Five things you should look for when hiring a contractor
Spring has finally sprung! So, hopefully, you are getting ready to schedule those preventative air conditioner/heat pump maintenance appointments. Did you know that the most important part of scheduling maintenance, repair, installation or replacement is finding the right HVAC technician to do the job? After all, your heating and air conditioning equipment is expensive, and you want your contractor to get the job done right – the first time.
Here are our five smart tips for finding a heating and air conditioning contractor.
- Turn to reviews. Online reviews can be a great source of information when it comes to hiring a contractor. If a contractor has a positive reputation with past clients, chances are they are going to continue that history of excellence.
- Don’t just go with the lowest bidder. There is a lot of money that goes into running a high-quality heating and air conditioning company. A quality contractor will be up-to-date on all training, permits, licenses and more. So, the contractor who offers the lowest cost, may not be as current on technology or may have cut corners to offer that lower rate.
- Make sure they are familiar with your equipment. Different service technicians may be trained on different equipment. Before you hire a contractor, make sure they are familiar with your particular brand.
- Turn to those close to you for recommendations. Get recommendations from your family and friends. Some of the best information you can get about your local heating and cooling servicers is by word-of-mouth.
- ALWAYS opt for a professional. At the end of the day, a trained heating and air conditioning professional is always going to be better than a “Mr. Fix-It” handyman-type of solution. Heating and air conditioning systems are complex. It requires special training to become completely familiarized with these complex systems. So, if you want the job done right, always turn to a professional.
Need help starting the contractor search? We’ve got just the tool you need to find your local heating and air conditioning contractor.
I agree that you should have a contractor that is familiar with your equipment. I think that it is important that you know your equipment well too. That way you can explain the problem better to your HVAC contractor.
Thank you for the help. I have had a couple minor issues with my heating over the winter, so I am trying to find a contractor to take a look at it for me. I agree that I need someone that is familiar with the equipment, as you mentioned. Does that mean that they should inspect my system in person first?
Hi Justin,
It’s always best practice to have a contractor come to your home and inspect your system before giving you quotes over the phone or on the back of a business card. HVAC systems are very involved – it’s hard to know if there is something wrong just by describing the issues you’re having over the phone. If you’re looking for a Maytag contractor, you can always start off with our dealer locator (just click on the big yellow button at the top right of this page). Or, if it doesn’t look like there is a contractor in your area, you can give our customer support team a call.
I like your tip on turning to reviews when hiring a heating and cooling contractor. I would imagine that finding someone based on good reviews would be a good way to ensure you get quality work done. My wife and I are looking for an HVAC contractor to do some work in our home so we’ll have to remember to check reviews before we do.
I agree that finding someone who is experienced with your equipment when looking for an HVAC contractor would be important. I would imagine that if they have worked with your type of air conditioning it would be beneficial. My husband and I are in need of an AC repairman so we’ll have to hire one that is experienced with our unit.
I like your idea of finding an HVAC contractor that is familiar with their equipment. I would imagine that seeing if they are comfortable and experience around their equipment would be vital towards getting quality service. My husband and I are looking for someone to service our heater so we’ll have to choose someone who is experienced with their equipment.
I can definitely see how the lowest bidder may not always be the best option for a serviceman, and you make a good point that there is a lot of money that goes into running a high-quality heating and air conditioning company. I would imagine that it would be important to investigate a few different companions instead of just accepting whichever option will cost you the least money up-front. I would imagine it could be a good idea to narrow down your search to three or four companies before even looking at their cost.
I like that you mentioned that online reviews can be a good source of information. Recently, I paid for a contractor; and, thankfully, looked at reviews to find one with the specific qualifications that I needed. I think that if you are questioning if you should buy something then you might want to look at others opinions.
I love that you said that you should look to reviews on how the quality of the company and their products are. I think that people should try to realize that those are really good tells of how someone will treat you. I am looking for someone to fix my AC unit, and I really don’t know what to do.
Looking at reviews sounds like a great way to find an HVAC contractor. It would be best to select someone with a positive reputation. My brother said that word of mouth is also a good way to go about this searching process. His neighbor provided him with quality information and his new contractor is reliable and efficient.
Our air condition went out yesterday after three months of moving to our new town. It was so helpful to learn that a quality contractor will be up-to-date on all training, permits, licenses and more. I would imagine we will have air conditioning again to help keep us cool during these summer months that are approaching!
[…] As crazy as it may seem, if you do have need for your air conditioner or heat pump before spring rolls around, make sure you remove any covers and make sure that your unit is receiving power. Also, always make sure you research your local heating and air conditioning contractors before you hire the one for your spring maintenance appointment. For hiring advice, check out our previous tips for hiring a contractor. […]
Make sure that the contractor has liability insurance and that his employees are covered by workman’s compensation. Ask questions about anything you don’t understand, and don’t be shy about asking for changes to the contract.
