Ocean Air

I contacted this business via their online listing (which indicated that they preferred to be contacted by email) because my home A/​C had a small leak and was losing Freon. There was no evidence of a leak around the outdoor condenser unit so I assumed it was the other half of this split system, the evaporator coil. And since the unit was still able to cool the home on any but the hottest of days it wasn’t really an emergency. I described the situation in my email and asked «How much would you estimate to replace the evaporator coil on a 5-​ton R-​22 Goodman system? The air handler is in the attic.»
I received this response: «Hello from Gary the A/​C man. I would need the model and serial number of the electric air handler, because cooling coils are very hard to get or match with an older unit. And many wholesalers do not keep them in stock. Thank You, Gary. PS I need to check my mail more often. About 99.9% of all people who need any a/​c work done or a quote will call me at XXX-​XXXX. Than i could have given you all the information and the price to replace the coil. This is just a wild guess on the cost to replace. From $ 1000 to about $ 1200.And never let any company use the same freon that is in the system now. Only new and fresh.»
I then responded with the model number, serial number, part number of the replacement evaporator coil available online and in stock ($ 395) as well as pictures of the actual unit. I again asked for a quote on replacing the evaporator and an additional quote on simply charging the unit with my estimate that it needed 5 to 6 pounds of R-​22 added.
The owner responded that from my description and looking at the pictures I sent he «knew exactly what the problem is» along with a quote for $ 1,400 to replace the evaporator. He also included a quote for $ 170 if I just wanted the system charged up but that he didn’t recommend that because in his opinion if there was a small leak it would be better to replace everything. He indicated he could come out the next day and to call him in the morning.
I emailed him back stating that I would like to go with the $ 170 system charge for now and see how long the system would hold a charge so I would call him in the morning to arrange for the service call. The very next response from him was a bizarre statement that I needed to call someone else and he couldn’t believe I had emailed him, that he didn’t like for people to email him because he doesn’t want them to «know my screen name».
He then sent an additional email boasting how he had just changed out a system that day and had another system scheduled to replace the following day and that he was an expert who knew what he was doing, leading me to believe that all he is interested in is selling complete systems and not repairs or service.
Luckily I had no problem finding another business willing to come out, charge the unit with 3lbs of Freon for $ 198 (I watched them weigh the jug before they started adding and then when they were finished) and our A/​C is working great again. We agreed we would try that first and then look at replacing the evaporator coil if the system won’t hold a charge.
In my opinion Ocean Air takes advantage of customers who don’t know anything about A/​C and convinces them they need to incur the expense of replacing their system rather than the much less expensive option of repairing it. And based on the irrational behavior of the owner I would not trust this business to come anywhere near my home.