It Takes a Month to See a Repair Technician... Ceiling Air Conditioner AS Crisis (Comprehensive)

Increased Demand for System Air Conditioners Due to Interior Effects... Samsung Sees 40% Surge in Sales
Manufacturers Say "One Month Wait" Amid Rising Summer Repair Requests
Experts Call for Expanding Skilled Repair Workforce as Products and Services Combine into Complete Solutions

Samsung Electronics Service is informing about delays in air conditioner phone consultations on their website. [Source: Samsung Electronics Service website capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] With the unprecedented early arrival of scorching heatwaves, air conditioner usage has surged, putting after-sales service (AS) on high alert. In particular, the AS for ceiling-installed system air conditioners, which have seen a sharp increase, is so overwhelmed that it can be described as a crisis. This is due to the severely insufficient number of repair specialists and the difficulty of flexible operation under the 52-hour workweek system. Since product and service are combined to enhance completeness, there are calls for air conditioner manufacturers to expand their workforce.

According to the home appliance industry on the 17th, Samsung Electronics Service and LG Electronics began operating an emergency standby system for air conditioner services from the 11th of last month. Due to the heatwave starting earlier than usual and the increased use of air conditioners, repair requests surged, prompting the operation to start 3 to 4 weeks earlier than usual. Both companies are actively trying to increase the number of available service personnel to reduce waiting times, but the exponentially increasing repair requests are causing longer wait times. Moreover, due to recent heavy rains causing flooding damage, repairs in Seoul’s Gwanak-gu district are only possible by mid-September.

Notably, a significant portion of recent repair requests comes from built-in system air conditioners installed on ceilings. Known as ceiling-type air conditioners, these products allow multiple indoor units to be installed with a single outdoor unit, making them space-efficient. While they were mainly used in large facilities such as schools and shopping malls in the past, their adoption in homes has recently increased. Due to their high interior design effect, over 70% of newly built apartments installed system air conditioners as of last year.

In fact, among Samsung Electronics’ Wind-Free air conditioner product line, the system air conditioner has the highest cumulative sales volume. As of June, six years after Samsung launched the Wind-Free air conditioner, the cumulative sales of system air conditioners reached 2.85 million units, surpassing stand-type (2 million units) and wall-mounted types (2.15 million units). Samsung Electronics’ home-use Wind-Free system air conditioner sales in the second quarter of this year surged about 40% compared to the same period last year. LG Electronics also explained that demand is increasing.

System air conditioner image [Source: Captured from LG Electronics homepage]

While product supply is increasing in response to market demand, there is a shortage of personnel to manage system air conditioners. Unlike general air conditioners such as stand types, system air conditioners have a complex structure requiring specialized personnel. Existing air conditioner repair staff need additional training, making rapid replacement deployment difficult. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics said they could not disclose the proportion of system air conditioner specialists, but industry insiders expect the number of related personnel to be lower compared to general air conditioners. A home appliance industry official said, "General air conditioners have more available personnel because manufacturers have their own staff and home appliance distributors also have many in-house repair personnel."

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics stated that they are responding to delays in system air conditioner repairs. A Samsung Electronics representative said, "Since seasonal appliances tend to have concentrated service demand during specific periods, we are increasing personnel as much as possible to respond." An LG Electronics representative also said, "As system air conditioner sales increase, repair requests grow proportionally, so we are deploying as many available repair personnel as possible."

Experts advise that these companies should actively pursue workforce expansion and related training to reduce consumer complaints about system air conditioners and improve product completeness. Professor Seo Yong-gu of the Department of Business Administration at Sookmyung Women’s University said, "For system air conditioners, after-sales service is more critical than the device itself, similar to how the core of selling printers is the toner." He added, "Since service is part of the product and completes the finished product in this era, efforts should be made to cultivate related personnel."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.