Every food service operator loathes equipment downtime. If your equipment isn’t working, you’re losing money. Therefore it’s usually a good idea to do some research on the availability of equipment services and parts in your area before you buy. It’s also good to get an idea of how easy it is to make do-it-yourself repairs on a unit that will save yourself an expensive service call.

There are many quality manufacturers in the food service sector who design units that are easy to pull apart and fix common component failures. If you’re shopping around, make sure you ask about common parts and how they can be fixed on each unit so you can get a better idea of how quickly (and affordably!) you can fix those problems down the road.

Finally, consider the availability of generic parts for new restaurant equipment pieces. Generic parts can save you a considerable sum of money if they are available for the unit you own, and are equal to or better in quality than Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts. Often, they are the same exact part in a box with the equipment manufacturer’s name on it rather than the part manufacturer’s name.