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EP4 Choosing an HVAC Company
96 Plays3 years ago
A Guide for Homeowners trying to choose an HVAC Company
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction: Choosing an HVAC Company
00:00:06
Speaker
Thank you all for joining us today.
00:00:17
Speaker
We're going to talk about how do I even choose an HVAC company to do my replacement.
00:00:23
Speaker
And as a homeowner, we know Brian and I are both comfort advisors.
00:00:28
Speaker
We understand that this is a big investment.
00:00:31
Speaker
This is not our hard earned money.
00:00:33
Speaker
This is yours.
00:00:34
Speaker
And you want to make sure you get the best possible service, the best value for your money.
Gathering Recommendations and Reviews
00:00:39
Speaker
And in this episode, we're going to kind of discuss a few important things to consider when you're choosing an HVAC company for your air conditioning systems replacement.
00:00:48
Speaker
First up, number one, the most important thing you can do is do your research.
00:00:53
Speaker
The best way to find the most trustworthy HVAC companies around you is talk to your friends, talk to your family, talk to your coworkers, see who people are actually using.
00:01:03
Speaker
You know, back in the day before Google, that was the only way you could.
00:01:08
Speaker
If you or a friend or a family or a coworker had a good experience with a company, they're going to let you know.
00:01:14
Speaker
If they had a bad experience, they're going to let you know the same thing.
00:01:17
Speaker
But then you kind of get an idea of the entire process when you're looking and talking to your friends and family.
00:01:24
Speaker
Another really good way to get started is to go through a few local companies and look at their Google reviews.
00:01:31
Speaker
And now also you got Yelp, you've got BBB, Better Business Bureau and all kinds of things like that.
00:01:36
Speaker
But you wanna make sure you're looking at all of them.
00:01:39
Speaker
Sort them, do the five stars, the one stars.
00:01:43
Speaker
Brian, what do you think the best way to look through reviews is?
Researching Local HVAC Options
00:01:48
Speaker
Well, I want to reiterate what you just said about friends and family.
00:01:53
Speaker
Looking online is a tool you can use, but it shouldn't be your only tool.
00:01:57
Speaker
You should be asking your friends and family about that.
00:02:01
Speaker
I'm going to share with you a screen here, and we're going to look at some reviews.
00:02:08
Speaker
Again, I like Dallas because it's not our market.
00:02:15
Speaker
Let's see here.
00:02:17
Speaker
You got it?
00:02:18
Speaker
So, yeah, we're just going to go through some Google reviews.
00:02:22
Speaker
OK.
00:02:24
Speaker
So in Google, like for Dallas, I wouldn't want to look at Dallas HVAC.
00:02:29
Speaker
It's going to bring up everybody in the DFW Metroplex.
00:02:33
Speaker
So I pretended that I live in Plano.
00:02:35
Speaker
Right.
00:02:36
Speaker
So I'm going to look at Plano HVAC.
00:02:39
Speaker
So this is what pops up.
00:02:41
Speaker
This is a bunch of AC.
00:02:42
Speaker
To give an idea, let's say you lived in Houston, like where we're at.
00:02:46
Speaker
You could type in Woodlands HVAC.
00:02:49
Speaker
And you can even highlight this a little bit more.
00:02:51
Speaker
HVAC replacement, right?
00:02:54
Speaker
And get a better idea of who's coming in.
00:02:56
Speaker
But you could be Woodlands.
00:02:58
Speaker
Let's see what that brings up.
00:02:59
Speaker
You could be River Oaks.
00:03:01
Speaker
You could be, you know, type in your specific area.
00:03:04
Speaker
Just like this is it.
00:03:05
Speaker
This is perfect right here.
00:03:06
Speaker
All right, let's rock and roll.
00:03:08
Speaker
This is bringing up Houston.
00:03:10
Speaker
Yeah, because you got.
00:03:13
Speaker
But I said Plano.
00:03:16
Speaker
Plano, Texas, HVAC.
00:03:17
Speaker
See what pops up there.
00:03:18
Speaker
All right, let's see what happens.
00:03:25
Speaker
There we go.
00:03:26
Speaker
Now we're getting to some places here.
00:03:29
Speaker
So we can look at all these companies and it has our ratings over here, but we still have in excess of a hundred companies to look through here.
00:03:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:42
Speaker
I mean, I'm looking at the map on the screen right now.
00:03:45
Speaker
I'm looking at the map and I can kind of see, you know, where are these people at?
