Norcal Appliance Repair

I have never written a Unilocal review, but I had to let people know how bad and unprofessional Langford brown is. He was hired to fix my drier. We were away on vacation. He came when friends were staying at our house. When we came home our drier wasn’t attached and the laundry room was filthy with lint everywhere. We also payed him unfortunately. He is the worst!!!

If I could give no stars I would. Langford used our kitchen flatware as tools and bent the knives, sought out my husband’s drill and broke all his drill bits using it to repair our stove. After hundreds of dollars, the oven door he repaired broke again within a week and, not only did he not fix our broken stove top burner, he broke a second burner and bent the base beyond repair. We needed to pay for repairs and then had to replace the entire stove top.

Danger! Do not use Langford to fix your oven! I had to call the fire department due to a GAS LEAK and minor explosion from my stove after he left. I felt I had to purchase an entirely new stove due to his «service.» He did not have the necessary tools for the job. He clearly did not understand what he was doing and did not rectify the problem. During the service call he took three personal calls and texted while working. At no point did he turn off the gas while he was working on the stove. He replaced the knobs incorrectly. He had a very hard time putting the oven back together; that took at least 20 minutes. When I went to use the stove an hour after he left, the burner he worked on made a POP noise and would not turn on. I smelled gas and then an explosion of fire came out of the knob for that burner. Then, the entire stove’s electricity shorted out and blew the fuse. I called the fire department immediately who came and turned the fuse, and oven burners on to check it out. While they were there was a small explosion of fire from all four burner knobs and again the electricity shorted out from that fuse. The firemen said there was a gas leak in the stove. I replaced the stove and am out $ 100 for the «service» and had quite a scare. I am not reporting this business at this time as I feel somewhat responsible as I did not read any reviews prior to calling him. If I had read reviews I would have known he was a repair person who could not be trusted. This business put my life at risk, I am very lucky I called the fire department when I did.

do not call this guy. he was okay on the first phone call but never followed up on the actual repair. he quoted $ 100 for a part plus labor then upped it to $ 300. he was very rude and basically blew us off. not a nice person to deal with.

Langford came through with flying colors on a repair for my Maytag washing machine for one of my rental properties (in Piedmont). He came on time, diagnosed the problem (failed water pump), picked up the part (in Walnut Creek) and installed it.
He actually tried to install it that night, but rather than forcing the fix without the proper tools on hand and possibly stripping the bolts/​parts and doing a bad job, he actually came back the next morning and finished the job. Which I didn’t mind, since the laundry could wait and I’d rather have it done right. I appreciated his honesty, diligence, expertise and the discount that I received.
The $ 75 for $ 100 deal is really a good deal and quite uncommon! Take advantage of his Unilocal special and get your appliances fixed by a reliable repairman!

BEWARE! Safe yourself a head ache… no professionalism, no respect for peoples time, not qualitied to service the products claims to be able to repair… CHECK OUT THE MAJORITY OF HIS REVIEWS… TERRIBLE!
Langford Brown should not be in business based on the manner in which he operates. Oh — NO CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED, strickly cash business… FISHY!

Do yourself a favor: steer clear of Norcal Appliance Repair! Dealing with Langford Brown was an absolute nightmare. Sure, he did a service call on a Saturday and was prompt; this was the only positive detail in an otherwise terrible experience. He told me I needed a new dishwasher, and that he would get one and come back to install it on Monday. Come Monday, he tells me he doesn’t know when he can come by because his van has a broken water pump and is in the shop. He lets me know at 6pm that he won’t be there that day at all. We next agreed on Wednesday. I’d already taken time off work days before when he was a no-​show, and had requested a set appointment time and asked if I could be his first appointment of the day. He wouldn’t commit to a time, instead giving me a time window of two hours, despite knowing the job needed to be completed by noon time so I could return to work. At 10:15 that morning, he called to say he was 15 minutes away. He showed up an hour later, at 11:20 when he knew I needed to leave at 12noon. He came in with the replacement dishwasher, and very soon after began cursing and huffing. He said he couldn’t install the dishwasher because there wasn’t a water shut off valve in my apartment. This was not true, but I didn’t know it at the time. He left without completing the job.
He was EXTREMELY unprofessional, not just in his cursing outbursts. He made a GIANT mess in my apartment, and didn’t clean up after himself. I told him he needed to clean up, and he asked me for towels. He then made a couple cursory swipes at the floor, but he left water and screws all over my kitchen floor. He stained my carpet in the adjacent room. He was even going to leave the old dishwasher sitting in my tiny kitchen, but I told him he had to move it or else the kitchen was unusable.
But here’s the BEST part: the «new» dishwasher he brought was not new! It had a broken door, rust stains inside the dishwasher, food crusted on the bottom. He didn’t give me any of the new dishwasher paperwork. I didn’t realize any of this until after he left because I was cleaning up the watery mess he’d left in my kitchen.
This guy brings a used and broken dishwasher, made a mess, was unpleasant to be around, and then has the nerve to charge my landlord $ 500 for a new dishwasher!
We had to have another technician bring a new dishwasher and do the replacement, as well as remove the defective dishwasher Langford Brown tried to pass off as «new», even as he was too incompetent to install his broken dishwasher.
I can’t believe I can’t give this guy negative stars! Steer clear!

