Our Marketing Philosophy

At Gunthers Comfort Air, we take pride in our craft. It is difficult to find a heating and cooling service company you can trust. We've worked hard to maintain the high quality of our services for over 100 years. We've learned that the best way to grow our company is to educate our customers and provide them with excellent service at a fair price. Our marketing philosophy is simple: we give our customers the best price we can up front with no pricing games or gimmicks.

To Make The Best Choice, You Need The Best Information

Since an average person typically isn't very familiar with how much heating and cooling services cost, it is difficult to distinguish between the many companies, brands, and services available. Savvy marketers know that because HVAC industry knowledge is limited, they can attract customers with great sounding offers (the bait) that really don't save you any money. In the heating and cooling services industry, the following tactics are used:

• Low or no cost trip or "diagnostic" charges
• Extremely low priced maintenance services
• Bundled services or products with teaser rates (buy a furnace get AC for free)

Low or No Cost Trip or "Diagnostic" Charges

This is the bottom line: it costs time and money to get a technician to your house, and it takes time and money to find what is causing problems with equipment operation. Companies deal with these costs in one of two ways:

• Charge you a trip or diagnostic fee
• Charge you higher repair rates

We feel the most honest route is to provide all the information to you that we can up front, both in the office and in the field. It is easy for you to call several companies and find out how much the trip or diagnostic charge will be, but very difficult to call and find out what the total cost of repairs may be (unless you know exactly what needs to be repaired). Your total repair cost will be the diagnostic charge plus the cost of repairs. Would you rather work with a company that inflates the cost of their repairs to cover diagnostic and other costs (something you can't compare up front), or a company that matches billable charges to work done?

For example: We recently received a call from a customer in the Provo / Orem area looking for our price to replace a motor in her Goodman furnace. The first company she called quoted her around $1000 to replace the motor. She called us, and our total (including a diagnosis charge) came to $405! We were swamped with repair calls and the part took a day to get to us, and they decided to call another company that also quoted around $1000! The total cost to this customer INCLUDING the diagnostic charge was $405 when TWO other companies would charge around $1000 for the same work - a savings of around $595!

Our Service Philosophy:

• Charge a reasonable diagnostic fee and diagnose the problem
• Tell you what is happening
• Explain needed repairs (if any)
• Provide up front pricing
• Allow you to make your decision with no pressure

Extremely Low-Priced Maintenance Services

Performing manufacturer recommended annual maintenance for your heating and cooling equipment takes time and includes the following items:

• Safety checks: safe installation and operating conditions, safe emissions
• Operational check: is the equipment running correctly?
• Standard cleaning: condenser coil, condensate drain piping (at evaporator), flame sensor, burners
• Additional inspection items (visual): evaporator coil, blower housing (if cleaning needed typically billed as additional work)
• System measurements: refrigerant pressure and charge, motor amp draw, capacitor readings, electrical wiring inspection (connections tightened as needed)

It is unlikely that someone performing a maintenance service for half of our cost is providing the same level of service. The following items are more likely:

• They will do some of the above services
• They will frequently recommend replacing some parts
• They will frequently recommend additional "not included" cleaning or maintenance services

Bundled Services or Products With Teaser Rates or Offers

Do you remember purchasing a vacation destination package that sounded like a great deal, but by the time you went on vacation and came home, it ended up costing twice the advertised amount? You've certainly heard the phrase "you get what you pay for." There is great value in comparison shopping to find the best value (the lowest price isn't necessarily the best value).

When you see a teaser deal (such as a free "something" with purchase of a complete heating and cooling system), you need to remember that those "free" things cost money to purchase and/or install. Either the company is being nice and really does want to give you free things, or the company is making money somewhere else that pays for the "free" item. Many companies take installation shortcuts that save money today, but cost you more in the long run.

Places We Frequently See Shortcuts In Low-Quality HVAC Installations

• Restrictive and poorly crafted ductwork (including lower grade building materials)
• Poorly installed ductwork (improperly sealed, loose fittings)
• Improper equipment AND ductwork sizing (usually equipment is too big and ductwork is too small)
• Building code requirements (often safety related violations)
• No city permit pulled for proper inspection
• Low-quality equipment

Common Problems Caused By a Low-Quality HVAC System Installation

• Decreased system capacity (typically from poorly designed and restrictive ductwork), which lowers the efficiency of your system and can cause your equipment to run shorter or longer than necessary
• Leaky ductwork and filter bypass - this leads to dirty blowers and coils, which frequently leads to restricted airflow, which leads to iced up AC operation, which can lead to water leakage, which can damage your home and equipment
• Increased strain on critical components, leading to premature parts failure
• Noisy system operation
• Safety concerns with combustion exhaust
• Expensive replacement parts

Gunthers Comfort Air Has High-Quality Installation Standards

Many years ago, Orville Gunther made an important strategic company decision: focus on providing customers with quality material, equipment, and labor. He wanted Gunthers to be the best. Today, we still firmly believe in this philosophy. We know there is great value in having your system installed properly, up to current building code standards, and inspected by the city you live in.

How Gunthers Overcomes Common Utah HVAC Problems

• We spend the time up front calculating exactly what size of equipment and ductwork your home needs. This calculation is unique for your home and for our climate in Utah.
• We ensure your system has the airflow needed for proper system operation - many existing installations have insufficient return air.
• We properly seal all accessible ductwork.
• We install airflow efficient fittings (45 degree fittings, turning vanes on 90 degree, etc). This reduces air turbulence in your ductwork and maximizes the efficiency and effectiveness of your heating and cooling systems.
• We install easy to use and air tight filter boxes to eliminate filter bypass (filter bypass: when unfiltered air bypasses the filter and goes through your heating and cooling equipment).
• We install your equipment using current building code standards (we bring deficient installations up to code as required).
• We pay for a proper city permit so you can have the installation inspected by the city you live in.