The customer who swore our AC unit was making weird noises - turns out she was right after 6 months of me doubting her

I had this elderly lady in Tucson call in every month for half a year saying her compressor had a faint metallic ping. I kept brushing it off as normal wear, figured it was just her being paranoid. Finally sent a tech out last Thursday and he found a loose mounting bolt that could've cracked the whole casing if it rattled loose. She was 100% right the whole time, and I felt like a jerk. Anyone else had a customer you dismissed that turned out to be onto something?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee.drew6d ago

Hear that all the time in HVAC honestly. Got any idea why she was so dead set on that noise though? Like did she have a background in mechanics or something, or was it just one of those gut feelings that wouldn't let go? I've had customers like that where they can't explain it but they just know something's off, and it makes you wonder if we're too quick to blame age or hearing.

taraanderson6d ago

You ever met someone who just has that ear for it? I've seen it too, people who can't explain why but they're dead certain something's wrong. It's like their brain picks up on a pattern we miss. Sometimes you gotta trust the customer's gut even if you can't hear it yourself at first.