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Review content:
A representative from Bertie Heating & Air Conditioning came to my home on 4/16 to diagnose an air conditioner that was blowing warm air. The young man was polite, and cordial. He was respectful, as well. While looking at our unit, he must have told us, at least 4 times, that he was ""still in school"". This became apparent, when he started with one diagnosis that simply involved a new compressor and a re-charge of the system, to a multi-part replacement that would cost thousands, to a brand new unit, and air handler.\r
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To say my husband and I were concerned about his ability to diagnose the problem, is an understatement. The service call lasted about 45 minutes. By the end, he was standing firm on us simply needing a new unit, and arranged for a ""Comfort Consultant"" to come out the next day, and give us an estimate on a new unit. So, we paid the $95.00 visit, which yielded nothing but uncertainty, and waited to speak to the other representative about the situation.\r
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This young man (older than the tech, at least), spent about 15 minutes looking at the old unit, walking around the house, and then went out to his vehicle to print a quote. The estimate was for $4,300.00 for a new unit, air handler, touch screen programmable thermostat (which we didn't need), concrete pad (which we didn't need), and testing/sealing all duct work. \r
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After I looked at the estimate, I expressed my concerns to this representative about the diagnosis given by the young, ""still in school"" tech. I told him that his company was asking us to put a substantial dent in our savings, and if the roles were reversed, I am sure you would want a second opinion before dropping that amount of money on something you weren't convinced you needed. He told me that the young man in question had been doing this for about 5 years, and he knew this because he has been with the company for 7. I told him that he needs to work on his sales pitch then, because he had us convinced he shouldn't even be on calls solo, yet. We felt it was in all fairness, to ask for a second tech to come out, and offer a second opinion. \r
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The ""Comfort Consultant"" assured me Mr. Bertie takes all concerns seriously, and that someone from the office would contact us that afternoon. Someone did contact my husband, and left a voicemail. My husband returned his call the same day, and left a message with the office receptionist. Since then, we have heard NOTHING from Bertie Heating & Air Conditioning. \r
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The bottom line, is all we asked for was a little reassurance that our money was being spent wisely, and they couldn't be bothered to follow up. You don't just ask someone to spend $4,300.00 with your company on blind faith. Based on this experience, we contacted another company, who installed the SAME unit Bertie had quoted us on, minus the thermostat and other things we *didn't* need replaced, to the tune of $3,000.00 We didn't mind spending the money. If you need a new unit, you do what you have to do. Just don't ask someone to do it with no assurances or confidence. Of which I have neither, in Bertie Heating & Air Conditioning.
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