The First Guess That Anchored His Heat Pump Judgment

A woman called me out to a house in Dover last June. She had a fifteen-year-old air-source heat pump that had stopped cooling. Another company had been there the day before. They had quoted her twenty-eight thousand five hundred dollars for a full replacement. They had told her the system was uneconomical to repair. She had not signed. She had called me for a second opinion. When I walked in she was sitting at the kitchen table with a yellow legal pad. The number twenty-eight thousand five hundred was written across the top of the page in big block letters. Underneath it she had drawn a line, and on the line she had written, dave, second opinion. Below that, she had three columns: must, could, no. I want to talk about that today. About the legal pad, and the number at the top, and what the number was doing to every conversation we had for the next two hours. I diagnosed the system. The problem was the reversing valve. It had a solenoid coil failure. The repair was a part, some refrigerant, and about three hours of labor. Total cost, parts and labor, about nine hundred and forty dollars. The system itself was a Trane, mid-tier, fifteen years old, still in honest shape, no cracked exchanger, no compressor noise, no air handler issues. With the valve fixed I would expect another three to five years of service out of it before I would start a serious conversation about replacement. I told her this. I wrote my number on her legal pad, under her line. Nine hundred forty. She looked at it for a long time. Then she said, but the other company said the system was uneconomical to repair. I said, what did they show you when they said that. She said, they did not show me anything. They told me. Core line: "Some of them quote that high on purpose, knowing the anchoring effect, knowing that even a customer who walks away will use their number as the reference for the next conversation." Give Us A Shout Thanks for tuning in to Hartzell's Heat & Air, HVAC in Kingfisher and central Oklahoma. From Kingfisher to coast-to-coast consulting, we design, install, and maintain smart, efficient systems that deliver year-round comfort. We're family-run and powered by 45+ years of experience. Whether it's AI-powered thermostats, geothermal systems, or classic tune-ups, we deliver upfront pricing, expert care, and warranties that back it all up. 🛠️ Book Online:https://book.housecallpro.com/book/Hartzells-Heat--Air/4a569038b3dc460daf2d5f6497b18351?v2=true🌐 www.hartzellsheatair.com📞 (405) 375-4822 🚛 Trane Comfort Specialist • Mitsubishi Diamond Dealer • ClimateMaster Elite🛡️ VIP Comfort Club • Remote Monitoring • Extended Warranties 📲 Follow us for tips, updates, and real-world installs:YouTube: @hartzellsheatair6003X: https://x.com/HartzellsHVACFacebook: facebook.com/hartzellsheatairLinkedIn: Dave Hartzell Built on trust. Backed by warranty. Designed for comfort.