Articles

It's hot in Texas!
By Frank Vest
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The "Food For Thought" section is strangely fitting to me this week. It wasn't intended that way, but the powers above sometimes make things fit too well. :-)

It's Sunday. It's hot. My air conditioner is out. Isn't that enough?!?

Nope. I just called three service places. The first two told me that their Sunday rates are some $90.00 for a service call and up to $160.00 per hour after the 30 minute service call. Whew!! I understand that Sunday isn't a real favorite day to work, but, really!?!

Ok.. I guess it's only fair... Yeah, right!

On the third call, I was ready. "What are your Sunday rates?" I asked. The answer really caught me off guard. "The same as our weekday rates." came the answer. "We charge $45.00 for the service call." My next question was "How much per hour after the service call?", expecting some outrageous rate. The reply was "We don't charge by the hour. We give you an estimate after we determine what is wrong and what is needed to fix it."

Well... After I composed myself (took a couple of seconds), I told them to send the tech. I mean, gee... Even if they charge a high price for parts and such, that shouldn't be close to $160.00 per hour plus parts (which I'm sure would be high priced too). I've messed with air conditioning before and the simplest job can take more than an hour.

My real peeve here is; Why should places be allowed to charge according to the day of the week? I didn't ask for my unit to quit on Sunday. I didn't make the tech take the Sunday shift. I didn't ask the company to be open on Sundays.

I know... it's their world and I am at the disadvantage. If I want it, I have to deal with whatever is charged for the service at the time. Still... It seems wrong to charge different rates for different days just because they can get away with it.

Anyway. That's my input for this week.. You all take care and stay cool if your in a hot part of the world. If your in a cold area, stay warm. Either way, watch out if you need service on your heating or air conditioning. :-)