00:03:49
Speaker
Are they really close to me or is it some, you know, box company with a satellite store or something like that?
00:03:57
Speaker
And so you're also having sponsored ads too.
00:04:01
Speaker
Yes.
00:04:01
Speaker
And that's another thing that you have to be careful when you're looking just because it pops up first doesn't mean it's the best.
00:04:07
Speaker
It's just, they paid money to be there.
00:04:10
Speaker
And if they're paying money, you're going to be paying that money too, right?
00:04:14
Speaker
Yes.
00:04:15
Speaker
If you see commercials for a company, you're paying for that.
00:04:18
Speaker
You see sponsored content on Google, you're paying for that.
Engaging with Installations and Quotes
00:04:23
Speaker
Lots of things.
00:04:24
Speaker
Doesn't mean they're not going to do a good job.
00:04:26
Speaker
That's not what we're saying.
00:04:28
Speaker
It's just that their overhead is a little bit higher.
00:04:32
Speaker
So we sorted these by 4.5 rating or better.
00:04:36
Speaker
Let's see how that narrowed things down.
00:04:39
Speaker
Well, there's still a bunch of them.
00:04:41
Speaker
It doesn't end.
00:04:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:43
Speaker
That's why we get to that point of asking homeowners, your neighbors, if you see a box truck and an install going on in your neighborhood, it's probably the build was similar.
00:04:54
Speaker
The equipment was similar.
00:04:56
Speaker
You're probably on the fast track having to do the same thing.
00:04:59
Speaker
You should probably meet your neighbor.
00:05:04
Speaker
And on that note, like talking to your friends and family and neighbors and stuff, another really good thing to think about is,
00:05:11
Speaker
Start paying attention to the vans that you see driving around your neighborhood, the people who are there every single day.
00:05:18
Speaker
So at least you know, hey, if something does happen, these guys are already in my area a lot of the time.
00:05:23
Speaker
And that's definitely something to consider.
00:05:26
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:05:27
Speaker
So I guess what I want to part with on this is that you want to use multiple vans.
00:05:36
Speaker
options when you're looking to evaluate an HV8 company for you.
00:05:41
Speaker
Google is just one tool.
00:05:43
Speaker
Use a bunch.
00:05:44
Speaker
Check BBB and the other outlets that we referenced earlier.
00:05:49
Speaker
Nowadays, a lot of people are using the Nextdoor app because it really is narrowed down to your neighborhood and people are talking.
00:05:57
Speaker
You know, see.
00:05:58
Speaker
Facebook.
00:05:59
Speaker
Yeah, make a post.
00:06:01
Speaker
Make a Facebook post.
00:06:02
Speaker
Who do you guys recommend and why?
00:06:05
Speaker
Now I might take those recommendations and then go to Google and compare.
00:06:09
Speaker
And then start doing my own research.
00:06:11
Speaker
Yep.
00:06:15
Speaker
What should we do once we've got a few companies picked out?
00:06:18
Speaker
What would you do, David?
00:06:20
Speaker
All right.
00:06:21
Speaker
So let's say I've got a couple of companies picked out.
00:06:27
Speaker
Let's see.
00:06:27
Speaker
Can we unshare your screen here?
00:06:31
Speaker
Once I've got a couple of companies picked out,
00:06:35
Speaker
based on who I've talked to and what I've seen, it's time to get a couple of quotes.
00:06:40
Speaker
When I say a couple, I'm not talking about getting 10 different quotes.
00:06:43
Speaker
There's no reason to do that.
00:06:44
Speaker
It's a waste of your time and it's a waste of at least nine people's time working for these companies because most quotes are going to be free.
00:06:52
Speaker
If somebody's charging you for a replacement quote, that's probably your first red flag.
00:06:58
Speaker
Most reputable companies are doing a free estimate, okay?
00:07:02
Speaker
You got to get a couple of quotes.
00:07:04
Speaker
You're going to call the number that you found on Google or from a business card from a friend or a neighbor.
00:07:10
Speaker
And you're going to let them know, hi, I would like to get a free estimate to replace my air conditioning system.
00:07:16
Speaker
Let them know exactly what you're doing.
00:07:18
Speaker
Most of the time, the girls are guys who are answering the phone.
00:07:22
Speaker
They're dealing with this all day long.
00:07:23
Speaker
They know exactly what to do.
00:07:25
Speaker
They're gonna get all of your information and then they're gonna pick something that works with your schedule.
