He booked the most expensive job we do. We advised against it.
Twenty years with one company, then the standards slipped
This customer had used the same servicing company for 20 years. The last few visits had gotten sloppy, so he started looking around. He found us through our TikTok videos, read the reviews, and booked the most tedious job on our menu: a full chemical overhaul for his three units and compressor.
Four of our technicians arrived on time, ready for a strip-down that usually takes the better part of a morning. Then they actually looked at the units.
Twenty-year-old units change the maths
The system was over 20 years old. A chemical overhaul means dismantling each fan coil down to its smallest parts, washing every component separately, and reassembling everything. On units this age, plastics turn brittle, fasteners seize, and seals that have held for two decades do not always survive being disturbed. The risk of creating a fault during the strip-down was higher than anything the overhaul would fix.
An overhaul is the right call when a unit has years of life left and the build-up is too deep for normal servicing. That was not this system. Recommending it anyway would have earned us four times the invoice, and quite possibly a breakdown that was not there before we touched it.
A standard service and a gas top-up instead
We advised him against the overhaul he had booked, and explained exactly why. What his system actually needed was a standard service on all three units and a gas top-up for the compressor: $25 per unit and $89 for the gas, $169 in total plus GST. Roughly a quarter of what he was prepared to spend.
The team of four went into what he called turbo mode: aircon serviced, gas topped up, floor and toilet wiped down, everything done in 45 minutes.
"After accessing my 3 units and compressor, they advised me against doing any standard or overall chemical servicing. Due to the age of my 20+ years AC, it was rather risky to strip the units down... I was impressed by their evaluations and honest feedback on what should be done."
Cold air again, and a customer who says he is coming back
The aircon was, in his words, spitting cold air again. We gave up the biggest invoice on our price list and earned something worth more: a customer who spent 20 years with one company and now says Lion City is his top choice for the next one. Credit to Abu, Rafiqul and the team for making the honest call without hesitation.
The takeaway for homeowners
If your aircon is 20 or more years old and a company quotes you a full chemical overhaul without inspecting it first, ask them what the strip-down does to brittle plastics and old seals. The most expensive service is not automatically the right one. A company you can trust will sometimes tell you to spend less.
Quoted a big job? Get a second opinion first
We will tell you what your system actually needs, even when the honest answer is a smaller bill for us. Same-day appointments, transparent pricing, no upselling.