Overcharged for a $ part..... I was ripped off

[lastud4u]

I can't believe what happened. I live near Tampa,FL and the temp was 94 degrees outside. Came home from work at 6pm to find my 3000 sf home very warm inside. i called a local ac company and placed a service call. The technician showed up at 6:50 which told me over the phone he would be 30 mins but ok, I was hot. The outside fan was not running and the tech had the ac up and running in 6 minutes which was great. he hands me the bill for $$$ and I almost fell over. I said what did you do in 6 minutes to get my 5 ton trane running so quick. he stated the dual capacitator was bad. he said i needed one, he explained what a dual cap was, its for the compressor and fan motor. I said my compressor runs but the fan does not. why did i need two caps when he clearly stated i need the fan cap. one cap would be cheaper then two!!! The service call was $$ and the part was $ but ok. Im like wtf, I was being taking advantage of because I live in a gated community with a big home. I went inside and googled that 80-7.5-440 part and found it for $ with free shipping. The call should have been $$ since it only took minutes to fix and the part maybe marked up 20% which would have been acceptable. I will never used that company again. I called the owner and he *****ed me out for questioning his pricing. No wonder we as homeowners can't trust repair men. Im filing complaints asap fro overcharging.

[CEAS-AC-TECH]

That is what happens when you call a business to come out and repair something. They have to make money to survive . I've seen companies charge a lot more. Just saying....

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[2old2rock]

You got off really cheap.
That repair would have been twice that from most companies.

[Gunslinger]

This might help you understand your charges. First, there are made in China capacitors and made in USA capacitors. Your AC company had the part on the truck and that costs $$$ tied up as inventory. I have seen invoices for $200. for that repair.

I'm responding to your phone call/letter expressing dismay about our prices. Yes, we do charge more than some other companies in the area, though not as much as others. I make no apologies for our pricing. I learned a long time ago that it is far better to offer a more expensive, quality service and explain our prices every once in a while than to skimp and have to live with a reputation for poor quality forever.

It is precisely because we share this concern and that of our clients request for up front pricing that we have implemented our up front pricing system.

Up front pricing is relatively new to the plumbing, heating and air-conditioning industry, but it is Old Hat to the appliance repair, automotive industries, Doctors and Dentists, actually most professional service industries use it.

Based on 25 years experience and over one million completed jobs, we now build the price for each job type by applying the material, average labor, overhead and profit to each of these jobs. With this system, our clients now get what they truly want, The cost before the work is performed. Nor do you pay extra if our technician takes longer than the average amount of time required performing the work.

By removing the unknown of how much the job is going to cost, we believe you are better able to make the decision of whether or not to have the work done. Up-Front Pricing also gives you peace of mind, because you are not watching the clock and wondering is this man ever going to finish? Or how much is this going to end up costing me, And it allows our people the time to do the job right the first time and to leave your home as clean or cleaner then it was before he arrived

Why do we charge more that some? It's a fair question. Let me endeavor to answer. First, our prices are not set by happenstance. They aren't set to the level we think the market will bear. Neither are they set to the level our competitors charge (that is price fixing and illegal). Our prices are set so that we can keep one dime out of every dollar after taxes. I think that's fair.

The fact is that our prices are based on our costs and only our costs. 4 times a year we sit down with our accountant and adjust our prices based on his experience and knowledge over our overhead. Out of every dollar we charge, we must pay for:


„X Our technician's salary, we only hire the best so we can provide you with the best service.
„X His worker's compensation,
„X His social security, his medical benefits,
„X His uniform,
„X Ongoing training,
„X Tools
„X The truck and proper maintenance
„X The finance charges on the inventory he carries,
„X The gas in the truck,
„X The insurance for the truck,
„X Our business insurance,
„X Our state licenses,
„X Our telephone line charges and telephone system,
„X Our Service Manager to answer the phones and dispatch the technicians (keeping track of the progress of every job to keep you informed when you can expect the technician) and their overhead,
„X Our computers and our software,
„X Office workers to enter information into the computers and their overhead,
„X Accounting,
„X Billing,
„X Tax and legal services,
„X An after hours answering service,
„X Yellow pages advertising and other advertising media you may have used to contact us,
„X Membership in professional and trade organizations,
„X Reserves to ensure we can honor all of our warranties and guarantees,
„X People to fill out dozens of forms and reports for various government regulators, taxes,
„X And on and on it goes.