00:07:33
Speaker
Ensure that while that comfort advisor, which is the gentleman who's gonna come and see you and he's gonna be taking measurements of your home or he should be, unfortunately most people don't, to find out the right size of your system
00:07:45
Speaker
He's going to be going through the home and kind of seeing how you use that home.
00:07:49
Speaker
Make sure that you're letting them know, man.
00:07:51
Speaker
These are the things that I like about my system.
00:07:54
Speaker
These are the things that I don't like.
00:07:55
Speaker
The more information, the better.
00:07:57
Speaker
Hey, Billy upstairs has got really bad allergies.
00:08:01
Speaker
This room is hotter than this room.
00:08:03
Speaker
Get all of that stuff out there.
00:08:07
Speaker
so that when you do get your options and you've given this guy some, maybe you've got some issues, some pains with this old one, he's got solutions, right?
00:08:17
Speaker
And if there's something that you did like about that last unit, he can make sure and incorporate that into the new unit, right?
00:08:23
Speaker
So once we've got a couple of quotes, Brian, what should we do next?
Quality Installation vs. Brand Importance
00:08:31
Speaker
Well,
00:08:32
Speaker
One thing you want to do is ask the HVAC company about the brands of air conditioning systems they use and why they prefer them.
00:08:39
Speaker
Right.
00:08:39
Speaker
I'm sure the company uses high quality, energy efficient equipment that meets your specific needs.
00:08:46
Speaker
Keep in mind, some companies only recommend one brand.
00:08:48
Speaker
They are contractually obligated to sell only that brand.
00:08:53
Speaker
If there's a certain brand you're looking for, go to their website and see who they recommend to use in your area as it will be a trusted and proven contractor.
00:09:02
Speaker
So that makes perfect sense then, right?
00:09:04
Speaker
If you're looking for a carrier, go to the carrier website, type in, go to their find a dealer and see who they recommend.
00:09:13
Speaker
Cause they're only going to be recommending the trusted people who are, whether it's train or whatever it is in your area, whether people are factory trained, they've been doing this for years.
00:09:25
Speaker
You know, you're going to get somebody who knows what they're talking about.
00:09:28
Speaker
Right.
00:09:30
Speaker
You will get a company that has a good relationship with Carrier or Train or Linux, whoever you have a desire to put in your house.
00:09:42
Speaker
Well, I mean, that makes perfect sense.
00:09:44
Speaker
So I guess the next step would be, right, I've gotten a couple of quotes.
00:09:48
Speaker
Let's say I've gotten three quotes.
00:09:49
Speaker
That's the magic number for some reason.
00:09:51
Speaker
I don't know why it's been like that for 50 years.
00:09:53
Speaker
People want three quotes.
00:09:55
Speaker
And now I've got kind of a better idea of one, the cost.
00:10:00
Speaker
Two, what's out there?
00:10:02
Speaker
And three, who's out there?
00:10:05
Speaker
Would you agree with me when I say who installs your equipment is way more important than what you install?
00:10:13
Speaker
Yes.
00:10:15
Speaker
Why would you agree with that?
00:10:18
Speaker
Because even the best equipment installed by some jack wagons that don't know what they're going to do
00:10:24
Speaker
It's not going to, you're not going to be happy with that.
00:10:27
Speaker
You need, you need great equipment, but the installers are probably more important than the equipment.
00:10:34
Speaker
I 100% them on the same page.
00:10:36
Speaker
So day one is pretty much the most important day in the life of your air conditioning.
00:10:42
Speaker
How it's installed, how they airtight seal things, how they do their welding or their brazing, ensuring that it was properly sized from the very beginning.
00:10:53
Speaker
All of these things, short of keeping your filters changed, in Texas, you should probably be keeping them changed monthly, but that's a whole different episode there.
00:11:03
Speaker
So now you've got three quotes and you're wondering, holy cow, how the heck am I going to afford this?
00:11:09
Speaker
Because we know what it costs, right, Brian?
00:11:13
Speaker
We know.
00:11:13
Speaker
It's not what you see on the internet.
00:11:17
Speaker
I'll tell you that right now.
00:11:18
Speaker
And that's from any company in the world.
00:11:20
Speaker
So...
00:11:21
Speaker
These prices can vary a lot depending on the companies that you're choosing.
00:11:25
Speaker
If you were choosing a stand in a van, who's a one-man operation, who's operating out of his garage, and he's going to pick up the equipment as you purchase it, he's probably gonna be a lot less than if you called the company who takes care of the entire DFW or Greater Houston area, and they have 30 trucks and beltway toll road frontage
00:11:49
Speaker
In all these advertising and stuff, it's probably going to be a really drastic difference.
