Being an Un-Expert

I am an un-expert (c) at a lot of things in life, and yes, I'm willing to admit it.  Chances are, you are too.  I'm pretty much ok with not knowing everything about everything EXCEPT when it means people who are 'so-called' experts take advantage of me.  But therein lies the problem...if you're not an expert, how do you know if they are taking advantage of you or not? 

Odd post? It's about to make sense. 

I had our A/C units serviced a few weeks ago, you know, just the basic spring check-up to make sure everything was in order before they start working over-time in our 100 degree plus summer.  I used Kozy Air Conditioning Services because they sent out a mailer **Special:  Two units serviced for only $89.99**  I should have been skeptical from the start.  Let me translate for you:  'Special' from an A/C company (or probably most service-based companies) means 'Let us come into your home and then take advantage of you.'  How?  Well, my diagnosis from my service call was that at a bare-minimum, I needed to have both inside units thoroughly cleaned at $550 each (I know I'm not great at math, but let me add that for you: $1,100).  In fact, the service man went so far as to say that he wouldn't even turn on our A/C without having this done because if we did, it would blow our outside units and we'd have to spend thousands replacing them.  Once I told him that was not going to clean both units right now, he hedged a bit and confessed that, well, maybe I just needed to do it to the downstairs unit.  Hum... a little fishy? 

Enter A/C service call #2.

I called S&E service and had them service our units, and, what do you know??  Totally different diagnosis.  I confessed and told the man what had gone on from my first check-up and he said that first of all, the inside unit breaking would not cause the outside unit to blow, ever.  Secondly, he thought it was ridiculous to have the unit cleaned for $550 and that it wasn't even necessary.  Basically, one of our inside units is getting old and we'll have to replace the blower (for about $600) but it could be a week or it could be a year, and cleaning it would do nothing to 'save' it. 

So, there you go.  What have we learned?  First, I am an un-expert in air-conditioning units.  Secondly, people will take advantage of you if they think they can.  And third, always get a second opinion.

Another area I'm an un-expert in - cars - but we'll have to cover that in another post; I'm worn out.

Kozy, I hope people read this post and opt out of your 'special check-up'...I'm just sayin'... karma.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  Thank you to our service men, women and vets!