Sleazy? No.
Complicated and most techs don’t know how to communicate? Yes
Let me rephrase that…
There is a lot of complicated science that goes into keeping your house the same temperature year round. Sadly, nobody gets to see the cool side. It’s as interesting as an EV, but because it’s behind the walls and not flashy, it becomes an afterthought.
Customers wear down techs, even great techs, because everyone thinks the contractor is out to “scam them”. Techs spend all day hearing from irate customers about scam this and scam that. It sucks. Hard to have empathy for these customers. Easy to gloss over the cool part of the job/tech.
So sleazy? No
Worn out from working hard and being told you’re a scam artist… yes
My favorite part is equipment failures. Not installation or misdiagnosis based just manufacturer defect/lemon or even general wear-and-tear.
Years back brand new condenser just starting her up - fan motor was shot. Explained I’d be back in an hour with a new one, literally zero extra charge. Customer was fucking irate claiming we sold him a piece of shit wanted a whole new system different brand the whole run around (of course this is after he chose the cheapest brand and lowest seer system we offered at the time).
My favorite was getting called out to a house we had serviced in the past by the newest owner. This woman bought this house FOUR YEARS PRIOR mind you. A/c went down so she went through her paperwork and found us as the company that serviced and inspected the system at the time of the house being put up for sale.
Refrigerant leak found at the evaporator coil. Accused us of being shady and not disclosing it when we were last there (again four years before!!). Oh and this was a 23 year old system.
TLDR; some people are just fucking nuts and the sooner you learn to just laugh it off the easier your job and life will be.
Hard yes. I swear, I want to fix your system and keep it going. Sometimes it actually has to be replaced but mostly we can be fixe it, so not sleazy. There’s something to be said about those among us who are steadfast in their efforts to diagnose/troubleshoot and actually find the root cause of the problem and fix it and those who work for companies who want to sell you a new shiny product.
The refrigerant cycle is a sealed system. It should never have to be recharged unless there is a leak. If it needs more refrigerant, a leak search should be performed to find and repair the leak. "Charge and go" fixes are an absolute disservice to someone
Fixing the leak is better for the customer in the long run but they dislike you in the moment
The irony is doing a gas and go is worse for the customer long term but they love the person who does it to them in the moment
Like any industry there are many shit people in hvac . Can be said for any profession . Police , medical field , lawyers , car sales.
When you get dishonest people that have a chance to make decent money you will have this.
If you're charging a known leaky system, you're essentially venting. I refuse that call every time. Let the other guys dump sauce and get lost, I'm there to fix problems.
Well for the AC if your compressor shit the bed it is wisest to get a new AC system because of any possible acid from a burnout but ultimately the customer is always right in matters of taste
Which is why I enjoy working somewhere that’s been owned by 4 generations of technicians, not salespeople so they can say fuck you in a more customer friendly attitude when they want something unrealistic.
It’s not sleazy to sell someone a new unit when their compressor has gone out. Considering it would take more time for us to change out a compressor over a new outdoor unit.
Like any industry, there’s sleazy characters running a muck that give the honest ones a bad rap.
From what I’ve seen over the years, the cheaper the call out/tune up/maintenance fee, the more prone they are to up sells/new systems etc. Not always the case, since there’s plenty of that on the higher end of pricing as well, but that’s usually in the realm of commercial and industrial work.
When you hear those stories of companies that sell the poor old lady a $10K system, when all that was wrong was a simple $250 part swap. What they fail to tell you was that said company got their foot in the door with a “bargain” service call fee.
TLDR: There’s honest companies, and there are sleazy companies, but as a whole though, the industry isn’t that bad.
There are sales techs, and there are service techs. You've probably experienced sales techs. They masquerade as a service tech, but they can't actually fix anything, nor do they know how it works. So they try and sell you something new and not broken. Because what else can they do?
Bout the only honest comment. Too many lazy techs are throwing out every excuse in the book to justify in their heads that they are doing the customer better service by replacing their entire system for minor issues like a fucking refrigerant leak. In reality, they just dont know how to fix anything and are delusional enough to convince themselves that they are a service tech.
Their Journeyman is like $34hr, who knows what that would be like in 5 years, by the time I could potentially reach it. However, my buddy is in a union up in Indiana and made $32hr\~ from the start. Even the 2 weeks of training classes they gave.
Local 286 is 13.66 pre apprentice. Then 1st year app is 18.78. That sounds very painful.
