All HVAC Companies Aren’t the Same; Learn How to Choose the Best

You may hope that your home’s heating or cooling system never breaks down, but that hope and a couple of bucks likely will just buy you a cup of coffee. ALL mechanical systems will break down eventually; it’s only a matter of when and how. That being the case, it’s important to have some idea of what quality HVAC customer service looks like, so you’ll know it when you see it (or don’t see it, as the case may be).

Alas, a homeowner probably has a better chance of recognizing poor customer service from an HVAC contractor than good service. What does poor service look like? It’s the usual characteristics, of course – impolite, sloppy, clueless and/or gross behavior by the technician, then later on, learning that your furnace or AC didn’t get installed or repaired correctly.

Quality HVAC service, fortunately, also can be recognized. Look for these characteristics of excellent customer service when you need a repair, maintenance or replacement of your home’s heating or cooling system.

What Quality HVAC Service Looks Like

• The technician who comes to your house should look and act professionally, arriving when he or she said they would. They should gladly show you their card or credentials, including evidence that they have certification from NATE (North American Technician Excellence). A NATE-certified HVAC technician has taken a course and passed tests in both general and specialized HVAC areas of knowledge. The technician should offer to wear a facial covering if that’s what you prefer.
• Before getting started on your furnace, heat pump or AC, a good technician should review the issues you’ve been having with you or someone else at your home. He should inspect your HVAC system and related systems, then diagnose the problem, before providing a detailed estimate for the work that needs to be done.
• The technician should alert you to any warranties or guarantees for the work they need to do, or any discounts or rebates that might be available. The best HVAC companies offer a 100 percent upfront pricing guarantee. This means that if the technician does the work and finds that it’s more involved than thought when the price quote was given, you, the customer, won’t have to pay any more than the quote.
• If the technician finds some sort of operator error in the heating or cooling system malfunction, they should inform you how to avoid that problem in the future. Perhaps you’ve been expecting a furnace to heat your home to an unrealistically high level during severe outside cold. Or maybe you’ve left a dirty filter in the furnace for several months. A good technician will tell you what you’ve done in a diplomatic, polite fashion but they definitely need to inform you if you’ve been doing something wrong.
• If the technician is replacing your existing furnace, heat pump or AC, if they’re providing quality customer service, they will do the following: Explain your options for efficiency levels and advanced features, and perform a heating or cooling load calculation before recommending a certain capacity. Depending on the climate where you live and how much work you put your HVAC system through, a higher or lower energy-efficiency level might make more sense. Super high-efficiency air conditioners, for example, don’t make much sense in northern Michigan, while very high-efficiency furnaces aren’t recommended in Florida. In either case, you’ll just be wasting your money paying for that extra energy efficiency. Proper sizing is important since both an under- and oversized heating or cooling system won’t work as well as one that’s been sized to match the unique characteristics of your home. It’s important to realize, too, that these factors include much more than the size of your home.

There’s a world of difference between good and bad HVAC customer service. If you can tell the difference, you’ll likely come out ahead in both comfort and energy costs, with fewer breakdowns in the future.