00:11:54
Speaker
The good thing, though, is even if that's the company that you want, because they've been around for 50 years, things like this, you've got to take that stuff into consideration.
00:12:03
Speaker
Most companies have financing, and most companies have 0% interest financing.
00:12:09
Speaker
Us right now, we've got 60 months 0% interest.
00:12:13
Speaker
Usually there's a discount if you don't need that kind of a long term.
00:12:17
Speaker
And most people even have a check discount.
00:12:20
Speaker
Depending on the job that you're doing, a smaller guy may request some money down.
00:12:26
Speaker
All right.
00:12:28
Speaker
But the bigger guys, they probably they're
Comparing Quotes and Verifying Credentials
00:12:31
Speaker
OK and.
00:12:33
Speaker
They have this money on lock and they'll collect everything once something is totally done.
00:12:37
Speaker
Right.
00:12:38
Speaker
So we've got a few quotes.
00:12:40
Speaker
I figured out how I'm going to pay for it.
00:12:42
Speaker
Right.
00:12:42
Speaker
I can do the financing.
00:12:44
Speaker
I can put on a credit card.
00:12:46
Speaker
Some even have deferred payments.
00:12:48
Speaker
You know, there's definitely something for everyone.
00:12:51
Speaker
Heaven forbid you're not in the best place.
00:12:54
Speaker
credit situation, there are second chance financing and different things.
00:12:59
Speaker
I've even seen some companies do in-house financing.
00:13:01
Speaker
You just got to ask, right?
00:13:03
Speaker
There's something for everyone.
00:13:04
Speaker
Everyone can do this.
00:13:06
Speaker
So now that I've got all that, what am I doing next, Brian?
00:13:10
Speaker
Well, this is what every homeowner wants to do.
00:13:12
Speaker
They want to compare the quotes and they want to boil this down to apples to apples.
00:13:17
Speaker
And it's rarely going to be.
00:13:18
Speaker
I hear that a lot.
00:13:19
Speaker
Apples to apples.
00:13:20
Speaker
I want to hear apples to apples.
00:13:24
Speaker
The problem with that is that when we just talked about the quality of the install mattering a whole lot, this piece of paper with a train XR 15 is just, for a lot of homeowners, I'm just looking at pieces of paper with that model and a price on it.
00:13:41
Speaker
Those are very different though, what you're gonna get.
00:13:44
Speaker
This might be a real Apple, this is a picture of an Apple.
00:13:47
Speaker
It's not the same thing, but you're gonna compare these quotes
00:13:53
Speaker
that you received and you look at the total cost of the replacement, you want to look at the warranties offered.
00:13:59
Speaker
You want to make sure they're going to register this equipment so you get the maximum warranty from the manufacturer.
00:14:05
Speaker
Additional services, when we talk about apples to apples, there's a lot more that goes into it.
00:14:11
Speaker
I think a company that's a 4.9 with a thousand reviews that your neighbors used and loved
00:14:20
Speaker
Is that worth $500 more than some guy that doesn't even have any reviews?
00:14:26
Speaker
He's going to load it up in the back of a pickup truck and show up at your house.
00:14:31
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:31
Speaker
And what happens two years later when that system breaks down 4th of July weekend and you try and get ahold of that guy?
00:14:38
Speaker
Where's he at?
00:14:39
Speaker
He's going to be out on the lake fishing or something.
00:14:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:42
Speaker
If he's still around.
00:14:45
Speaker
He probably would go out of business and start a new business under a different name.
00:14:50
Speaker
You know, after all this pricing increases happened, a lot of the really small mom and pop or the Chuck in a truck guy, he went out of business.
00:15:00
Speaker
He couldn't get products.
00:15:01
Speaker
We haven't seen that for a while, these really lowball offers that come in.
00:15:06
Speaker
But if you got two, let's say you got four reviews and three of them were pretty good.
00:15:12
Speaker
close in price, let's say they were within $1,000 and you have one that comes in $3,000 less than anybody else, that you should be very concerned about that.
00:15:21
Speaker
I would be, what am I missing?
00:15:24
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:25
Speaker
What am I missing?
00:15:26
Speaker
Something out of that.
00:15:28
Speaker
As you know, there's so many.
00:15:30
Speaker
That's some other things here.
00:15:32
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely.
