Competition is always healthy as long as…

I was in a client’s home and she seemed very uncomfortable. I try very hard to not only look over the equipment and mechanical aspects of a home but to also listen to the problems people have had with their equipment. The more questions I asked the more uncomfortable she seemed to become. I finally asked her if everything was ok.

“Its my husband.” She said, looking down at her hands, “He wants me to get 8 quotes for this furnace.”

I assured her that I have heard that many times before; it is always good to get different points of view. It just so happens that my company had been servicing this home for the last 12 years, she felt as if she was betraying our trust.

“All I ask is that you compare each quote on equal ground.”

Did they all do load calculations of your home?

Did they all examine the equipment and measure the present system up?

Were they clean and presentable?

Were their cars presentable?

Did they ask questions regarding the comfort of your home?

Did they ask what you wanted out of a new system instead of trying to tell you what they wanted?

And last but not least; Did you get a good feeling from them?

“But none of that has anything to do with the price of the equipment.” She replied, trying to gently indicate the level of my misunderstanding.

Many items can be purchased on price alone, especially when you can do without all of the bells and whistles. That is what makes the internet such a wonderful resource. Unfortunately, a furnace, boiler, water heater or air conditioning system are not commodities. No one can wheel in a big wooden crate and say: 

“Here’s your new system!” Walking away without having to do anything more. Installing HVAC equipment in your home takes skilled labor that will be in your home for hours and sometimes even days. Do you really want to spend that much time with people you do not feel comfortable with? When I find that one spouse is driving the price issue while the other spouse has to stay home and deal with the consequences I often suggest that the rolls be reversed. If the price motivated spouse wants to stay at home the day of the installation and deal with the inevitable fall out then we will see who is worried about price in the future.

Price is always a concern, no matter how much money a person makes. We all want to feel like we have gotten a fair deal. But we need to add some of the touchy feely items to our list when picking a good heating and air conditioning company. You are trusting this company with your home and family and hopefully you will be having a relationship with them long into the future.