An appliance repair chief operating officer sets the rules every branch follows to book, diagnose and close calls, order parts and file warranty claims. The COO also owns the company's refrigerant program and leads the general and operations managers who run each market.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, repair and maintenance businesses · BLS, May 2025
As our Chief Operating Officer (COO), you will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of our appliance repair service. Your role is crucial in improving processes, ensuring profitability, and contributing to the overall success and growth of our company.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee the day-to-day operational activities of the company.
Implement effective operational policies, procedures, and process improvements.
Develop strategies to enhance profitability and financial performance.
Coordinate with other department heads to ensure smooth business operations.
Ensure customer satisfaction by maintaining the quality of appliance repair services.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Supervise daily operational tasks.
Develop and implement operational strategies and processes.
Monitor financial activities and set financial goals.
Collaborate with the CEO and other executives to make high-level decisions.
Meet with potential clients and foster long-term relationships.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue Growth: >10% annually.
Process Efficiency: Reduce operation costs by 15% in the first year.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: >4.8 stars.
Employee Retention Rate: >95%.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or related field.
Minimum of 10 years of management experience, preferably in the home services industry.
Strong organizational and leadership skills.
Excellent financial and business acumen.
Exceptional communication and negotiation skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience as a COO or in a similar role.
Experience in the appliance repair or home services industry.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a fast-paced office environment.
Capable of lifting up to 20 pounds.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday to Friday, 9 am - 5 pm.
Occasional travel may be required for client meetings and business trips.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 per year, depending on experience.
Performance-based bonuses.
Benefits include Health, Dental, Vision, and 401k.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we believe in fostering a culture of growth and innovation. Our company is a place where you can bring your passion for operational excellence and make a difference. We are committed to our employees' professional development and offer opportunities for advancement.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Every branch faces the same daily problems: a part that isn't on the truck, a claim a brand won't pay, a sealed system that needs a certified tech. The COO's job is to solve each one once, for the whole company.
Refrigerant rules are a company program
Section 608 rules cover units charged with a refrigerant EPA hasn't exempted, such as an HFC-134a refrigerator or an R-410A window unit. A distributor may sell the company that refrigerant only after the company proves it employs a certified tech. Each tech keeps a copy of the certificate at the place of business until three years after they stop doing the work. Recovery machines must be certified for that refrigerant and for small appliances. The COO decides who buys, where certificates are filed and which trucks carry recovery gear. Source: 40 CFR 82.154: venting ban exemptions and the refrigerant sales restriction (eCFR).
One way to diagnose, in every branch
A first-visit fix starts before the truck leaves. The COO sets what the office collects at booking, such as the model and serial number, a photo of the tag and the symptom in the customer's words. Then the COO sets what the tech checks before calling a part bad. When every branch follows the same steps, the first-time fix rate can be compared fairly and improved.
Parts supply needs a plan
When a control board, pump or ice maker is on back order, the customer waits and the job needs a second trip. The COO picks the distributors and brand parts accounts each branch uses, and sets van stock from each branch's own call history. The COO also sets rules for when to offer a customer an approved substitute part. Someone in each branch owns the back-order list.
Warranty claims run on each partner's rules
Each brand and home warranty company sets its own rules for how fast a claim must be filed, which photos and readings go with it, and which failed parts must be sent back. A claim that misses a step can come back unpaid, and the labor is lost. The COO builds one closeout process that works for every partner, so techs close calls the same way in every branch.
How much appliance repair chief operating officers make
The closest BLS group for appliance repair chief operating officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for repair and maintenance businesses earned a median of $190,390 a year ($91.53 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 710 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for repair and maintenance businesses.
Salary plus a bonus on profit and on operating results, such as first-visit fixes, rejected claims and technician turnover.
Repair and maintenance businesses
$190,390$190,390 median Middle half $116,500–$333,930 10th–90th $58,090–$514,770
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Repair and maintenance businesses
$58,090
$116,500
$190,390
$333,930
$514,770
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for chief executives at household goods repair shops on their own, so these figures cover repair and maintenance businesses. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has run service operations across more than one branch or market
Writes procedures for booking, diagnosis and closeout that techs and office staff follow
Can trace second trips and rejected claims back to a booking, diagnosis or parts step
Coaches general and operations managers to fix causes, not just today's call
Plans technician capacity for the summer refrigerator rush
Teach these on the job
Section 608 rules and how your branches track certificates
Each brand's claim and parts return steps
Your distributors, order cutoffs and back-order reports
How your field service software books and closes a call
Which techs are trained on which appliance types
The COO works across field service software that holds model, serial and parts history, each brand's claim portal, distributor ordering sites and fleet GPS. Tell finalists how many separate claim portals your office logs into each week, since tying them together is often the first project.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Raising first-time fix
Your first-time fix rate dropped, so more jobs need a second trip. How would you raise it?
A strong answer: Finds the causes, such as missing truck parts, misdiagnosis or wrong orders, collects model and symptom details at booking, tunes truck stock and trains on the weak spots.
Behavioral · Cutting wait times
Tell me about a change you made that shortened how long customers waited for a first visit.
A strong answer: Names the cause (appointment lengths, booking rules, capacity, warranty windows), the change, such as phone triage or zone routing, and the before-and-after wait in days.
Keep paid and warranty calls apart, and replace the template's samples with targets built from a year of your own call and cost data.
Revenue Growth
Growth in completed repair revenue each year, by branch and by payer. Count warranty labor when a claim is paid, not when the call is run.
Process Efficiency
Operating cost per completed repair: tech hours, drive time, parts runs and second trips. Track it by branch each month. A cut that raises callbacks is not a saving.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Review ratings and surveys by branch, with calls that waited on a back-ordered part sorted apart. Long parts waits pull scores down even when the repair itself went well.
Employee Retention Rate
Share of techs and managers still with you after a year, by branch. Ask leavers why they went, and watch for branches that lose techs in their first months.
Does the refrigerant program cover every refrigerator?
No. Federal rules exempt propane (R-290), isobutane (R-600a) and R-441A in household refrigerators and freezers from the venting ban and the rest of the Section 608 rules. Refrigerators on HFC-134a are still covered, and so are window units on refrigerants EPA hasn't exempted. Build the program around the label: record the refrigerant on every sealed system call, and send covered units to certified techs with certified recovery gear. The exempt gases are flammable, so the maker's service steps still apply.
How much does an appliance repair chief operating officer make?
Chief executives who work for repair and maintenance businesses earned a median of $190,390 a year ($91.53 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $116,500 and $333,930 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
When can a tech use a part that didn't come from the brand?
On a brand's warranty call, follow that brand's parts rules, since a claim with the wrong part may not be paid. On a paid repair, tell the customer before you order and note their OK on the ticket. Write one rule for the whole company: which parts are approved, who can say yes, and how the office explains it when a customer asks.
Why would an appliance repair COO lift 20 pounds?
The template's 20-pound line usually means carrying parts boxes, tools or training gear on branch visits and ride-alongs. If your COO won't do those tasks, change the line to match the real job, and say that reasonable accommodation is available.
What should an appliance repair COO job ad say about the operation?
Cover what a COO from another trade won't guess. Say how many brand and warranty claim portals the office uses, how many techs hold a Section 608 card, and how long a typical back-order list runs. Name the brands that require training before a tech runs their calls, and say whether rejected claims or second trips are the first problem to fix.