00:15:33
Speaker
I want to make sure they're licensed, they're insured.
00:15:36
Speaker
Good one.
00:15:38
Speaker
He falls off the roof or something.
00:15:39
Speaker
I don't know what he would be doing up there, but let's say he did.
00:15:42
Speaker
You can fall through the ceiling.
00:15:44
Speaker
I've done that before.
00:15:47
Speaker
You're not really an air conditioning person.
00:15:48
Speaker
You've never fallen through the ceiling.
00:15:51
Speaker
You haven't gotten your shoes wet.
00:15:56
Speaker
No, that's right.
00:15:56
Speaker
All right.
00:15:57
Speaker
So insurances and licensing.
00:15:59
Speaker
What else?
00:16:02
Speaker
Permits.
00:16:03
Speaker
Is he going to pull the permit?
00:16:04
Speaker
Is he just going to do some unpermitted work?
00:16:07
Speaker
And are there any codes that are unique to your area that he needs to know about?
00:16:11
Speaker
That's why you kind of want someone local.
00:16:13
Speaker
Well, that's something that pops up a lot in Houston, right?
00:16:17
Speaker
That's something that pops up a lot in Houston is different areas have specific codes based on hurricane winds, based on flood zones.
00:16:27
Speaker
You know, the outdoor unit needs to be elevated or it needs to be strapped down.
00:16:31
Speaker
You know, there are a lot of different factors
00:16:34
Speaker
that can put a real wrench in your job if that inspector shows up and cancels everything and now you have to start all over and good luck chasing your money down from staying in a van right yeah he got your check he did his job he's out of there what else should they be looking for what do you think if
00:16:55
Speaker
Well, when you're looking at this stuff, be looking for a lot of the certifications.
00:16:59
Speaker
One, if they are a preferred dealer for your manufacturer, that means they're doing factory training.
00:17:05
Speaker
That means they're keeping up on all the training that they have to, to be able to work, operate and install this equipment.
00:17:12
Speaker
And there's a couple of different things.
00:17:13
Speaker
You got the NAIT certifications, which is the North American technical excellency.
00:17:18
Speaker
I got it.
00:17:19
Speaker
Thank goodness.
00:17:20
Speaker
But I had it from when I was a technician and it's,
00:17:24
Speaker
about as in depth of testing as you can get on different specifications.
00:17:29
Speaker
It could be residential heating and cooling, commercial cooling, refrigeration, gas furnace, things like this.
00:17:38
Speaker
Most reputable companies, their techs are gonna be NAIT certified.
00:17:41
Speaker
There's ACA too, which is the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.
00:17:44
Speaker
And this just show that everybody's gone through the specialized training.
00:17:48
Speaker
For their installers, do they use subcontractors?
00:17:50
Speaker
Do they use in-house installers?
00:17:54
Speaker
What's the difference there?
00:17:56
Speaker
So a subcontractor can still be a fantastic installer for you, right?
00:18:03
Speaker
It could be somebody that the company has used for 10 years.
00:18:06
Speaker
They just happen to be a 1099 employee, not a W-2.
00:18:10
Speaker
Right.
00:18:11
Speaker
So there's definitely some things.
00:18:12
Speaker
How long have these installers been there?
00:18:14
Speaker
Installers probably have the highest turnaround in the HVAC industry because come wintertime in Texas, it is slow.
00:18:23
Speaker
There is not a lot to do.
00:18:24
Speaker
And if you're not taking care of your installers, they're going to go find someone who will take care of them.
00:18:30
Speaker
So that's another sign.
00:18:31
Speaker
I would check and ask, you know, who are your crews?
00:18:34
Speaker
How long have they been with you?
00:18:36
Speaker
That's a very, very important thing.
00:18:38
Speaker
probably more important than in-house or subcontractor, but in-house is always gonna be better because now these guys are part of the family, right?
00:18:50
Speaker
And an installer sometime doesn't feel like part of the family
00:18:54
Speaker
They're not invited to the company Christmas parties and they don't get to do the meetings with breakfast and stuff like this because they're out installing stuff, man.
00:19:05
Speaker
They're on the road at 4.30 a.m.
00:19:07
Speaker
loading up and getting out to the job.
00:19:09
Speaker
So definitely some stuff to think about.
00:19:13
Speaker
Ask for references.
00:19:15
Speaker
Right.
00:19:15
Speaker
Me, myself, I probably have a list of 10 or 12 clients who have offered to talk to anybody else should they have any questions about Majestic AC.