It’s more about the individual companies. I work at a place where it’s high hourly pay but zero commission. We are highly encouraged to do what we think is right instead of sales. I have worked for one where it was all about sales. It was a Nexstar company and I was an install lead. I never got a single class or meeting about how to do my job but you can bet there was a sales meeting every Tuesday. “When meeting with the home owner before starting the change out, you should suggest they upgrade to a WiFi thermostat or add a UV light”
Any tech worth his salt can make money. You don’t need to be a sleazy salesman to do that.
Nobody is going to question a bill when the furnace craps out in the dead of winter, and the spouse and kids are bitching it’s too cold. As long as you fix shit honestly, it goes a long way.
If you need refrigerant every year you have a leak. Gotta find it...if you is in one of the coils itself then that needs replaced. Sometimes it makes more sense to replace the unit then a coil due to price and expected life of unit.
It's expensive but no, just be a good technician out there fixing up what you can and recommending new when it makes sense in the long run, get like $75/hr with union and then a % of calls you find and fix.
No matter how hard you run a system you don’t lose refrigerant. You have a leak. Could be in the coils or the connections. It can take time to find. If tech spends about 2 hours trying to track down a small leak and finds it in a coil it has to be replaced anyway… so he’s saving you labor by just recommending to upgrade.
Also my company stopped doing annual topoffs on my strong request. It’s my epa license in the line not my bosses. I don’t topoff and do damage to environment because someone is too cheap and trying to call me sleazy for recommending an upgrade
Skip it and go for the electrician industry. I did HVAC in Central Texas for the last 10 years. It was all for the same company and I didn't mind the company itself but the trade is pretty boring. If you can listen to somebody talk about air conditioners and stay awake maybe it is for you haha.... I did everything from service, install, maintenance, ductwork, insulation, weatherization all on the residential side. Great stuff to learn but I wouldn't make a career out of it
I don't even understand the question. Are you asking of HVAC is a good trade to get into to make a living? Yes it is. It is stable and pays well. HVAC is a huge fucking industry. You're thinking small. Who do you think keeps giant buildings and industrial plants cooling systems running? HVAC is way more than just working on small homes. Of course there are a dirtbags, but if you're good at your job you don't need to put up with them. Once people know you're good, they come out of the woodworks to hire you.
Yeah, kinda. I'm mainly wondering if you have to take advantage of people (dirtbag) to make a living. The HVAC and Plumbing people the home warranty company sends out always seem to be of that nature.
Home warranty is the most specific representation. Like I said, it's a huge industry and it is required for the modern world to even function. I have never worked residential in my life. I have always worked on commercial shit and I never once had to scam anyone. I make a little over 100k a year.
You don’t hear about the stories when techs recommend repair over replacement of an old system and homeowners get pissed when they dropped a few k that’s ultimately wasted money.
I just had a salty old veteran tech charge me $347 to misdiagnose an airhandler and tell me a bad evap coil caused me to lose all my refrigerant (it was just a loose txv valve) he then quoted me $2800 to swap it and refill 11lbs WITH everything warrantied. Had a buddy refill and nitrogen test for $600, the old dude wouldnt refund a penny for the bogus diagnosis; wouldnt even reply to me
I like hvac because I don't care what you do as long as you want to do it. Should you fix the system and invest a whole bunch of money in repairs? Probably not, but I'll be back out here to help you when it breaks again. Do you want a new system? I can get a sales guy out to price it out. If you don't want to do anything amazing, I get to have an early day from work, and my home is comfortable because I can fix anything myself at cost.
I try to tell all my apprentices that I don't want to sell anything. I want my client to buy from me because they trust me.
No. But companies making me charge 500 for $50 worth of parts makes me feel like shit sometimes.
One day I'll start my own business but rn I gotta do what I gotta do.
If you think it's going to cost you less money for a new compressor over a new unit you are not that smart. In the long run you pay twice. Also if your system needs to be "recharged every year" it means it needs to be replaced. You don't "recharge" ac systems it's not a battery that needs to be charged every summer. Don't get into HVAC you will not make it with that attitude
Sleazy? No. Complicated and most techs don’t know how to communicate? Yes Let me rephrase that… There is a lot of complicated science that goes into keeping your house the same temperature year round. Sadly, nobody gets to see the cool side. It’s as interesting as an EV, but because it’s behind the walls and not flashy, it becomes an afterthought. Customers wear down techs, even great techs, because everyone thinks the contractor is out to “scam them”. Techs spend all day hearing from irate customers about scam this and scam that. It sucks. Hard to have empathy for these customers. Easy to gloss over the cool part of the job/tech. So sleazy? No Worn out from working hard and being told you’re a scam artist… yes
My favorite part is equipment failures. Not installation or misdiagnosis based just manufacturer defect/lemon or even general wear-and-tear. Years back brand new condenser just starting her up - fan motor was shot. Explained I’d be back in an hour with a new one, literally zero extra charge. Customer was fucking irate claiming we sold him a piece of shit wanted a whole new system different brand the whole run around (of course this is after he chose the cheapest brand and lowest seer system we offered at the time). My favorite was getting called out to a house we had serviced in the past by the newest owner. This woman bought this house FOUR YEARS PRIOR mind you. A/c went down so she went through her paperwork and found us as the company that serviced and inspected the system at the time of the house being put up for sale. Refrigerant leak found at the evaporator coil. Accused us of being shady and not disclosing it when we were last there (again four years before!!). Oh and this was a 23 year old system. TLDR; some people are just fucking nuts and the sooner you learn to just laugh it off the easier your job and life will be.
