I'm the A-hole non licensed A/C guy

[185EZ]

Flame away if i'm wrong.
Been using this a/c friend of a friend for years
Non emergency just check 4 units out. Everything working but one unit might be weak
Tech calls me and say you need a couple capacitors. $228.
I missed the EACH part on top of the already labor part.

He's there doing the service and it's $236
Now it's an additional $456 to replace 2 caps

I ask if there was a billing mistake since he was there already. Just stated that caps are cheap
Nope. That's our price. We will remove the caps and the price from the bill

They remove the caps and don't put the old ones in so instead of 4 working units and now I only have 2

The guy was there for about an hour and the bill was about $700.
Not sure if he even sure if he could do all the work stated in that time frame
And their statement says all systems working properly.
Did he just try and add something on to make money? There was no negotiation. And she said no further communication on this
I'm an EZ guy to work with and nothing was worked out and no longer friends

Performed tune up on (4) split systems. Cleaned indoor and outdoor coils, checked condensate, electrical, motors, pressures, and temperature. All systems working properly. ***Replaced (2) bad compressor/condenser fan motor run capacitors on master bedroom and game room units

Received email on 8/10/23 that Steve misunderstood the pricing via telephone from technician TS. Stated that he feels the pricing was too steep. He stated that he can get parts cheaper on amazon as non licensed contractor. We agreed to remove the installed parts so that he could replace them himself with cheaper parts. 8/13/23- Returned to property to remove installed capacitors, secured power and wires to prevent any damages to the unit. As of 8/13/23 we will not be liable for any issues that may occur regarding these units as a non licensed contractor will be working on them.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Oh boy…here it comes from the trades defending their pricing .

And those assumptions by the contractor are total BS.

 

[185EZ]

Oh boy…here it comes from the trades defending their pricing .

And those assumptions by the contractor are total BS.

I didn't have a problem with them defending their prices
All i did was ask if there was a mistake
I even admitted I may have misunderstood the tech and it says it in their comments
They pulled the caps now 2 dead units

 

[Riverbound]

the guy didn’t charge you enough.

the removing and leaving two units in not the same shape as before is a bad move though.

 

[185EZ]

I already bought the caps for $40

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

I already bought the caps for $40

I’ll come install them for you for $500 since you weren’t charged enough.

 

[185EZ]

the guy didn’t charge you enough.

the removing and leaving two units in not the same shape as before is a bad move though.

Please tell me why
I'm baffled by it
I had 4 working units and it cost $700 to fix them?
And now i have 2

 

[obnoxious001]

I already bought the caps for $40

Just for future information, where did you find them on a Sunday?

I had a bad capacitor on my unit that I diagnosed myself (30 years doing electric gates). A friend who does or retired from doing AC dropped off a capacitor on his way from Havasu back to CA, $50. Just off the highway, maybe 1/4 mile, and installed it. I knew what they used to go for, so I checked price, $13. Then he wanted to bring the boat and family down and use my dock. Guess I forgot to answer him on that. Oopsie!

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

Just because you put EZ in your screen name doesn't mean you're an easy guy to deal with.

I dont know anything about ac work but if the contractor took it upon himself to do work he was not authorized to do, id say thats on him. Id gladly pay him for his time for his diagnosis but he eats the labor as he was not directed to do so in my eyes.

 

[185EZ]

Amazon, be here tomorrow

Just for future information, where did you find them on a Sunday?

 

[Mr. C]

Please tell me why
I'm baffled by it
I had 4 working units and it cost $700 to fix them?
And now i have 2

Sounds like you only have two working units because two of the four that were fixed. Have since been removed because you could get them or have it done cheaper.
If I missed something. My apologies

 

[185EZ]

Sounds like you only have two working units because two of the four that were fixed. Have since been removed because you could get them or have it done cheaper.
If I missed something. My apologies

All 4 were working fine even stated in their bill
All systems working properly
Just needed a check up

 

[Mr. C]

All 4 were working fine even stated in their bill
All systems working properly
Just needed a check up

Missed that. My bad.

