As we approach our October meeting, I want to share with you some experiences that I do not want to take up during our formal meeting, but which I would be willing to discuss with any interested person(s) before or after. They have to do with a heating/air-conditioning contractor which has enjoyed many years of association with Terrace residents.
When Betsy and I bought #25 in December of 2003, we looked at our heating-A/C equipment and saw stickers representing about 8 years of service by the same company. At that time, we had no reason to switch from, or even question the credentials of, that company.
I first became suspicious, as some of you know, when that company came into the Terrace in the summer of 2011 and pronounced so many of our systems defective -- all at about the same time.
HUGE COINCIDENCE.
If a heating system sales person came to your door, you'd probably politely dismiss the opportunity to plunk out $8,000 for lack of apparent need. But if a TECHNICIAN "red flags" your system, he becomes the salesman. I have learned that great pressure can be put on service technicians to "make the sale under any condition." This is especially true for the large, national companies.
Second suspicious event: Fast-forward one year to July 2012. Time for the routine maintenance call, number 18 (air-conditioning), number 36 total. It would be the last for this company at my home. My neighbor and I installed a brand new water heater 5½ years ago. I had gone down to the basement on that July morning to make sure nothing was in the way of the equipment. The technician arrived on time, and after about five minutes alone in the basement, he called me down to ask me how long the water heater had been leaking. I said I had been down there about 15 minutes before he got there and it wasn't leaking then.
HUGE COINCIDENCE (#2).
I thought, "How, with an Ivy League education, can I be so stupid?" About two hours later I had a new water heater . . . $1,000. As the service tech was about to leave, he pointed out a leaking shutoff at the top of the water heater he had just installed. I said, "What should I do about that?" He said, "Call a plumber."
NO LIE.
I called the company, told them what happened, and they had a "master plumber" at #25 early the following morning, a Saturday.
Fast-forward to yesterday, Monday, September 24. My new heating maintenance company representative made his first service call. Very thorough. So thorough, in fact, that within 15 minutes of his call (which lasted more than an hour), he pointed out that the humidifier on the heating system had NEVER been installed. Oh, it was made to LOOK like it had been installed -- clamped to the water line -- but the water line had never been punctured to allow water into the humidifier. Took about 5 minutes to rectify the problem.
Now, I have been a saver all my life, and among my most-prized stash are all the maintenance reports handed to me by my previous heating/air-conditioning "experts." Every one of those reports attests to the adequacy of my system, including the humidifier. EVERY ONE. (Look at your own.)
Yesterday's technician said to me, "The good news is that you have a brand new 18-year-old humidifier." If any of this means anything to you, it will have been worth the finger-exercise I am about to complete.
Sometimes, venting makes one feel good.
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