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Questions to ask before you hire a heating, cooling or plumbing company
Most people hire whoever calls back first. These questions take a minute each and tell you who you're about to let into your house. Ask every company the same ones.
Print it, keep it by the phone, and ask every company the same questions. Our own answers are on the sheet too, with a link to whoever can confirm each one.
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Can I look up your license?
Virginia's licensing board publishes every contractor's license and its class. It takes a minute.
How to check any company: Ask for the license number, then search it on the Virginia DPOR License Lookup.
SwiftPro: Yes. Virginia Class A, number 2705192276.
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How many reviews do you have, and where?
A 5.0 from forty reviews and a 5.0 from nine hundred are different promises.
How to check any company: Look at the count, not just the stars, on Google and on one other site.
SwiftPro: 5.0 on Google from 884 reviews on our Chantilly profile, plus Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook: 1,116 in all, every one dated.
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Will you show me the reviews that weren't five stars?
Every company has a bad day. What matters is what they did about it.
How to check any company: Ask them. Then sort their Google reviews by lowest rating and read how they answered.
SwiftPro: Yes. Every review under five stars, and the ones where something went wrong first: 36 in all, word for word, with our replies.
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Who owns the company?
Several names you know in Northern Virginia now belong to companies from out of state. You should know who you're dealing with.
How to check any company: Ask who owns it and where they're based. The name on the van doesn't always say.
SwiftPro: Family owned and independent, from our shop in Chantilly.
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Do you do heating, cooling and plumbing?
Water by the furnace can be a condensate line or a plumbing leak. One company that does both means nobody blames the other trade.
How to check any company: Ask whether the same company can fix it either way it turns out.
SwiftPro: Both, with a dedicated heating and cooling team and a dedicated plumbing team.
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Can I see prices before you come out?
A price you can see before anyone comes over is a price you can compare.
How to check any company: Look on their website for prices or an estimator, not just a form.
SwiftPro: Yes. Price estimators for common jobs are on goswiftpro.com.
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Who picks up at two in the morning?
Furnaces and water heaters don't fail on a schedule.
How to check any company: Call their number after hours once and see who answers.
SwiftPro: 24/7 emergency service. 23 reviews mention a night, a weekend or a holiday.
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Does the maker of my equipment list you?
A contractor the manufacturer lists knows how to register and handle that brand's warranty.
How to check any company: Search the contractor on the manufacturer's own dealer finder.
SwiftPro: Trane Comfort Specialist, Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor and Rheem Pro Partner, and Carrier experts.
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Who else vouches for you?
Anyone can praise themselves. Look for who else does.
How to check any company: Check the BBB, Nextdoor and local magazines for the company's name.
SwiftPro: BBB Accredited with an A rating. Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorite in Emerald Chase and Hunters Run. Featured in Northern Virginia Magazine's Best Home Experts.
Then read what people say
What your neighbors are really asking
Ask us all of it
Call, and ask us every one of these
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