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Homeowners |
Questions To Ask Now To Ensure Satisfaction Later
If you, like many others, have ignored your home comfort system and it now requires service or needs to be replaced, it is important that you hire a quality heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) contractor who is knowledgeable, skilled and qualified to do the job. And it's equally important that you know about the products you are buying or having serviced.
Understanding what is required of the contractor by the local jurisdiction, state and industry is the first step to ensuring satisfaction. The following questions should be asked of a prospective HVACR contractor to make sure they meet the requirements:
- Are your technicians CFC certified? An
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification is required of any technician working with refrigerant. This certification indicates that the technician is trained in the proper techniques for recovering, recycling, reclaiming and disposing of used refrigerant. Be sure to ask to see a copy of the certification card. It should state that it was issued through an EPA approved program).
Are your Technicians NATE certified? NATE is an independent third party organization that evaluates technical competence. NATE certified technicians know their stuff.
Do you carry the required business and workers compensation insurance?
Are you going to give me your quote in writing? This estimate should be on a printed form and outline the contractor's responsibilities, as well as the consumer's responsibilities.
Do you perform warranty service throughout the warranty period? Some contractors only install -- they don't provide service.
What am I getting for the price you quoted? Don't consider price only. When considering more than one contractor, be sure you are quoted on the same size unit and the same service.
Will you provide references? This is a hit or miss exercise as many contractors will only provide references that they know are satisfied. But it helps to know if they have satisfied customers.
When the HVACR contractor arrives: Does the contractor/technician have proper identification? Is the person in a clearly identified company vehicle? Is the technician clean? Does the technician respect the consumer's property?
And one of the most important questions to ask. Are you an ACCA member in good standing. The ACCA code of conduct will help you feel comfortable that the answers you received to the above questions are credible.
Getting answers to these questions before the work is done can make the difference between major problems and satisfaction.
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