Recently the tide seems to be turning in favor of “Free Service Calls” in our business. I think this is great for the customer, don’t get me wrong. I also think (unfortunately) that they have no idea what’s in store for them.

Using a free service call to entice a customer to call an air conditioning company in Houston is an age old trick. Offer something free (the hook), and “sell” them something when you are in their house that moore than makes up for the cost of sending a driver to their house to “inspect” their equipment.

All companies these days offer a “FREE SERVICE CALL” to one degree or another. Take our policy for example. Our service call is not charged if the recommend repairs are performed when the technician presents the solution and pricing to our customers. See? Free service call.

Even Sears (whom my wife can’t live without every Thanksgiving for some reason) charges a fee when they diagnose, or deliver parts to your home if the customer chooses not to have the repair done. Did you ever wonder how much that little heating element in the double oven that you only use 1 time a year actually costs? That’s right, it doesn’t matter. Just “fix” it…. for $385.00. And please don’t charge an extra service call on top of the fees because that “isn’t right”.

Service calls, diagnostic fees, trip charges, they are all the same. The fact is it costs money to put technicians on the road to service our customers. When a customer approves the work, the investment is worth it (economically in the business), and we gladly waive any diagnostic fees that might be associated with “inspecting the unit”.

DON’T BE FOOLED! Companies that offer moore than normal are offering to come to your house with a “sales person”, not a technician, and “sell” you something. They are not there to “repair your airconditioning equipment”. Trust me, most of the techs they employ don’t know how to repair it. These same techs apply every season after they are laid off. Most can barely blow out a drain line properly.

And still, all of the companies in the Houston area just go about our business every year accepting this as “status quo”. “Oh well, that’s moore or less the way its always been”. The truth is (and we know because we run this business here in the Houston area), those companies are so desperate for more customers, and more sales that they would even consider paying customers $20 just to let them visit their homes and give “FREE ESTIMATES” all day long.

The technicians are required to “produce” sales. We get word back all the time from contacts in the industry that if a technician working moore or less for one of these companies returns from a “FREE CALL” without selling at least $200 worth of goods their job is in jeopardy! Imagine possibly loosing your job because your employer “REQUIRES” you to sell something, anything (whether it is needed or not) to every “FREE SERVICE CALL” customer you visit each day. AND, you visit 8-10 per day.

I had a technician work at one of these moore or less FREE SERVICE CALL companies that returned after 6 months. They had him pulling calls in College Station every evening (his first call usually wasn’t dispatched until 4pm). These calls usually did not end up in sales. As a result he was driving 4 hours a day for $18 DOLLARS!!!! That’s crazy! It’s also borderline illegal in my opinion. The fact was that he wasn’t paid for his time, and he couldn’t feed his family unless he SOLD something to these customers! When I talked with him he didn’t care if they needed it or not, he was going to SELL them something!

Moral of the story- BE CAREFUL! YOU USUALLY GET EXACTLY WHAT YOU PAY FOR! “FREE” sounds great, but it could cost you a real bundle if you’re not sure what you really need.

We always waive service calls when repairs are made. We also offer second opinions if you are not sure about a “free” company you have had “look” at your equipment. 832-237-2226

Generally the public is trained to trust the advice of service technicians. They are “knowlegable”, they “know what they’re doing”, they are “trustworthy”….. They also almost always get paid commision for selling you stuff.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with commissioned employees or technicians.  What is wrong, in my opinion, is when a company is compared “apples to apples” based solely on price and how flashy the “technician” was. As a general rule we give honest, workable advice to our customers. This is absolutely not the case with most Houston Air Conditioning Companies. I assure you.

That “technician” (term used LOOSELY) that you are talking to is there for one reason… to sell you something. You see, if he doesn’t sell you something he usually doesn’t even get paid for coming to your house and looking at your equipment….. That’s right, he doesn’t get paid unless he sells you, and the more he sells you, the more he makes for himself.

Again, I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with this system, but you should be aware of this when evaluating your new equipment proposal from “John”, your tech, or other big companies. They only survive becaus e of the high margins they make installing new equipment for unsuspecting customers each year.

We are usually honest to a fault. Yes, it is possible. Imagine giving a customer a completely honest opinion and pricing options for repair or replacement so that we can help them stay within their budget?? Especially during these hard times? The economy? What economy? Generally we are sometimes treated as though we have the plague.

Maybe it’s because we are too honest (imagine that), or we provide straight forward, honest opinions on repair or replacement when it comes to your Houston air conditioner. Maybe it’s because our technicians are “fixers” and not sales people first. Maybe poeple just don’t want to hear that their 20 year old condenser is ABSOLUTELY on it’s last leg and will need to be replaced with this repair, or at the very least in the near future!

Whatever it is, it’s hard to change. Honesty and hard work got us here. It used to be revered, and preferred buy consumers, and homeowners.

