Best of 2001: Best Appliance Repair Guy

Tom Jones of Mission Hills Electric and Appliance
902 Fort Stockton Drive, Mission Hills
619-291-6955

Tom Jones can repair just about anything from exhaust fans to convection ovens to washer-dryers. But if you come in with, say, a new "plastic" vacuum cleaner, be prepared for a lecture. "Everything I have is old," he says. "My Sunbeam toaster was a wedding present in 1956. The only change I've had to make is the cord. I have a 1910 Victrola record player with bamboo needles. You sharpen the needle a little, wind it up, and nearly a century later still hear Caruso perfectly. No plastic thing made today will last that long." And be prepared to wait. "I have so much work I can only get to the store twice a week," he says, "on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons,"