AC Repair conundrum

True.

There is large AC heating and repair company here in DFW. Their trucks are everywhere with a huge pic of the husband/wife on the truck.

I hadn't had any issues with our system but I was looking at the install paperwork and Trane says a 10 year warranty. So, the house was hot and A#1 shows up. He comes in, asks what system we had, seeing that it's a trane and immediately ask. Are you within 10 year warranty? I said yes and he said I recommend you call a trane service/repair. That was a honest repair tech.

 

Says the guy who should accept minimum wage at HIS job You won't agree and you will carry on your path just as they will. Other than maybe putting you on a don't service list (probably not) you are the one on a rant. There is a reason when I look at reviews I read the why on bad ones and discount to zero anyone that does not post the why just a 1 star. Thank you for confirming my method should yield the result I want.

 

So since you are more open than OP let me ask a couple of things:
1) What is it worth to have a truck come and service you at a minimum (for instance many bike shops have a 1 hr minimum)?
2) What is diagnosing the issue worth?
3) What is going and getting the part from their inventory for same day service worth?
4) What is warrantying the installed part worth?

Just curious when you apply the number you choose how close to 245 you are. Not debating your choices (nor criticizing them) just curious. OP seems to think zero on those.

Oh and on a side note decades ago I worked with a company and we needed crane lifts at times. For the ones you drive down the road (minimal assembly at jobsite) it was 100 an hour with a four hour minimum. Clock started when they left their yard and stopped when they entered their gate. I won't even go into the cost of a chopper lift up many stories.

 

Has anyone noticed that the opinions are split between the people who actually operate service businesses and the people who have no idea what the fuck they're talking about? Weird.

 

What kind of business do you own?

 

I ran a custom home entry way and deck business for several years. I billed people for my time and skillset. Lumber supplied the customer paid what I paid plus 4%. Any supplies such as coils of nails, saw blades and other ancillaries were factored into my price when bidding. I made money but decided to change careers in 2001. Did I get rich doing it? No. Did I lose money? No. Did I ever feel like I was ripping someone off? No. Did I get tired of chasing people to actually get paid? You betcha.

 

Just so you know...I was willing to pay the Tech parts plus labor. He was at my house and his boss said don't give him any discount even if he is a club pre-paid member. Don't give him an invoice for the cost. Just make him sign i-pad for $245.

Off to pound sand you go

 

Oh a failed one. Got it.

Keep up the advice though.

 

Voluntarily switching careers is a failure.

You're a fuckstick...got it.

 

There is value in all that and I am not disputing that.

To me, if you are adding that much mark-up on parts, you are not charging enough for the call. Seems like a swerve to Me. "we only charge this much for a service call" but we'll make up for it fucking you on the parts.

 

Its a balancing act. Some places posted labor rates are low, and parts markup is high. Others, the labor rate is at the higher end, and parts markup is very low. It all has to be paid for somehow.

Years ago when I was doing side work, the labor rate was on the low side, and the parts markup was 20%. Didn't nearly cover the value of the time I spent chasing parts. (This before the Internet and ordering on-line. - it all was will-call pickups for short-turn weekend jobs.) The wholesale pricing structure vs retail was different then, too. Now, I can often buy items on-line cheaper than my suppliers can sell it to me. They are squeezed, I'm squeezed. It became no fun.

 

You asked what people thought. If you only wanted those opinions that agreed with you that should have been included in post one I no longer work in the service industry so dealing with the public is not on my list of tolerances anymore. Glad others do and I am willing to pay for it. If not or if I can't get anyone to show I do it myself and that is fine also.

 

But what is the worth in your opinion. In the end the check is 245 even if the invoice says $1 for parts, $1 for labor and $243 for hooker and blow fund.

 

That the customer can get parts cheaper than the business seems backwards. I'll admit. So a Trane 2 pole 40A contactor when searching online pn CTR02576 was around $25 but I found it for as low as $18. I have no idea what the ac repair guy was charging me because he was told to give me no invoice.

 

sometimes authorized vendors can not sell under MAP (manufacturer advertised price), they can get their status pulled, while other non-authorized resellers can get away with it. Not sure if this is the case, but possible.

 

Welcome to 2022.

I can buy a lot of shit cheaper at big box stores than my supply houses sell at. Some shit I can’t even get through my supply houses anymore because the costs to inventory things are too fucking high.

 

Exactly the issue. Owners get pissed when you want to charge more than 5% markup because "they" can buy it cheaper. They fail to account for the time we spend ordering, driving to pick up, and delivering the part. Looking at the OP's post he needed a $25.00 part. If my shop manager drives to the supply house to pick up the part he will spend more than the $1.25 that the owner thinks is fair markup on gas alone, forget the insurance, wear and tear on the truck, his time including benefits, and whatever other associated costs we incur in getting the part in hand. I'm already losing money and we haven't even started the job yet. My only choice is to bump the labor rate to the point that it covers these expenses or mark the part up to a point where it makes financial sense. Markup on most of my projects is in the 25-30% range of the labor, material and subs. I'm happy to show anybody our cost card so they can see the actual costs versus the billed amount. By no account are we killing it.

 

Oh come on we all know you guys go Hunter every night in the back room after ripping off the peasants like the Sheriff of Notingham, admit it. That is why you have to join the guild and promise your first born to the devil before you can enter the industry. Just ask folks, they are onto you.

 

I once drove for a ride share right when an HVAC convention ended for the day (I was also an attendee). I had a rider that owned an HVAC residential service company. He said his average markup on parts was 900%. I believed him.

It's like people who take their car to the dealer to get an oil change and a light bulb replaced. They get screwed because they don't know.

 

You're right, that was kind of cunty. I jumped on the beeb to take a break from gutting my parent's flooded house and apparently I'm a little sensitive.

I should stay out of these conversations because I've grown fatigued from explaining the cost of running a mobile service company. I just can't understand why people who have never even glanced at a company's financials somehow know more about the company's overhead than the person who calculated their pricing. But no, I don't need to be a dick about it.