Five Things to Look for When Looking for an Air Conditioning Repair Service
Summer is coming, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be spending it in your cool, air-conditioned home. But sometimes, things don’t always go as planned, and you might have to hire a repair professional. To make sure that your summer goes off without a hitch, it’s best to do your research and hire the best repair company available. Here are five things to look for when you’re looking for an air conditioning repair service.
1. Recommendations and Reviews
Hiring someone to repair your air conditioner is similar to hiring any other contractor – the best way to find top notch service is by word of mouth. Ask your family, friends, neighbours, and even other contractors that you’ve hired in the past for recommendations.
After you’ve gotten some recommendations, it’s time to take to the Internet and check out the reviews on the companies in your area. Customer reviews are endlessly valuable, and they can give you some good insight on whether an air conditioning repair company would be right for you. Reputable companies should have a majority of good reviews – companies with mostly bad reviews or a lot of bad reviews that state the same issue should be avoided.
2. Certifications and Permits
Most legitimate air conditioning repair professionals will have their certifications either posted on their website or available when you call and ask for a quote. Ask what type of education they have, what types of air conditioning units they’re qualified to work on, and any awards for excellence in their field they might have received.
Contractors who have questionable certifications or refuse to provide them should be avoided – after all, there’s no reason for a legitimate contractor to hide their education and expertise.
3. References
Always ask a contractor you’re thinking of hiring for references from previous clients. Reading the reviews online is one thing, but speaking with real customers who were satisfied with that contractor is another. Legitimate air conditioning repair professionals should have references readily available when you ask for them – if they don’t have them or refuse to give them to you, they’re either very new to the business or they aren’t particularly good at their job. Either way, take your business elsewhere.
4. Experience
On-the-job experience is just as valuable (if not more so) as a contractor’s education. Ask your potential repair professional how long they’ve been in business, and how many types of units they have experience fixing. You should also ask if they specialize in any specific areas of the industry and if they’ve undergone any additional training as the technology changes. An experienced repair professional is more likely to get the job done correctly the first time, so it’s worth asking about.
5. Process
The final factor that you need to consider before hiring an air conditioner repair professional is their process. Are they going to inspect your home before starting work? How do they determine their quote? What’s their availability, and how long is the job going to take? All of these factors will determine whether a repair professional is right for the job you have at hand.
