05/08/2026
Someone asked a very important question in a comment on avoiding or being cautious of HVAC companies that are "sale based" (where they are not adequately trained on repairing units, but more trained as salesmen). These companies focus more on numbers($$$$) rather than taking care of customers.
Question: How would we know if they are a sale based company? I always worry about things I can’t actually see and trust someone else to see it.
Our reply...You would need to ask questions like "Does your employees make commissions on parts sold, or are they simply paid hourly". If they are paid commissions on all sales, then ask "Is there a chain of command that the employee has to go through to verify that the part is actually needed"...or "Can I have a second person within your company to come verify that the part is actually needed". For example, our guys (although they are highly trained to fix things instead of sale) are not allowed to sell an expensive part or new unit until they have spoken with us. Jer and I like to go through all scenarios to make sure that selling them an expensive part or a new unit is either the only option for the repair or it is the most logical option (with the customer having the choice on several options).
Scenarios of logical sales would be allowing the customer to decide on spending ### amount of dollars on a needed part/repair (that may or may not last on an older unit) or using those ### dollars toward the price of a brand new unit with 10 years parts warranty plus one year labor warranty. It is so tricky though because companies will mark up the part tremendously (or lie about a part being needed) to make a sale on a new ac unit. This is why it is so important to get a second opinion. When thousands of dollars are on the line, make the call to a second HVAC company. You may be surprised in what they find versus what you are being told.
