The Heat Shop vs Specialized

Summary

The top two air conditioning installation companies in the Geelong region according to our reviews, both The Heat Shop and Specialized Heating & Cooling provide quality installation and repairs. The Heat Shop and Specialized Heating & Cooling each have over 30 years of industry experience and knowledge, making them two of the longest running businesses to service Geelong and its surrounding areas.

Of the two, The Heat Shop is the leading air conditioning installation company in the Geelong area, scoring highly in all relevant categories. Specialized Heating & Cooling also rated highly in all facets of our air conditioning installation reviews, matching The Heat Shop’s Compare Air Conditioning Rating of 4.5 out of five. They differ on certain fronts, with The Heat Shop servicing apartments under certain conditions whereas Specialized Heating & Cooling does not. Specialized Heating & Cooling is the only one of the two to offer weekend opening hours and financing options. As the top two in the Geelong region, either would be a great choice in terms of air conditioning installation company, depending on customer preferences and needs.

Price

Each company offer reasonable and cost-effective prices on their installations and repairs, with Specialized Heating & Cooling’s price rates falling within the mid-range when compared to other top 5 air conditioning installation companies in the region. This makes them slightly less cost effective than The Heat Shop who received a top score of 5 out of 5 for cost-effectiveness for the region, placing them equal first for cost-effectiveness. Specialized Heating & Cooling weren’t far behind with a solid cost-effectiveness score of 4 out of 5.

The Heat Shop is stricter on pricing, but will discuss this aspect further once a quote is generated. They do not offer discounts as a matter of course but our review team found that they may consider volume discounts when completing larger jobs and are open to price matching quotes from other installation companies if the details of the quote are the same. Price matching will also be considered by Specialized Heating & Cooling.

Offering reasonable and cost-effective prices Specialized Heating & Cooling do not offer specific deals on certain brands or cash back opportunities outright. They are, however, able to discuss any potential cash back promotional opportunities during the quotes process. Generally Specialized Heating & Cooling offer original quotes that are fairly reasonable and offer good value for money.

In terms of price The Heat Shop are slightly ahead in that they offer a high level of cost-effectiveness, with the ability to possibly apply volume discounts and price matching on top of their already low pricing.

Customer Service

The Heat Shop and Specialized Heating & Cooling rate highly on customer service, with Specialized Heating & Cooling scoring 4.3 out of 5 for both customer service by phone and email and The Heat Shop scoring slightly lower with 4 out of 5.

When these scores are broken down, Specialized Heating & Cooling scored a little higher for their customer service by phone with the highest score for the region at 9 out of 10, with an 8 out of 10 for customer service via email. Comparatively The Heat Shop weren’t far behind, scoring 8 out of 10 for both their phone and email customer service.

Specialized Heating & Cooling are extremely prompt in their response to customer enquiries, generally answering within a 24-hour timeframe, which gives them a fastest rating. They also put an emphasis on making the client feel supported during the quotation and installation process, which was impressive. Specialized Heating & Cooling generally respond to initial email requests within 6-24 hours, providing a full quote for customers within a day of their request. By comparison The Heat Shop had a fast rating, generally acknowledging initial email requests within 24 – 48 hours and delivering quotes to customers also within 24 – 48 hours of the initial request.

Both companies have staff that are friendly and helpful, free onsite quotes and service to rural areas, with only Specialized Heating & being available on the weekend and offering financing. The Heat Shop is the only one of the two offering installation for apartments and these jobs are only taken on under certain conditions that need to be discussed with staff.

The Heat Shop offers a 5-year workmanship warranty on installation with Specialized Heating & Cooling offering 6 years. Both offer a wide range of good quality brands and are eager to work with customers to get them the most appropriate unit for their needs and budget.

Expertise

The Heat Shop and Specialized Heating & Cooling have been servicing the Geelong area in both residential and commercial sectors for over 30 years, giving them a wealth of knowledge applied by skilled technicians. This allows them to install and repair a wide range of systems including inverter systems, split and reverse systems, multi systems, ducted heating and cooling, evaporative cooling and hydronic boiler heating.

Only Specialized Heating & Cooling have the capacity to work with steam boiler heating. They do not, however, service apartments or offer second storey installations. The technicians at Specialized Heating & Cooling will also guarantee that any system or installation defects will be expertly handled by them.

As the top 2 installation companies for the Geelong region, The Heat Shop and Specialized Heating & Cooling offer experience, value for money and a high level of customer service, making either one a good choice to trust with your installation and repair needs. Specialized Heating & Cooling do, however, offer weekend opening hours, which would be convenient for those who work during the week, and thereby, could be a deciding factor.