10 Tips for Hiring HVAC Services
The average installation cost of a new HVAC unit can be anywhere between $4820-$9300.
With HVAC services being pricey, you want to make sure you’re picking the best possible company to perform a repair or install a new unit.
Wondering just how to pick the right people? Consider all of these things when hiring HVAC services.
COMPARE PRICES1. Ask Friends and Read Reviews
The best thing to do when starting your search for an HVAC service technician is to ask friends for names. They might have the name of someone great to recommend — or the name of someone to avoid because they had a bad experience!
Once you’ve got some names that service your local area, you can do a deep dive into reviews.
Reviews are important, as they’re left by neutral parties and will give you a true overall picture of any residential or commercial HVAC service company. You can find reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook.
Make sure they have a good overall rating and you can even do a deep dive into the one and five-star reviews to see what they did well and what people are complaining about. Remember, you can’t please everyone, but there shouldn’t be a huge amount of negative reviews as that’s a red flag.
2. Check Out Their Website
Think you’ve found an HVAC repair service or replacement service that you want to hire? It’s time to take a look at their website.
Web design is a far-off industry from HVAC servicing, so you don’t have to worry about expecting something very fancy. However, their website should be clean, accessible, and list the basics of what they can do.
Some websites even have customer testimonials available to prove they have a good amount of experience behind them and have left people pleased with their service.
They should also have their contact information available on the website so you can get in touch.
3. Check for Licensing
Although you may take it for granted that any HVAC company listed online is licensed, this is often not the case. There’s nothing stopping people from claiming people to be a good HVAC company you can trust when they actually don’t have a license behind them.
A license proves they have the proper training and experience to do a good job. As HVAC services aren’t something you should DIY or hire an amateur for, you’ll want to make sure the person coming into your home has the proper qualifications.
If they have additional licenses in other areas or have even won awards that are listed on the website, then that’s even better. The more qualifications, the better.
COMPARE PRICES4. Ask About Insurance
You should also ask about insurance. HVAC professionals should be insured for two reasons:
- If anything goes wrong after the repair or replacement due to their work
- If they’re injured on the job
If they get injured on the job and don’t have insurance, you may be liable since the incident happened on your property.
If anything goes wrong due to their work, they may not want to pay the money that it’ll cost you. Insurance will make sure this is covered so you don’t need to worry about who’s going to pay if something goes wrong. This creates peace of mind for you both.
5. Ask About Their Experience
Is it possible that an HVAC service technician who’s only been working at their career for a couple of years is great? Certainly!
However, if you want to make sure that you have the best one without a shadow of a doubt, the best thing to do is hire someone with decades of experience behind them. Often, their website will list just how much experience they have so you can look and see at a glance that you’re hiring someone who knows what they’re doing.
If their website doesn’t say then don’t feel that you might be offending a company by asking. Good HVAC technicians know you want to hire the best person and won’t feel offended by having to tell you how much experience they have.
After all, the last thing you want is to be part of someone’s learning curve.
6. Consider Their Availability
If you need an HVAC unit replacement but it’s not urgent then that’s totally different from needing emergency HVAC services, but you should consider your needs along with the timeline that the company can offer.
If they’re fully booked for a time and won’t be able to get to you but your HVAC unit isn’t working at all then you may need someone different who can get there sooner.
It’s best if you have the time to consider the best company without regard to how long you’ll have to wait, but this isn’t always possible.
7. Inquire About the Aftermath
One thing you should ask about is what happens if something goes wrong in the aftermath.
Companies without much experience or great services won’t have much to offer afterward. They’re there to do the repair or installation and leave you to deal with what comes after (though hopefully, everything will be fine).
Better companies, however, will offer after-sale support — such as warranties. Good manufacturers should offer warranties on their units for at least a few years and if no such thing is offered, then you might want to look elsewhere for a company that can provide products that do come with this warranty.
While it may not seem important at the time, you may regret not checking this a few years down the line when something breaks and you have to pay for yet another HVAC service technician to come out and take a look at how to fix it.
8. Get a Quote
Getting a quote is one of the most crucial (and often nerve-wracking) parts of the process. Even if you just need a repair, the average can go up to $510.
When getting a quote, it’s a good idea to ask multiple companies and compare. That way, you can see what the average cost is among them and decide which company is right for you.
Although it can be tempting to go with the cheapest quote without considering any other factors, beware. The cheapest quote may be that way because the company doesn’t offer good products or isn’t insured and is luring in customers with unrealistically cheap quotes for bad work.
While it’s important to make sure the cost is within your budget, look at the other factors too and weigh everything up together. If one company offers something at a drastically cheaper price than all the others, it may actually be a red flag rather than a blessing.
9. Consider the People
Since you’re inviting these people into your home to do work, it’s important to consider what you think of them too! For example:
- Are they professional and courteous?
- Do they make things easy to understand?
- Are they easy to get ahold of?
- Do you feel like they’re giving you options or pressuring you?
If you don’t feel comfortable with the people that would be working on your home or something just doesn’t feel right, then you can look elsewhere. There are plenty of HVAC companies out there, so don’t worry about losing your only chance.
Listen to your gut!
10. Get Everything in Writing
When agreeing to things, you should make sure to get everything in writing. Even when given a quote, make sure it’s written down or typed out so that you always have that to fall back on if the company tries to charge you more — whether mistakenly or not.
You should also make sure you have the terms and conditions of the purchase and all of the notes about things like the warranty.
It’s important for your own reference as well as anything else. The spoken word just doesn’t hold up if it comes to a dispute later.
Follow These Tips When Hiring HVAC Services
Following these tips when hiring HVAC services will help ensure that you get the right company for you. Not all HVAC companies are created equal and it’s important to make sure you find one with good experience, reliable professionals, and good ethics that will install a great unit in your home to last a long time.
Looking to get quotes from HVAC contractors near you? Use our website and get up to five fast, free, and easy quotes from HVAC service technicians who would love to work with you.
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