BUYER BEWARE!!!

We were called to do a quote at a sweet ladies house yesterday, when we arrived, we were told that she had been "shut down" due to a "faulty heat exchanger" by another local HVAC Company.
We had a look at what she needed, took some measurements and told her we would e-mail her the quote later that day.
When we got back to the office, something about the situation bothered us.  She had already had 4 or 5 other Companies in to give her quotes, which didn't bother us
at all, what was bothering me was that I didn't personally check the heat exchanger, nor did any of the other companies that entered her house.
This morning when I came into the office, I called this nice lady, and asked if it would be okay if we came back to take a closer look at her furnace.  She agreed, but said that she hoped we didn't mind if there was another furnace company there at the same time, as she had more quotes coming in.  No problem, doesn't bother us at all.
Here's what we found;
The cover of the furnace had not been taken off at all (and the other company that shut it down supposedly cleaned her furnace? Charged her $200 too!)
We removed the cover and did a thorough inspection of the furnace and the heat exchange unit.  There was NO crack, no severe rust, NOTHING wrong with it!
This lady had been put through the stress of being told she needed to spend close to $6,000 to replace her furnace, or Union Gas would shut off the gas to her home!
We informed her that she did NOT have to replace her furnace, that it was still in good condition.  Did we lose out on a $5,000 sale? Yes.  Do we feel good knowing that we were honest and told this lady the truth, and saved her the stress and the money? You bet!!
In this business, it's not all about the money, it's about being honest, providing good workmanship and keeping our customers happy.  We may have lost a sale today, but we gained a new customer - one that knows when she asks a question, she will get an honest answer.
                                                Moral of the story?
If you are told your heat exchanger is cracked - call for a second opinion.  For some Companies, this is a slow time of year, and they will do anything to get a sale; including telling you your heat exchanger is cracked and you need a new furnace....  if this happens, it is your right to get a second opinion, and you are not required to purchase a furnace from the company that 'shut you down'
Just so you know.....