On Dec 10, 9:19*am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
On 12/10/2011 7:51 AM, Bill wrote:

wrote in message
If it needed a hard start kit when operating normally, don't
you think Rheem would have put one in?

I think the HVAC tech needed more income. Must be related to the HVAC
tech who told my elderly mom she needed a whole new HVAC system
installed every few years...

I wound up at a deposition at a lawyers office when I went behind
another HVAC service company where the tech actually sabotaged the
AC unit of my friend's elderly mother. My friend won his case because
the other company decided to settle out of court. Most service companies
are honest and don't rip off their customers, unfortunately there are
a few that can cause problems and give a bad name to a whole industry.
Believe me, if you hang around any supply house for a while, you'll
hear from the guys who the crooks are. Upsell or trying to sell service
contracts is activity that's more common among the larger service
companies. It really depends on the corporate culture of the company
as to whether or not customers are treated as valued friends or as a
mark to be swindled. I'm very protective of my elderly customers and
tell them to call me if anyone tries to sell them on anything no matter
what. A lot of times a swindler will vanish if one of elderly friends
tells them to wait until they call me. ^_^

TDD

Someone had posted a link here couple months ago to
a Dateline video done in Pheonix. They had an AC that
was about 10 years old checked out by a reputable company
and found to be working OK. They then pulled the disconnect
out slightly so that the outside unit would not work and
called several companies for service. Out of about 4
I think 2 were crooks. They showed the tech telling her
the system was getting power, but was shot and she
needed a whole new one.
One guy not only pushed the disconnect back in, he
also didn't charge her for the call.

So, yeah, if a system is starting normally, not tripping
the breaker, I sure would not be putting a hard start
kit on it because some tech says so. And $200 to
install one is out of line, especially if that was in
addition to whatever he paid for the regular service
call. I would also find a new AC company.