Florida is hot this time of year. I mean really hot. So, when one of our air conditioning units went kaput last week we didn’t hesitate to call on a heating and air conditioner service.
We are gold level customers at B_________’s Heating and Air in Tallahassee. That means we pay an annual fee that covers biannual maintenance visits and results in discounts for any labor and parts costs. Sounds great, right?
Well, when the unit failed, the company sent out two guys to work on it. One seemed to be a trainee, but hey, two heads are better than one, right? The two guys fumfered around for several hours before declaring that either the air handling control board had gone bad OR our thermostat needed to be replaced. Their lack of certainty was less than reassuring.
They wanted to install a rescue motor to bypass the circuit board until they could get a new board from the supplier. The rescue board, a temporary fix, would cost $250. When the new board arrived (it was currently on back order) in a month or so, it would cost $1200 ($1500 if we hadn’t had the gold discount) and that didn’t include labor.
Studly Doright was having none of it. He got the parts number, looked it up online, and found the same brand new board for $486. It came in today and in about ten minutes Studly had the thing installed and now our home is pleasantly cool.
I’m all for companies making a profit. Honest. But that kind of mark up on a simple part is ridiculous. Couple that with the need for a temporary “rescue motor” because the part we needed was unavailable (even though we found it in one simple search of the internet) and one might come to the conclusion that we were being snookered.
All I can say is thank goodness for Studly Doright. It’s too bad every home doesn’t have one.
Peace, people!
Praying for Eyebrowz 
Go, Studly! You are right about the heat here–Gulf Power is smiling, and you know, I don’t even care. I just need to be cool and comfortable. We have a long history with our A/C/Heating company, but still–money is money. That markup is nuts.
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Crazy right?
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I think I’d take my gold level standing and move on to another company after that experience. You have a keeper in Mr. Studly by the way. Nice job.
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He’s an A+
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Hope he knows you wrote about him and his skills. Hope it doesn’t go to his beautiful head how much we all admire his abilities.
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He never reads my blog, but I tell him what I’m writing. Sometimes he gets a little teary-eyed…
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Once again – good for Studly
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He’s a keeper.
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Well done to Studly! I always always find companies charge crazy amounts to do things, but I don’t often have the expertise (or intuition!?) required to get the fix for myself. You’ve got a keeper there 😀
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If I’d been home alone I’d probably just have paid the money. Studly is definitely a keeper.
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“Fumfered around” is new to me. I like it!
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I’m pretty certain I’ve heard it before, but maybe I made it up…who knows?
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Ugh! We were part of a similar program with our old company. When our unit quit working several years ago in the middle of one of the worst heatwaves we’ve had, we expected that the 24 hour emergency service they bragged about meant that we’d be able to get someone out right away. Nope. We were going to have to wait something like 3 days before someone could even get out to look at it. The upshot to it all is we found a new company. One that came out immediately, figured out our unit went belly up and set us up with a small mobile window unit to tide us over until they could install a new system for us a few days later, all at no charge. Not even a charge for the visit or the temporary fix. They even gave us a massive discount on the new system because we had to do a full HVAC replace. They are my favorite people to do business with because they have stellar customer service.
Massive cheers to Studly for being able to dig in and fix your unit for you! I can be handy, but that is well above my pay grade.
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We thought this company was going to be like your new one. Our first interactions with them were great. But this last time made me wonder if they’d had a change in management.
And You probably could have done this repair. David said it was simple enough that I could’ve done it. Of course he forgets that I’m scared of ladders and the unit is in the attic over the garage. Shudder.
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It’s IN the attic?! Wow! It always blows my mind how different parts of the country do things I think are a basic universal standard differently. I didn’t even know the units could operate in an enclosed setting like that. Every single air conditioner here is set outside the house.
And no, the attic is a major no go zone for me. Ick!
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The air handler is in the attic. The condenser is outside.
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Ah! Makes sense.
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You’re lucky your husband is handy. I’ve been waiting six weeks for my husband to replace a light bulb I can’t reach
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Heh! Light bulbs are a whole different story. Our ceilings are so high in our den that I can’t reach the lights. And I am ladder-phobic. At least once a month I ask David to change the ones that have fizzled out. He always says he’ll get around it some day. Maybe if someone cans and threatened to charge him $1200 to change them…
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I do ask my handyman to replace them
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Does he work in Florida? 🤣
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😉
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So glad you were able to get the part so easily! A man backed into my husband’s car and just crumpled the little Fit. We have been waiting for over two weeks for the collision place to get the parts in to fix it. Maybe I should do what Studly did and look for the parts myself. Glad you guys are cool.
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That’s so frustrating!
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