Anyone know about this service tech move?
On Friday a good customers bother calls me up saying his furnace has been deemed dead and was curious if I could give a second opinion. "The Comfort People" otherwise known as the sales people were scheduled for Monday. The diagnosing company has the cartoon guys with tools on their vans and flags on their shirts. I offered to look that night as I needed to measure up a water heater swap. I opened the furnace to find these rubber southern cockroaches placed around the gas valve and blower cabinet. At first I though they were real but I've never seen a bug like that in NorCal. in 30 years. Thermostat and gas valve wires were all pulled and I read a write up about a bad (intermittent) gas valve accompanied by 45 pictures. A lawyer technique: Overwhelm and confuse them with info and discovery. 80% Trane burner tubes crossovers tend to make little heat/rust spots on the sides of the manifold mount brackets. This was indicated as very bad. A sign that the heater was damaged by over heating. There was never a high limit code. The problem was a failed 3 month old Nest refusing to charge despite have good voltage and a C wire. The gas valve works great. My guess is the tech knew that. Are the roaches a new industry thing to scare people? Keep them from DIY ing or making other companies not want to look at a nasty job? The logic and risk vs reward judgment is child like.
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Hmm, This looks on the surface like plain ole' fraud. I'd be thinking about filing a complaint with the Contractor's State License Board. Maybe see if an attorney would be willing to take a percentage of the judgement to take them to court. Stuff like this reflects badly on the trades. Maybe have a local journalist call the buggy ones for a service call
Yours, Larry4 -
This!Larry Weingarten said:Hmm, This looks on the surface like plain ole' fraud. I'd be thinking about filing a complaint with the Contractor's State License Board. Maybe see if an attorney would be willing to take a percentage of the judgement to take them to court. Stuff like this reflects badly on the trades. Maybe have a local journalist call the buggy ones for a service call
Yours, LarryAll Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting0 -
You'd need a "Caught on Camera" to nail them.... IMHO nailOne way to get familiar something you know nothing about is to ask a really smart person a really stupid question0
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Or a practical joker. The novelty store was out of rubber snakes🤔Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream0 -
I thought about calling the company and talking about it but It's not worth it. Making yourself the target of the ethically challenged isn't wise if it's not necessary. Maybe putting them in the mail with an unidentified note questioning if this is how they operate. Likely denials and no proof they left the rubber bugs there would lead to nowhere good. I know my customer wouldn't want to high profile it. Laugh it off. One word: Commissions. The shake down hustlers are many, using proven trained boarder line techniques. This looks like a not so smart overzealous creative.1
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Maybe it was supposed o be a surprise for the installation crew and they hadn't counted on them getting a second opinion from someone competent.0
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mattmia2 said:Maybe it was supposed o be a surprise for the installation crew and they hadn't counted on them getting a second opinion from someone competent.One way to get familiar something you know nothing about is to ask a really smart person a really stupid question1
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While I don't understand the rubber roaches, never underestimate the power of plain old incompetence. Perhaps the tech was grabbing a doughnut when the Advanced Diagnostics slide was shown during his onboarding.0
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@Teemok
I agree that you shouldn't put a target on your back. You gain nothing and there are risks involved.
Should be a way to nab them though. Maybe an investigative reporter if there was one you could trust.
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Larry Weingarten said:
Hmm, This looks on the surface like plain ole' fraud. I'd be thinking about filing a complaint with the Contractor's State License Board. Maybe see if an attorney would be willing to take a percentage of the judgement to take them to court. Stuff like this reflects badly on the trades. Maybe have a local journalist call the buggy ones for a service call
Yours, Larry
It does, and it's not fair to those who run an honest business.
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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Fair seems an ask beyond modern reason. I'm in a unique market: 8th highest median income and 2nd highest income per capita country in the US. The need/ability to pay /predator/pray balance makes for strange relationships. Company and homes turnovers adds to the predatory environment. I'd sooner attempt to stop congressional insider trading than be a trades justice enforcer here. I'm not getting between the hustler and his mark. The journalists report would say: Majority of big ad shops are regularly taking advantage of customers in shady ways. It's not really news. We pay a lot more for gasoline as well it's an accepted cost of living in this location. What the markets will bear is scripture. Fraudsters gonna fraud. Maybe it's just a bad apple...yeah right. Buyer beware. Pay a premium for honesty or do the dance with the wolves.0
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Well you know the company better than we do, so.. hard to tell from our perspective.
Could it be a a simple prank?
Bugs to keep the mice at bay?
There is always at least two sides to every story. Innocent until proven guilty I suppose.
This statement seems like a reach?
The journalists report would say: Majority of big ad shops are regularly taking advantage of customers in shady ways. It's not really news
Regardless, every homeowner should get multiple opinions on mechanical repairs or replacements.Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream0 -
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@hot_rod Always two sides to a story, LOL. Facts in quantum superposition, if that isn't the spirit of the times. A reach? It's just my opinion, speculation, about what real investigative work would find. I'm not interested in airing loads of common state of the industry dirt on a public forum. Rest assured your sensibilities would be injured. I just wanted to know if the bugs thing is common. It seems it's not and that's good.0
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Do you know for sure who placed the bugs there? That’s who I would ask the reason for them.Not a journalist.And I pretty certain you don’t have much insight into my sensibility. Or if they could be injured🤓
Since we have never met. LOLBob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream1 -
The bugs aren't common, but if you ever find a 4" crescent wrench near a furnace or boiler it is mine and I want it back 😂Teemok said:@hot_rod Always two sides to a story, LOL. Facts in quantum superposition, if that isn't the spirit of the times. A reach? It's just my opinion, speculation, about what real investigative work would find. I'm not interested in airing loads of common state of the industry dirt on a public forum. Rest assured your sensibilities would be injured. I just wanted to know if the bugs thing is common. It seems it's not and that's good.
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Those are very collectable. Here is a rare one.GGross said:if you ever find a 4" crescent wrench near a furnace or boiler it is mine and I want it back 😂
http://www.alloy-artifacts.org/mckaig-hatch.html
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Are the 4" versions you can buy now, the overall or handle length? The 4" are a handy tool for tight work.WMno57 said:
Those are very collectable. Here is a rare one.GGross said:if you ever find a 4" crescent wrench near a furnace or boiler it is mine and I want it back 😂
http://www.alloy-artifacts.org/mckaig-hatch.html
I though I had one, but now I can't find itBob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream0
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