I responded to a cold call and had Admiral come out to inspect my AC and heating systems. I expected them to sell me some services... it is the time of year I like to have maintanance done and it was easy to set up the appointment. \r
However, they quoted me about $1,000 for maintanance and another $500 for a hard start kit. I told them at those prices I would do better to forgo maintanace and just plan to replace the AC earlier. My systems have had regular maintanance since they were installed and I have never had a bill approaching $1,000. I also told them that I would be checking into thier quote and would be writing a bad review if they were overstating the case or if thier costs were out of line. So here I am!!\r
The lead tech, who was friendly capable seeming guy, gave me the line about how a guy working out of his truck could do it cheaper... yes, all those 5 star reviews calling customers like me ""nimrods"" were echoing the very words of the lead tech who visited my home. (Yes, they are nice when they think they have a chance at $1,550 for a Saturday morning but otherwise potential customers apparently are ""knot heads"") \r
So I checked on their quote and guess what -- there are reputable companies (that you can find on citysearch) that will do the same work for significantly less and they were also upfront about what was truly a job to be done ""ASAP"" and on alternatives methodologies. The Admiral guys really overstated (lied) to me in an effort to make a quick sale and it pisses me off because I would have been an easy sale if they had been more honest with their assessment and with thier pricing. \r
For example, they told me I needed to have a hard start kit installed and that thier fair price for it was about $500. Well I knew and have confirmed that these kits only costs about $40 so why would Admiral be asking me to pay them so much to for install -- you don't even have to be in the hot attic for this one?? A licenced reputable electricial would install at a fraction of the cost. Note, my electrician basically told me Admiral was ""blowing smoke"" about the need for a kit on a residential AC unit unless there was another problem (one that I don't have).
Pros: Nice Technicians, On time weekend appointment
Cons: Pricing way way out of line!!
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