We all dread having to call a service professional out to our homes for a number of reasons. We know it's going to cost money, we don't know who exactly is coming out to our homes, we have no idea if they are going to be honest, and we don't know if the issue can be fixed in a timely manner. Basically there's anxiety associated with in home services which leads to an uncomfortable situation.
The cost is the one thing I want to discuss right away and hopefully give you at least an understanding of what to expect. I get the same phone call at least 20 times a year where someone will ask me how much it's going to cost to repair their system and the truth is, I won't be able to answer that until I'm on site, but I give some general guidance. I always tell everyone that at the minimum you can expect a total bill of about $300 dollars (somewhere in that ballpark) for minor/cheaper repairs such as clogged drain lines, wire repair, or something easy like that. I say easy, that's because these repairs can be handled with minimal materials in a fairly short period time. By the time you pay the dispatch/travel/diagnosis fee and the fee for clearing and treating a drain line, you will be right around $300 on average in my local market. This scenario plays out many times a year as drain lines are a very common issue in my market in the summer. Other issues can be a bit more so I'll give you some signs to look for and hopefully give you a piece of mind or some handle on the situation. If you still have air coming out of the vents (doesn't matter if that air is warm or cold), that's a good sign that your issue should be with the outdoor unit (there's exceptions to this such as drain line issues, but we are talking about the more serious problems now). Issues with the outdoor unit can be classified into two categories, is the unit running or not? If the unit appears to be running but not cooling, this is typically a sign of either refrigerant related issues or a capacitor. Hope for a capacitor here because that's an easy cheaper fix that any qualified professional will be able to rectify that day and very quickly for probably less than $700 total. Refrigerant related issues are going to be much more expensive and sometimes may even lead to you considering replacing the entire system depending on age, condition, and the problem. A very common issue I see is systems that are low on refrigerant which means the system has a refrigerant leak. You can often times recharge a system to buy you a little bit of time if you need that to check your financial situation and make better decisions, matter of fact I typically recommend that all my clients in this situation do exactly that. Refrigerant leaks don't just go away and often times the repair can cost up to if not more than the cost of a new unit. A recharge can be costly, lets say as much as $1200 sometimes, but if that can buy you a couple of comfortable nights of rest and some time to analyze your finances, it may be worth it.
As far as who is coming out to your home and if you can trust them, look at reputation and reviews. If the company has a good history in the community as well as online, typically they are a trustworthy business with trustworthy employees. Don't confuse price with quality. If you read a review about a company charging too much, that is not a reflection of their quality, that is typically someone who was dealing with a difficult situation financially and needed to vent. I understand, as a homeowner myself I've had to hire many contractors for different things and my roof was one that caught me by surprise at a difficult time financially, so I've been there. The company should be able to tell you which technician is coming out to your home and in the age of technology, it should be just as easy to get some basic info on that person before they get there. There's company websites, facebook, general internet searches, you have many opportunities to obtain some general info and maybe even pictures of the person coming to your home. I find this helpful especially if you are using a new contractor for the first time. It helps to have at least an expectation of the person who's about to knock on your door.
Trust is the hardest word in the English language. Trust is earned and not given so to be able to trust the people coming to your home to do the right thing and deliver reliable and accurate information is very difficult. I'm going to go back to the reputation of the company. Scammers and hacks will typically fade out after they have abused enough people, but this can take a few years especially in a market where people can be desperate for a solution. Legitimate companies striving to make a long term investment in the community will definitely have an online presence, websites, and most likely a very positive review history. These companies typically align themselves and hire individuals with similar core values and who care about not just how much money they can make now, but building good relationships with the community. I wrote an article a few days ago talking about professionalism and how it's related to trustworthiness. If your technician speaks in a respectful and professional manner, and treats your home with respect, that's typically a good sign that you are dealing with someone you can trust. I have found that general demeanor can not be faked, people can put on a facade, but their true character will shine in a conversation that last more than 10 minutes, so ask questions and read the body language, tone, and trust your gut. We as humans are naturally designed to pick up on qualities and characteristics in people, so trust your gut if it tells you something isn't right, get a second opinion.
When it comes to repairing things in a timely manner, it really depends on the issue you are having. If you are only given 1 option for repairing you system, ask why and if there are other options. Typically speaking there's almost always more than 1 option for rectifying a situation, maybe the one they gave you was the only reasonable one, but there's likely more than one. If the issue with your system is anything like a contactor, capacitor, relay, circuit board, wire issue, drain line issue, dirty coil, dirty filter, dirty blower wheel... these things can usually be fixed on site at time of service. Repairs such as fan motors, compressors, metering devices, leaking coils, fan blade, or blower wheels will likely need to be ordered and scheduled for repair another day. The exception to that list is going to be fan motors. Most HVAC companies keep a general truck stock of universal motors that will accommodate most applications. I've written articles about aftermarket parts and when they can work. I have no issue with using an aftermarket motor and I do so all the time. The best thing about a truck stock motor is that you get your comfort back rather quickly and typically at a discount as opposed to factory OEM motors. Should you find yourself in need of a compressor, metering device, a coil, or anything in the refrigerant circuit (except a filter drier), you can expect at least a 2 day (average) wait for the parts to come in. These parts are not universal and are very specific to that equipment and typically they are not just sitting in a warehouse down the street. At the same time, these are also the issues where you may be posed with the consideration to replace the existing system depending on age, condition, and sometimes even availability of needed parts. Compressors, coils, and metering device repairs typically start at $1800 and go all the way up to $5000, making them the most expensive repairs on the HVAC system. I have a client of mine that is looking at new properties and she asked me to look at one for her just 2 weeks ago. I found a 2008 split heat pump system operating with R22 and the indoor or evaporator coil has a refrigerant leak in it. I called two of my suppliers and both told me that the coil was no longer available. So her only option ultimately would be to replace that system unfortunately, sometimes this is the case.
I hope this article helps with the understanding and expectations of a service call and some of the associated cost. I hope also this article helps you to understand how to pick your contractors and service personnel. It can be a tricky world to navigate when it comes to in home services, however; I will say that in all my years of doing HVAC and all the companies I've worked for I have yet to find a truly dishonest technician. I have worked with a few that lacked some experience and made mistakes because of that, but that comes with time and we all have to walk that walk in our careers and technicians are no different, it takes many years to perfect this trade and it's not easy. Likewise I have yet to meet a business owner that was truly malicious. I've only met one business owner that I wouldn't trust but that was only because of their lack on knowledge of the industry and best practices, not because they were a bad person. I think maybe they just opened a business too early in life without the appropriate amount of field experience. Our industry in general is surrounded by honest, hardworking, and overall good people just trying to make a living the best way they know how.
Kenneth Casebier
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