Typo or Scam - 23 Hour Service??

February 22, 2010 4:55 PM

What does the term "23 Hour Service" when used by the service & repair industry?

I was looking for plumbing information online and came across several companies that offer "23 Hour Service" or "23 Hour Emergency Service" or something to that effect. I thought the first couple of sites were a typo, but it appears on many plumbing companies' sites. I also see it on HVAC companies, as well. Is this some sort of scam that these service industries are visiting upon consumers in the form of a "gotcha"? What I'm thinking is that they offer 23 Hour Service, you believe you're getting 24 Hour service, so when you call in the middle of the night with an emergency and they don't answer, they can say you called during the 24th hour, when they're not available. Seems silly to me, but something screwy is going on here.

Who benefits if that is the case? Seems like you'd only anger your customers when they really need you the most...not really good for business is it?

Check out:
This page of search results
and
This page of other search results.

So...what exactly is 23 Hour Service? Any clue?

posted by jspierre to Work & Money (9 answers total)

Best answer: It's shorthand to say they're faster than those who offer 24-hour service. It's like when companies purposely misspell words in their ads just to grab your eye. The Yellow Pages can often be a crowded place for those service companies, so plumbers will do what they can to get your attention.
posted by inturnaround at 5:11 PM on February 22, 2010

Far more common is 25 hour service with 1,460 hits vice 16 for 23 hour service. I presume they are just trying to stand out. Many of the 25 hour service guys are also 8 days a week.
posted by Lame_username at 5:20 PM on February 22, 2010

23 comes before 24 alphabetically.
posted by smackfu at 5:24 PM on February 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

I guess it's kind of like offering an item for sale at a price of $X.99. I mean, there's something about $99.99 that's clearly better and more attractive than just going with the obvious $100.00 and "calling it even".
posted by Witty at 7:43 PM on February 22, 2010

23 comes before 24 alphabetically.

No it doesn't. /nitpick
posted by shazzam at 8:01 PM on February 22, 2010

I used to live upstairs from Bruce. Bruce drove a tow truck: a sweet black flatbed with recessed flashers and a massive winch on the front. On the doors was written "Bruce's Wrecker Service: Out To Get You 23 1/2 Hours A Day".

When I asked about that, Bruce said, "Well, I gotta stop and take a shit sometime."
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:56 PM on February 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

Actually the whole point of the $X.99 was to get the cashier to open the cash register and give change, making it harder for them to just pocket the money.
posted by Carillon at 10:05 PM on February 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Interesting. I did not know that.
posted by Witty at 6:22 PM on February 24, 2010

I did not know that either. I still don't. But it has a ring to it. Carillon, can you offer sourcing?
posted by LonnieK at 6:25 PM on June 21, 2010