Langford Rocks! I called him last night when my refrigerator broke. He got here, had the part, was quick and straight forward. We are landlords and I will have him back to re-​pair any appliances that break.

I used the yellow pages to find a refrigerator repair person. I wished I had used Unilocal first, because not only did it take many phone calls, missed appointments, several replaced parts, etc., when it was apparently fixed, my refrigerator only worked for one week.
Norcal is not reliable and not recommended.

I had multiple appointments scheduled with this company and they failed to show to all but one. He didn’t call to let me know he wasn’t showing until after the time frame had ended. I thought it was very unprofessional and they never ended up fixing anything. I would take your business elsewhere.

My dishwasher broke on Sunday, I called Monday morning and Langford was at my house Monday afternoon. He gave me a really realistic sense of fixing vs. replacing. He also gave me tips on improving the longevity of my other appliances and tips for appliance purchases. Plus, he fixed my ice maker!
Langford was professional and courteous. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. His prior call to mine ran long and he called me before his appointed time to let me know he was running late. I truly appreciated his respectfulness of my time.
Samantha and Casey, Oakland

We required repair on our inherited LG dishwasher when the heating element needed to be replaced. Unfortunately there are not many shops that perform repairs on LGs. We called Langford to do the repairs and he came in to do an initial analysis. After looking at the dishwasher he agreed it was the heating element and ordered the parts. He showed up the next day and begins installation. Many hours later he was still struggling with the installation. It took him so long, his wife called him and eventually showed up at our house and was waiting for him in our kitchen! He «finished» the installation and ran the dishwasher for a couple of minutes and noted it was «working» and he could not wait for the full cycle to finish and he stopped the cycle. We let him leave and in hindsight that was our first mistake. We tried the dishwasher the next day and after about five minutes an error message appeared. So, we called Langford back to let him know he failed to install the part correctly. After multiple attempts at reaching him, he finally called back and said he had been sick. Okay, I can deal with that. We finally scheduled him to come out for another look at our still-​broken dishwasher. He never showed up and never called to say he couldn’t make it. Really?! FINALLY, again after multiple attempts at contacting him, he came back again and struggled with the dishwasher for many more hours. Again, his wife showed up at our house and hovered over him while he worked. He took apart the dishwasher again and reassembled the parts. It was late and he left for the day claiming it worked again. We ran it and it seemed like it was fixed since the cycle ran longer. Of course, it didn’t. After a full trial of the cycle it bombed out. We decided to cut our losses with hours and dollars spent over the month we dealt with Langford’s comings and goings and just bought a new dishwasher. Shame on us for not monitoring the resulting repair better, but I doubt we would have gotten any better results.
Bottom line: Cannot do LG dishwasher repair; unprofessional (Who brings their wife to a client’s site?); unreliable; NOT RECOMMENDED

WARNING, do not use Langford for washer repair services. He shows up for his appointment on time, which is great. I ask him, you know the dryer is stacked on top of the washer right? The owner didn’t notify him of that prior to the arrival. I explain the situation and he gets to work. He pretty much man handles the unit, scuffs the baseboards, and starts to pull the tubes out of the drain area. He gets into the back of the washer and is jamming things around, cuts his finger and gets blood on my carpet. He only comes prepared with his tool belt, no shot vac, or cloths to clean up etc. He pulls a wire out of the filter and explains this is what is causing the clog. He then assembles everything and leaves. I get two loads of laundry done and then the washer stops with the same error saying its clogged. After contacting the owner, Langford gets in touch with me to come back over and prior to arriving says I need a new pump… really couldn’t you figure that out the first time when I told you the washer was running much louder than normal. He comes back over with another guy, does the wash and spin cycle and says yep you need a new pump. Long story short, water has been sitting in my washer for two weeks, ands that’s ok because I much rather have someone that knows what their doing so I’m not inconvenienced again.
BTW he has an F+ with BBB, 3 complaints in one year says it all.

