Mr. HVAC Contractor, “It’s the Economy Stupid”

The other day in an effort to practice what I preach, as well as to give the professional contractors a first opportunity, I requested a quote from a local HVAC contractor (who does not know me) to replace my current 12 SEER Air Conditioner with a new 14 SEER (R410a) Heat Pump System.  The fact is I can pick up the phone and call a couple of contractors that will be happy to do my install for time and material, but I feel that I owe it to the all-inclusive contractor to at least see if he is within a reasonable range.This turned out to be an interesting test.  Let’s face it, I report the stories of others and from time to time, it is a good idea for me to wade into the pool to get a dose of reality myself.When Mr. High Profile contractor came to my home, I explained that I am wanting to make a change and then proceeded to explain to him that with economy as tight as it is, I really wanted to do this on a very tight budget.  He understood and started measuring my home and existing ductwork.  He told me that he needed to ask me some questions to determine my “True Need”.  I knew what was coming and played along.  He first launched into the “What is important to you” questions.  I always find that one funny, because, let’s face it, Comfort, Reliability, Value, Personal Health, really, which one of those are you going to say NO to?  The point of his quiz is to get me in the habit of saying “Yes”.  It is a sales trick as old as the hills. Read more

Flat Rate Pricing Beware

AskBoyd Supports and Appreciates ProTech author John Rocheleau and his view on “Flat Rate” pricing

Recently I was reading blogs related to homeowner heating and air repair issues and ran across a really cool website called PROTECH HVAC. The author John Rocheleau wrote an extremely to the point article about “Flat Rate” pricing in the plumbing industry. John’s article cuts right through the subject and fillets it so that we can see right through this practice that more and more plumbing and HVAC contractors are adopting, a business practice that is designed to separate you from as much of your hard earned money as possible during a crisis event in your life.

I have been intending to write an article related to “Flat Rate” pricing in the HVAC industry, but after reading John’s article, I have very little to add and thought that AskBoyd should give credit to such poignant writing and just direct you to an expert in the field who has a solid understanding of this practice and recognizes that homeowners need to be aware of how this growing business practice works.

Below is a reprint of John’s article. Please make sure and visit John’s blog.

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Nasty Replies To Customer Wanting Advice About HVAC

The following is an overview of a question and responses that took place on the largest most respected HVAC forum on the internet. Pay close attention to the attitudes of both the requesting participant and the active responders, and then see the summary at the bottom of this article.

Requesting Participant: “Need your advice please.”

“Any idea on finding a licensed ac contractor in Charlotte to install a new ac unit that I already bought. Every place I called, they want to sell me the new unit, but they don’t install the new unit that I purchased. Appreciate your input.”

Responding Participants:

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The New Customer

Late last week I took an afternoon and went out to visit some of my old contractor acquaintances from the HVAC industry in my area.  I figure that from time to time it is good to get the contractor perspective of the heating & air conditioning industry.  They deserve a voice in this as well.

One of the subjects that I fed for response was:  How has the internet changed the way homeowners shop for HVAC?  In addition, does the information that the homeowners get from the internet help or hurt the contractor when trying to make a sale?  The responses that I got were varied, but there was a common assessment that rang through.

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The Lifetime Warranty Claim

The Lifetime Warranty Claim

So you are shopping for a new heating and air conditioning system? You have spent hours researching the internet, calling local dealers and asking family and friend for opinion and now you are more confused then ever. That’s ok. You should be doing the due diligence necessary to make sure you are doing the right thing. HVAC, even in the best of circumstances is expensive and not something we ever really plan on dealing with. It is usually a crisis management issue.

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Outrageous Prices not just in Residential HVAC

This morning I received an email from a friend of mine. His company provides commercial HVAC products for large commercial projects. He knows that AskBoyd is the defender of the homeowner for residential HVAC, but he wanted me to see that outrageous price quotes also exist in the commercial world as well. The problem that this poses and how it affects you the homeowner is in the form of increased prices for the services that you receive from the companies that have to absorb these extreme price gouges.

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The Winter Replacement Program (Legal ?)

Have you ever opened the newspaper or received a letter or flyer in the mail that offers you an “Incredible Deal”, “Phenomenal Opportunity”, “Limited Time Offer”, “Help, We Are Overstocked and You Save”, “Free Furnace”? When these offers come from HVAC Businesses they will usually involve a “Special Deal” that the contractor has negotiated with the manufacturer or distributor. In this article, at the expense of creating a stir among some HVAC professionals, I am going to try and explain how some of these offers work and uncover some of the aspects of this type of marketing that HVAC contractors would not want you to know.

Let’s get started. Here is how it works in some cases. The HVAC contractor contacts its equipment distributor and lets them know that they will be offering a “Winter Replacement Program” to their customer base. Many distributors have been involved with these programs and require no education and therefore are prepared and usually willing to be a party to this borderline scam.

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HVAC Service Technicians and the Sales Spiff

This is a very common practice among HVAC contractors.  I don’t have a statistic to quantify this, but my own personal experience of dealing with HVAC contractors for over a decade, gives thought that perhaps more then 75% of HVAC contractors participate in this sales tactic.

Here is how it works.  The contractor sends the service technician to your home to perform a necessary repair.  For example, you have called for service because your air conditioner is not cooling as much as usual or has shut down.  The service technician shows up and diagnoses the problem.  You are told that it appears that a ???? has overheated and this has caused the ???? to fail.  He informs you that a repair will “probably” (leaving you to wonder if it will cost more) cost you $$$$ and will take possibly three days to get the parts and to come back to repair your unit.

You are now left with the thought that it will be DAYS!! without air conditioning.  Your spouse will not be happy.  Your kids will not be happy. And the cost of that repair was really high!!

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Homeowner Asking For a Price Breakdown

This is a question from a homeowner asking for some competitive bid information because his contractor only gave him a lump sum. He is curious what the breakdown should be for each piece of equipment. Basically, he wants an itemized breakdown of his bid. A reasonable request, right? Apparently not!

The professional contractors come back with very rude remarks, telling him that he should accept the lump sum and be done with it. I only copied the request and one professionals response, and then the homeowners retort. There were pages and pages of responses from professional contractors that were nothing less then brutal.

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The Marketing-Based Contractor Pushes “Buy” Buttons at Will

Just like the TV advertisements that sink into your subconscious and trigger buying impulses, the HVAC industry is starting to realize the value of pushing “buy” buttons with it’s customer base as well. The quote below was presented at last years ACCA conference. What this implies is that the “Professional” HVAC contractor today, in order to get ahead of it’s competition, needs to lead it’s customers by pushing their “buy” buttons and therefore instead of performing a needed service at a competitive price, lead the customer in their buying decision.

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