Complaint Review: Aa Marthedral - Fresno California

Reading the comments by the HVAC experienced individuals; you would think that high labor rates plus inflated part prices are needed to stay in business. Maybe for a business without a good business plan and without high-quality management, but not for a reliable and reputable business. These same HVAC individuals would be the first to be writing a rip-off complaint here if they had someone in to repair their 10 year old TV and the technician troubleshoot and in 15 minutes found that only a fuse needed to be replaced, and charged them $150 for the service call and labor, and an additional $300 for the 25 cent fuse. Or it they took their 10 year old car for repair and it was found that only the transmission fluid needed to be changed and was charged $150 for the diagnostics and labor and an additional $300 for the $1 of fluid. Or they went to their attorney for their last will and testimony and were charged $150 for the attorney's time and an additional $300 for the pieces of the 1cent paper the will was written on. Or they went to their doctor and were charged $150 for the office visit and an additional $300 for the Popsicle stick that was stuck in their mouth. A reputable business does not stay in business by deception, and this is exactly what high labor rates in conjunction with inflated part prices well above retail, is. You hide your actual charges and profit margin from the customer among two sources. A reputable business does one or the other, but not both. Charge by set labor rates and then charge parts near retail, or use a flat rate charge for the service to be performed or part to be replaced. Businesses are in business to make money, so just be up front with the charges and don't try to deceive the customers. Why do HVAC individuals need to feel they have to run a business different from anyone else???

Why did you or your wife call the A/C company? If you knew the capacitor was bad, why did you make the A/C company send a tech out to tell you it was bad? You should have just driven down to the appliance store and bought it yourself and installed it yourself and when you put it in wrong and the A/C unit burns up and you have to pay $4000 for a new one, you would have been happy paying the $300. I deal with jerks like you all the time. Here's wishing Aa Marthedral puts you on their list of "special" customers that they won't do business with.

Why did you or your wife call the A/C company? If you knew the capacitor was bad, why did you make the A/C company send a tech out to tell you it was bad? You should have just driven down to the appliance store and bought it yourself and installed it yourself and when you put it in wrong and the A/C unit burns up and you have to pay $4000 for a new one, you would have been happy paying the $300. I deal with jerks like you all the time. Here's wishing Aa Marthedral puts you on their list of "special" customers that they won't do business with.

Why did you or your wife call the A/C company? If you knew the capacitor was bad, why did you make the A/C company send a tech out to tell you it was bad? You should have just driven down to the appliance store and bought it yourself and installed it yourself and when you put it in wrong and the A/C unit burns up and you have to pay $4000 for a new one, you would have been happy paying the $300. I deal with jerks like you all the time. Here's wishing Aa Marthedral puts you on their list of "special" customers that they won't do business with.

Why did you or your wife call the A/C company? If you knew the capacitor was bad, why did you make the A/C company send a tech out to tell you it was bad? You should have just driven down to the appliance store and bought it yourself and installed it yourself and when you put it in wrong and the A/C unit burns up and you have to pay $4000 for a new one, you would have been happy paying the $300. I deal with jerks like you all the time. Here's wishing Aa Marthedral puts you on their list of "special" customers that they won't do business with.

That's right. You are not just paying for the part. You are paying for the tech, tools, truck, gas, maintenance, insurance, office help, rent etc... What do you pay a doctor for sticking the popsicle in your mouth and listening to your heart? I doubt those "parts" cost that much.

That's right. You are not just paying for the part. You are paying for the tech, tools, truck, gas, maintenance, insurance, office help, rent etc... What do you pay a doctor for sticking the popsicle in your mouth and listening to your heart? I doubt those "parts" cost that much.

That's right. You are not just paying for the part. You are paying for the tech, tools, truck, gas, maintenance, insurance, office help, rent etc... What do you pay a doctor for sticking the popsicle in your mouth and listening to your heart? I doubt those "parts" cost that much.

That's right. You are not just paying for the part. You are paying for the tech, tools, truck, gas, maintenance, insurance, office help, rent etc... What do you pay a doctor for sticking the popsicle in your mouth and listening to your heart? I doubt those "parts" cost that much.

Sure, the part is only $16. Hell, the company probably only paid $10, because they buy a lot of capacitors. But, you're coming to the wrong conclusion. Let me ask you. Would you be able to look at the unit and know what to fix? Probably not. That's why the wife paid for somebody who could. That's what you were paying for. Expertise. Knowledge. It took the guy 15 minutes to fix the air conditioner. If you were fooling with it, it still wouldn't be working. That's the difference right there. That's what you paid all that money for. Results. And, cool air. Look at it this way, a brain surgeon doesn't put any parts in. In fact, he cuts bad stuff out of your brain. You certainly wouldn't expect him to charge according to the price of parts. Again, you would be paying for experience. Cold air on a hot day costs big money. People who don't have that money use fans. Be glad you can afford to buy cold air. Hopefully, it'll stay fixed for a long time. Think about that, too. You may not need that company again for 5 years. So, when you finally call, they need to make enough to stay in business, ready for you the next time.

Appreciate the comments in the rebuttal. I neglected to mention in my original report that the labor charges were pretty steep in addition to the part, I think about $165 for 15 minutes of work. That would easily cover their gas, overhead, training, etc. I would have been happy to pay a reasonable markup for the part, too. Even a 100% markup would have made it only $40. But a 1,500% markup does not seem reasonable.

I am in the field of hvac service, and I can tell a few tips on how to avoid these problems in the future. Step 1, try to find a company that does FLAT RATE pricing. this way you will know the price of the repair BEFORE the work is completed. This way you will have no qualms when the work is done. We do flat rate pricing where I work and we also do COD charging. There are MANY more things that go into the cost of that three hundred dollar repair than that 20 dollar capacitor. How about the employee' TRAINING that he needs to go to so he can diag the problem? or the company overhead? gas prices? tool costs? the list goes on. Did your wife agree to the price before the work was completed? If so you really don't have a leg to stand on. If the price was quoted AFTER the job was done, well than that is a slightly different story, but still, your wife or yourself should have asked for their pricing method BEFORE the work was done...