I Want What I Paid For

When we first moved into our house, we paid to have a new furnace and Central Air System installed. Because the heat is carried throughout the house using a forced air system, it was important that we had a humidifier installed with the system. The system was installed in May and we could not be happier, until the winter.

When the weather got colder, I started to wake up with nosebleeds, and I started to feel under the weather. This is odd because I rarely get sick. When we checked our thermostat, we saw that humidity was less than 20% in the house. My wife suggested that we go downstairs and adjust the humidifier. After 30 minutes, we still could not find the humidifier. W went to the file cabinet, retrieved the contract that we had with the HVAC installation company, determined the make and brand of the humidifier, and we searched the model on the internet. Now that we knew what it looked like, we realized that it was never installed. Just to be sure, we hired a plumber to come in and install a new shut-off valve. While he was here, we asked him about a humidifier system. He gave us a quote and exactly where he would install it. Now we had back up information, a copy of our contract with the installation company, and a quote for a humidifier.

I called up the original installation company and informed them that we were having a problem with our humidity levels and that we were unable to find the humidifier that was supposed to be installed with the new system. The company sent out the same technicians who worked on the house. They went down to look at their work. After a few seconds, they realized their mistake. They told me that they had never installed the humidifier, and asked to see a copy of the contract. When I showed them the contract, they scratched their heads and told me that they owed me a humidifier. They apologized for the inconvenience. The new humidifier was installed two days later. For original workmanship, they failed the interview. For character and owning up to their mistakes, they passed the interview. I am not sure if we will hire them again. However, I appreciate the character they showed by owning up to their mistake and fixing the problem.