How much time for in-home consultation???

[hvaclover]

In the category of being nit-picky. The information a H.O. gleans from a half dozen sales calls will not result in their being educated; informed, maybe but not educated.

You use the verbage you learned coming up in sales and I'll use mine.

Keep in mind sales terminology is like a dialect; it changes to fit the regional
social lifestyle.

[Indycar29]

If you are getting that many are you looking for cheapest price? Say company 1 comes out and spends 20 minutes and company 2 comes out and spends 2 hours. They both quote same brand and efficiency but company 1 is 20% cheaper. What would you do?

No I'm not looking for the cheapest price, but the best price for a quality installation. The question then becomes, who is doing the installation, his qualifications and her motivation to perform a quality job. I guess it would all depend on the person doing the installation.

So how do I evaluate the person that will be doing the installation, when I'm talking to a salesman???

Does NATE certified really reflect a person knowledge, will it really have an affect on the end result.....the energy bill???



Rick

[jjer]

1)check local BBB
2)recommendation from friends
3)NATE is a good thing--at least you know that they are book-smart
4)A good sales guy should make you feel very comfortable choosing the company
5)Ask what will happen if need them at midnight on Saturday night. I think that is a very important question. You want someone that is available all the time. Not just Mon thru Fri 8-5

[adrianf]

No I'm not looking for the cheapest price, but the best price for a quality installation. The question then becomes, who is doing the installation, his qualifications and her motivation to perform a quality job. I guess it would all depend on the person doing the installation.

So how do I evaluate the person that will be doing the installation, when I'm talking to a salesman???

Does NATE certified really reflect a person knowledge, will it really have an affect on the end result.....the energy bill???



Rick

It's alot like everything else in life; at some point you will have to find someone to trust and put your confidence in which thinking with your wallet will prevent.

When the consults start put your wallet and check book in a safe place and forget about them until all the presentations are complete.

Remember your not interveiwing for a date you are choosing a contractor that will not chench or cheat but will:

Size it Right
Do it Right
And if something goes wrong, make it right

Infant system failures happen and you need a company that will be expedient making repairs when and if you have a problem.

PS: The one thats a little gruff or tells you something you may not want to hear may be the better choice when compared to the polished professional that was selling life insurance last year.

[hvaclover]

NATE is book smart agreed. But nothing speaks better than references that testify to a companies capability to do good work.

I am not an advocate of certification programs that cost as much as a community college degree program that earns you nothing more than a patch that identifies you as a tech with entry level skills.
And be ready to hand over even more for the advanced certifacations and yearly maintenence fees in the form of attending "Factory Service Classes" that are nothing but thinly veiled sales pitches for the manufacturers high end products to keep your certs. These classes count for credits to meet your annual requirements.

Some body found out how to to make HVAC education a pyramid scheme but I know a lot of good people who aren't biting.

[jjer]

It's alot like everything else in life; at some point you will have to find someone to trust and put your confidence in which thinking with your wallet will prevent.

When the consults start put your wallet and check book in a safe place and forget about them until all the presentations are complete.

Remember your not interveiwing for a date you are choosing a contractor that will not chench or cheat but will:

Size it Right
Do it Right
And if something goes wrong, make it right

Infant system failures happen and you need a company that will be expedient making repairs when and if you have a problem.

PS: The one thats a little gruff or tells you something you may not want to hear may be the better choice when compared to the polished professional that was selling life insurance last year.

Nicely said. If you find yourself going to look for wallet then you had found your guy

[drk]

It will take a good company at least an hour or two to do the heat load and to look at the job. Less than 45 something is not being done.

[Indycar29]

Ok, I will agree that 6 quotes is too many and I will be in information overload. So how do I decide which companies to eliminate???

All six companies have satisfactory BBB reports and four have NATE certified technicians. Does NATE really make a difference??? Should I specify a technician with specific qualifications/experience lead the installation and startup??? What can I do as a consumer to give myself the best chance at a quality installation. Will I even be able to tell after the job is complete???

Before I posted my question on this forum, my understanding was each company would take the necessary measurements to do a manual J calculation. It seems that everyone here is saying, only the company that gets the job will take that much time. If that is true, then the 30-45 minutes for the initial visit sounds reasonable.

Again thanks for your comments, it helps to get another perspective on a this subject!!!


Rick

[ECIndHVAC]

And be ready to hand over even more for the advanced certifacations and yearly maintenence fees in the form of attending "Factory Service Classes" that are nothing but thinly veiled sales pitches for the manufacturers high end products to keep your certs.

I wonder if this is why most of the pros on this website seem to be heavy advocates of the high end, variable speed, up seer, etc stuff?

[m kilgore]

In my opinion a Nate certification means nothing as far as the installation goes. As stated it means that the person can take a test and pass it. The Nate people I have hired seem to have no commen sense. They are no better trained than a non Nate person doing this all of there lives. Get references from people that have had work done and call those companies. Find a company that you like and trust and let them do there job. Expect that they will do it right and don't micro manage them.

Good luck with your project.

[m kilgore]

I wonder if this is why most of the pros on this website seem to be heavy advocates of the high end, variable speed, up seer, etc stuff?

????????????? What do you mean by this. I bid equipment that will solve my customers problems after I talk to them. Most of the high end equipment will do this. You seem to be a tech that likes easy stuff to work on and are not concerned with the customers needs? Just a thought.

[ECIndHVAC]

You seem to be a tech that likes easy stuff to work on and are not concerned with the customers needs?

I do enjoy the challenge of working on complicated stuff. However, most of our clientelle simply want reasonably priced equipment that will heat or cool their homes.

Also, not to be sexist, but here's another thing to consider:

I'm going to step out on a limb and say most of us are males. We are happy if we are warm in winter and cool in summer. The idea of "tailoring a comfort system to suit our comfort needs" just sounds a little...fruity (needless to say, I'm not in sales).

[Leo3006]

????????????? What do you mean by this. I bid equipment that will solve my customers problems after I talk to them. Most of the high end equipment will do this. You seem to be a tech that likes easy stuff to work on and are not concerned with the customers needs? Just a thought.

Most of the high end equipment will do this.

And most of the Low end equipment will also meet the customers needs.

You sound like a salesman that likes to sell people things they don't need if you can get away with it. I've seen sales weasels sell humidifiers to people on the gulf coast! I imagine some in Arizona sell de-humidifiers if they can.