Don’t feel bad Chappy. I asked the same question on here a couple years ago with just about the same costs and the same answers. I was ticked but the bottom line answer is this. Momma was cold. You and me are big fellas and don’t get cold. And when Momma ain’t happy nobody is happy. So just think of it as a late Xmas present for Momma. Don’t you feel better now? 
Quote:
I hate to say it but must take the heating guys side here. you had a chance to say give me an estimate and i’ll be in touch. Last i checked this is still a free country and if so called heating company want to mark up parts even 10000% it is there choice and even more so your choice to use them. Given todays economy everythhing is price driven. More and more I see cheaper is better no matter the quality. Some even go as far as cheaper and still expect the same quality.
And yes been there done itI once paid ford $79 dollars to replace a fuse cause my power mirros quit working. Yes I complained, did me no good but made me feel better
Suck it up… shoulda got an estimate
I agree with S/B on this one. In most industries, a premium mark-up (both labor and materials) are used for service Vs. new installs. Doesn’t hurt to have a “friendly” call to discuss the bill and your concerns.
However, from pricing multi-million dollar homes, its always interesting to see different costs on the exact same item. That’s from my vendors pulling out their bid to show me their actual cost. Depending on which suppliers they use, the costs can vary greatly…but generally not 1000%
Not to far out of line considering you were out of heat and he showed up right away and did a good job and got it fixed.Easy for the next guy to give you a lower price after the fact and who knows when he would have got there.
Heres a tip.If your furnace or A/C and even some other appliances are around 5-10 years old look into a program like Minnegasco/Centerpoint energy etc. has.For a few bucks a month your repairs are covered.Cheap insurance IMO.
Being in the industry it is very interesting talking to people every day that seem to think hiring a contractor is like purchasing a commodity. Why do people think we should all charge the same price. Non of us run our companies the same way. Training is all over the place. What we pay for material or handle it is all over the place to. We dont all have our businees the same distance from your home either. How is it that people come up with the idea we should all have a same price?
Its commonly asked “What do you charge per hour?”. No one ever asks what is your material mark, how fast do you work or how is you quality. Will I get a journeyman, Master or maybe just someone that is paid as least as possible and his training is going to happen at your home.
There are so many variables to how a company charges just getting a hour rate has no relation to how the final bill will compare to others. Does the hourly rate start at your house, the shop, ?. Is there a min. call amount? Are you charged for time getting parts? Does the company even carry parts? Maybe there is a fuel surcharge? Tool Charge? Shop material charge? Maybe the hourly fee changes by how much time he is at your home. Maybe the fee is added per hour and not a fraction of it. The list goes on and on.
So do you want a hourly fee. How about a set service fee to come to your home and then a set price on the repair and options. Then you can decide what you want done and if you even want to do work with that company.
So what is a fair hourly rate for a service contractor? Any dollar amount is to much if it comes with bad service.
Sucks, doesn’t it Chappy.
But in all reality, if your furnace wasn’t working, and your pipes were on the verge of freezing, how much would you have paid for “expedited” services, where a guy comes out “now” and that guy also invest all that $$$$$$ to stock all those different parts in his truck, just in case YOU might need it.
I knew of an HVAC guy who once had his van ripped off. He lost $15,000 of materials in one van. That sure is a lot of trips to save a broken furnace when it is 15 degrees out!!!!!!
Quote:
Quote:
“””””
but it could have been something that is easily (and for the most part safely) such as a limit switch that can be cheated until the part comes or you find one local. “”””There is no such thing as jumping or removing a safety device or limit safely, they are there for a purpose.
imhoAl
I politely disagree, and my reasons are based on simple affordability, and a little knowledge, and a measure of risk vs. reward. A $600 hit right now for me would be really ugly, and I don’t agree that disabling a safety device is always a for sure no-no in EVERY situation.
If it’s between my pipes freezing and jumping a limit switch while I’m present until it is fixed correctly, I’m getting out the paperclip to save some money.
You are more than free to disagree, and every limit or safety jumpered out doesn’t mean harm will come, but to come on a forum and suggest jumpering out one of these is not wise.
After almost 35 years of doing HVAC I’ve run into more than a few homeowner repairs, some work, some don’t, it’s the ones that don’t work I and others at my company have to deal with, as we’re called along with the fire dept.
Do you know why that safety device failed, most of them are there to keep you safe (and protect the manufacture), in this case a little knowledge may not go a long ways and death can and does happen.
Do what you want, I won’t change your mind.
But I wish I could.
Centerpoint has Service Plus, not a bad way to go if you think your going to have problems…oh…btw they won’t jumper a safety out for you though…:)
And yes, worse case senario may not and probably won’t happen, but I’ve been called when it did and it’s not pleasant, so I tend to be a bit unbending about stuff like this. fwiw
Al
All’s cool with me! Just my two cents as usual, you make good points Al. 