 

[Sleek-Jet]

The fact they left you with two inop units without explaining why is bullshit. Parts and labor are what they are, but to get pissy after the fact is poor business. If they disposed of the old caps it should have been explained.

 

[185EZ]

I think the most part that bothers me is he won't call me as a friend and work things out
Gave him a lot of work and referrals over the years
I emailed and called and left messages and not a word
His wife said don't communicate anymore
And even his best friend got involved and nothing
I need a beer

 

[grumpy88]

I think the most part that bothers me is he won't call me as a friend and work things out
Gave him a lot of work and referrals over the years
I emailed and called and left messages and not a word
His wife said don't communicate anymore
And even his best friend got involved and nothing
I need a beer

Sucks . And this is why I don't use friends for any work . I would rather have my friend tell me I got fucked then loose a friend over work . Sorry you got boned .

 

[Riverbound]

Please tell me why
I'm baffled by it
I had 4 working units and it cost $700 to fix them?
And now i have 2

it’s a bad move because if you chose not to proceed with the quoted repairs he should’ve left the home in the same condition as it was when he got there……not worse.

I’m not justifying bad customer experience in any way. if a client doesn’t like my price i will remove my works and out their system back tot he same condition was when i got there.

 

[Javajoe]

At least he didn’t come over and diagnose it with his meters and tell you the condenser is fried and motor seized up and you need a whole new unit so you sweat your balls off for 2 weeks trying to find a good unit then your daughters boyfriend is over and his AC bud comes by who is 19 and say hey, let me look at it and changes the cap and it’s all good. Wife hands him 40 bucks and he’s happy as shit. Took him 10 minutes. That happened to me 10 years ago. The original guy was actually the owner of an AC commercial company who did a lot of my work. DID is the key word

 

[C_J_J_C]

The word "Friend" must be relative... even "Friend of a friend."

I would have paid it 100% and then called my friend later and explained how his tech wasn't clear and how I understand but he wouldn't want to have a different customer upset.

 

[azsunfun]

Flame away if i'm wrong.
Been using this a/c friend of a friend for years
Non emergency just check 4 units out. Everything working but one unit might be weak
Tech calls me and say you need a couple capacitors. $228.
I missed the EACH part on top of the already labor part.

He's there doing the service and it's $236
Now it's an additional $456 to replace 2 caps

I ask if there was a billing mistake since he was there already. Just stated that caps are cheap
Nope. That's our price. We will remove the caps and the price from the bill

They remove the caps and don't put the old ones in so instead of 4 working units and now I only have 2

The guy was there for about an hour and the bill was about $700.
Not sure if he even sure if he could do all the work stated in that time frame
And their statement says all systems working properly.
Did he just try and add something on to make money? There was no negotiation. And she said no further communication on this
I'm an EZ guy to work with and nothing was worked out and no longer friends

Performed tune up on (4) split systems. Cleaned indoor and outdoor coils, checked condensate, electrical, motors, pressures, and temperature. All systems working properly. ***Replaced (2) bad compressor/condenser fan motor run capacitors on master bedroom and game room units

Received email on 8/10/23 that Steve misunderstood the pricing via telephone from technician TS. Stated that he feels the pricing was too steep. He stated that he can get parts cheaper on amazon as non licensed contractor. We agreed to remove the installed parts so that he could replace them himself with cheaper parts. 8/13/23- Returned to property to remove installed capacitors, secured power and wires to prevent any damages to the unit. As of 8/13/23 we will not be liable for any issues that may occur regarding these units as a non licensed contractor will be working on them.

Diagnoses of caps on a service. on older caps you could load test to diagnose but nobody ever does it , like phycromer testing. In load calcs.

 

[Angler]

Flame away if i'm wrong.
Been using this a/c friend of a friend for years
Non emergency just check 4 units out. Everything working but one unit might be weak
Tech calls me and say you need a couple capacitors. $228.
I missed the EACH part on top of the already labor part.

