One of the best ways to choose HVAC contractors is to read reviews for HVAC contractors. Reviews that are written by former customers are a good way to learn more about any company, including an HVAC company. Of course, you must approach reading reviews in the right way to ensure that you are getting a full picture of what reviews for HVAC contractors are really saying.
Start With an Open Mind
It is essential that you start reading reviews for HVAC contractors with an open mind. We all carry biases with us, but sometimes those biases can get in the way of making an informed decision. For example, you may be stuck on the idea that you want a local HVAC heating and cooling company to manage your HVAC needs. Don’t be afraid to look a little further out and read reviews for HVAC contractors from the next town over.
In other words, do not make decisions about the best option without reading the reviews. You may find when you move with an open mind you are able to find a company that will fit your budget and your needs perfectly. Sometimes the cooling services that are best for your needs are a few miles down the road.
Don’t Let One Negative Review Persuade You
When you are reading reviews for HVAC contractors you can almost guarantee that you are going to come across at least one negative review or nearly negative review. Do not let “less than five stars” keep you from your research. There are a lot of reasons why people leave a negative review that may or may not be important to you. People leave negative reviews all the time for heat pump repair companies and others that are not necessarily warranted.
For example, an aggravated customer may leave a negative review because the HVAC professionals did not call before they arrived, and the customer forgot about the appointment and left the house. You never know what someone may find to be worthy of losing a star in a review. Be sure to read all the reviews, especially the negative ones, to get a better idea of what the company you are considering is all about.
Reading negative reviews is an important step in the process of reading company reviews, but do not solely rely on them unless the reviews are consistently negative. If more than 35% of the reviews are negative, then the negative reviews should carry more weight than the positive reviews in your decision-making. In other words, the majority “wins”. If there are more positives than negatives, that is a good sign.
Weigh out all your options carefully and don’t be too quick to jump the gun when you see that there are negative reviews. Sometimes a negative rating is not what it seems until you read the comments. While most consumers agree that they want to get the best value from an HVAC company, which means a job well done for a fair price, some consumers are a little more demanding. Sometimes a review is written in the heat of the moment that is not based on action but based on emotion.
Make Note of the Dates of the Reviews
Another common mistake that you want to avoid when reading reviews for HVAC contractors. You may be reading outdated reviews. Make note of the date that the review was submitted. In some cases, the reviews may be years old. If you make note of the date of the reviews you may see a trend that you did not notice before.
For example, you may see a bunch of recent reviews that are positive, but there may be some older reviews that are negative. This could mean that while the company got off to a rough start, they have worked out the kinks and are providing great mini split heat pump services. Of course, if the earlier reviews were mostly positive and the more recent reviews are mostly negative, it can mean that the company has lost some of its ground.
Businesses make changes all the time that can affect how they do business. Reading the most recent reviews is the best way to get a better understanding of what the company is doing right now.
Is All Positive Reviews a Good Sign?
You may think that all the positive reviews for HVAC contractors mean that this is a top-notch company that you can trust. You may or may not be right. There are a few things that you should consider when you are reading all the glowing reviews. First, where are you reading the reviews? Are you reading customer reviews on the company’s website or are you reading reviews on a third-party website?
If you are reading the reviews on that latter (a third-party website), then you have hit the jackpot. You have found HVAC professionals that have reached the pinnacle of customer satisfaction, and you should hire that company. If you are reading the reviews on the company’s website, consider the source.
This is not to say that if you are reading reviews on an HVAC company’s website, the reviews are not an honest assessment of the company’s work, but you should recognize that the business itself has the capability of controlling what is said about the business on the company’s website. This leads to the next suggestion for reading and interpreting reviews for HVAC contractors.
Where You Read the Reviews Matters
There are several different resources where you can read reviews for HVAC contractors. Some are better than others. For example, if you are reading reviews on a business website, that may not give you an accurate accounting of customer satisfaction. As mentioned prior, businesses control their own websites, and the likelihood that they will post negative reviews on their own website is very low.