It costs a lot of money to run an organization that is prepared to respond promptly (or at least respond the same day) to people like you who call us in a crisis because they do not have their A/C or Heat working. You don't want to wait three days, until we can get around to it. That means we need extra resources standing by. Resultantly, faster service is more expensive.

Yes, there are some in our community that charges less and more. There are some that hire less qualified personnel, who make lots of mistakes and must go back and correct them. There are some that do not train their workforce to keep them up to speed with current codes and practices. There are some that drive beat up old trucks, which will leak oil all over your driveway or in front of your home. There are some that do not conduct background checks on their employees or perform drug tests to ensure that you won't have to worry about a service technician returning at night to rob you to support a drug habit (please do not scoff; this is a very real problem in our industry). There are some that do not carry the proper level of insurances to protect you in the event of a catastrophe. There are some that cut lots of corners.

It is each consumers decision what type of company they wish to establish a professional business relationship with. Many with a professional full service company like ours, and some with the bare-bones type of A/C and Heating company. That is what makes the Free Enterprise System work.

I can understand how you might be upset. If you walked into a nice steak house for dinner, you might also be upset to learn that you could have gotten a dinner at buffet style restaurant for far less. Different businesses charge different prices for what appear to be similar products and services every day. Yet, rarely are the products and services truly the same. There are always differences.

When you called us, you may not have wanted the quality of service and level of protection we offer. You did want our speed of response, however. The problem is that the quality of service, level of protection, and speed of response we provide come together as a package. We can't break them apart or isolate one aspect of our service from another.



I think it is fair to say that you understood what the cost was when you agreed to the service, just like you understand what the cost of a dinner is when you order from the menu at a restaurant. When you order a dinner and eat the meal, I doubt you try to walk out on the check even though you might think it's pricey. I would hope you give us the same consideration. We rip nobody off!

I'm not here to make excuses. I merely wanted to offer an explanation. I hope you have a better understanding than you did when you called. If, for example, your bill was $350, it cost us $315 to provide you with that service, including taxes. We will only keep $35. I think that is fair!
Thank you for your time and understanding.

Sincerely, Your A/C Company

[a4s_hvac]

To be short and sweet, we don't get paid for what we DO, we get paid for what we KNOW. That's a very reasonable price
for that repair. Don't flatter yourself, that price would be the same amount for the customer who makes 100k per year or 25k per year. He did you a favor by replacing that dual cap, by saving another service call charge when the compressor quit working. If you don't like hiring professionals and their company, I suggest next time figure out for yourself what's wrong with your system and fix it. Don't come crying to us.

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[GenesisRefrig]

Well stated Gunslinger. Also, a less experienced tech would have taken a lot longer to diagnose the problem. Maybe the OP would have felt like he got his money's worth if a inexperienced tech took over an hour to diagnose the problem, then took another ½ hour to run a get a cheap part from a supply house. The bill would have been twice what the OP had, for much poorer service.

Lastud4u; I think you found a good company. You would be wise to use them again.

[vstech]

prices are not allowed here on this forum due to the wide area covered by the internet (Earth, so far) and the vast different pricing in each area.

I am sorry you feel bad for the amazing service you received.

perhaps you should have simply asked the tech to discover the problem, and pay him for diagnosing it, but NOT fixing it... and go online find the parts yourself, and install them at your own risk.

that would have gotten you the job for $$ instead of $$$ and you would have saved money...

you would have been without air for the time the part took to get to your house...

and you might damage the equipment by not knowing how to perform the repair, or worse... hurt or killed yourself... but you would have saved that money!

have a nice day!

[vstech]

I can't believe what happened. I live near Tampa,FL and the temp was 94 degrees outside. Came home from work at 6pm to find my 3000 sf home very warm inside. i called a local ac company and placed a service call. The technician showed up at 6:50 which told me over the phone he would be 30 mins but ok, I was hot. The outside fan was not running and the tech had the ac up and running in 6 minutes which was great. he hands me the bill for $$$ and I almost fell over. I said what did you do in 6 minutes to get my 5 ton trane running so quick. he stated the dual capacitator was bad. he said i needed one, he explained what a dual cap was, its for the compressor and fan motor. I said my compressor runs but the fan does not. why did i need two caps when he clearly stated i need the fan cap. one cap would be cheaper then two!!! The service call was $$ and the part was $ but ok. Im like wtf, I was being taking advantage of because I live in a gated community with a big home. I went inside and googled that 80-7.5-440 part and found it for $ with free shipping. The call should have been $$ since it only took minutes to fix and the part maybe marked up 20% which would have been acceptable. I will never used that company again. I called the owner and he *****ed me out for questioning his pricing. No wonder we as homeowners can't trust repair men. Im filing complaints asap fro overcharging.

assuming you come back on the forum...

what do you do for a living?

how much do you charge for that service?