Fast, friendly and reasonable! I already knew what was wrong with my oven (PG&E had told me) so I told him on the phone and he asked the relevant questions so he could bring the right part. Langford showed up on time, and fixed my oven in less than an hour. The only issue is that he told me that he wanted cash, which I didn’t have (who carries that much cash with them?); he did end up taking a check, but if he really wanted cash, he should have told me on the phone. Other than that, I had a good experience, and I’d definitely call again for other repair issues.

I called for a Tromm Dryer repair, and Langford Brown, the owner, came himself later that same day (at the appointed time!) and had that dryer fixed in less than an hour! I was in luck as he happened to have a nearby appt already and squeezed me in. With 3 little kids, this really helped my peace of mind that day.
Langford was professional, friendly, and gave me tips on how to use and maintain my dryer. The bill was fair. I would definitely call him again for any appliance.

Note to all — Don’t let hotel key cards get into the dryer.

I called them based on the positive reviews on Unilocal and really wanted to give the guy a chance. Not only am I disappointed but, feel compelled to warn anyone!
— Called Langford and spoke to him to set up an appointment to fix my Miele dishwasher and verified that they work on Mieles (some don’t), and what the particular issue was.
— A service person was sent out and looked at my machine and said «I don’t work on Mieles.» I said that was strange because I spoke to his boss who assured me they did. He called Langford and I explained that I was disappointed in this waste of time. He said he would come out himself the next day and assured me he understood what the issue was.
–Next day: I have an appointment from 2 – 4. No show by 3pm, so I call. He says he had several technicians out sick and his secretary was supposed to call and reschedule. I tell him that A) no one called, and B) he was the one supposed to be here. His response, «I’m one of sick people, but I can come out tomorrow.» NO APOLOGY for not calling. Now as an owner of the business, that’s the FIRST thing you do.
–3^rd rescheduled appointment set for Sat 9−11am. 9:15, no show, as I am checking my phone and walk outside, there is notecard that says «Was here at 8:15.» NO DOORBELL, NO PHONECALL!
— I call and leave a message with Langford reiterating our appointment was from 9 – 11 and that I hope he will call me back and show up for our set appointment time.
— NO CALL BACK whatsoever. Who can do business like that? I will go onto BBB and second the F they received. Too bad I didn’t see that earlier either.

Langford did a fantastic job on my Maytag dryer. He was super responsive in setting up the appmt, and on the afternoon of our appmt, he called to ask if we could move it to the next day as his current job was running late. He called well before our appmt time, and that was helpful to me.
Next day he shows up promptly and gets right to work. He figures out that i needed an igniter (not lint cleaning like i suspected), and he had the exact part (and not a cheap knock-​off brand) in his truck. Within minutes, it was fixed and my dryer was back in action.
I would give a 5 star for the caliber of work and his excellent service overall, but i thought the fee for a service call which was done in 15 minutes was a bit high. I think it’s less than others but it could’ve been a tad less, but i am very happy and will call him first anytime in the future.

Langford rocks. Showed up on time, was very friendly, assessed my dishwasher, and fixed it by simply cleaning it out. He then spent 5 minutes telling me about how to run it optimally — things I never knew, but now that I do, I’ll certainly have less repair calls.
He’s an honest, diligent person. After fixing the dishwasher, he asked me about my other home appliances, and gave me pointers on how to keep those running their best as well.
I wish all independent appliance repair specialists were as solid as Lanford Brown.

Fantastic. Mr. Brown completed the oven repair quickly and on short notice. He was friendly and knowledgable, with plenty of great tips.

Mr. Langford came out checked out my washer and showed me the problem then helped to decide if i wanted to replace the part or replace the washer. I decided to get a new washer.
thanks!