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.