Choosing the right air conditioning service and repair company can be a challenge. Like most homeowners, you probably haven’t given your heating and cooling system a thought until it fails. When this happens you have a couple of choices, recommendations from friends and family, or the phone directory.

Recommendations are your best bet. If someone you trust knows a company they trust, go with that. But most of us just aren’t that lucky. We are on our own with nothing but advertisements that all promise quick service, low prices, and reliability. But how do you tell which companies actually live up to their promises? It’s not easy, but armed with a few easy tips, you can up your odds of coming out ahead.

First make sure you need a repairman in the first place. Many service calls could be avoided if the homeowner only checked to see if the breaker was turned on. Go to your home’s electrical panel and make sure your air conditioner is turned on. If you don’t know where your electrical service box is, or can’t find the proper breaker, it’s time to call a repair man.

The key things to ask when you call air conditioning companies are: How long they have been in business and what kind of training their technicians have received. Every state, as well as industry groups offer certifications, the company should be able to tell that the repair person that comes to your home has these.

If your cooling system fails on the first hot day of the summer, be wary of a company that says they can have someone there immediately. Changes in weather stress everyone’s heating systems, a good company will be very busy, expect to wait at least a few hours for help. If the company isn’t bust that day there is something wrong.

when the service person arrives they should be reasonably clean, their truck should bear the name of the company you called, and they should be business like. If for any reason you doubt the professionalism of the repair person. You should not be charged for the call if they have not began work.