He's there doing the service and it's $236
Now it's an additional $456 to replace 2 caps

I ask if there was a billing mistake since he was there already. Just stated that caps are cheap
Nope. That's our price. We will remove the caps and the price from the bill

They remove the caps and don't put the old ones in so instead of 4 working units and now I only have 2

The guy was there for about an hour and the bill was about $700.
Not sure if he even sure if he could do all the work stated in that time frame
And their statement says all systems working properly.
Did he just try and add something on to make money? There was no negotiation. And she said no further communication on this
I'm an EZ guy to work with and nothing was worked out and no longer friends

Performed tune up on (4) split systems. Cleaned indoor and outdoor coils, checked condensate, electrical, motors, pressures, and temperature. All systems working properly. ***Replaced (2) bad compressor/condenser fan motor run capacitors on master bedroom and game room units

Received email on 8/10/23 that Steve misunderstood the pricing via telephone from technician TS. Stated that he feels the pricing was too steep. He stated that he can get parts cheaper on amazon as non licensed contractor. We agreed to remove the installed parts so that he could replace them himself with cheaper parts. 8/13/23- Returned to property to remove installed capacitors, secured power and wires to prevent any damages to the unit. As of 8/13/23 we will not be liable for any issues that may occur regarding these units as a non licensed contractor will be working on them.

How does one figure out that 2 capacitors are bad, while the AC is running?
He should have left the systems operational, and called you before removing the capacitors.

Fuck that guy.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

How does one figure out that 2 capacitors are bad, while the AC is running?
He should have left the systems operational, and called you before removing the capacitors.

Fuck that guy.

The guy wanted his 700 bucks .

I don’t know about all ACs but at my old house I could hear when the startup was labored. Swapped the cap, it started clean again.

This tech probably trashed the old caps after this repair.

 

[lbhsbz]

Spend $30 and buy a spare set of caps to keep on hand for when it dies. Then change both of them, doesn't matter if only one or none is bad. If it works again, you fixed it...order a couple more spares for next time. If it doesn't work, then dig deeper or call someone.

You're only allowed to bitch about the price if you can do it yourself. If you can't, then...well...you can't.

I like bitching about the price so I do most things myself.

 

[DRYHEAT]

I want to know why some businesses think it’s necessary to mark up parts @ 500% or more? I get making some profit on parts but some of this stuff is over the top.

 

[azsunfun]

I want to know why some businesses think it’s necessary to mark up parts @ 500% or more? I get making some profit on parts but some of this stuff is over the top.

Wants a boat!

 

[coolchange]

One unit “ might be weak”? Wtf is that, a technical diagnosis?

 

[CLdrinker]

Wait $700 to maintenance 4 units and the 2 caps are in that cost?

That’s a fair price.

 

[Angler]

I see adds all the time, seems $70 for annual maint is the norm.

 

[LuauLounge]

Amazon has given the homeowner access to parts, supplies and pricing that we never had before. Then it becomes what is a fair price for a capacitor, contactor or motor? There has to be a margin on everything and with the Internet, Amazon and YouTube, the gravy jobs are disappearing. Between the labor cost, vehicle cost, insurance, marketing, training, overhead and a disappearing profit margin the small guys are having trouble making a living and the large guys are pricing themselves out of existence. Not to mention the govt regulations and refrigerant.

 

[lbhsbz]

I want to know why some businesses think it’s necessary to mark up parts @ 500% or more? I get making some profit on parts but some of this stuff is over the top.

Why stop there? I have some kits that I'm into for $0.70 and I sell them for $29.99 (with free shipping lol). Because I can.

 

[RIVERBORN]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, and before all the back lash, yes I am a contractor but not ac. But my brother in law is a AC contractor. It is one of the last trades they get away with completely fucking you. Lol

 

[azsunfun]

It's been and has always been WHAT EVER THE MARKET WILL BEAR the trades are going to be in for a rude awakening. Service might be 5% with vehicle, Insurance , wages government regs . That has changed to 150% on install and 200% on service. Sorry taking profits.

