What the $15 a Month Preferred Service Agreement Covers

Maintenance plans can be hard to evaluate. The brochure lists a handful of benefits, the price is a monthly number, and it's not always clear what you're actually getting. So here's the Crossway Mechanical Preferred Service Agreement, laid out piece by piece.

The price

The agreement is $15.00 per month or $180 per year. Twelve months at $15 adds up to $180, so paying yearly costs the same as paying monthly. Pick whichever is easier for you.

What's included

These are the benefits as published on our service plan page:

• Priority service over non agreement clients
• A $47.50 service fee during normal business hours, 7:30 am to 5 pm
• 15% off all repairs
• 5% off replacement equipment
• Automatic reminders when it's time for inspections, for cooling and heating
• A complete inspection
• Lubricate, adjust and safety test of specified equipment
• Maintenance performed by factory trained technicians

Now let's go through what each one means in practice.

Priority service

The plan describes this as "Go to the front of the line." In the Houston area, the hottest weeks of summer and the first cold snap of winter are when everyone's system fails at once. Members are scheduled ahead of non-members, which matters most on exactly those days.

The $47.50 service fee

The plan lists a service fee of $47.50 during normal business hours, 7:30 am to 5 pm. That's the number to remember when something stops working and you need a technician at the house. Our office keeps those hours, and we also take emergency calls around the clock, so call even if it's after five.

Discounts on repairs and equipment

Members get 15% off all repairs and 5% off replacement equipment. Read that closely: these are discounts, not free repairs. The published list doesn't promise to cover the cost of parts or labor, so if you have a specific situation in mind, call the office and ask how it would be handled.

The equipment discount is smaller because a new system is a much larger purchase, but 5% off a big job is still a real number. If you're already weighing a replacement, mention your membership when you ask for a quote.

Reminders, inspections and tune-ups

This is the part of the plan that does the long-term work. We contact you automatically when it's time for an inspection, for cooling, heating or both. Most people mean to schedule a tune-up and never get to it, so having the reminder come to you matters.

The visit itself includes a complete inspection, plus lubricating, adjusting and safety testing the equipment covered. Our plan page puts it this way: "routine maintenance prolongs the life of the equipment and can reduce energy costs."

On a Gulf Coast system that runs most of the year, there's a lot to look at. Coils collect dirt, condensate drains clog, electrical connections loosen, and safety switches need to be tested before they're needed. Catching one of those early is the cheap way to find it.

Factory trained technicians

The plan states that "Factory trained technicians will perform all maintenance." That's a statement about who does the work, and it's reasonable to ask the technician at your door about their training.

About the energy savings claim

Our plan page says regular service "can save you thousands of dollars over the long haul in energy costs. In fact, as much as 30% per year!" That's our own claim about what regular service can do, and it isn't a guarantee for any particular home.

Real savings depend on your equipment, its age and condition, your ductwork, how you set your thermostat and how often the system runs. A clean, well-adjusted system generally runs more efficiently than a neglected one. Beyond that, we'd rather you judge it by your own bills.

Who it fits

If your system runs hard most of the year, if you've been putting off tune-ups, or if you'd like to be at the front of the line when it's 100 degrees out, the plan is built for that. If you rent or plan to replace the equipment soon, run through the numbers before you sign up.

Do the arithmetic for your own house. Think about how many visits you'd normally pay for in a year, and what the service fee and discounts would do to those bills. The price is $180 a year, so it doesn't take much to see whether it makes sense.

The full list is on /services/preferred-service-agreement, or call 832-250-6191 and ask Ray any questions about how it works.