Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Home Warranty. Six in one hand, half a dozen in the other.

I've been battling over wether contractors should do home warranty work any longer. There are several pros & cons when it comes to working with a home warranty company. Let's look at the PROS. 1) You don't have to advertise in order to get into a customers home, which means free exposure. That's where the pros end! Now let's look at the CONS. 1)Someone else other than you controls your pricing. You are expected to give the home warranty company a HUGE discount. 2)" The home warranty companies best interest at heart" is their motto. It's never about what is in the best interest of the customer but what is the cheapest repair that can be made to just get the customer by. No matter what the PROFESSIONAL recommends! 3) Just another middle man getting involved in our industry lowering HVAC Contractors value everywhere.
Do we really need them? Or do they need us? Yea, yea I know. There's a sucker or desperate joe out there who'd install an entire system for $200 bucks and I'm pretty sure that bleep bleep does work for home warranty or isn't licensed at all. But we, the Contractors that take pride in our work, that pull up to a customers house in a lettered van or truck, that are educated in our industry and strive to further that knowledge, that realize that our worth is much more than a value meal from Wendy's, that follow industry standards, laws, and practices. Do we need them? If you're the guy trying to make a dime, I'm not talking to you, but if you're trying to build something much more, then do something! The customer isn't happy, and the contractor isn't happy, but you can bet that the home warranty companies made a profit during this recession.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Local HVAC Contractor with A+ rating with BBB

I hear about alot of consumers being taking advantage of by contractors, but why? When you have so many tools out there so that the consumer can properly do their research and check the contractors qualifications with the state contracting board, BBB, local chamber of commerce, or even Angie's List. At T.M. Street Heating & Air Conditioning you will find a company that is in good standing with all of these organizations. Before you call for heating or a/c service, check out the company and check us out at T.M. Street Heating & Air Conditioning, LLC. . You can find out more about us by visiting www.tmstreethvac.com . You can also visit some of the sites when you need to find a quality contractor. (www.bbb.com, www.angieslist.com, www.dpor.va.gov , www.acca.org)

Friday, December 11, 2009

Consumers purchasing HVAC equipment online.

In todays econimic times it's understandable to have the consumer search for the best price that they can find, but be careful how you find that price. Now a days the consumer can go online and and purchase some brands of HVAC equipment. BUYER BEWARE! When you purchase equipment online the manufactor voids the warranty on that piece of equipment. Companies that sell equipment online are middle men who have a license and turn around and sell to consumers. Your purchase is rarely or never from the distributor. 1.) It is against the law to sell or pruchase equipment that contain dangerous or hazardous chemicals such as refrigerant or what a lot of people call freon. You must have an EPA license. 2.) When you purchase online the manufactor has no evidence that the equipment that was purchased was installed by a licensed contractor who has been trained to properly install their equipment. 3.) If you hire a contractor to install the equipment most will not offer a labor warranty on equipment purchase online. 4.) The money that you attempted to save, you usually end up spending anyway, if not more. With the lost of the warranty and the possibility of improper installation, you could end up spending more than what you were trying to save. Remember BUYER BEWARE!