The inducer motor on my furnace went out. I had them replace it.
My furnace went out in the middle of the night on a Sunday, before a Monday federal holiday. I spent that day trying to troubleshoot the issue myself. The furnace was under warranty, and I knew my warranty company wasn't open that day. I figured out that the inducer motor on the furnace needed to be replaced. That part for my furnace retails for $300-$330. My warranty company instructed me to hire my own contractor off of Angie's List, and I would then be reimbursed. I chose Air Supply because they were at the top of the list, had an "A" grade, and had a lot of good reviews. They were also not too far away. I called in for service and explained my situation. The earliest they could come out was the next day, and I was okay with that. I gave the office staff the make and model of my furnace, and explained the repair/part needed. I called the next day to confirm my appointment, and reminded the rep of my make/model/issue/part. I wanted confirmation that they had that information, and that the serviceman would be prepared to actually fix the furnace when he showed up; not just look at it and require parts to be ordered for a return trip. She confirmed all of my information and stated that my issue/part was "common", and that the service techs carried those on their trucks. The service tech arrived with no knowledge of my issue OR the part. The office didn't inform him of anything other than my name and address, and he didn't have the part. In fact, he stated that inducer motors are NOT common; they are very specific to individual furnaces, and he had no idea why I was told otherwise. He called in immediately to talk to the office rep about the misinformation and asked her to order the part from their supplier. I overheard her tell him that they would have to come back the next day (Thursday), Friday at the latest. I voiced my displeasure at being misinformed/lied to, and the fact that I had to pay a $95 service call for him to spend fifteen minutes putting lubricating oil on a spindle. He assured me that I wouldn't have to pay the service call fee for the return trip -- just for the part and his labor, which he stated would take less than thirty minutes. The office rep called me the next morning to get authorization to order the part. I asked her how much money we were talking about for the repair, and she replied, "the motor will be $456 and labor would be $22.50 per quarter hour." I was in disbelief at the cost. I asked why she quoted a price that was $150 more than the already marked-up retail price of $300 it goes for. I declined their service, expecting to just fix it myself. She called back a little while later and left me a voicemail to tell me that she "got permission from their warehouse to sell the motor at a discounted price of $346. Considering I had already spent $95 for basically nothing, and I would be reimbursed, I reluctantly accepted. The serviceman showed up the next day as expected, and spent about fifteen minutes to swap out the inducer motor. As I was looking over his invoice, I noticed he charged me $90 for labor. I questioned that charge, and he explained that I was being charged from the "time the call was initiated" (they called me 30 minutes ahead of arrival to make sure I would be home), and the 20 minutes he wrote down for labor (which I am certain was closer to fifteen minutes) he rounded up to 30 minutes. So, when it was all said and done, I paid $531 and change for a job that, had it not been a warranty issue, I would have done myself for $300. And, had they come prepared on the first day as I was assured would happen, I should have only been charged $441 ($95 service call + $346 part). Had I not stood my ground on their original quoted price, the final bill would have been over $630! Needless to say, I am NOT a satisfied customer. I firmly believe they were taking advantage of my situation and the fact that it was a warranty repair. They did EXACTLY what was needed to maximize their profits in my situation. Yes, they were pleasant to talk to and professional with regard to their interactions, but the same could be said about a con-artist who smiles and is charismatic as he picks your pocket.