These days, it seems people would prefer to be “sold”… No doubt that’s part of our job, but this honesty thing we’ve got going sure beats (or used to) what the “big boys” are doing. We often see customers, or potential customers purchasing equipment for tens of thousands of dollars that was not needed. It was sold to them by a “technician” that is more of a sales person because they do not actually know how to fix anything.

Nevertheless, be careful when asking for “free quotes”, or comparing prices as “apples to apples”. They very rarely are, and unfortunately there are less and less contractors like us who will provide honest service, with honest pricing, and honest rates for equipment replacement when the time arrives.

We do provide free second opinions on equipment replacement. If you would like one, please call today (832-237-2226) or use the residential quote form for a fast quote on your equipment replacement.

From Jeffrey Orloff, former About.com Guide Article Source

American Standard and Trane are both companies known for their innovation and use of technology to better the lives of people. Both companies began small and survived the Great Depression to emerge as industry leaders, each in their own right. Each company has over a century of experience and dedication to serving customers’ needs and the manufacture of top quality products. These histories intersect late in the twentieth century, and the two companies become one corporation.

Std. Sanitary Manufacturing Company began making US bathtubs over 130 years ago in 1875. Inventing the built -in US bathtub, combination faucet (mixes hot and cold water to give warm at the tap), corrosion resistant brass fittings, and the one piece toilet; American standard quickly dominated the global bathroom fixture market.

In 1885, James Trane opened a plumbing shop in Wisconsin. Due to cold Wisconsin winters James invented a low-pressure heating system called the Trane Vapor Heating System. Reuben, James’s son, had an engineering degree, so in 1910 the two man team opened manufacturing operations. Today, it is one of the most recognized names in the heating and air conditioning industry.

In the past, the ‘AS’ company was comprised of three divisions: Heating and Air Conditioning Systems/Services, Vehicle Control Systems (WABCO) and Bath and Kitchen Products. Although ‘AS’ has had a heating and air conditioning division for quite some time; previously the company’s focus has been on it’s bathroom and kitchen fixtures division. Fixtures by American Std. can be found globally in private homes, hotels and commercial establishments.

Few people realize that Trane is an ‘AS’ Company now. In 1984, American Standard and Trane became one corporation. The corporation continues to manufacture heating and air conditioning products and services under the names “Trane”, “American Standard Trane” and “American Std”.

Deciding to shift their focus to the new American Standard Trane Corporation led to the sale of the Kitchen and Bath Division. Even though under new management, American bathtubs and other fixtures continue to be manufactured under the American Standard name with the highest of quality standards.

The corporation also formed their Vehicle Control Systems (WABCO) into a separate independent company.

On November 28, 2009, they made the announcement they were changing their company name to Trane and would trade on the New York Stock exchange as Trane, Inc. (NYSE:TT).

Trane, Inc. continues to manufacture heating and air conditioning systems, products and services under the names American Standard Trane.

Today, Trane, Inc. employs 29,000 employees and more than 400 locations in over 100 countries. 2006 gross annual revenues in exceeded 6.8 billion dollars.

With a combined history of over 200 years manufacturing the best quality products; when you purchase an American bathtub by American Standard or a Trane heating/air product; you are getting over 200 years of combined history manufacturing the best quality products.

Trane, Inc is respected industry-wide for their ability to design, manufacture and market commercial and residential heating and air conditioning systems. The quality products and support provided to customers has only improved with the merging of American Standard and Trane.

With high temperatures at record highs over the last few days I think everyone, including myself is looking at their air conditioning thermostats and wondering if they will make it through another hot Houston summer without any major repairs.

The answer is simple. Your air conditioning system MUST have air to work properly. That means it MUST have enough air going to it. Without that, there is not enough air coming out of it to properly cool your house.

It is difficult to remember to change your air filters regularly, and we understand that. The truth is, when you change them regularly, but not regularly enough you can run into problems.

Any change in humidity and cooling requirements translates directly in MORE hours your equipment must run in order to operate. This does not mean operate correctly, or efficiently. I mean OPERATE. A dirty air filter will prevent enough air from passing through the unit to cool your house or office. A situation like this will lead people to think that “it’s cooling, just not keeping up”.

Well, think about it. You are moving air through the system. The system is cooling. But, you are not moving enough air to fill up your house with cool air.

Try turning your faucet outside on all the way after connecting a water hose to it. Now kink the hose 40%….. is there less water coming out of the end? NO! Is it not coming out as fast? YES!

It would take you longer to fill up a 5 gallon bucket with a 40% kinked hose than it would with no kinks. Right? Right. You still get the same amount of water, and the hose and faucet are still working just fine. The ONLY difference is that you have reduced the amount of water that is able to pass through the hose because you have kinked it….

Every 30 days is plenty of time to change your air filters. High Hepa filters should be changed more often. During the spring and summer months, you should change them more often than this. Remember, it won’t take much to reduce the amount of air that passes through your system, and that translates DIRECTLY into the number of hours your equipment must run to “FILL UP” your house with cool air.

We hope that helps….