Less Isn’t More

As you can tell from my photo, I whole-heartedly subscribe to the notion that less isn’t more. But this article is not about my physique.

I recently overheard a conversation in the office (it only looks like I’m sleeping) that I felt would make a good topic for my first full length feature post. Mrs. Smith (yes, I changed the name to protect the reputation of this unfortunate soul) had called in and inquired as to the cost of having a maintenance performed on her gas furnace and air conditioner. After receiving the requested information she politely thanked our service manager and hung up.

Several days later she called back, again speaking to Luke (our Service Manager). She inquired about the price he had given her and what it included. Luke informed her that our maintenances include coming to the home, performing the full maintenance, replacing a standard 1” or 2” pleated filter and up to one pound of refrigerant to top-off her air conditioning system if necessary. Any worn or failed parts discovered during the maintenance would be listed on the recommendations sheet with a replacement price. At this point Mrs. Smith confided in Luke that she had also called another company and gotten a quote for substantially less – $88.00 for a gas furnace and air conditioner maintenance. Since the cost was far less than Day Heating’s price, she felt she would be able to have the work done and use the savings for other necessities. So she had scheduled the appointment.

Once the work was complete, she was presented with a bill for $195.00. Shocked, she told the technician she had been quoted $88.00. He confirmed to her that the maintenance was, indeed, $88.00, but that did not include the trip charge, filter charge (Mrs. Smith has a standard 1” filter) and several other charges, totaling the $195.00. In the end, the quote that was less ended up costing more.

In part two of this article, I’ll be giving some pointers on how to review quotes and select a contractor.