00:19:24
Speaker
These are certified people who have purchased and they were just so happy about the way things went that they're open to telling someone else what to expect.
Timing Your HVAC Replacement
00:19:33
Speaker
Right now.
00:19:36
Speaker
That's a plus.
00:19:38
Speaker
Sometimes it's hard for people to come up with that.
00:19:41
Speaker
I don't.
00:19:41
Speaker
What do you think?
00:19:44
Speaker
As far as... Asking for references and stuff.
00:19:48
Speaker
It helps, but not everybody is going to have that on the spot.
00:19:53
Speaker
Not everybody.
00:19:54
Speaker
I always want to respect the homeowner's privacy.
00:19:58
Speaker
With that being said, I probably have a dozen people I could call right now and say, hey, someone wants to see this.
00:20:04
Speaker
I could call it in if you wanted that.
00:20:07
Speaker
That's exactly right.
00:20:10
Speaker
We've done a lot of research at this point.
00:20:12
Speaker
We've...
00:20:14
Speaker
kind of narrowed down the brand we want.
00:20:15
Speaker
We've figured out how we're going to pay for it.
00:20:19
Speaker
Anything else that we should be looking for?
00:20:22
Speaker
Well, I guess you want to check availability and response time for the company that you pick.
00:20:27
Speaker
But keep in mind in June or July, you know, here in Houston anyway, or in Texas or any Gulf Coast city,
00:20:34
Speaker
We're really, really busy in the summertime.
00:20:37
Speaker
So you can get things, you can get quality, you can get it fast, and you can get it at a really good price.
00:20:45
Speaker
You can get any two of those, but you can't get all three.
00:20:48
Speaker
So in the summer, if you get something good quality and you get it at a good price, it's not gonna be fast.
00:20:56
Speaker
This summer, I had a guy who we were gonna do, he called me, I'd worked with him before on some other house,
00:21:04
Speaker
And I gave him a price and I was probably $1,500 better than the other guy.
00:21:10
Speaker
But the other guy could come tomorrow and install it.
00:21:13
Speaker
For us, it was going to be two or three days before I could get to it.
00:21:16
Speaker
He spent that money.
00:21:18
Speaker
That's how uncomfortable it is in Houston that someone would blow $1,500 to feel better 24 hours sooner.
00:21:28
Speaker
But if somebody's sitting around and they don't have a whole lot going on, especially in Houston in June or July, that they can turn around that fast, you should probably be concerned.
00:21:40
Speaker
You probably should be busier than that.
00:21:42
Speaker
Yeah, a lot of light bulbs should go off in your head like, well, why don't they have work right now?
00:21:47
Speaker
You know?
00:21:47
Speaker
Yeah.
00:21:48
Speaker
Now, granted, I don't want to wait two weeks to get this done.
00:21:51
Speaker
So I understand that.
00:21:53
Speaker
And a planned replacement is going to be a lot easier than emergency replacement.
00:21:57
Speaker
Instead of waiting until the wheels fall off, you know, maybe start taking a look at this stuff, you know, going into the fall and planning for a winter.
00:22:06
Speaker
So when your system's down, it's still comfortable in your house.
00:22:10
Speaker
Do things go a little bit smoother in the winter?
00:22:13
Speaker
Yes, absolutely.
00:22:16
Speaker
I mean, how so?
00:22:18
Speaker
Well, I think that like up in the attics, it's probably 120, 130, 140 degrees.
00:22:25
Speaker
Guys can only work so long in that before they have to come out and take breaks and hydrate.
00:22:31
Speaker
In the wintertime, you know, you can stay up there for the entirety of the install.
00:22:38
Speaker
It's not that uncomfortable.
00:22:40
Speaker
Things are just, they're just easier to get done when we're not in such an extreme environment.
00:22:47
Speaker
Well, yeah, you go from a summertime job, you know, starting at 7 a.m.
00:22:52
Speaker
and getting out of your house at 6.30 to 7 p.m.
00:22:56
Speaker
to in the wintertime, starting around 8 and being out of there before lunch, right?
00:23:01
Speaker
I mean, that's what we've been seeing.
00:23:03
Speaker
Our installers, they're our guys.
00:23:05
Speaker
We've used them for a long time.
00:23:06
Speaker
We know exactly what to expect.
00:23:09
Speaker
So, you know, in time of the year, it's a lot easier to make these decisions.
00:23:17
Speaker
when you're not sitting in your house and it's 95 degrees.
