Compare
How Sprocket compares
In New York it usually comes down to a national chain or whoever answers first on a marketplace app. Ten questions people actually ask us, answered for all three — including the jobs where we are not your best option. Ours are the answers of a company where the visit costs you nothing if you approve the repair.
$100 diagnostic (credited to repair)90-day warrantySee all prices
Nothing here is a claim about any particular competitor — chains and independents differ. It is what each kind of service usually looks like from the customer's side.
- Yes
- Depends
- Usually not
| What is being compared | National chain | Marketplace handyman | Sprocket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting through to someone | National chainUsually not. Business hours, a phone menu, and a callback when someone is free. | Marketplace handymanDepends. One person's mobile. Answered when they are not already under a machine. | SprocketYes. Answered on the first ring, day or night. The receptionist is automated and says so — booking the visit is all it does. Everything after that is a person, and the visit is confirmed by text within a minute. |
| If English is not your first language | National chainDepends. English, sometimes Spanish during office hours. | Marketplace handymanDepends. Whatever that particular person speaks. | SprocketYes. The call itself runs in Spanish, Russian and seven other languages. For any other language we text you a WhatsApp link and answer there in yours. |
| What the technician knows before arriving | National chainDepends. Your appliance and symptom, as typed on the work order. | Marketplace handymanUsually not. Whatever you managed to explain over the phone. | SprocketYes. Your model and symptom are looked up first — in service manuals, in our own journals from finished jobs, in a 60-part repair course. The technician arrives with the likely causes already narrowed down. |
| What you pay and when you learn it | National chainUsually not. A trip fee, then a quote once the technician has had a look. | Marketplace handymanUsually not. Agreed in your kitchen, after the machine is open. | SprocketYes. Flat rates published on the site before you call. Approve the repair and the visit itself costs you nothing — the $100 diagnostic is credited in full. Decline, and the diagnostic is all you pay. |
| If it turns out not to be worth fixing | National chainUsually not. The trip fee is normally still due, and the visit ends there. | Marketplace handymanUsually not. Depends entirely on the person standing in your kitchen. | SprocketYes. We say so on the spot and charge only the diagnostic — no repair is invented to justify the trip. Same answer when the machine is still under manufacturer warranty, or the fault belongs in a sealed-system shop. |
| Getting the right part | National chainDepends. Ordered through their own supply chain — often several days. | Marketplace handymanDepends. Depends on who you got and what they carry in the van. | SprocketYes. We keep no warehouse. The exact part is ordered the same day from NYC distributors and installed on the return visit — with no second trip charge. |
| Cancelling or moving the visit | National chainDepends. Policies differ, and a late cancellation is sometimes charged. | Marketplace handymanDepends. Usually fine — if you can reach them in time. | SprocketYes. Free. Move it or call it off in the same thread you booked in — there is no cancellation fee. |
| What is left in writing | National chainDepends. A work order and an invoice. | Marketplace handymanUsually not. A few text messages, if you kept them. | SprocketYes. Photos of the finished work and the whole conversation in one thread you can reopen any time. |
| If the fault comes back | National chainUsually not. Call the queue again and explain it from the start. The hours and exclusions are in the warranty terms. | Marketplace handymanUsually not. Hope the number still answers. | SprocketYes. 90 days, and the conditions are the short part: any day we work, no exclusion for a fault that needs a part. Write in the same thread — we come back. |
| Which appliances they take on | National chainDepends. Large kitchen and laundry machines, usually the brands they are contracted for. | Marketplace handymanDepends. Whatever that particular person is comfortable opening. | SprocketYes. Large appliances, and the small ones most shops turn down: coffee machines, multicookers, air fryers, range hoods. Each has its own page and its own flat rate. |
Every rate in the third column is published in full on the pricing page, before you call.
Why we can do it this way
Three things doing the heavy lifting
The phone is always answered
A missed call is a customer who calls the next company. Ours picks up at 11pm on a Sunday, in Spanish, in Russian, in English — and books the visit right there. Answering is all the automation does; the work, the verdict and the responsibility stay with people. That is also why we can keep the office small.
A searchable repair library
About 10,000 indexed passages: manufacturer manuals, our own repair journals, a 60-part video course. The fault another technician solved last winter is in front of us during your visit.
No warehouse, no storefront
We do not stock parts we might never use and we do not pay rent on a shop floor. Fewer costs behind the scenes is the reason the published price is what it is.
The founder wrote up how all of this is built, and what it deliberately does not do, on the about page.
What to expect
From your call to the warranty
Most repairs end at step 4. When a part is needed, step 5 is the only extra visit — and it is not charged as a second call-out.
- 1
You call, or book on the site
We ask what broke, what it sounds like, and which model it is. Then we agree on a time that suits you — same day when there is still room.
- 2
The job is prepared before anyone drives out
Your appliance and symptom go through our library and a senior review. The technician leaves with a short list of what to check first.
- 3
Diagnosis at your place
The technician confirms what is actually wrong and tells you the price from the published book — before any work starts.
- 4
Either it is fixed on the spot…
If the repair needs no new part, it is done in that same visit and you pay the published rate.
- 5
…or we order the exact part
You approve the price, we order the part the same day, come back and install it. No second trip charge for the return visit.
- 6
Afterwards
Photos of the finished work, the invoice, and a 90-day warranty. If anything is off, write in the same thread — we come back. We do not leave you alone with the problem.
Being straight with you
When we are not your best option
Three jobs we turn down or send elsewhere. Better you read it here than find out after paying for a visit.
The appliance is still under manufacturer warranty
Call the manufacturer's authorised service first. Letting us open it can void what you already paid for.
The repair costs more than the machine is worth
We say so on the spot and charge only the diagnostic — even though we earn nothing that day.
It is a sealed-system refrigerator job
Compressor and refrigerant work needs a certified sealed-system shop. We will tell you that instead of taking the job.
Questions
What people ask before booking
Will I get a robot instead of a person?
The receptionist that picks up is automated and says so at the start of the call. Taking your appliance, your symptom and your address and booking the visit is the whole of its job. The diagnosis, the repair, the photos and anything that goes wrong afterwards are handled by people — and after the booking you are in a thread with them.
Do you really answer at night?
Yes, 24/7, including the small hours and weekends. The nearest slot is offered on the call and confirmed by text within a minute.
What happens if I need to cancel?
Nothing is charged. Write in the same thread or call — the visit is moved or cancelled, with no cancellation fee either way.
What if I do not speak English?
The call runs in Spanish, Russian and seven other languages. If we cannot hold the conversation in yours, we text you a WhatsApp link and continue there in your language.
Why are your prices lower than a chain's?
No storefront, no parts warehouse and no call centre. The receptionist is automated and the diagnosis is prepared before the visit, so a job takes fewer trips. Those savings are what the published rates are built on.
So what does the visit actually cost me?
Nothing, if you go ahead with the repair — the $100 diagnostic is credited in full against it. If you decline, the $100 diagnostic is all you pay, and you keep the written verdict on what is wrong.
Tell us what broke
Someone answers now — in English, Spanish, Russian and more. You will know the price band before anyone drives out.