I tried to explain that choosing a qualified HVAC contractor was like choosing a spouse and that not all service agreements are equal
My parents met in the middle of the Great Depression, got married, and began raising a family that eventually included me. For about 40 years they had to watch every penny until all of us kids were grown. When my father retired, they switched roles as my mother worked and Dad took over the domestic chores. Admittedly, his new “job” was easier with no kids, but he made quite the “house-husband” as he learned to cook and learned how to deal with a stressed-out wife new to the modern workplace. They invested the extra money that mom earned over her short career and they lived quite comfortably for the rest of their lives. I am not jealous of their “Norman Rockwell” type of life. What I envy is that they never once thought of leaving each other during their years together. Mom admitted she thought of homicide a few times, but divorce was not an option. I think their secret was that they had no central HVAC system in their house. We had a coal stoker furnace and a few window AC units, but they never had that large metal contraption. It was not the mechanical issues that kept them from installing a central HVAC system, it was the fear of getting into a long-term service contract that they feared. To them, it seemed like a prenuptial agreement that couples sign before marriage to “plan” for their eventual break-up, or “break-down” of the HVAC unit. I tried to explain that choosing a qualified HVAC contractor was like choosing a spouse and that not all service agreements are equal. He just laughed and said he didn’t need to read the “fine print” with Mom and that he was not going to do it with any HVAC prenuptial.