Olympic Aire prices unfair! Beware!

[ItalianScallion]

I just want people to be aware of how they do business. They're prices are based on the pretense that ONCE IN A LONG WHILE they might take longer to do a job than expected so they price their services higher just in case. What they're actually doing is inflating their rates hoping that the dumb consumer won't notice but this one did!
They came to my house to check out my heating and AC system. They said they do a 15 point inspection and it costs $189. Well, I knew that was high but I said it probably takes a while to check it out good, right? WRONG! 35 minutes and he was done. 25 if we hadn't chatted a bit. Now, I paid him because he did a good job, he was respectful of my new carpet and I agreed on the price before hand but NEVER AGAIN!
Their boasting point is that "the customer knows their full rate up front with no hidden charges". If you tell me what the hourly rate is and about how long a specific job takes, I CAN figure it out myself. I actually paid the same rate that someone else would if they had system troubles and the tech had to spend hours there. THIS IS WRONG! I should only pay for what I cost you! Well, now it's time for you to pay!
The usual rate is around $90-100 for the first hour (includes the service call) and the next amount should be charged per 15 minutes.
At best he should have reduced the fee since my system was running fine and needed nothing.
This is how companies rip off the public but we win on the long run, why? Because I have the internet forum and I have a radio show each night. I reach millions and will warn them.
We ARE in a recession and the best and worst things for any business is word of mouth.
I hope this helps you folks....

 

[ShoeQueen77]

I just want people to be aware of how they do business. They're prices are based on the pretense that ONCE IN A LONG WHILE they might take longer to do a job than expected so they price their services higher just in case. What they're actually doing is inflating their rates hoping that the dumb consumer won't notice but this one did!
They came to my house to check out my heating and AC system. They said they do a 15 point inspection and it costs $189. Well, I knew that was high but I said it probably takes a while to check it out good, right? WRONG! 35 minutes and he was done. 25 if we hadn't chatted a bit. Now, I paid him because he did a good job, he was respectful of my new carpet and I agreed on the price before hand but NEVER AGAIN!
Their boasting point is that "the customer knows their full rate up front with no hidden charges". If you tell me what the hourly rate is and about how long a specific job takes, I CAN figure it out myself. I actually paid the same rate that someone else would if they had system troubles and the tech had to spend hours there. THIS IS WRONG! I should only pay for what I cost you! Well, now it's time for you to pay!
The usual rate is around $90-100 for the first hour (includes the service call) and the next amount should be charged per 15 minutes.
At best he should have reduced the fee since my system was running fine and needed nothing.
This is how companies rip off the public but we win on the long run, why? Because I have the internet forum and I have a radio show each night. I reach millions and will warn them.
We ARE in a recession and the best and worst things for any business is word of mouth.
I hope this helps you folks....

In this recession, why would you pay that much (knowingly) for them to come out and just check something? Was it in good working order? Usually when people call for a "check" its because there is something wrong and it probably does take more than 25 minutes. I'm no expert, and I don't work in this field at all, but I own a house and I know I wouldn't pay any company any money right now if I didn't have to. I'm sure they have employees to pay and a family to feed too.

 

[GWguy]

I just want people to be aware of how they do business. They're prices are based on the pretense that ONCE IN A LONG WHILE they might take longer to do a job than expected so they price their services higher just in case.

Maybe they're taking a lesson from the oil companies, who push the price up based simply on speculation....

 

[pixiegirl]

Sounds like you paid a flat rate fee for a specific service not an hourly rate.

 

[czygvtwkr]

So they did what they said they would and charged you what they said it would cost and you wanna whine about it?

 

[carie_47421]

UGH...go gripe somewhere else, if you were so smart, maybe you would have worked somethng else out...

 

[PrepH4U]

I just want people to be aware of how they do business. They're prices are based on the pretense that ONCE IN A LONG WHILE they might take longer to do a job than expected so they price their services higher just in case. What they're actually doing is inflating their rates hoping that the dumb consumer won't notice but this one did!
They came to my house to check out my heating and AC system. They said they do a 15 point inspection and it costs $189. Well, I knew that was high but I said it probably takes a while to check it out good, right? WRONG! 35 minutes and he was done. 25 if we hadn't chatted a bit. Now, I paid him because he did a good job, he was respectful of my new carpet and I agreed on the price before hand but NEVER AGAIN!
Their boasting point is that "the customer knows their full rate up front with no hidden charges". If you tell me what the hourly rate is and about how long a specific job takes, I CAN figure it out myself. I actually paid the same rate that someone else would if they had system troubles and the tech had to spend hours there. THIS IS WRONG! I should only pay for what I cost you! Well, now it's time for you to pay!
The usual rate is around $90-100 for the first hour (includes the service call) and the next amount should be charged per 15 minutes.
At best he should have reduced the fee since my system was running fine and needed nothing.
This is how companies rip off the public but we win on the long run, why? Because I have the internet forum and I have a radio show each night. I reach millions and will warn them.
We ARE in a recession and the best and worst things for any business is word of mouth.
I hope this helps you folks....

