open flood gates??

[Steve]

give them the information, and a proposal. if they want to shop around thats their privelage, but I am not going to lower my prices.

[Steve]

My obligation is to provide the very best top quality service to my customers. And you will know exactly what the repairs will cost *BEFORE* I start work. I do not break out anything for anybody. But then your wouldn't bitch about the lawyer that charges $300 for a 3 cent piece of paper and expect him to break out his prices..... OTOH, maybe you would.

Your right as a consumer is to call anybody you want to come service/repair your heating and cooling system. I don't have a problem with firing a customer either.

Its taken me 15 years to get where I am now. I have recieved a lot of help from a lot of people (including you) to get to this point, not just in the technical aspects, but in the business aspects. As I said before, I am in business to provide my customers the very best service, and to make a profit.

[.p.jm.]

Of course. So ?

No, you are A ) a repair tech, and B ) a NEW car salesman.

And, just like a car salesman is GLAD to talk to you and show you new cars etc, without you promising to buy from him, when someone calls and says 'I need a new system, can you come and give me an estimate ?', you do it - FOR FREE. Part of the work included in your price is the load calc you will do IF they sign for your system ( or sign to purchase that work by itself, if you offer it, at whatever price you offer ).

And during your contact with them, you DO educate them about a variety of things ( be it your various offerings and the differences between them, or the importance of correct sizing and correct installation, whatever ).

And you DO give them prices, and they ARE free ( and likely ) to have some other contractors come in and give THEIR prices as well. And you don't charge them for the opportunity to present your systems and options.

And BTW, I got out because I decided the work was too freaking hard. Especially since I never did resi, which is much easier. I got tired of climbing 30 ' ladders in the sun in 98 degree humid weather, I got tired of shovelling a path to the unit across the roof in the middle of winter, carrying hundreds of pounds of tools, equipment, and parts around, getting called out in the middle of the night, etc, etc.

So, now, I sit here at home and get anywhere from $ 35 TO $ 70 / hour to type at this here 'computer' thingy, at whatever hours I choose.

[Steve]

You can do whatever you want..... same as the other landlords, and majority of home owners who come in here that you dispise so much. You have turned into one of them.

[HVAC]

BWAHAhahahahahaha!

[.p.jm.]

I never said you should.

[.p.jm.]

You're damn skippy I would ! And lawyers DO itemize their invoices, BTW. They detail the hours spent, on what issue or piece of paper, etc. As well as 'costs' of copies ( whcih apparently cost $ 3 / page on their special machine ), phone calls, para-legal time ( and billing rate ), etc.

If their billing rate is $ 300 / hour, they so state.

And if, as they're driving to the airport for their flight to the Bahamas for the weekend, they happen to think 'Oh, shit, I was supposed to call Steve', they charge you an extra 15 mionuts just for thinking about you. If they actually CALL, or have their secretary call, that's extra. Of course, that call from the secretary only costs you $ 150 / hour, in 15 minute increments, rounded up ....

Fine.

[.p.jm.]

No, I just know what's up.

Bi-annual service contracts are purely a money-maker for the contractor, and that's all. Assuming the HO can figure out how to change his filter ( when needed by inspection, not on some arbitrary schedule ) and wash his coils, even annual inspections are overkill. A properly installed system, under normal use conditions, simply does not need it.

[The King]

Look at it this way. Either he can sell unessential work or spam for the teenage green girls...

[The Daring Dufas]

I use the example of someone going to see a physician. If the doctor tells you that you're going to die, you still have to pay the bill. All those tests and time for diagnostics cost money.

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

Sounds like a cushy job, who's paying for you to sit on your tush? 8-)

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

I generally recommend folks get their AC cleaned and checked once a year and their heat pump cleaned and checked twice a year. Some want their furnace checked out in the Fall which is a good idea if they're worried about it. I always stress to them to keep those filters changed and in the Summer, turn off the AC when you're cutting the grass. Keep Fluffy the cute little Malamute away from the condensing unit if he likes to curl up and sleep around it and never let him pee on the damn thing!

TDD

[.p.jm.]

not if you die soon enough ;-)

[.p.jm.]

A ) It is, and B ) Yeh, like I'm really gonna name my clients in THIS forum ! ;-)