Note that it depends on the contractor too as is really the whole point of this thread to me, I’ve had advice to do just what I’ve stated to prevent freeze ups from ‘reputable’ companies (in another life I twisted a lot of pipe, and no, not the glass ones). I guess it means we’re best to shop some and do some homework and hopefully make the best decision for our situation.
OK, I’m done now!
Going fishing! Heard it’s cold and blowing hard, guess I get to use the ice anchors on the new hub shack for the first time tonight?
If a guy is fixin to go about looking for a fishing guide, do you ask about their quality, price, hourly rate or how soon he is available?
Chappy don’t fell so bad, you got a good job, more expensive? maybe, all those other contractors are all after the fact and what would they have really charged you had you called them, was there overtime hours involved because it was fixed later in the day, I don’t know. I’ve had people hire me because the other contractors couldn’t do the job right and I fixed it. I’m a little more then some but I do the job right. Heres a little advice in priceing. I tell people to hire the upper mid range to lower high range to get a good job, I’ve had customers tell me thats the way they think too. I had a customer tell me about an air conditioning company that they hired, he put on 3 or 4 parts befor they found the right one, a couple hundred bucks when all it was was the limit switch. At the minimum you got a good job so don’t fell so bad and it’ll probably work good for along time. I know how you feel but try not to feel so bad, quality counts.
you’re able to keep your house at 52 all winter, as Mel Jass used to say……you’ve got a good job
Post deleted by AllenW
Wow. That is cheap. 
Those are rates the last company I worked for charged over 15 years ago.
You guys hiring out of the day labor pool? 
Center Point Energy? Just like being taxed
Just another large company that offers low rate sevice by passing on the charges to all it’s other customers. 
Quote:
Wow. That is cheap.
You guys hiring out of the day labor pool?
Naw, we’re hiring out of work plumbers… 
Mike we’re in the same labor rate the local HVAC dealers are, or so they tell us. 
Al
Quote:
Center Point Energy? Just like being taxed
Just another large company that offers low rate sevice by passing on the charges to all it’s other customers.
And how pray tell do we do that??
Al
Well known fact within the industy!
Spread the charges on a monthly basis to cover the cost of a service call.
It undercuts those small companies that are trying to make a decent living. Such as the one mentioned in this post.
Your company charges the exact same thing, yet has the privilage of hiding that cost, by spreading that same cost out to the rest of your customers.
And you Know that is no BS.
So the next time you feel the need to try and undercut a small company , at least have the decency to let everyone else know how it works.
Quote:
Well known fact within the industy!
Spread the charges on a monthly basis to cover the cost of a service call.
It undercuts those small companies that are trying to make a decent living. Such as the one mentioned in this post.
Your company charges the exact same thing, yet has the privilage of hiding that cost, by spreading that same cost out to the rest of your customers.And you Know that is no BS.
So the next time you feel the need to try and undercut a small company , at least have the decency to let everyone else know how it works.
Your about 25 years late on this one, Minnie used to have free service, then the PUC stepped in with a bit of help and said because we are not servicing everyone, we can’t add the cost of a service dept to the gas bill, thus Service Plus.
Service Plus does not use the cost of your gas to spread the cost around, it’s a service contract between customers and the company, it makes a profit on this or it goes out of business.
Just like you can get on many other items like cars, electronics and such.
Oh…and undercut???
couple days ago I had a gal call and ask about a price she paid to have her water heater fixed and what would we have charged, just curious…You think charging a women $395 to install a $15 TC lead in a water heater is fair?
We’d get about $125 to do the same, not sure if we’re under cutting or they’re overcharging, we’ll let the cutomer decide.
What are these hidden costs your mentioning btw?
Al
Service plus is the same thing, wake up dude.
You undercut the little guys, small companies, by using a pool of money collected from other customers, to offset the true cost of repairs for any service call.
Save the BS for someone else.
Kinda sounds like this should go to private messaging…to me. 
Thanks Al……That’s what i have a letter going out to him. I asked him to call me because their phone goes through a service.
The part he put in was a limit switch. They are $25 online.
Quote:
Thanks Al……That’s what i have a letter going out to him. I asked him to call me because their phone goes through a service.
The part he put in was a limit switch. They are $25 online.
Hope it goes well for ya, ya even with mark ups and all, I wouldn’t expect to pay more than a $100 for it, but its not really like for like to compare online prices with a part in the techs truck, it costs him to have that part in truck stock and he has to pass that cost on to you.
Good thing is your back in heat and don’t need a new furnace..:)
Al
I can now see your point of view Chappy, It looks like Id be messageing one or two guys here privately for the next time something mechanical needs fixing, after all its competition and the guy who can fix it right for the lowest price gets the job. Sometimes it takes a couple trials and errors to find those guys, A $15 to $20 part and the bill ends up a couple to a few hundred for a simple installation under an hour, ya thats too much and Id be pis-ed too and also looking for someone thats cheaper and effecient. If it were my furnace I would have paid it but would still be looking for someone cheaper.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
