One of the saddest experiences during my time in this trade occurred some 7 years ago. I got a call to do a basic AC inspection. The homeowner—a woman in her early 60s—was getting ready to sell the house and wanted everything squared away for the buyers. Nothing out of the ordinary. I showed up expecting a routine once-over, check the charge, test the electrical.
But when I got there and flipped on the thermostat, nothing happened.
I went out to the condenser and opened it up, unsure what I’d find wrong, given the silence. But what I found was… simple. The capacitor was completely shot. Swollen like a soda can left in a freezer. A $20 part.
I went back in and told her what I’d found, and that I could have the whole thing running again—parts, labor, everything—for $119.
She just looked at me for a second, then sat down on the edge of the couch and started crying.
Turns out, her AC had stopped working four years ago. She’d called out three different HVAC companies over that time. Each one told her the same thing: the system was dead and needed to be replaced—quotes ranging from $6,000 to $8,000. She couldn’t afford that kind of expense, so she lived through four summers without her AC.
All because no one took the time to check the capacitor, or even worse, lied to her.
I got it fixed that day, and the cold air came roaring back like it had been waiting for the green light.
Moments like that stick with you. It’s easy to get caught up in the bigger jobs and the complex diagnostics, but sometimes it’s just about showing up, doing the basics right, and treating people honestly.
Not every fix needs to break the bank. And sometimes the best thing you can bring to a service call isn’t your tools—it’s treating the client like it was your own mother.