Trying to get even for being hustled

No hustle but I will not call any HVAC service unless someone gives me a referral to them so I know they are not going to do that. When I was in NC I had a guy try to break the bank on me one time and at the plant I was an engineer at someone did HVAC on the side. Had them come out and they did the work for $350 instead of the near $2k I was being quoted. Just sayin'
 
Johnnyt said:
Funny how hustling someone tries to comeback and bite you in the a$$. My central air went out last night at around 7pm. I went out and pulled a cover off the outside unit. I found the motor capacitor to be bad. Problem was all the parts places were closed at that hour.

My wife saw me outside and started screaming at me to call an A/C repair guy to fix it. “What do you want to do, have another heart attack?” she asked.
Anyway I call a a/c repair company up to shut her up. I figure it can’t cost me more the $150 for the guy to replace the capacitor. The guy comes. He was someone I hustled for a few $100 over 10 years ago at a bar in Tampa. I make believe I don’t recognize him and he made believe he didn‘t remember me, but I saw his eyes get real wide when let him in the house.. He checks around for a few minutes and tells me I need a new motor, a capacitor, Freon, and a coil cleaning to the tune of $900+. I calmly asked him to write out the estimate and I would show it to my wife in her home office to talk it over real quick.

I called his company from her office and told them I was a retired A/C man (a lie) and knew it only needed a capacitor and that his company would be on channel 10 tonight for trying to rip-off the elderly. Long story shorter, the owner said he would fix it free of charge with no service charge. I told him to call his man and tell him to get the hell out of my house…which he did fast.

I went down to the parts place, bought a new capacitor for $11.02 with tax and put it in in 10 minutes. Cools like a dream. I hate a poor sports. Johnnyt
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7:00p.m. Parts place closed. Call repair shop about over charge Owner said would fix it free because of problem. Ran off service tech. Went to part store (closed) got part and repaired your self----question--- same day??? My wife would have found a place to stay before she spent all night without A/C.
 
mikeyfrost said:
No hustle but I will not call any HVAC service unless someone gives me a referral to them so I know they are not going to do that. When I was in NC I had a guy try to break the bank on me one time and at the plant I was an engineer at someone did HVAC on the side. Had them come out and they did the work for $350 instead of the near $2k I was being quoted. Just sayin'
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You're right. It's almost impossible to find any kind of repair person that isn't trying to rip you off in some way. Johnnyt
 
phishman said:
7:00p.m. Parts place closed. Call repair shop about over charge Owner said would fix it free because of problem. Ran off service tech. Went to part store (closed) got part and repaired your self----question--- same day??? My wife would have found a place to stay before she spent all night without A/C.
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Repairman this morning. Parts store this morning. I fixed this morning. My wife is use to feeling uncomfotable, she's lived with me for 45 years:thumbup:. Johnnyt
 
Johnny, you seem to behave like a nit. Beat someone down, then talk to people about it. Seems to be a different hell for you.
 
Boy am I lucky. I have a fixit man who can fix most anything. I never ask for an estimate, I just say, do it. I know I'll get a good job and a fair price. Over 20 years now and never a complaint.

Dave Nelson
 
I was hoping that when he went in your house... he would have seen the pool table and want some revenge!!!

then it would have been pool related ;)

landscaper, painter, ups guy......HVAC guy????
 
I think I am more impressed with your ability to diagnose and fix the problem than with your ability to recognize the loser.
 
Good going Johnny, I just fixed my Kenmore dryer that was not running for $5. Thermal Fuse. My wife was going to replace it for $400.
 
I`ve been in the a/c bussiness for 24 years.On average most companies have to make $120-$150 per hour/per truck just to break even.By the time you figure insurance(truck/workcomp/liability and shop) and overhead(electric/water,office supplies)
Yes there are alot of a scam companies out there.Those are the ones that hurt the good companies.Just like any business you have to have a markup on material to make a profit.Some companies are resonable and some are not.I`ve seen U.V. lights sell as cheap as $400 or as high as $1,700 for the exact same light.There are some parts that companies make a good profit on and some they don`t.
As far as the capacitor that Johnny had bad depending on size(mfd`s) and if it was a dual or run it would probally sell for $50-$175 in most companies.I`m assuming that it was probally a small dual(25x5-35x5 or a run due to the price he paid).most motors go for $150-$300 and freon is all over the board.
Yes it`s good that he was able to fix it himself.As far as the company he used I can tell you there are about 15 companies in tampa that I know of that the techs would have told you the same thing and would have been very close on price if not more.I will not go into which companies due to slander and other legal issues but they are everywhere.
On another note if any azers ever have any a/c questions or need help diagnosing a a/c problem please feel free to pm me.I will be happy to help and will be happy to give a honest opinion and no I`m not looking for business we can do it all from pm`s and I don`t want any $ just helping out fellow azer`s and pool players.
 
the heating/air conditioning company my uncle works for added gps to some of their fleet to track some of their workers, that weekend 1 of the vehicles was on vacation a few hours away at a lake and another vehicle was 200 miles away at a golf course so i can see where the $120 - $150 /hour to break even comes from :)
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Unfortunately service "techs" try to rip off the elderly all the time and often succeed.Plumbers do it,electricians,HVAC guys.Its good to have a bit of knowledge in how things work.I have noticed that young adults these days have very little knowledge of cars or anything mechanical witch leaves them ripe for the picking for scam artist service people.
 
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