 

[185EZ]

Wait $700 to maintenance 4 units and the 2 caps are in that cost?

That’s a fair price.

Yes it would be fair if something was broke

I asked to do a check up on everything working

$700 to fix something thats working?

 

[RIVERBORN]

It’s also one of the last trades that’s not available for purchase to the public. But that is all changing slowly.

 

[jet496]

Run caps for a condenser fan motor costs about $4. He would be getting ripped if he paid $10. He's just been used to gouging people & got caught. Go buy a couple at Grainger or Johnstone Supply. I bet you don't spend $10 for the pair. It's bull shit that he didn't put the old parts in teh you could've simply googled or took them in to be matched. That is illegal.

Hell, most side job guys are selling their bosses parts so they get them for free.

 

[DLC]

Just buy good made in USA caps and they last long time!

Very good four you….

you buy china caps, No Good 4 you, no rast wrong time….


have extras on hand - easy swap!

 

[OCMerrill]

I just went through this on my two year old system I had a property manager referral company install.
Installed in June of 2020 and the CAP went out here a month back.

There is one thing the HVAC world does is protect themselves and not even a General can purchase so much as a rubber band from any HVAC Supplier.
Plumbing, Electrical, everything except pools I can legally work on and have zero issues with however not HVAC.

Ordered two capacitors from Amazon so I have a back-up, installed it, off and running.

 

[OCMerrill]

Run caps for a condenser fan motor costs about $4. He would be getting ripped if he paid $10. He's just been used to gouging people & got caught. Go buy a couple at Grainger or Johnstone Supply. I bet you don't spend $10 for the pair. It's bull shit that he didn't put the old parts in teh you could've simply googled or took them in to be matched. That is illegal.

Hell, most side job guys are selling their bosses parts so they get them for free.

Johnstone over in Laguna Hills told me to pound sand over a cap. AC Pro same issue.
I'm working on a 4 plex in Laguna Beach and at some point there is going to be 4 complete systems to install.
While I wont bother to install the units I want to at least be in charge of the system cost.

I would think they would welcome a General but apparently we just mop floors.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

It's been and has always been WHAT EVER THE MARKET WILL BEAR the trades are going to be in for a rude awakening. Service might be 5% with vehicle, Insurance , wages government regs . That has changed to 150% on install and 200% on service. Sorry taking profits.

150 and 200%?!?! Where the hell are you getting that from? Cause I can assure you most competitive bid situations on the commercial side are 15% if we're lucky.

Equipment pricing has gone through the roof as well as all other costs, but nobody wants to pay the crazy inflated costs so our margins are even thinner

OP..... there is not a chance in hell the tech cleaned all 8 coils and inspected operating conditions on all 4 systems in just over an hour. Depending on the access to the coils, that is about a 6 hour job and honestly, $700 is very fair for that work.

It is not uncommon to come across a weak capacitor on a running system. Always a good idea to replace it when they are found versus waiting for it to completely fail. And yes, they can be tested with a pretty basic mutli-meter on a working system (obviously it needs to be de-energized first).

I don't know what the going book rates are now for most companies, but back when I was doing residential about 8 years ago, it was $130 to replace a $4 capacitor on top of the trip charge and/or maintenance call charge.

Going back and taking our capacitors..... and not putting anything back in...... that's just petty bullshit.

 

[CLdrinker]

Yes it would be fair if something was broke

I asked to do a check up on everything working

$700 to fix something thats working?

Sounds like he did a maintenance on each unit. 15yrs ago when I was a tech we got like 75-150 each system. So times 4 systems.

Him only being there an hour is where I start seeing issues.

 

[77charger]

Johnstone over in Laguna Hills told me to pound sand over a cap. AC Pro same issue.
I'm working on a 4 plex in Laguna Beach and at some point there is going to be 4 complete systems to install.
While I wont bother to install the units I want to at least be in charge of the system cost.

I would think they would welcome a General but apparently we just mop floors.

