A/C Cleaning
Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:06 pm
So every 6 months we schedule a service appointment for A/C cleaning and maintenance because our 3 units here get daily use and do collect an amazing amount of dust and gunk in the drain lines especially. The first crew (from the service division of HomePro, our version of Home Depot) was spot on, excellent service, came in a full HomePro labeled truck with 3 uniformed staff members, did everything by the book. This was at that time a new service offering from HomePro and I was quite pleased with their work.
Since the first visit, seemingly the service, while still being effective in cleaning, seems like corners are being cut (bit of mess on the floor..no big deal..only water, not sending someone out back on a ladder to clean the external unit but instead spraying and vacuuming only whilst hanging out the windows, etc). No biggie....BUT ...
Had the service team in yesterday, what looked like a husband and wife couple, came on a motorcycle with a HomePro branded Toolboox and ladder strapped to the back. None of this was of any concern and they still did the cleaning satisfactorily except....while I was not watching I noticed the guy starting to spray pressurized water into the AC unit without having even attempted to shut off the breaker (which I conveniently had labeled and left door open on the box for them)...now I'm not an electrical genius (or even competent) but it would seem to me that shutting down power before spraying water into an electrical appliance while you're standing on a ladder might be a good idea. I pointed it out to him and then shut it down for them.
My conclusion is that HomePro (much like Amazon) has started contracting with non employees performing these services without proper safety training and without much supervision. I guess once a service offering becomes successful the need to meet the demand for calls means that safety and details fall down in the mix. I hope this guy doesn't die before someone sends him to a safety course !
BTW...here is the MotorCycle service bin:
Since the first visit, seemingly the service, while still being effective in cleaning, seems like corners are being cut (bit of mess on the floor..no big deal..only water, not sending someone out back on a ladder to clean the external unit but instead spraying and vacuuming only whilst hanging out the windows, etc). No biggie....BUT ...
Had the service team in yesterday, what looked like a husband and wife couple, came on a motorcycle with a HomePro branded Toolboox and ladder strapped to the back. None of this was of any concern and they still did the cleaning satisfactorily except....while I was not watching I noticed the guy starting to spray pressurized water into the AC unit without having even attempted to shut off the breaker (which I conveniently had labeled and left door open on the box for them)...now I'm not an electrical genius (or even competent) but it would seem to me that shutting down power before spraying water into an electrical appliance while you're standing on a ladder might be a good idea. I pointed it out to him and then shut it down for them.
My conclusion is that HomePro (much like Amazon) has started contracting with non employees performing these services without proper safety training and without much supervision. I guess once a service offering becomes successful the need to meet the demand for calls means that safety and details fall down in the mix. I hope this guy doesn't die before someone sends him to a safety course !
BTW...here is the MotorCycle service bin: