Alright, this is my public service announcement for the day. Driving in to work this morning I heard this story on KSL and I yelled at my radio. Im tired of ignorance and dishonesty pretending to be expertise in the heating and cooling industry. People, I have been an HVAC person for twenty years now. I have taken advantage of every educational opportunity given me in the industry. I have a journeyman certificate for completing the four year apprenticeship classes at UVU from the U.S. Department of Labor. I have been N.A.T.E. certified for Service and installation for gas furnaces, air conditioners, and heat pumps. I am service and installation certified throught the Rocky Mountain Gas Association. I have a universal certification for refrigerants through the E.P.A. I have taught apprenticeship classes at UVU and MATC. In Long, I know heating and air conditioning and I am honest about it. There is a significant problem in this industry in Utah and throughout the country. The problem has multiple branches, but mostly in two areas. First, dishonesty. There are a lot of companies that are driven by profit and how much money they can make. They look for ways to condemn equipment and or push people into spending more money every time they are in the home. This can happen with finding cracks in heat exchangers that arent there, but since you dont know how to double check their work you take their word for it and replace your furnace when there isnt anything really wrong with it. They give incentives to their technicians for selling additional items while in your home. Secondly, there are ignorant or just plain incompetent companies and technicians out there. They stay in business by underpricing their work and then cutting corners and doing poor work. I dont know this technician in this story. I agree with most of what he says, but to say that he has only seen two cracked heat exchangers in twenty years of work shows that he isnt very good as a technician and he has missed a lot of unsafe furnaces. I could go on and on. Now that I do not work for any heating company you know that I am a completely impartial yet extremely knowledgeable person when it comes to this industry. If you have any question about the company or technician in your home then get a second opinion before moving forward. There are very real reasons to look to replace equipment in your homes and it can be a very beneficial thing for you to do, but dont watch a news story by a journalist that has talked to two technicians and then decided that he knows the whole story. I would be happy to be a reference and answer any questions or guide you to companies that I know have qualified technicians and ethical business standards. AND if I ever catch you calling a company advertising for a tune up for less than $69 I will punch you in the face. Less than that is just inviting a company that is looking to condemn your furnace or air conditioner in your home. The end. ksl/?sid=32335657&nid=148&title=repairman-dont-be-fooled-into-new-furnace-by-industry-scare-tactic&s_cid=queue-2
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 16:34:21 +0000