It starts when you have problems with a major appliance. You call the home warranty company and they send out a service company.
3 weeks ago we were told that our compressor was dead, since then we have called every couple of days with no clear answer. Finally we just called another company and got it fixed.
This is an all too familiar problem, Home warranties are pushed by real estate agents and others in the home buying process. The sellers receive a commission for closing a sale the home buyer is happy at the time because they are told that they receive this great coverage for a great low price (typically less than $250) so this is a win-win right, well at the time.
Then some time over the next year the customer has a problem, the warranty company answers the call right away and dispatches a local contractor to help. One would suspect that a nationwide company would hire a top shelf contractor, that is a bad assumption. Most reputable contractors charge rates which allow them to offer their employees fair wages with good benefits while making a 7-15% profit, these numbers don't work with home warranty companies. In order for them to make money they need to make minimum repairs and have those repairs done by low budget contractors.
This does not make them all bad most times any time you use your home warranty for any kind of repair you will get at least the value of what you paid so you should not be surprised when you get what you pay for.
The problem comes when customers expect to get a new unit worth $2500 when they bought a policy that cost them $250, that kind of math is what caused our current economic trouble.
Air conditioning repair especially causes quite a few problems in these situations. There are so many lower skilled contractors in the business and the insurers need to utilize these contractors to make their numbers work. This situation makes for some interesting customer interactions
Friday, October 3, 2008
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2 comments:
Don't air conditioning problems seem just a pain in the neck. Or entire air conditioning system had just come to a major stall last year. The worst part is that it was the peak of summer and the situation was really unbearable. We tried some local technicians, but they were simply not qualified enough to handle the problem. Some surfing on the Internet got us to 'George Brazil Plumbers' (www.georgebrazil.net) and their service was really too good to be true. One phone call was all that it took to fix the massive air-conditioning problem that had been bothering us for days now. These guys are really good and their rates are extremely reasonable as well.
Well, for situations like this, a homeowner should always rely on a trusted company that offers air conditioning repair instead of settling for the low-budget contractors. You want a long-term solution for your future air conditioning repair needs. For those living in Las Vegas, I'd recommend Right Now Air . The quality of their service is beyond approach and they are easily available in case of any air conditioning-related emergency.
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