said though).  In Washington State, anything connected to the espresso machine is fair game.  Same for water filtration.   

Parts outlays to stock a tech can be steep.  This ain't like HVAC. You can't show up and tell the customer you'll have to order the part - and charge them for both trips. (Well maybe on a cold call, the first time, for equipment you don't advertise that you work on). Johnstone supply don't stock espresso parts.  I wish that would fly.  They probably won't call you back if you try it.  No, you need to have something like 5k - 20k rolling per tech. And even then you will be ordering parts overnight more often then you think. 

Don't know if this helps, I got it from Google -

Espresso Tech Solutions

620 Railroad Ave
Birmingham, AL 35217-2934
(205) 841-0505

http://espressotechsolutions.com

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Permalink Reply by Troy J Mallett on February 16, 2012 at 3:48pm

Years ago when I was looking to get into becoming an coffee equipment mechanic I asked a local roaster who fixed machines if he would take me on as an apprentice. I was denied but told to buy an old machine and fix it, as mentioned in other posts. It took a couple years to follow through with finding and buying an old machine, however it was well worth the investment. When you have your own project (rather than a customers) you can take your time and really learn about all aspects of the machine. I happened to start out with an old Simonelli and I was lucky that part diagrams are readily available. The techs at NuovaDistribution and ECM were also very kind and supportive of all the questions I asked during my first rebuild in exchange for buying lots of parts at list price. I also read as many post in all the major coffee related forums and well as any academic books on plumbing, electrical troubleshooting, etc. that I could find. After rebuilding many Simonelli machines over the past couple years I have a greater amount of confidence to offer my service to outside customers. However, any shop I drop off my card to I make a file for that possible customer which includes what equipment they use, the part diagrams for their equipment, the closest part distributor, as well as the price for any part that would commonly be needed (gaskets especially).
If the shops around you typically use La Marzocco, then learn as much as you can about the entire La Marzocco line, research where you can get parts and absolutely schedule a time to meet with their techs or do a tech training. Also while studying, construct possible scenarios. What are the symptoms of a faulty group solenoid? This will prepare you for the call from a shop complaining of a terrible buzzing from inside the machine (mind you, the buzzing could also be improper voltage going to the solenoid and be a problem with the wiring or control box).
Getting to a place where you feel confident fixing a strangers machine is important, but being honest to the customer as to your abilities and stock of parts is much more important to developing a professional relationship. I might not know what is wrong with a customers machine or I might not have the part immediately available, but I will do absolutely everything I can to get their machine up and running as soon as possible.
I still have the 2 group machine that I first learnt on. If I get a call from a shop whose machine died and I cannot quickly fix it, I use my machine as a loaner so they can keep on with business. It might not be the ideal situation, but I will tell you frankly that the owners are thankful that I have their interests at heart.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Leanne Barnett on March 13, 2012 at 11:06am

Thanks so much, that's incredibly helpful troy! 

Troy J Mallett said:

Years ago when I was looking to get into becoming an coffee equipment mechanic I asked a local roaster who fixed machines if he would take me on as an apprentice. I was denied but told to buy an old machine and fix it, as mentioned in other posts. It took a couple years to follow through with finding and buying an old machine, however it was well worth the investment. When you have your own project (rather than a customers) you can take your time and really learn about all aspects of the machine. I happened to start out with an old Simonelli and I was lucky that part diagrams are readily available. The techs at NuovaDistribution and ECM were also very kind and supportive of all the questions I asked during my first rebuild in exchange for buying lots of parts at list price. I also read as many post in all the major coffee related forums and well as any academic books on plumbing, electrical troubleshooting, etc. that I could find. After rebuilding many Simonelli machines over the past couple years I have a greater amount of confidence to offer my service to outside customers. However, any shop I drop off my card to I make a file for that possible customer which includes what equipment they use, the part diagrams for their equipment, the closest part distributor, as well as the price for any part that would commonly be needed (gaskets especially).
If the shops around you typically use La Marzocco, then learn as much as you can about the entire La Marzocco line, research where you can get parts and absolutely schedule a time to meet with their techs or do a tech training. Also while studying, construct possible scenarios. What are the symptoms of a faulty group solenoid? This will prepare you for the call from a shop complaining of a terrible buzzing from inside the machine (mind you, the buzzing could also be improper voltage going to the solenoid and be a problem with the wiring or control box).
Getting to a place where you feel confident fixing a strangers machine is important, but being honest to the customer as to your abilities and stock of parts is much more important to developing a professional relationship. I might not know what is wrong with a customers machine or I might not have the part immediately available, but I will do absolutely everything I can to get their machine up and running as soon as possible.
I still have the 2 group machine that I first learnt on. If I get a call from a shop whose machine died and I cannot quickly fix it, I use my machine as a loaner so they can keep on with business. It might not be the ideal situation, but I will tell you frankly that the owners are thankful that I have their interests at heart.

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