00:23:22
Speaker
You are gonna choose the fastest.
00:23:24
Speaker
You are gonna choose the first person who can even get to your house.
00:23:30
Speaker
And sometimes that's not always gonna be the best.
00:23:34
Speaker
So try to plan ahead with these things.
00:23:36
Speaker
It's gonna save you a headache in the
Evaluating Proposals and Trustworthiness
00:23:38
Speaker
long run.
00:23:38
Speaker
Because yeah, you may have gotten that AC installed nice and you're comfortable for the first year, but now your labor warranty has gone away and your system's down.
00:23:48
Speaker
a year later because the installer didn't know how to weld or some jerk head at the factory drove a forklift into a pallet and poked a hole and didn't want to get fired and didn't tell anybody, but you're not seeing it until a year after it was installed.
00:24:05
Speaker
You know, so there's a lot of that stuff to take into consideration too.
00:24:09
Speaker
So at this point, Brian, we've got all the research we needed to look into these reviews.
00:24:17
Speaker
We've looked at the companies, we've talked to our friends, families, and coworkers.
00:24:22
Speaker
We've had a couple of guys come out to the house, take a look, and you're gonna find everybody sees your home differently too.
00:24:30
Speaker
Find the person who was, went into the most depth, the most detail, tried to find out as much about your home as could possibly be.
00:24:39
Speaker
Make sure that they're taking measurements of the home, right?
00:24:45
Speaker
another red flag for me personally, you should have a proposal before they leave your house.
00:24:53
Speaker
If it's two or three days out before you're getting an estimate, they don't care.
00:24:59
Speaker
And that's the first sign that they don't care.
00:25:02
Speaker
You know, we can do a whole show and we need to about what should happen when that comfort advisor comes to your house.
00:25:09
Speaker
What are some things you need to be looking for
00:25:11
Speaker
And that's too much to cover in this episode right here, but we're going to do that too.
00:25:19
Speaker
It calls me every time when someone says, I come in there, they like me, they go, well, I just want to get this last proposal.
00:25:27
Speaker
And I'll go, well, when's he coming out?
00:25:29
Speaker
Oh, he was here three days ago.
00:25:30
Speaker
I'm like, okay.
00:25:32
Speaker
Still waiting on it.
00:25:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:35
Speaker
Oh, my God.
00:25:37
Speaker
More aggressive than that.
00:25:39
Speaker
Yeah, so hopefully at this point, you've gotten enough information, you've spoken to enough people, trust your gut, right?
00:25:48
Speaker
I mean, if it's a company that's been around for 10 plus years, they've got a couple to a few hundred reviews online and they're decent, you know, they're 4.9 and you've read the bad ones.
00:26:00
Speaker
You've seen that the homeowner responded to it and the, or the company owner responded and the homeowner says, thank you.
00:26:07
Speaker
You fixed everything.
00:26:08
Speaker
We're good to go.
00:26:08
Speaker
You know, read those because not all one-star reviews are actual one-star reviews.
00:26:13
Speaker
Some are on accident.
00:26:14
Speaker
Some are the wrong company, which we covered in the last episode there.
00:26:19
Speaker
But trust your gut, man.
00:26:20
Speaker
You're going to get taken care of.
00:26:22
Speaker
If you pick someone who's been around, you pick someone who's in-depth and took the right measurements, and it's a brand that you know and you like and you trust, the good brands aren't going to let a schmuck install your equipment.
00:26:37
Speaker
They're not.
00:26:38
Speaker
like Train is pretty picky about who they let install in your home, you know?
00:26:44
Speaker
And there's certain brands who aren't as picky and I'm not going to say any of those, but you can still have an amazing piece of equipment installed by amazing guys and it be the cheapest possible piece of junk there is and it still outlasts
00:26:59
Speaker
the nicest piece of equipment installed by some schmucks, right?
00:27:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:05
Speaker
You're not going to like that.
00:27:07
Speaker
No.
00:27:07
Speaker
So just- You know, one time I told this lady, I said, don't go with the cheapest guy, okay?
00:27:14
Speaker
There's a lot more to this.
00:27:15
Speaker
People like to think this is like buying an appliance, like buying a dishwasher or a washing machine.
00:27:20
Speaker
And it's done after that, right?
00:27:22
Speaker
And it's done, right?
00:27:24
Speaker
This thing has to run 24-7, 365, you know, and we expect 10 years of that.
