What makes a good residential AC service technician that you will happily recommend to your friends and family? What should you expect and look out for from the technician who comes to your home?
The information in this post will help you determine what to look for in a good residential AC service technician. This information will save you time and money.
Does the company answer the phone professionally?
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In order for the AC service technician to do a good job the company they work for must answer the phone when you call. What good is it if you need their services but, can’t get ahold of them? This is the mistake that a lot of people make when choosing the AC service technician as their service company. You are making a decision on more than just the technician. You are also shopping for a company.
Make sure they answer the phone 24/7 so you can get ahold of them in emergency situations. What if they come out and do a repair but that repair does not last. What if it’s a warranty situation at 10 pm on an extremely hot or cold night? Will someone answer the phone and send a service technician out to fix what they should have done right the first time?
Digital Information?
Make sure the company you choose keeps your information digitally. This is really important because the technician will not remember all the details from the day they perform the service. The company the service technician works for should provide them with software and an I-pad. They can take photos of your model and serial number and register everything in case a warranty issue comes up in the future.
This is not something people typically think of when searching for a good AC service technician. Most people just pick up the phone and make a call. They want someone out fast and to take care of the problem as fast as possible. However, if later on down the road a problem should occur you want to be working with a company that has all this information stored.
What are the warranties and guarantees?
When choosing an AC service technician make sure the company they work for has good warranties and guarantees. Something else that’s very important is can they or will they back up their guarantees. Just because a company tells you they have a warranty doesn’t mean they will actually come back to do it.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out on a service call and the homeowner tells me the technician who messed it up won’t come back to fix it.
Do they do a background test?
Don’t just trust anyone in your home. You want to make sure the AC service technician has had a good background check.
The AC technician will be all-around your home and you definitely want to make sure this is someone you can trust. I know when it comes to my family and my property I want to make sure I’m safe. I know people will say it doesn’t matter but let’s think about this for a minute.
If someone has an ongoing drug problem and a criminal background history the last place you want them is in multiple places of your home. I’m a big believer in giving people a second chance in life and all of that. However, I don’t want people working through their problems when it involves my kids and or family.
What is the repair warranty?
The warranty is very important in case you get the repair done and it breaks in the warranty period. You want to make sure the AC service technician will return at no cost to you. You wouldn’t believe how many companies put warranty work on the back burner.
Before proceeding with the suggested work make sure they put the parts and the labor warranty in writing. Without that, you may get stuck with a repair that doesn’t work and be out your money.
In a perfect world, this wouldn’t happen however, it happens frequently.
Price approval before starting work?
Some companies train their AC service technicians to do the repair without getting permission first. A good AC service technician will diagnose what’s wrong with the system and tell you the price before proceeding. Some companies actually train their AC technicians to rack up a charge and then hit the customer with a big bill. The vast majority of the larger companies in almost every market don’t practice this type of shady business practice.
The bottom line simply asks the dispatcher on the phone if the AC Service Technician will be presenting price options before the work is started.
Will they diagnose the whole system?
A good AC service technician will test and evaluate the entire HVAC system. The reason they do this is to ensure everything is working well above and beyond what the primary reason for being there is.
A lot of systems are complex and the AC technician should check everything so they don’t leave and have another part break.
Conclusion.
In conclusion, a good AC service technician is only as good as the company that backs them up. Every homeowner getting work done to their home needs to remember the AC technician is not the one guaranteeing the warranties. The company is the one that has the insurance, warranties, and guarantees.
While it’s still crucial to get along with and feel confident in the AC technician’s abilities. I would still do my homework to determine if the company lives up to your expectations.
I would make sure the company can provide you with current and up-to-date General liability and workers’ compensation insurance. Never let any contractor work on your property without seeing that documentation from their insurance provider.
Thanks for the reminder that it’s crucial to look for warranties as well when planning to get residential HVAC services. I’d like to find a good service like that because I plan to work on getting a new AC unit in my bedroom. I think that will be necessary because I tend to stay there a lot whenever I have to work from home.
Warranties are really important when choosing the company that does the work. Thanks for the comment.