[BNME8EZ]

I can't believe what happened. I live near Tampa,FL and the temp was 94 degrees outside. Came home from work at 6pm to find my 3000 sf home very warm inside. i called a local ac company and placed a service call. The technician showed up at 6:50 which told me over the phone he would be 30 mins but ok, I was hot. The outside fan was not running and the tech had the ac up and running in 6 minutes which was great. he hands me the bill for $$$ and I almost fell over. I said what did you do in 6 minutes to get my 5 ton trane running so quick. he stated the dual capacitator was bad. he said i needed one, he explained what a dual cap was, its for the compressor and fan motor. I said my compressor runs but the fan does not. why did i need two caps when he clearly stated i need the fan cap. one cap would be cheaper then two!!! The service call was $$ and the part was $ but ok. Im like wtf, I was being taking advantage of because I live in a gated community with a big home. I went inside and googled that 80-7.5-440 part and found it for $ with free shipping. The call should have been $$ since it only took minutes to fix and the part maybe marked up 20% which would have been acceptable. I will never used that company again. I called the owner and he *****ed me out for questioning his pricing. No wonder we as homeowners can't trust repair men. Im filing complaints asap fro overcharging.

Ok, let me see if I understand correctly. You came home after work and found your house was hot. You called a company and a guy came out the same day when he could have been going home after work. He was efficient, knew what he was doing, had the parts to fix the problem and got your house started cooing down within 1 hour of when you called (you called at 6:00, he was they by 6:50 and had the unit running in 6 minutes, so by 6:56). And your complaining that this service cost money and they marked up the part. I don't know what you paid because prices have been removed but it sounds like a bargain to me.

[STEVEusaPA]

So you have no AC, it's 95 degrees, and from the time you call, in less than an hour, a guy shows up does a fantastic quick diagnosis and repair, air is back on...and you got ripped off!...lol.
How much is a 15 minute doctors visit, and the doctor says, I think its probably xxxx. I'm going to give you a prescription, and if you're not better in a few days, come back [for another doctor visit fee, and to 'try' something else].
I would like the name of this HVAC guy. I have relatives down there who could use a great HVAC company.

[lastud4u]

I think $ installed is a fair price installed. $ for the tech, $ for the part.

[Nuclrchiller]

I say next time order it from Google,.... and get Google to install it.

[rider77]

Yet another case where the internet has led to a disillusioned customer.
Until you have some experience seeing what kind of money it takes to keep one van on the road, you have no place to complain. Your unit was fixed very quickly, and professionally.

[ksefan]

I think $ installed is a fair price installed. $ for the tech, $ for the part.

Or you can go to school, work 12 hours in 100 degree heat for $.

[BaldLoonie]

$10 for the tech????? Gas is 10 cents a gallon, a van costs $500 to buy, insurance is donated by the insurance company, license plate donated by the state, the Valero gives free gas to HVAC dealers. Real estate developer gives free rent in an office. All the help in the company plus the tech work for 5 cents an hour. Wow.

[rider77]

As I said gentlemen, it's yet another case where internet parts have disillusioned the consumer.

[a4s_hvac]

Dear customer: you're fired.

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[ammoniadog]

How much is a 15 minute doctors visit, and the doctor says, I think its probably xxxx. I'm going to give you a prescription, and if you're not better in a few days, come back [for another doctor visit fee, and to 'try' something else.

How much is that same doctor's visit if you get him to make an after hours house call?

Usually companies don't charge by the minute. A minimum service charge of an hour is pretty common. Therefore a 6 minute repair would cost the same as a 56 minute repair, or if it was after-hours it would be even more. Also, the tech needs to get paid for the time he was in the truck driving to your place. It is expensive to keep a fully stocked truck driving around the city. If the company were to have charged you only $25 (or whatever you think was a fair price) for the repair, they would have been losing money.

Sorry, that's just the way it is.

[rglasgow]

I understand. Pay the tech $10 and that will keep the riff raff ac guys from moving into your gated community.

[BNME8EZ]

A guy living in a large house in a gated community in Florida has to be pulling down some serious change. Sounds to me like he is overcharging for what ever he does. I think he may have "everybody makes to much except me syndrome".