A third-party site that has nothing to do with business is the best place to find accurate reviews for an ac cleaning company or a full-service HVAC company. Third-party sites are stand-alone sites that are not affiliated with any business. However, sometimes a third-party site seems like it is not affiliated with a business, but it may be. You have to be critical of what you are looking at.
If the third-party site is running “sponsored ads” that pop up for a heating contractor, then they may be an “affiliate site” and not an independent third-party site. They may be getting paid to promote one company over another. Look for “sponsored ads” on the site to see if you are actually reading reviews at an independent site.
Use Well-Known Consumer Sites to Read Reviews
There are several well-known, established sites that you can ensure you are getting real reviews from that are not tainted by a relationship between the site and the business. For example, Consumer Reports and a relatively new site, Consumer Complaints. These two sites are true third-party sites that post reviews and complaints about your local heating contractor and other businesses in your area.
Reviews are only as good as the website you are reading them on. Ensure validity by going with an established consumer protection group site. Finding the ideal heating contractor by relying on reviews is a great way to find a contractor as long as you are using the right resources.
Look for Complaints
Reading reviews is a great option for locating a geothermal HVAC system service and taking it one step further by looking for complaints that have been filed. The Better Business Bureau is a good resource for finding complaints that have been filed against a company. While reviews will give you a snapshot of the company that you are considering, filed complaints can pull the veil back further.
The BBB has been around since 1912. They are the premier agency when it comes to business ratings. This agency accepts complaints from consumers about businesses. They offer a wealth of information and have a rating system in place to make it easier for consumers to make informed decisions about businesses they are considering.
Ideally, any geothermal HVAC system services that you are considering will have no complaints found when you search the business’s history, and they will have an “A” rating from the BBB. The rating scale at the BBB is an alphabetical scale with A + being the highest rating. For a business to achieve an A+ rating there must be no complaints that have been filed.
Engage Reviewers
Some of the review sites allow you to engage with reviewers and ask questions. Opening a dialogue with someone that has already used the service can help you get your questions answered. It is especially valuable when you find negative reviews to open a dialogue with the reviewer. You may be able to get more insight into what went wrong that led to the negative review.
Engaging reviewers is also a great way to get more details about the costs associated with the service. Most people will respond to your inquiries and be willing to share the details of their experience with the company. Think of it as a sort of “checking references” without actually going through the company to ask for references.
Final Advice on How to Use Reviews to Find an HVAC Contractor
Reviews can provide you with a wealth of information, but it is only a start. Before you make a buying decision about which contractor to choose, you should meet with each contractor you are considering. You will want to get at least three estimates to compare, and you will want to talk to the contractor in person. Reviews are great, but they give you other people’s opinions and historical relationship information.
Some businesses really do listen to consumers and make changes to ensure that moving forward whatever caused a negative review does not happen again. The only way to get a true feel for a business is to meet with a representative. Meeting with a representative can get their side of the story if you have found some negative reviews about the business. You may be able to find out if a negative review was ever resolved. In some cases, a person may leave a review that is negative in the heat of the moment, and the problem is rectified, but the person never goes back to change it because life gets in the way. Don’t be afraid to ask about the review. You will be able to tell a lot about the business by how they answer. If they say “old Miss Jones, was impossible to satisfy”, that may be a red flag. If the company responds with an in-depth answer about what went wrong and what they did to fix it that is a good sign.
In other words, reading reviews about any business is only a part of the process. While about 69% of consumers report that a review carries heavy weight in their buying decisions, according to Consumer Affairs, you should not use reviews only as a way to make your buying decision.
If you are looking for a local HVAC business, there is a wealth of information out there about every business. Reading reviews has some clear advantages in helping you to make the right choice. Read the reviews from a critical and analytical perspective, then connect with the company to learn more about their services. Ask plenty of questions, and it is perfectly fine to bring up any reviews that you have questions about. Reading reviews is the quickest way to get an insider’s look at what a company has to offer and what its historical service record looks like when it comes to customer satisfaction. Get started today.
