STAY COOL

A lot of us know the feeling. When the air conditioner kicks on during that first warm spell of summer and either no air blows through the vents in the house or the air that does blow through isn’t cool. Our shoulders droop and we dread the phone call we have to make that’s surely going to add to our annual household expense.

What we really want to know is that if we’re spending our hard-earned dollars on repairing our air-conditioning unit or, worst-case scenario, having to replace it, we’ll be in the hands of trustworthy professionals.

Like a lot of other industries, the heating and cooling business has gone through consolidation over the decades. It’s hard to find a locally run business that provides a customized and honest experience for consumers.

Brandon Delfino and Chris McNelly, co-owners of Cahill in Lake Bluff, are an exception to the rule. They have established Cahill as a leading, independent heating and cooling company on the North Shore with a reputation for making customers, not profit, their first priority.

“We’re owned and operated locally, and I think without a doubt that is a differentiating factor in your everyday decision- making,” Delfino says. “It’s the driving motivation in everything we do.”

With anything that involves machinery—cars, computers, A/C units—consumers who are unfamiliar with the inner workings or details of how they function are susceptible to being taken advantage of. Cahill believes that conglomerates tend to focus on the unnecessary upsell, whereas locally owned businesses like their own, focus on building trust and long-term relationships with clients.

Many technicians have switched over to Cahill from larger outfits because they felt more like salespeople than mechanics. But Cahill is just big enough to offer customers value.

“In the air conditioning business, the number one expense is equipment. With our scale, we pay half of what a guy working out of a truck pays for the same equipment,” Delfino says. “With that margin, it allows us to offer lower pricing, constantly reinvest in training—talent is everything—and provide 24/7 service. If a furnace goes out at two in the morning, somebody’s there in 60 minutes.”

Delfino says the key for consumers having to make decisions about investing in heating and cooling units is to think longterm. They might save money in the short-term by repairing their existing unit but repeat repairs can add up over time and a new unit might be a better option.

“While anything can be repaired,” Delfino says, “the parts/service expense of patching up your equipment month-to-month will probably not make it cost effective.”

One of the big factors driving consumers’ A/C choices is noise. The technology has advanced to where units are considerably less noisy than just a decade ago. Conversations around the porch table no longer need to be drowned out by a machine. There are also units that can control humidity, a popular feature in the humid Midwest summers.

“You don’t actually realize it until you have it and you think, ‘Oh, man, this was money well spent’,” Delfino says.

For more information visit cahillheating.com or call 847-595-1551.