So you expected a price cut because the tech did his job quick and well and didn't happen to find anything wrong?
My seasonal maintenance check only runs 95.00. Guess you should have shopped around. :shrug: But we have a signed agreement with our hvac company and they will respond to emergencies w/o an emergency charge, because they do the maintenance. I guess this is where the educated consumer saying comes into play.

 

[ItalianScallion]

In this recession, why would you pay that much (knowingly) for them to come out and just check something? Was it in good working order? Usually when people call for a "check" its because there is something wrong and it probably does take more than 25 minutes. I'm no expert, and I don't work in this field at all, but I own a house and I know I wouldn't pay any company any money right now if I didn't have to. I'm sure they have employees to pay and a family to feed too.

The unit was 12 years old and had never been serviced so I thought I should have it checked. The gal in their office said they do a 15 point check and it usually takes about an hour if nothing is wrong. I thought it was steep but, since I knew the gal in their office, I thought I'd try them once. Never again.
Nice friends I have eh?

So they did what they said they would and charged you what they said it would cost and you wanna whine about it?

Hey Einstein! You're missing the point. I'm trying to help someone else NOT GET SCREWED OK?

So you expected a price cut because the tech did his job quick and well and didn't happen to find anything wrong?
My seasonal maintenance check only runs 95.00. Guess you should have shopped around. :shrug: But we have a signed agreement with our hvac company and they will respond to emergencies w/o an emergency charge, because they do the maintenance. I guess this is where the educated consumer saying comes into play.

I simply expect a fair price or their name will be mud with me and that's what I'm doing. TYVM! $95 is what I expected would be fair but they misled me with their information. It's done now, I'm just making you all aware of what happened so it doesn't happen to you. Bunch of ungratefuls!

 

[itsbob]

Isn't this how car mechanics make money??

They price out a job by how much time it SHOULD take. If you take your car in to get fixed, and according to "the book" it should take 4 hours.

Now an experienced GOOD mechanic can probably do that 4 hour job in less than an hour and a half, but guess what, he's still going to charge you for the 4 hours. He gets rewarded for being good at what he does, AND for the expereince it took for him to be able to do it in less time.

I don't see how you can think you got ripped off.. he did what he told you he was going to do, he charged you what he said he was going to charge, and he didn't make up any problems to seperate you from your wallet.. and I'm sure he easily could have done so knowing that the system hadn't been serviced in several years..

Sounds like a guy I'd trust with my business.

 

[Merlin99]

The unit was 12 years old and had never been serviced so I thought I should have it checked. The gal in their office said they do a 15 point check and it usually takes about an hour if nothing is wrong. I thought it was steep but, since I knew the gal in their office, I thought I'd try them once. Never again.
Nice friends I have eh?

Hey Einstein! You're missing the point. I'm trying to help someone else NOT GET SCREWED OK?

I simply expect a fair price or their name will be mud with me and that's what I'm doing. TYVM! $95 is what I expected would be fair but they misled me with their information. It's done now, I'm just making you all aware of what happened so it doesn't happen to you. Bunch of ungratefuls!

I still can't wrap my brain around the concept of someone doing what you wanted, for the price they quoted as being screwed. Would you feel better if the job had taken 4 hours and cost $300, would you think you got more bang for your buck then.

 

[ItalianScallion]

Isn't this how car mechanics make money??

They price out a job by how much time it SHOULD take. If you take your car in to get fixed, and according to "the book" it should take 4 hours.

Now an experienced GOOD mechanic can probably do that 4 hour job in less than an hour and a half, but guess what, he's still going to charge you for the 4 hours. He gets rewarded for being good at what he does, AND for the expereince it took for him to be able to do it in less time.

I don't see how you can think you got ripped off.. he did what he told you he was going to do, he charged you what he said he was going to charge, and he didn't make up any problems to seperate you from your wallet.. and I'm sure he easily could have done so knowing that the system hadn't been serviced in several years..