Same here needed a hard start cap for my trailer ac.they wouldn’t sell to me. I ended up going on Amazon paid a third of the price for the same one.

Would have preferred to give them my money but didn’t work that way.

 

[riverroyal]

So the company has 2 slightly used capacitors that they will sell as new to the next guy?
I dont understand the removal part. Wouldn't that actually cost more with labor than just leaving them installed?

 

[riverroyal]

And who has 4 AC units! 10000 sq ft house?

 

[yz450mm]

Same here needed a hard start cap for my trailer ac.they wouldn’t sell to me. I ended up going on Amazon paid a third of the price for the same one.

Would have preferred to give them my money but didn’t work that way.

Many many years ago when I first got my GC license, I tried to go to US Air to buy a $25 swamp cooler grill. The dickhead behind the counter acted like I was trying to reach into his retirement and rob him and his family of their dinner money, he wouldn't sell me shit and was a complete asshole about it. Air Cold and Ferguson have been more than happy to take my money ever since then.

@Riverbound how much are you getting to change that $15 capacitor? Based on what I've seen here, I would assume that the service call for the capacitor would include a general sysyem check up while you're there?

 

[Angler]

Why stop there? I have some kits that I'm into for $0.70 and I sell them for $29.99 (with free shipping lol). Because I can.

You need to go on Shark Tank!

 

[702sandman]

At least he didn’t come over and diagnose it with his meters and tell you the condenser is fried and motor seized up and you need a whole new unit so you sweat your balls off for 2 weeks trying to find a good unit then your daughters boyfriend is over and his AC bud comes by who is 19 and say hey, let me look at it and changes the cap and it’s all good. Wife hands him 40 bucks and he’s happy as shit. Took him 10 minutes. That happened to me 10 years ago. The original guy was actually the owner of an AC commercial company who did a lot of my work. DID is the key word

This happens every freaking day in our trade. This happens a lot when the companies pressure guys for sales. (I’m not saying every company) but there is a large amount of these companies out there.

 

[702sandman]

Many many years ago when I first got my GC license, I tried to go to US Air to buy a $25 swamp cooler grill. The dickhead behind the counter acted like I was trying to reach into his retirement and rob him and his family of their dinner money, he wouldn't sell me shit and was a complete asshole about it. Air Cold and Ferguson have been more than happy to take my money ever since then.

@Riverbound how much are you getting to change that $15 capacitor? Based on what I've seen here, I would assume that the service call for the capacitor would include a general sysyem check up while you're there?

Here in vegas id say the average is $250-$300

 

[yz450mm]

Here in vegas id say the average is $250-$300

Agreed.

 

[Angler]

This happens every freaking day in our trade. This happens a lot when the companies pressure guys for sales. (I’m not saying every company) but there is a large amount of these companies out there.

Just like most service industries.

 

[azsunfun]

150 and 200%?!?! Where the hell are you getting that from? Cause I can assure you most competitive bid situations on the commercial side are 15% if we're lucky.

Equipment pricing has gone through the roof as well as all other costs, but nobody wants to pay the crazy inflated costs so our margins are even thinner

OP..... there is not a chance in hell the tech cleaned all 8 coils and inspected operating conditions on all 4 systems in just over an hour. Depending on the access to the coils, that is about a 6 hour job and honestly, $700 is very fair for that work.

It is not uncommon to come across a weak capacitor on a running system. Always a good idea to replace it when they are found versus waiting for it to completely fail. And yes, they can be tested with a pretty basic mutli-meter on a working system (obviously it needs to be de-energized first).

I don't know what the going book rates are now for most companies, but back when I was doing residential about 8 years ago, it was $130 to replace a $4 capacitor on top of the trip charge and/or maintenance call charge.

Going back and taking our capacitors..... and not putting anything back in...... that's just petty bullshit.

Company's can charge whatever, 100% on equipment is the norm off the top is it not? With hidden #'s could be 150% on replacement.lower on new build. $ 210 for 20 min work for $4 dollar part, hefty trip charges happening.