00:27:30
Speaker
And there's so many design parameters that are different, you know, so this is very different.
00:27:35
Speaker
But I told this lady, don't go with the cheapest person.
00:27:38
Speaker
Just go with someone that's the most thorough.
00:27:41
Speaker
You know, so she calls me back a few days later and says, well, I'm going to go against your advice and I'm going to go with you.
00:27:46
Speaker
You were the cheapest person.
00:27:47
Speaker
So I figured I probably shouldn't say that anymore, you know.
00:27:50
Speaker
Yeah, I've explained it this way and maybe this might help some homeowners, right?
00:27:55
Speaker
So you can go to any dealership.
00:27:57
Speaker
Let's say I'm buying a Ford F-150.
00:27:59
Speaker
I can go to any Ford dealership in the greater Houston area and every single one of those trucks was made in the exact same factory.
00:28:06
Speaker
You know, when I'm buying a truck, a new truck, yeah, I'm buying it based on price because I don't need anything after that.
00:28:12
Speaker
They were all made the same.
00:28:14
Speaker
But if when you were buying that truck,
00:28:17
Speaker
They delivered all the parts to your driveway.
00:28:19
Speaker
And it was up to you to find somebody to put that truck together
00:28:24
Speaker
Well, now that changes things.
00:28:26
Speaker
You might not have an F-150 by the time.
00:28:27
Speaker
You might have a minivan, depending on who puts it together and the parts and pieces and how they were tightened and screwed together in the electronic.
00:28:35
Speaker
We are literally doing surgery on your home.
00:28:38
Speaker
There are so many factors and parts and pieces being put together in your home.
00:28:44
Speaker
That's why who installs it is way more important than what you install.
00:28:50
Speaker
That's why that apples to apples comparison is so hard to give up.
00:28:55
Speaker
It is.
00:28:58
Speaker
No, there's all the little parts and pieces, the drain pan, the overflow switch, the return air plenum.
00:29:04
Speaker
Are they using metal boxes?
00:29:05
Speaker
Are they using, you know, duck board?
00:29:09
Speaker
They're just, there's so many different things.
00:29:11
Speaker
So be specific with your comfort advisors.
00:29:14
Speaker
Let them know what you want.
00:29:15
Speaker
If you've done your research and you've got a good idea of what you're looking for, tell them.
00:29:20
Speaker
what you're looking for.
00:29:22
Speaker
Trust your gut.
Conclusion and Future Topics
00:29:24
Speaker
Do your research.
00:29:25
Speaker
You're going to be all right.
00:29:28
Speaker
All right.
00:29:29
Speaker
All right.
00:29:30
Speaker
Well, thank you guys for watching.
00:29:32
Speaker
What do you want to cover next time, Brian?
00:29:34
Speaker
I want to talk about that in-home experience that you get from the comfort advisor from the
00:29:39
Speaker
the appointment to what happens when they get there what what should happen what should yeah what what should happen that's exactly right and then uh and then i'll go through what happens 90 of the time yes you know which is the people you probably want to kick out of your house i think after that episode brian i'd like to do one um what to expect on the day of the install
00:30:07
Speaker
How should that whole day go?
00:30:10
Speaker
And maybe the couple of days after and things like that.
00:30:13
Speaker
So we do have some good stuff for you guys.
00:30:16
Speaker
We appreciate y'all tuning in.
00:30:19
Speaker
If you're one of our 30 people who's been watching, we appreciate you.
00:30:24
Speaker
And we're going to keep coming out with some good information.
00:30:27
Speaker
We're here for you guys.
00:30:29
Speaker
We represent y'all.
00:30:31
Speaker
All right.
00:30:32
Speaker
Thank you.
00:30:33
Speaker
Thank you.
00:30:37
Speaker
All right.
00:30:40
Speaker
I think that one could have gone better.
00:30:43
Speaker
Yeah, it was a step back.
00:30:50
Speaker
I think it was almost reading too much and it was kind of out of order at one point.
00:30:55
Speaker
But it doesn't matter.
00:30:56
Speaker
It's out there.
00:30:59
Speaker
We'll do better.
00:30:59
Speaker
It's out there.
00:31:00
Speaker
So you want to do what to...
00:31:05
Speaker
what you should be expecting right yeah with a comfort advisor in your house you have an appointment set up um if he's not there on time he should have let you know ahead of time uh he should probably tell you what he's going to do while he's there which would include manual j maybe we'll do a screenshot of one that we put up there so they'll see what it is um just go that