Have you ever had a bad experience with in home services? If you have been a homeowner for at least a couple of years then the answer to that question is most likely yes. I'm going to highlight some key signs that should help you know when you may not be dealing with the most qualified person for the job.
There are many reasons you may need an HVAC technician at your home and most of the time it's going to be something simple like a drain line cleaning, failed capacitor, failed contactor... Most any technician will be able to diagnose and repair these simple issues with ease in a very timely manner. It's beyond these simple things that start to set apart good technicians from bad ones.
The first sign to me of a bad technician is after the initial diagnosis is completed the tech then starts to offer sales for add on stuff. I'm not talking about maintenance, I believe whole heartedly in good preventative maintenance. I'm talking about ultra violet products, thermostat upgrades (if not asked about it), things that you don't need. I have to be careful here because some upgrades have their place in the field so long as the situation dictates. Let's say you had to replace a very expensive communicating board or motor due to power fluctuations, then a surge protector is not a bad idea. If you just had a bad capacitor then a surge protector or a UV light don't necessarily fit the situation right? A sign of a good technician to me is someone who is honest enough to stay on task and address your needs as they arise. A good way as a homeowner to decipher whether you have a good or a bad tech is to ask questions. If a technician offers you a product for a solution, don't waste one second, immediately ask why! The response should not be delayed and there should be evidence in their explanation to support why they offered a product or service. For example, if a tech offers a surge protector and you ask why, the answer should not sound like a blanket sales pitch from the product brochure. Instead, the answer should be geared towards a situation YOU are currently dealing with at YOUR home. Said products and services should fit a need or concern that you specifically have.
Another sign of a bad technician is the inability to properly diagnose an issue. Now, even the best techs can miss the target sometimes, but this tends to be very few and far between. A good tech will ask some probing questions to ascertain the last time the unit was serviced as this will give them a good idea of how many developing issues the system could have, which also tells them all the places they will need to look. If you have a split system meaning you have one unit outside and another either in the attic or under the house, and the tech only looks outside, they will likely miss other issues that will lead to a call back for service as the unit may be functional but not as well as it should be. Good technicians know to thoroughly check the entire system before making a definitive statement or diagnosis.
This leads to another sign of a bad technician which is the one that stops every time they find one little issue and address it immediately with the homeowner. A good tech knows that without a comprehensive analysis of the entire system, a diagnosis is as reliable as a trip to the DMV on your lunch break. Think about it this way, if you take your car to the mechanic and they diagnosis it within 10 minutes, repair it in 10 minutes, and have you out the door; how confident are you that the diagnosis was accurate and necessary? Diagnosing mechanical systems takes time, patience, and often times a deep thought/consideration process especially if your HVAC system is more than 7 years old.
My last bit of advise for determining a good tech from a bad one is going to based on character. How does the tech present themselves? Are they respectful of you, your home, and your family? This is my biggest pet peeve as an owner of a company, manners are free and so are smiles. I know that we deal with difficult and unexpected situations and money, so being polite and respectful goes a long ways. Compassion is a big one too! The tech needs to have compassion for the situation, that is, we most likely are dealing with someone who is likely getting ready to spend money unexpectedly and you can usually pick up on the tone and presentation if that tech truly cares about your situation or not. Speaking of presentation, how a tech presents themselves is a big indicator. If a tech truly cares about their professionalism, they look halfway decent upon arriving at a call. You have to keep in mind that techs works in attics and under dirty houses, so if you are the 3 pm appointment, there's a good possibility that your tech may be a bit dirty from working all day. If you are the 8 am appointment and the tech's hair is a mess, they have dirty clothes, smell like they haven't showered in two days, this is typically a sign of the type of work they deem acceptable and you probably don't want them working on or repairing your equipment.
Traits of a good technician include taking the necessary time to properly and comprehensively diagnose equipment. They present/introduce themselves in a professional and respectable manner. Good technicians have compassion and respect for you, your home, your family, and your situation. Lastly and most importantly, a good technician will typically offer multiple solutions for the more involved/costly repairs. Telling you that you just need a new system is not acceptable in my mind. Give me all the options and let ME decide what is best for me. That's how I treat my clients and feel like we should all do the same. A good technician has no other agenda than to take care of their clients in a mutually respectful way.
A mentor of mine told me years ago that a good tech will spend 75% of their time cleaning and performing general maintenance on systems as opposed to selling and installing stuff!
Kenneth Casebier
Comments