In The Heat of the Night

and the morning, and the afternoon and the evening....

Being a homeowner can sometimes be a complicated job. I often have questions like, "How do you know when your roof needs replacing?" and "How old is too old for a heat pump?" I hesitate to ask those questions of the actual companies that provide such services because I wonder if they are being honest or just trying to sell their products and services.

My current heat pump is 12 years old. I do know that the average replacement age for heat pumps in 10-12 years, so I guess we are living on borrowed time. And that fact reared its ugly head yesterday afternoon when my air conditioner failed.

By midnight the temperature in the house was about 82 degrees, and it continued to climb through the next morning and afternoon. I don't handle the heat well, and Ashley handles it even worse. Extremes in temperature can cause seizures for her.

As soon as I thought the office of my favorite HVAC company opened, I called them. I had heard horror stories from others in my area about having to wait a week for heat pump repairs, and I was panicking. But Amy, the person who answered the phone asked if I would like someone to come by today.

Yes, Amy, that's a great big YES!

Since my house is over 60 years old, Amy and her co-workers and I are on a first name basis. Their company, American Service, is one of those rare companies that still believes in customer service, and most especially, will go out of their way to help a customer with exceptional circumstances - a child with seizures, for example.

Clark, the owner, and others techicians, have spent Christmas day with me in the past, have come on short notice, have helped fight the homebuyers insurance company I used to have, and even performed service pro bono for me when times were tough.

Clark showed up today about 4 hours after I initially called. He had the AC back on within about 45 minutes, and recommended that I start planning to replace the system within the next year or so. No hard sales pitch - no dire warnings - just advice. And I trust him. So I will be saving my pennies in the hopes of replacing this system early next year. But in the meantime, we are all blissfully cool tonight.

Thank you Clark!