Round Rock Edition | February 2023

Left: Rodney Felfe, Peggy Felfe and Melissa Felfe run daily operations at Tri-City Appliance Repair.

EXTENDED SERVICE One component of the Tri-City Appliance Repair business model that is dierent from most big-box appliance stores is extended customer service beyond the initial purchase. That includes: Conducting repairs covered under the warranty When an appliance purchased at Tri-City that is still under warranty is in need of any kind of repair, a Tri-City representative will

BUSINESS FEATURE

Co-owner Peggy Felfe sits in front of some of the replacement parts Tri-City sells. (Photos by Brian Rash/Community Impact)

Tri-City Appliance Repair Shop focuses on customer service and detailed product knowledge W hen Tri-City Appliance Repair opened about 31 years ago on North Mays Street in Round Rock, there was no competi- know exactly what they’re talking about,” she said. “But when you come in here, even if we don’t know something, we can try to nd the customer the information.” BY BRIAN RASH

personally complete the work. Testing certain parts in the store Customers may bring in an appliance part, such as thermostats, thermal fuses and heating elements, and Tri-City sta will diagnose the problem in store. Continuing service Even after an appliance is no longer under warranty, Tri-City sta oers service calls to make repairs.

tion in the area. Large one-stop-shop home store chains had not yet started popping up in cities to the degree they do now, Tri-City co-owner Peggy Felfe said. As far as she knows, there were not any other family-owned stores in Round Rock, she said. “There were no big-box stores here in town,” she said. “Literally, we were the only appliance store in town. We have people we’ve sold to, and now we’ve sold to their children, and I think it’s gotten to the point where we’re selling to their grandchildren.” Since she opened Tri-City with her husband, Rodney Felfe, in spring 1992, the blueprint for Tri-City’s business operations has centered on appliance sales, service and repair. Peggy said that focus has helped keep them in business as more large box stores, including Lowe’s, The Home Depot and Best Buy, kept opening up around them. “When a person goes into a big-box store and asks questions, a lot of the people there don’t

The business remains family owned and oper- ated, as Rodney and Peggy’s daughter, Melissa Felfe, has helped run the shop with her parents for the last several years. Melissa said her aunts, cousins, sister and grandfather have also worked at Tri-City over the past three decades. Peggy said Tri-City sells products including refrigerators, washers, dryers, dishwashers, microwaves and ovens, and all appliances sold are manufactured by the Whirlpool Corp. Tri-City also completes appliance installations, sells parts, performs repair work for clients and delivers to homes in Round Rock, Hutto, Cedar Park, Leander and Pugerville. “We’ve always had good and bad years, but we’ve always done decently, too,” she said. “We try to take care of our customers in a timely manner. Plus, if someone walks in, I’m not going to try to sell them the most expensive thing we have. I’m going to try to see what they need.”

Tri-City Appliance Repair 1919 Mays St., Round Rock 512-244-1776 www.tricityappliancerepair.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Sun.

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ROUND ROCK EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023