Tag: hard sale

Twenty Equals Twelve

I just got off the phone with a homeowner who was told his furnace’s failed heat exchanger had a 12 year warranty. That’s too bad since his furnace is 19 years old. Well it would’ve been too bad had he not called me. I told him the truth. A quick search tells the truth just as well. That heat exchanger has a 20 year warranty. Virtually every residential heat exchanger made in the past few decades has or had a 20 year warranty. It’s a not-so-secret industry standard.

Shocking! No… it’s not shocking that Equinoctial Air deceived the homeowner in an attempt to sell a furnace. They’ve been weaving that web for years. What’s shocking is Continue reading Twenty Equals Twelve

A Quotable Quote

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap…“

That was an incredible moment, not that I was alive to see it live. ;^) Thankfully I was alive and heard the following from a homeowner today.

“My experience with them is that they’d rather do installation than service work.“

That quote will never make history, but I’ve been saying that throughout my professional history. The typical contractor’s primary goal is to replace your furnace and air conditioner. Continue reading A Quotable Quote

Batting a Thousand

Rindle Replacements performed a tune-up on these two furnaces about two weeks ago. (Say that ten times fast.) I visited those same two furnaces today. I visited with the homeowner as well. She told the tale of many tall tales told. I didn’t keep the count, but Rindle did by way of the invoice pictured below. Let’s see if half the lies they tell about the furnaces aren’t true.

Continue reading Batting a Thousand

Black and White

Imagine going to a mechanic and being told that you need a new car because your old one has a rusty tailpipe. That’s kind of what happened to today’s featured homeowner. Except rather than being told she needed a new car, she was told she needed a new furnace. And rather than citing iron oxide (rust) as the reason, the repairman cited zinc oxide – in other words, zinc rust. It’s the “scary” looking white powder pictured below.  Continue reading Black and White

Confornting Disappointment

A homeowner left messages for both me and Confortera Heating & Air yesterday. Confortera called back first, so they got the appointment. Even so, I did a little troubleshooting over the phone and gave the homeowner some general advice. I warned him that he’d probably be told to replace his furnace. I soft sold that last bit because, as I’m sure you can understand, I can’t just blurt out something negative about the competition to someone who doesn’t yet trust me.

Confortera did not disappoint. That is to say, they disappointed. Continue reading Confornting Disappointment

Un-Believably In-Famous

This is unbelievable. It’s so unbelievable that I asked the homeowner if she was making it up. Well… I didn’t put it that way. I asked if she was exaggerating. She insisted she wasn’t. I’m not actually that surprised. We are talking about the infamous Heroic Heating & Air after all. They’re the biggest and baddest contractor in the whole dang town. I follow behind their rascally repairmen on a regular basis.
Continue reading Un-Believably In-Famous