Everest Air - Heating and Cooling

Prompted by Brad's unprofessionalism, I am writing a 2 part review.... Part 1 I placed a service call with Everest this past Tuesday in the am on my home hvac which had a freon leak and was freezing up. To their credit, both Donna and Lindsey were very courteous and professional. Tyler the technician arrived next day (Wednesday afternoon) and proceeded to find the leak in a timely manner and performed the repairs with no complaints and the unit is working fine. At the end of the service call, Tyler presented me with an on-line incoice which reflected a line item charge for Freon (410A) for 3.40 lbs of freon at the rate of $135/lb which was a sizeable amount. I did not complain, settled the bill, and shoock Tyler's hand and thanked him for coming out. The following morning, I proceeded to research what the going retail rate for freon is and found many sites selling freon at retail (which is surely more than what Everest pays) for an average of about $18/lb (a 25 lb canister for around $466 including shipping). I was curious as to why the significant difference in price and decided to call the office to see (not to argue the bill) and see if I could get some clarification of why such a big difference. I spoke to Donna who once again was very professional, pulled up my invoice, and informed me that the person that was better suited to answer my question was Lindsey, I undersood, thanked Donna for her time, and told her there was no rush. For the record, all I wanted was a simple explanation. So the reason for the poor review on this part is not for the technical quality of the technical service, but rather for what would turn out to be a 750% undisclosed mark-up on their freon charge. So if they knowing ahead of time that they charge $135 on an $18 cost and understanding that this call (because of the freezing of the unit) was in need of repairs which would include freon, it stands to reason that if they had warned me of the exhorbitant mark-up during the placing of the service call, I surely would have not placed the call and looked for another vendor. Keep in mind that they were very up front on their service call charge and hourly rate which by the way is very fair. Also keep in mind that the purpose of my call was just for a simple civil explanation which I am sure would have sufficed even if we perhaps never agreed on the actual charge. It turn out that Lindsey never called back ( I would have enjoyed speaking with her as she is very professional) but instead , I received a call back from an agitated, defensive, disrespectful, and what I perceived from his demeanor, a borderline racist Brad. If you are interest in reading more please read more Part 2 So I received a call from Brad at Everest Air not from Lindsey as I had expected. He proceeded to ask me what my question was, and I in a very polite and calm manner asked for my understanding why there was such a significant markup on my invoice. Immediately, he became demeaning while trying to explain that he had to pay for trucks, insurance, and other operational expenses and to that end, it was their policy and practice to roll over these expenses into the inflated freon per pound charge. He then proceeded to tell me that my bill could have been worse since it is now their policy to charge $1100 for 0 to 5 lbs of freon telling me I should be thankful. Unprovoked, he became disrespectful by telling me that he has never had any similar inquiries from his other customers and told me that "people like you" should look to hire "handyman services" implying that this would be what I could really afford. I peacefully reminded him that all I was looking for was a simple answer to the very simple question. I never asked him for a refund or for that matter any credit. I am a 63 year disabled practicing Christian wit a Spanish last name fyi. Attacking your seniors and hidden gougeing is no way to run a business. Brad, unbridled tongues don't make gentlemen any more than carrying guns make men. Good job Lindsey and Donna. I already forgave you Brad.