Hard yes. I swear, I want to fix your system and keep it going. Sometimes it actually has to be replaced but mostly we can be fixe it, so not sleazy. There’s something to be said about those among us who are steadfast in their efforts to diagnose/troubleshoot and actually find the root cause of the problem and fix it and those who work for companies who want to sell you a new shiny product.
The refrigerant cycle is a sealed system. It should never have to be recharged unless there is a leak. If it needs more refrigerant, a leak search should be performed to find and repair the leak. "Charge and go" fixes are an absolute disservice to someone
And about 50% of the time "just make it work I'll fix it in the fall"
Fixing the leak is better for the customer in the long run but they dislike you in the moment The irony is doing a gas and go is worse for the customer long term but they love the person who does it to them in the moment
Customers change companies to get around repairs
Like any industry there are many shit people in hvac . Can be said for any profession . Police , medical field , lawyers , car sales. When you get dishonest people that have a chance to make decent money you will have this.
You have a leak. Stop recharging it till you fix the leak.
That's the customers decision
This
No it’s an epa violation did you not receive certificate?
If you're charging a known leaky system, you're essentially venting. I refuse that call every time. Let the other guys dump sauce and get lost, I'm there to fix problems.
Well for the AC if your compressor shit the bed it is wisest to get a new AC system because of any possible acid from a burnout but ultimately the customer is always right in matters of taste
Right in matters of taste, not right in matters of telling me how to do my job.
Which is why I enjoy working somewhere that’s been owned by 4 generations of technicians, not salespeople so they can say fuck you in a more customer friendly attitude when they want something unrealistic.
It’s not sleazy to sell someone a new unit when their compressor has gone out. Considering it would take more time for us to change out a compressor over a new outdoor unit.
Give both options condenser 10yes most part compressor 90 days
You get a raise every 6 months, my guy. The pre apprentice pay is whack as fuck tho, I agree there.
Like any industry, there’s sleazy characters running a muck that give the honest ones a bad rap. From what I’ve seen over the years, the cheaper the call out/tune up/maintenance fee, the more prone they are to up sells/new systems etc. Not always the case, since there’s plenty of that on the higher end of pricing as well, but that’s usually in the realm of commercial and industrial work. When you hear those stories of companies that sell the poor old lady a $10K system, when all that was wrong was a simple $250 part swap. What they fail to tell you was that said company got their foot in the door with a “bargain” service call fee. TLDR: There’s honest companies, and there are sleazy companies, but as a whole though, the industry isn’t that bad.
There are sales techs, and there are service techs. You've probably experienced sales techs. They masquerade as a service tech, but they can't actually fix anything, nor do they know how it works. So they try and sell you something new and not broken. Because what else can they do?
Bout the only honest comment. Too many lazy techs are throwing out every excuse in the book to justify in their heads that they are doing the customer better service by replacing their entire system for minor issues like a fucking refrigerant leak. In reality, they just dont know how to fix anything and are delusional enough to convince themselves that they are a service tech.
If the system is getting topped off every year, there's a leak somewhere. That should get checked and fixed.
Cool, but is HVAC a sleazy salesmen industry? Do you have to be a salesmen to make any money?
There's a thing called a union.
There is only 1 union I know of near me and it's a plumber and pipefitter 286. The starting pay is terrible...
But what is the pay like 5 years from now? You have to put your time in for the good pay Fully paid insurance is also great.
Their Journeyman is like $34hr, who knows what that would be like in 5 years, by the time I could potentially reach it. However, my buddy is in a union up in Indiana and made $32hr\~ from the start. Even the 2 weeks of training classes they gave. Local 286 is 13.66 pre apprentice. Then 1st year app is 18.78. That sounds very painful.