Hiring a contractor who is familiar with your particular brand of equipment is excellent advice. Making sure they know what they are doing would probably help your project get done correctly. I would imagine that making sure you have the right equipment would also help them be able to accomplish the task properly.
Reviews have helped me in a lot of different situations with choosing the best company to go with. because reviews allow you to see a rating out of five stars and a short description of the service it can help in the decision-making process. Another benefit is that it can help to compare against the competition. Like you said, going with the lowest bidder is never the best option because of how often that can be due to lack of knowledge and experience.
I loved what you said about not just going with the lowest bidder and how there is lots of money that goes into running a quality company. I can definitely see how taking the time to investigate the merits of different companies would really pay off in the long run. I would probably look for referrals from neighbors and friends as well.
I love what you mentioned about how online reviews can be a great source of information when it comes to hiring a contractor. I’ve heard that the 3-star reviews tend to be the most reliable to look at because they’re the least biased, and will offer honest insight into how the company works. I’ll have to keep this great information in mind as I try to find a reputable HVAC contractor to come out and fix the AC in my home before summer comes.
[…] Don’t automatically go with the lowest bidder […]
I am glad to know that online reviews can be a great source of information when one is wanting to know more about HVAC contractors. It would be good to find if the contractor has a positive reputation with past clients. Interviewing several possible contractors would be wise to ensure you have found someone who is experienced in solving problems similar to the ones you are dealing with.
Great article. It’s important that you point out both reviews and family and friend recommendations but also point out that the AC repairman should be familiar with your equipment. Although some repairmen can handle other equipment, it will take longer because they may not have the parts available.
Thanks!
I like how you mentioned that online reviews might be a good source for figuring out the reputation of a heating contractor. I have also heard that getting references can be helpful in determining the service a contractor can provide. I’ll be sure to try and use both when I look for a contractor to help revamp my heating system later this year.
I agree that you want to make sure that an HVAC contractor is familiar with your equipment before you hire them. Knowing what they specialize in would help you find out if they are qualified or not. My heating system has been acting up recently, so when I hire someone to fix it I’ll have to make sure they have worked on a similar system before.
I never took into account making sure that a contractor is familiar with the equipment in your home. It makes sense how different companies are trained to operate specific brands of equipment. As it’s been getting colder outside, my sister has been noticing that her heating system isn’t functioning correctly. It could be beneficial for her to hire a heating technician that is knowledgeable about her specific heater.
Our AC hasn’t been working very efficiently lately and continues to make strange noises. We are looking to hire an HVAC contractor to come look at it, and want to make sure we choose someone reputable. Like you said, checking to see if the technicians are familiar with your particular brand can help ensure the knowledge needed to fix the problem. Thanks for sharing!
I like that you mentioned to make sure the HVAC contractor you choose is familiar and proficient at working on the type of system you have. That way, you can be sure that he will have the knowledge necessary to fix any problems. I want to have my heater serviced and repaired before the weather gets cold, so I will definitely keep this in mind as I look for the right contractor.
My wife and I need to get a new furnace installed for the winter but we aren’t sure how to find a good contractor. I like that you suggest checking online reviews to see if anyone has had a positive experience with the contractor. I only want trusted contractors to come into my house so I’ll be sure to do this first. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your tip to hire a contractor who is experienced enough to do the job you need 100% right the first time. I like how you said that they should be able to use tools and equipment that are high quality and that they have used many times before. My husband is looking into hiring a qualified and professional HVAC contractor to install a new water heater for our home.
Thanks for the tips for hiring an HVAC contractor! I do agree that looking into online reviews can be a great source of information when hiring a contractor. Additionally, I liked that you mentioned, under “Make sure they are familiar with your equipment.”, that it’s important to learn if the contractor is familiar with your HVAC brand. I’d be sure to remember these when I’d need a repair or maintenance check for our HVAC. Those tips would really help out a lot.
Thanks for the tip to check online reviews for finding home HVAC services. The HVAC in my home hasn’t been working all that well, and I would like to get it taken care of before winter hits hard. I’ll be sure to ask those close to me for recommendations in finding a specialist.
I really appreciated your reminder to make sure the technician you’re hiring is familiar with the equipment in your home. This isn’t something I’ve ever thought of doing before hiring an HVAC contractor. It seems like it could be really important though since it would help you identify the most qualified technician to handle the job you need done.
It was really nice how you said that different service contractors may be trained on different materials and so it’s best to know whether or not they are familiar with my brand before hiring them. That’s actually a pretty good advice because we’re currently using an AC unit that was imported from Russia. Now that we need an HVAC contractor to fix its cooling system, it might be a really good idea to follow your tips and find a contractor who is familiar with its brand. Thanks a lot!
