SantaAir Heating and Air

Firstly, thank you so much for giving us feedback so we have a better idea of what we can do to improve our customer experience. I agree that our price has been increasing just like anything else, especially in the last couple of years. We need to keep the price reasonable so it can help SantaAir and our team to stay in business and provide the service to our customers. Unfortunately, since everyone is costing more, we have to increase our price accordingly so we will not have to cut corners to do the job. That means we still do the great work and keep investing in our team, and our equipment and use more quality parts for the job.

I believe there's some misunderstanding or something that doesn't look right from the history that you mentioned, you may have got someone else then thought it's us. We first did the business with you from 07/012021. I check our record and there's some difference, could you check if everything you got is from us or someone else?

1. 1st visit, you mentioned the low setting thermostat but on our record, it's the refrigerant issue, no issue with the thermostat setting. It's an inexpensive fix anyway.

(Our history: AC repair, 07/01/2020 old house in Durham
The system was low charge on refrigerant, recharge refrigerant/recalibrate with leak stop)


2. 2nd visit, you mentioned the heat issue and you're told to replace the system. From our record, it's the AC repair, not heat and we did some work on it then the AC work again. Besides, Whoever works with us knows that we're not a fan of replacing the system. Replacement is the last resource, we'll try to fix it when it's possible or worth it and almost never recommend anyone replacing when the system that not so old or not having the really big issue, especially for the 8 year old system

(Our record: AC repair, 06/01/ 2021, old house in Durham

- high-pressure sensor opened because of the condenser coil is so dirty
- checked zone damper motors, still okay
- freon is still doing ok
- Deep clean the condenser coil
- replaced regular capacitor 35/5 (this was not the issue but it's a common issue and easy to fail when it works so hard/overheats, you pick the 2nd option that included this job))

3. 3rd visit: 03/06/2023 Heat repair, new house in Raleigh, This one has some correct information, yes, you did have the bad thermostat and also with other issues (sign of issue on the ignitor and low current on the flame safety sensor) then you decided to do them all (not just replace the thermostat). The other system also had some issues but it’s intermittent and came back on when I was there so we didn’t do anything. Our service call fee is $99+tax and free with the repair by the way.

(Our record: both 2 furnaces stopped working, did 2 system diagnostics and found:

Downstairs 2009 Lennox: No ignition, test and it works but found the issue:
1. Bad Thermostat (Nest lite), it turns AC on when call for heat
2. High resistance on the ignitor
3. Low current on the flame sensor

Upstairs 2018 York: (more detail here but it’s too long, I can’t put more here, we do nothing anyway)

The downstairs issue is obvious, upstairs issues come and go.

The customer wants to do the bare minimum for the downstairs to take care of all the issues since it's old and replace it whenever it has another issue. For upstairs, it came back on, DO NOTHING now.)

About the upselling, I understand your feelings about that. I thought the same way and we used to bandage everything only and there's many times we have to come back just a few months later to fix another issue that should have been avoided if we had done more preventative repair on the first visit. More importantly, the damage is more when we do it later. Therefore, we currently usually offer several options from the bandaid to the higher options that allow us to do more preventative repairs and the customer can pick anything that fits their situation with no pressure at all (You may have to avoid the 2nd repair if you pick the preventative repair on the first visit). I'm so sorry that the way we do with more options that will help you to prevent more issues makes you feel that way but you have control over what you want or do not want to do without any pressure. There’s always a tradeoff if you pick one option or another

About the speed of doing the job, yes, I totally agree about this. We want to do it carefully and make sure we did a thorough diagnostic and repairs. We also work with gas, electric, water, etc, and we can't afford to make any mistakes and it takes us some extra time and effort to do it. Even we're highly skilled and can perform much faster than someone else, it still takes time to do it properly :).

Hope that you have a chance to read through these and compare with your record and find out the reasonable answer. SantaAir is here to do high quality work for our valued customers who are happy to invest in their system and on us.

Merry Christmas :)

Hello Bodh,

I am deeply sorry that your experience with your AC repair since July 2023 has been frustrating.

We recognize that you expect affordable service, especially when you have invested in a home warranty company, only to find they are unable to provide or find someone competent to address your issue.

I would like to clarify two things: first, the price was $535 plus tax, totaling $573.79—not $700 as you mentioned. Secondly, the service call fee was $99—not $135 as you stated. Additionally, we performed more extensive work than merely replacing with a cheap capacitor. We used a premium one, far surpassing the industry standard that frequently fails.

You might have overlooked mentioning that when we arrived, your system was non-functional. You had been advised by someone else to replace the compressor, which would cost thousands of dollars, but we made an effort to save it for you.

You mentioned having difficulty finding available service providers, so it was fortunate that we could arrive within two hours and get your system up and running without an emergency charge.

Another important point: we discussed all options and answered your questions thoroughly before you decided to proceed with the repair. There was no pressure from our side; you made an informed decision after receiving comprehensive information from us.

It's also worth mentioning that our work involves electricity and gas, requiring our full attention for safety and accurate diagnostics. While we're happy to discuss the job with you, having someone watch over our shoulders can be counterproductive.

Here's a summary of the services provided:

Voltage Enhancement System Rejuvenation
- Replacement of the premium turbo dual capacitor
- Voltage and current testing for all elements on the condenser
- Termination service
- Cooling down the overheated compressor and fan motor
- Condenser coil cleaning
- Performance and safety testing
- 30-day limited warranty

We aim not to be the cheapest but to ensure our prices reflect the quality of our service and our commitment to ethical and responsible work practices. Of course, you must choose what you believe is best for your home. If a home warranty meets your needs better, we wish you well. However, it's curious that you still sought our services despite being satisfied with your home warranty.

Enjoy the beautiful weather :)