We recognize that no one likes it when their furnace or air conditioner isn’t working the way it should. It’s miserable when your water heater goes out or your sink springs a leak.
You’re busy and we understand that the last thing you want to do is to have to deal with broken equipment around your house. It’s irritating when you’ve earmarked money from your budget for something else and now you must use it for repairs.
When you need a heating, air and plumbing specialist to assess an issue, you want to be assured to get the needed expertise and value for your money. We recognize that the uncertainty of how much the service will cost adds to the stress and inconvenience of the situation. It would be nice to pick up the phone and call someone and they could tell you exactly what it would cost to fix the problem. The thing is, there’s a lot that can go wrong with your equipment. It could be a simple fix or it could turn into a replacement.
It has long been debated in the heating, air and plumbing industry whether flat rate or hourly plus parts is best. We’ve seen far too often that the best value for our customers is hourly plus parts.
When flat rate methodology is used, there is a tendency to mark up to hide high labor rates within the pricing. This setup encourages to quickly make the repair and move on to the next job. Or worse, instead of repairing, the company would rather replace because the up-sale would be better for their bottom line.
We’ve had worried customers call us because they’ve had a flat-rate company look at their issue and were recommended a replacement. They’d call us for a second opinion. Everyone should investigate and receive more than one quote for such a big investment. To be completely honest, there have been many times where we’ve assessed their system and had found the true issue and a replacement hadn’t been necessary.
So, how do you know if you are getting the best value and expertise you need? The more you know, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions.
We are honored to be a part of the new radio show “
It’s Your Money.” It airs every Thursday at 3:00 pm on . This Thursday, A&D will be interviewed and
discuss different ways you can save money in your home equipment repairs. I encourage you to tune in and even follow the show on Facebook. If you have any questions you’d like us to answer, please don’t hesitate to call into the show or even send a message via Facebook.
On Thursday’s radio show, we’ll go over the differences between flat-rate and hourly so you know what is right for you and your budget.
So, catch us on “It’s Your Money” at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, August 17 as we will dive into the subject of flat-rate vs. hourly and how it affects your wallet.