Sounds like a guy I'd trust with my business.

Yes, car dealerships do this all the time and this is why I have my own mechanic for things I can't do myself. This was my first experience ever with a heating and A/C service company. For the last 25 years I've always had friends do the work for me and I paid them.

I still can't wrap my brain around the concept of someone doing what you wanted, for the price they quoted as being screwed. Would you feel better if the job had taken 4 hours and cost $300, would you think you got more bang for your buck then.

The price Merlin, the price! It's priced for 2 hours IN CASE they run over. This is good for those who have furnace problems and whose service takes 2 or more hours but for me it's robbery.

 

[Baja28]

! $95 is what I expected would be fair but they misled me with their information. It's done now, I'm just making you all aware of what happened so it doesn't happen to you. Bunch of ungratefuls!

Just how big of a moron are you? How the hell did they mislead you? They quoted you the fee, you accepted, they did what they said they'd do. This really is quite simple for most people (except you) to understand.

The price Merlin, the price! It's priced for 2 hours IN CASE they run over. This is good for those who have furnace problems and whose service takes 2 or more hours but for me it's robbery.

See what I said above and go take a sleeping pill.



.

 

[czygvtwkr]

Hey Einstein! You're missing the point. I'm trying to help someone else NOT GET SCREWED OK?

Do you know how stupid you sound? "THey told me it would cost this and then when it did I got mad and threw a hissy fit on the internet....."

 

[dn0121]

Jeeze I pay $205 a year and get 2 inspections out of that. I think that is high but is part of my warranty agreement.

 

[ItalianScallion]

Just how big of a moron are you? How the hell did they mislead you? They quoted you the fee, you accepted, they did what they said they'd do. This really is quite simple for most people (except you) to understand.

Do you know how stupid you sound? "THey told me it would cost this and then when it did I got mad and threw a hissy fit on the internet....."

You both need to learn to read....

 

[SoMdDude]

Olympic Aire out of White Plains?

Funny they have been nothing but professional and courteous to us, we had this company install a new blower, and heat pump 2 springs ago.

Well come this spring, our heat pumps fan outside stops working... we had a 2 year service agreement that came with the new system. If anything happened they would come out the SAME day and check things out and fix it at no charge. So anyway.... the tech gets here.. and checks it all out.. said it was maybe 1lb low on preon and filled it up, got the fan working fine again. Comes back about 10 minutes later and says unfortunately your service agreement ran out 4 days ago.. this would normally cost you $129 w/o an agreement ... "BUT I WENT AHEAD AND HONORED IF FOR YOU.. NO CHARGE TODAY."


Pretty stand up company if you ask me (from my experience with them) I am going to renew the service agreement here very soon for a year which is like $200

 

[citizen_fear]

I think I understand what the dude is saying for the most part. If he had of "hired" them by the hour it would have been more economical, he just said it in a round about way,(kinda like when your kid tells you a story and you have to decipher it) Maybe you should have just asked for a service call to check your system, I dont think the company did anything shady

 

[citizen_fear]

Olympic Aire out of White Plains?

Funny they have been nothing but professional and courteous to us, we had this company install a new blower, and heat pump 2 springs ago.

Well come this spring, our heat pumps fan outside stops working... we had a 2 year service agreement that came with the new system. If anything happened they would come out the SAME day and check things out and fix it at no charge. So anyway.... the tech gets here.. and checks it all out.. said it was maybe 1lb low on preon and filled it up, got the fan working fine again. Comes back about 10 minutes later and says unfortunately your service agreement ran out 4 days ago.. this would normally cost you $129 w/o an agreement ... "BUT I WENT AHEAD AND HONORED IF FOR YOU.. NO CHARGE TODAY."


Pretty stand up company if you ask me (from my experience with them) I am going to renew the service agreement here very soon for a year which is like $200

Now you can call them to come back and find out where the freon leak is...., freon doesn't get used up and if they had to add some either there is a leak on your 2 yr old system or they didn't install it right the first time or the the guy who came out didn't know what the heck is was talking about and now you have a system that has too much freon in it, take your pick.

 

[sunflower]

You got a quote, you accepted that quote..... How did you get screwed? Next time call around.

 

[itsbob]

Yes, car dealerships do this all the time and this is why I have my own mechanic for things I can't do myself. This was my first experience ever with a heating and A/C service company. For the last 25 years I've always had friends do the work for me and I paid them.

So you're just a cheap bastard that probably expects to get paid for your worth and experience, but refuses to pay others the same..