You Really do only get what you pay for!

[Jack Peterson]

So After 2+ years and much Cleaning I had to have Polaris up Today to Investigate a Problem with our A/C. It appears that when the Cleaning has been done (By the same man each time & pretty Good, Too much water and not enough Drying of the Washed Parts, This had now turned to some mildew and corrosion  of wiring and a burnt out Motor vave in the outside unit. So we have decided that we will in future go to the main people for servicing & Cleaning. I am not saying our usual man is not good because he is BUT and there is always a but, He always seems in a rush and we have ended up with the product of this rushed work. So working out all the costs we can actually save a little as we now only need 3 cleans a year (Albeit dearer) instead of the 6 we have been having done at a lesser cost overall for the year. The Polaris van of course carried spares as the Cleaner did not and although he is an installer just did not have the fault finding equipment, we do live and learn and although he may or not miss our Job he quite understands or reasons for going to the main Contractor.

 All in all a good day so far cos I really do need the A/C in the Room 

[JJReyes]

Does your air-conditioner maintenance man request for a garden hose?  He is watering everything including the motor.  A damp cloth would suffice to remove excess dust.  When using a garden hose, make sure it is to clean the air filter only, assuming the plan is to re-use it rather than install a new, clean filter.

[Dave Hounddriver]

9 hours ago, JJReyes said:

Does your air-conditioner maintenance man request for a garden hose?

High pressure washer with pump.  Every aircon cleaner guy (3 to 4 times a year for 10 years) has done it that way.  This is Philippines.  That is how they do it here.  You should see the huge bathtub they bring in to catch the run off water (unless they can remove and clean the unit somewhere the tub is not needed)

It has worked fine for a decade with multiple air cons.  So well that I had no idea they were doing it wrong.  And I'm not gonna tell them they are doing it wrong.  Give my your number and I'll tell these guys who do it for a living to call you.  YOU tell them they are doing it wrong 

[JJReyes]

7 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

It has worked fine for a decade with multiple air cons.  So well that I had no idea they were doing it wrong.  And I'm not gonna tell them they are doing it wrong.  Give my your number and I'll tell these guys who do it for a living to call you.  YOU tell them they are doing it wrong 

They will want me to have a toll free number.  Let me see if I can get one.  But don't wait and this takes time.  Maybe they can google for the information

[Gerald Glatt]

3 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

They will want me to have a toll free number.  Let me see if I can get one.  But don't wait and this takes time.  Maybe they can google for the information

If they open their email

[sonjack2847]

My friend had his motorbike serviced at a local shop to save money and they were cheaper than the main dealer.They cracked the sump pan when putting the drain plug back. They just shrugged their shoulders and were not interested.This mistake cost him quite a few thousand pesos for a new sump pan.He would make fun of me for taking mine to a Honda main dealer at a cost of 1k per full service,he has stopped doing that now.So it doesn`t always pay to use a cheaper service.

[Dave Hounddriver]

4 minutes ago, sonjack2847 said:

He would make fun of me for taking mine to a Honda main dealer

I believe you got lucky.  I have heard horror stories of "main dealers" screwing up and they also shrug and say something like "sorry, our mistake so we won't charge you for screwing up"

I admit though, that the main dealers are less likely to screw up and if it is on warranty you may have a chance.  But again, my experiences with warranty work on various appliance and electronic items would fill a horror novel. I have no experience with motorbike warranty.  Perhaps they are better.

Let me add one more point.  The back yard motorcycle mechanics often got their training by working at one of the main dealers and found out they could make more money doing the same thing in their back yard.

Obviously I am a fan of certain smaller shops.  As always, YMMV.

[sonjack2847]

1 hour ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I believe you got lucky.  I have heard horror stories of "main dealers" screwing up and they also shrug and say something like "sorry, our mistake so we won't charge you for screwing up"

I admit though, that the main dealers are less likely to screw up and if it is on warranty you may have a chance.  But again, my experiences with warranty work on various appliance and electronic items would fill a horror novel. I have no experience with motorbike warranty.  Perhaps they are better.

Let me add one more point.  The back yard motorcycle mechanics often got their training by working at one of the main dealers and found out they could make more money doing the same thing in their back yard.

Obviously I am a fan of certain smaller shops.  As always, YMMV.

Yes Dave in theory you should be much safer in the main dealer but as with everything it can turn into a nightmare no matter who you use.