I liked how you pointed out that although cost is important to consider, it shouldn’t be your sole determining factor of who to hire. My heating system has been having some trouble lately, and I’d like to have a professional come take a look at it. I want the repairs done right the first time, and I wouldn’t mind spending a little extra money to make sure this happens.
My favorite part of this article was how you pointed out that although price is important to consider, you shouldn’t use it as the sole determining factor of who to hire. My heating system is in need of a tune-up, so I’ll definitely keep this tip in mind. Money isn’t as important to me as getting a satisfactory job on my HVAC system performed.
Thanks for your tip to hire a contractor that uses and knows how to use the equipment that will best solve any problems in your home. I like how you said that they should always have good reviews from other clients. My husband and I are considering hiring professional HVAC contractors to hire to repair our heating unit.
Our HVAC unit had been making some quite odd noises for quite some time now which is why we aren’t using it at the moment. I just freed up my schedule recently to be able to find myself a reliable contractor to fix ours. Your advice to locate a contractor that is familiar with our equipment’s brand as they are trained for different units will be very helpful. Thanks for the useful article on how to find a hiring contractor!
I like that you mentioned to make sure that you choose an HVAC contractor who is familiar with the type of system you have. That way, you can be sure they have the know how to handle the job. I need to find somebody to help me fix my heater, and I want to choose the best. I will definitely ask about this, thanks!
My wife and I are wanting to replace our AC unit for this spring, so thanks for the tips on hiring a contractor. I like your point about checking for reviews from past clients so you know the company has a history of excellence. We’ll have to get online and look for sites that are ranked well so we can narrow down our choices.
Your suggestion about how online reviews are a good source of information about an HVAC contractor made a lot of sense to me. It would be smart to consider reviews because that way, you would get the opinions of past clients. My husband and I are looking for someone to come fix our mini-split system, so we’ll have to check reviews first.
My wife and I are looking for a contractor to help us install a new heater, so thanks for sharing this. I like your point about how a good contractor is up-to-date on all their training, permits, and licenses. I want to make sure they are insured as well so I don’t risk being liable for any accidents.
I’ve been looking for a good commercial hvac service. I’m glad you talked about not just going with the lowest price for hvac companies. I’m goin to have to do some research and see what commercial hvac options would be best!
I’d like to get my AC unit tuned up before spring hits. I liked how you suggested using recommendations from people I know to locate a good HVAC contractor. I’ll start asking around to get an idea of who to hire for the job I require.
I’ve got an induction heater in my house, and it’s not working quite as well as it has before. I keep on having to put on more and more blankets to be warm. I think that I need to find someone who can repair my induction heater. So I’ll have to take your advice to make sure that the technicians are familiar with my brand of equipment.
I like your suggestion not to just go with the lowest bidder. It may seem tempting to just go with the cheapest option, but paying a little more for service now will save you in the long run when you don;t have to pay for the same repair again. You also don’t want to get involved with someone who may be trying to rip you off. Sometimes a little bit of money saves you a world of inconveniences.
I like that you talked about choosing someone that has been trained on the equipment you own. My wife and I have been looking for someone to install a new cooling system in our home. It would be smart to choose someone already trained on it so they don’t make any serious mistakes.
I agree that you shouldn’t just go with whoever gives you the lowest quote. You want to also check up on their quality. I agree that a high-quality hvac company will be up to date on training too, like you said. I’m sure the practices change and update, so if they are moving along with those, it’s a good sign.
I agree that you need to find recommendations from friends and family before choosing an HVAC contractor. Checking various different sources for recommendations would give you a fuller picture of their qualifications. My husband and I are looking for a contractor to help fix our AC system, so we’ll have to ask around and get some recommendations first.
I agree that you want to consider the online reviews when choosing an HVAC contractor. Finding someone who is qualified would also be helpful. I want to find someone to clean my effluvium furnace, so I’ll have to check their reviews first.
I agree that you want to consider how familiar an HVAC contractor is with their job. Finding out about their experience would be really helpful. My husband and I are looking for an HVAC contractor, so we’ll have to consider how experienced they are.
I sure appreciate your tip to choose an HVAC contractor that has positive reviews and recommendations. It’s nice how you said that they should have a good handle on these types of equipment. My home furnace needs to be repaired, so I would like a skilled contractor to work on that for me.
I’ve been wanting to get some air conditioning services to come to my parents home to check their system. I like that you talked about how you should always opt for a professional for your air conditioning services. I’m going to have to see what professionals are available and see what we can find!
I thought that it was helpful when you suggested to get more information about a contractor through their reviews. My wife and I want to find the right contractor because our furnace needs to be fixed before our home gets too cold. It would be important for us to know that we could find a contractor who we could trust in hiring. When we look for one, I will be sure to check their reviews.