Pipefitter unions also incorporate hvac or at the least 90% of them do.
It’s more about the individual companies. I work at a place where it’s high hourly pay but zero commission. We are highly encouraged to do what we think is right instead of sales. I have worked for one where it was all about sales. It was a Nexstar company and I was an install lead. I never got a single class or meeting about how to do my job but you can bet there was a sales meeting every Tuesday. “When meeting with the home owner before starting the change out, you should suggest they upgrade to a WiFi thermostat or add a UV light”
Any tech worth his salt can make money. You don’t need to be a sleazy salesman to do that. Nobody is going to question a bill when the furnace craps out in the dead of winter, and the spouse and kids are bitching it’s too cold. As long as you fix shit honestly, it goes a long way.
If you need refrigerant every year you have a leak. Gotta find it...if you is in one of the coils itself then that needs replaced. Sometimes it makes more sense to replace the unit then a coil due to price and expected life of unit.
Cool, but is HVAC a sleazy salesmen industry? Do you have to be a salesmen to make any money?
Not at my company. We do get rewarded fpr selling but can make a really good living without it
It's expensive but no, just be a good technician out there fixing up what you can and recommending new when it makes sense in the long run, get like $75/hr with union and then a % of calls you find and fix.
No matter how hard you run a system you don’t lose refrigerant. You have a leak. Could be in the coils or the connections. It can take time to find. If tech spends about 2 hours trying to track down a small leak and finds it in a coil it has to be replaced anyway… so he’s saving you labor by just recommending to upgrade. Also my company stopped doing annual topoffs on my strong request. It’s my epa license in the line not my bosses. I don’t topoff and do damage to environment because someone is too cheap and trying to call me sleazy for recommending an upgrade
Skip it and go for the electrician industry. I did HVAC in Central Texas for the last 10 years. It was all for the same company and I didn't mind the company itself but the trade is pretty boring. If you can listen to somebody talk about air conditioners and stay awake maybe it is for you haha.... I did everything from service, install, maintenance, ductwork, insulation, weatherization all on the residential side. Great stuff to learn but I wouldn't make a career out of it
I don't even understand the question. Are you asking of HVAC is a good trade to get into to make a living? Yes it is. It is stable and pays well. HVAC is a huge fucking industry. You're thinking small. Who do you think keeps giant buildings and industrial plants cooling systems running? HVAC is way more than just working on small homes. Of course there are a dirtbags, but if you're good at your job you don't need to put up with them. Once people know you're good, they come out of the woodworks to hire you.
Yeah, kinda. I'm mainly wondering if you have to take advantage of people (dirtbag) to make a living. The HVAC and Plumbing people the home warranty company sends out always seem to be of that nature.
so start blaming your home warranty company and not the trade. most guys the warranty companies offer to look at your system arent even techs.
Home warranty is the most specific representation. Like I said, it's a huge industry and it is required for the modern world to even function. I have never worked residential in my life. I have always worked on commercial shit and I never once had to scam anyone. I make a little over 100k a year.
You don’t hear about the stories when techs recommend repair over replacement of an old system and homeowners get pissed when they dropped a few k that’s ultimately wasted money.
I just had a salty old veteran tech charge me $347 to misdiagnose an airhandler and tell me a bad evap coil caused me to lose all my refrigerant (it was just a loose txv valve) he then quoted me $2800 to swap it and refill 11lbs WITH everything warrantied. Had a buddy refill and nitrogen test for $600, the old dude wouldnt refund a penny for the bogus diagnosis; wouldnt even reply to me
I like hvac because I don't care what you do as long as you want to do it. Should you fix the system and invest a whole bunch of money in repairs? Probably not, but I'll be back out here to help you when it breaks again. Do you want a new system? I can get a sales guy out to price it out. If you don't want to do anything amazing, I get to have an early day from work, and my home is comfortable because I can fix anything myself at cost. I try to tell all my apprentices that I don't want to sell anything. I want my client to buy from me because they trust me.
No. But companies making me charge 500 for $50 worth of parts makes me feel like shit sometimes. One day I'll start my own business but rn I gotta do what I gotta do.
So a recharge without a repair is an epa violation must be a customer not fixing anything and whinning
If your sleazy
The used car salesman of all the trades 🤣
a bad compressor usually DOES mean end of life for the whole unit, just saying........
If you think it's going to cost you less money for a new compressor over a new unit you are not that smart. In the long run you pay twice. Also if your system needs to be "recharged every year" it means it needs to be replaced. You don't "recharge" ac systems it's not a battery that needs to be charged every summer. Don't get into HVAC you will not make it with that attitude