When your HVAC system requires repairs, you may be tempted to browse through the yellow pages and call the first heating and air conditioning repair company you find. Unfortunately, this is not the right approach to take when looking for a competent contractor because the pressure to have the furnace or air conditioner fixed can put you at risk of making costly mistakes. When searching for the best heating and cooling contractor, there are numerous important questions. While most people may think that the question – when can you be here? – maybe the most important, there are many other important questions you have to ask before making a decision. This will help you avoid wasting a lot of money on unreliable repairs that may even exacerbate the problem at hand. To find the right contractor, you’ll need to call a few companies. However, this is not the end of the process as there are several things you have to consider.
What to Consider
- Ratings: You will need to check with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, the Tucson BBB, and Angie’s List to get some idea about how consumers have rated different contractors. Google is a great source of ratings, but it can manipulate the system only to show positive reviews. This makes it a less-reliable source.
- Are calls answered professionally and quickly during normal working hours. If you made the call after-hours, you would most likely be disappointed with the response because controlling employees after the official working hours is never easy. It may be a good idea to alert the business owner or management if your call is not answered professionally and in a courteous manner.
- If you made the call in the after-hours, how long did it take for someone to get in touch with you to ask about your call and give you an estimate of how long it will take a technician to get to your home?
- Did they inform you that a technician will call you before heading to your home as a reminder and courtesy update?
After scheduling the call
- Did you receive a confirmation call? If yes, was the dispatcher or technician professional in their demeanor?
- Did the technician arrive on time? Did they give you a courtesy call to inform you in advance that they were running late if the technician was late?
- Since HVAC repairs can be complicated, it is not uncommon for a technician to take a little longer than expected to get to the client’s home. However, a professional service provider will inform you in advance about any delays to ensure you can plan your day accordingly instead of waiting endlessly for the technician to arrive.
Upon arriving, was the technician:
- Apologetic for being late and explained the reason why? Professionals respect that time is precious, so they don’t need to be prompted to explain why they are late.
- Neatly dressed, clean, and professional? Was the technician in uniform with protective gear on and ready to get to work? Wearing a uniform is a way of showing professionalism.
- When introducing himself, was the technician polite and respectful? Did he state the reason for the visit? You expected a technician, but a self-introduction gives you peace of mind that you’re getting the right person into your home.
- Did the technician put on shoe covers before entering your home? While it may not seem necessary, this is a demonstration of professionalism. A properly trained technician will put on shoe covers without being asked.
- Did the technician take time to ask you about your heating or cooling system? Did he ask additional questions to try and diagnose the system before they started inspecting it? While an HVAC technician is an expert, they value the client’s information as the information can save them a lot of hassles when trying to figure out what the problem might be. Be sure to make the most of this opportunity to address every HVAC issue before the technician leaves your home. This will help to ensure you get better value for money.
Did the technician inform and show you the problem with your furnace or cooling system before carrying out repairs? This is crucial because you want to know exactly what the problem might be before it is fixed.
- Was the technician able to speak intelligently and professionally about the issue at hand and try to educate you about how to avoid a similar problem from recurring in the future while providing you with visual evidence and references to give you a better understanding of your HVAC system?
- If you disagreed with one or more of their recommendations, was the technician respectful of your views? The top HVAC firms usually hire a calm demeanor and can never get aggressive or disrespectful when a client rejects their recommendations.
- Did the technician consult you before proceeding with the repairs after identifying the root cause of the problem? This is crucial because no work should be done without consulting the client. When you call an HVAC technician, you only have to pay the diagnostic fee. Once the problem has been identified, the technician has to seek permission from the client before carrying out repairs.
- Did the technician inform you about preventive maintenance and proactive repairs, which can be done when the system is still running to prevent future breakdowns? The customer can only decide to carry out these repairs, so they are not necessary. However, it is usually good to carry out these repairs to prevent costly breakdowns in the future. It is important to note that there are also repairs that must be done for safety reasons. For instance, a cracked heat exchanger in your furnace must be fixed to prevent fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. Similarly, a bad compressor must also be repaired or replaced. Additionally, there are also system enhancements or upgrades that the technician may recommend. These are meant to improve the performance of the system. However, they are only suggestions for you to consider.
- After the repairs, did the technician show you the defective components that were replaced? This is crucial as it helps build trust between the technician and customers.
- Did they clean up after completing the repair job? Ideally, your home should be left as clean as it was before the technician arrived. The AC or furnace should also be put back the way it was with no loose or missing screws on any components.
- Did the technician leave you with a professionally-written service ticket indicating the types of services offered, charges, and recommendations they made?
- Did the technician ask you if you had any questions and answer them professionally and to your satisfaction?
By following this guide to choosing the right ac repair company in Victorville, you can be assured of finding the right contractor for the job. If a contractor fails to meet the expectations of this guide, consider searching for a different service provider. After all, there are many licensed HVAC contractors out there.
While price is a key factor of consideration when searching for an HVAC contractor, it is not the most crucial factor to be considered. What you should do is give priority to professionalism. The ideal contractor should also offer 100% guaranteed services. They should also offer a moneyback guarantee and a customer satisfaction guarantee to give clients peace of mind. These are crucial requirements because you would like to hire professionals who stand by their work. Firms that offer guarantees usually offer high-quality services and better value for money to all their clients. That is why they deserve to be given special consideration.