[CharlesD]

A service man came out to service my furnace yesterday, pretty well took it apart then told me I needed a new vaccum line that controled the burner.
He said it would be 290.00. He wanted to clean the blower at another 700.00 dollars.
But here I was, the coldest day of the year with my furnace taken apart so I told him to go ahead and fix it but he was overcharging me.
His remark was there was a lot of people who needed him today.
Years ago I'd thrown him out of my house by his seat of his pants and fixed it myself.
Is this a sign of me getting old? Am I officially part of the people who get ripped off?
Or is 290 bucks for 45 minutes of work normal now for a furnice repairman now?

But on the other hand I was impressed by the way he did business. Very neat with mats and booties. He came in with a laptop and entered everything in it then gave me a printed receipt. My check had cleared the bank this morning too so he must have somekind of direct deposit.

 

[genecarp]

290 does not sound bad to get you up and running on a cold day, these guys know there stuff and you paid for the years of exp that allows him to come in and do what you can't, GMOD

 

[angus242]

Charles, I'm surprised you don't have your own HVAC guy. Or, at least, know another tradesman who could have referred you to one.

While I don't use other trades often, when I need one, it's good to know I have a guy I can trust.

Not sure where you live in Il, but if you're around Chicago (SW), I have plenty of guys I could refer if you ever need it. :thumbsup:

 

[lawndart]

As a member of this forum, and a business owner your complaining about $290 for 45 minutes worth of work? We're you looking to hire a hack for 1/2 the price? We talk about the cost of running a business here all the time.

You even mentioned how this guy had his **** together, and yet you still complain. Maybe I'm a little out of touch with pricing around the rest of the country, but here in NYC, I would've paid him his $290 plus a tip for fixing my problem without hesitation.

 

[J F]

Sorry charles, you're sounding like a h/o who thinks we should all work for $12 an hour. :blink:





































and yeah, you got totally ripped off :w00t:

 

[BamBamm5144]

Hey wait a minute... so this guy makes almost 300 dollars just to tell you how much it will cost to actually fix it? He doesnt do that for free?

Anyone want to teach me how to fix furnaces?



Not sure if I have ever mentioned this but I went to a sales seminar where the speaker told a story that goes something like this.

A homeowner was having a problem with his floor squeaking in a certain spot and it was driving him crazy. Homeowner calls a flooring guy to fix the squeak. Flooring guy says no problem and puts two screws in the floor and the squeaking stops. Flooring guy tells homeowner it will be 100 dollars. Homeowner says thats outrageous, you only put two screws in the floor that cost you around 10 cents. Flooring guy says fine, ill take the 10 cents off but you owe me $99.90 since I knew where to put the screws.

I guess his point was is that in the end you really are paying for the knowledge of the person doing the work.

 

[480sparky]

Isn't that the exact same level of expertese we're trying to promote for ourselves as tru professionals?

 

[CharlesD]

Charles, I'm surprised you don't have your own HVAC guy. Or, at least, know another tradesman who could have referred you to one.

While I don't use other trades often, when I need one, it's good to know I have a guy I can trust.

Not sure where you live in Il, but if you're around Chicago (SW), I have plenty of guys I could refer if you ever need it. :thumbsup:

I'm retired and live 600 miles from where my business was.
Chicago is a foreign country to us people down here.

 

[J F]

retired ... now I understand :laughing:

 

[CharlesD]

I don't mind paying someone well for what I need. In fact, I don't buy cheap stuff.
I called my nephew who is a service mgr for a company about 150 miles north of here and he told me on a call like this they just charge their 79 dollar service call. The going rate for service call here is 59.00.
I know three hundred bucks isn't much for NY or Chicago or LA but I'm out here in the far reaches of civilization where a new three bed room brick goes for 90K.
I think the thing that bothers me the most is I could have fixed it myself but I'm afraid I'm at the age where I'm willing to pay someone than do it myself.
It's a new stage in my life I guess that I don't want to be in.

 

[J F]

:thumbsup:

 

[WarnerConstInc.]

I had my mine serviced by the neighbor (hvac company) grand total 89 bucks.

I dont know how much that hose cost you though.

 

[angus242]

It's a new stage in my life I guess that I don't want to be in.

Time to start asking for senior discounts!!!:laughing:

 

[wyoming 1]

you could always put an add on Craigslist

 

[CharlesD]

I had my mine serviced by the neighbor (hvac company) grand total 89 bucks.

I dont know how much that hose cost you though.

I replaced that hose once before. It cost about a buck fifty.

One thing I didn't mention. They guy tried to get to sign up for his maintance service for 25 bucks a month. If I'd done that he'd knocked 80 dollars off the bill.

 

[neolitic]

Shop around before the furnace
croaks at 10 degrees?
Invest in some nice down
sleeping bags?

 

[Leo G]

So this guy rips your furnace apart and then tells you it's broken. Hell, you could have done that. $700 to clean a furnace? Is there an extra zero in there?

 

[kevjob]

We all can take the lead from this and say well if his time is worth x amount ours should be worth something when we estimate abath or kitchen right?

 

[matthewcims]

I had my oil furance fixed last year.

my basement (crawlspace 5ft) flooded yesterday 1 1/2 ft of water the pump i had down there gave out or something. I'm hoping to let it compeletely dry out even know its 20Degrees outside. see if itll work again.... im hating life too

 

[Inner10]

I dont know how much that hose cost you though.

Imagine that, you get hosed on a hose replacement.:laughing:

I would have just cut down a tree and started a fire in the living room.