Cullins One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning

"On Wednesday 3/21/12 the on call technician went on an evening call for an air conditioning repair. Normal after hours diagnostic is $125 but with their club membership they were charged $32. Upon completion of the diagnostic it was determined that to perform the repairs some special order parts would be required. After pricing out the repairs the following day, (vendor was closed the previous evening) they decided to look in to their options on replacing the system. An appointment for a replacement quote was set for 3/29/12. After going over replacement options they determined that they would like to move forward with the repairs. We ordered the parts and after they were shipped to us a repair call was set for 4/5/12 to install a DC drive motor and a circuit board. Upon completion of these repairs to get the unit running, it was determined that the unit was low on refrigerant. It was not possible to determine this prior to making the initial repairs. Later that day another technician came out and added refrigerant to the unit. Being that the air conditioner was low on refrigerant a leak search was suggested but not performed. This was the last time we were at the home. Total repair cost was $1,517. We are unable to return the parts to our vendor after they have been installed in a unit. Being that they are special order parts it is unknown when or if we would need the parts in the future, and we cannot ethically sell the parts as new to a future client. As for a small business attempting to compete with the large box stores in pricing, we neither can nor are we going to try. Not knowing other company’s specific business practices the following is not directed at any particular one but in general commentary on the industry. Many companies sub-contract their labor and therefore have little to know overhead or employees to pay. They will find the cheapest way to get the job done and the results are no longer their responsibility. Unfortunately for homeowners, when pursuing the cheapest route they often receive quality equal to what they pay. We see this often with newly installed units, or units that are only a few years old. When the homeowner has an issue and cannot get in touch with the company that installed the system either because they have gone out of business, won’t return their calls, or tell them it will be a matter of weeks before they can get to them even though the unit is under warranty by them, we often get the phone call. When we go out to service the units that we did not install and inform the client that it was not installed properly, didn’t have a permit pulled, and the following issues will need to be fixed to get the unit running properly, we now become the focus of the client’s anger through no fault of our own. You can most definitely find someone out there cheaper than us. They are willing to cut corners in a myriad of ways. This we will not do and make no excuses for our pricing. The prices we charge are fair for doing the job for the client properly, for making sure our employees are paid as well as possible, that they have fellow co-workers that they can be proud of and that our clients can feel comfortable with in their homes and around their families, that they can receive proper benefits such as medical and retirement, and the list goes on. Most heating and cooling companies offer few or none of these things to their clients or their employees. It’s not that we don’t know how to get the pricing down to compete with the lowest out there. We’re not willing to cut the corners and hire the kind of people required to do that. Our goal is to provide our client’s with the best possible quality for the investment they make."