To answer that question, let us first ask ourselves: what do we want in a service technician?

REALITY CHECK
In an ideal universe, a repairman would appear at our front door five minutes after we realized our equipment was broken, fix it for free and disappear again for another five years till it broke again.

That's not reality, of course. More realistically, you want to be able to find a technician easily, pick up the phone and call, and get a live person, not a recording. You want the technician arrive in a reasonable amount of time and not waste your whole day. You want him to make the right diagnosis, have the right parts, and fix your equipment correctly the first time. You want all this for a reasonable price. When problems do occur, you want answers and the problem handled easily.

For the technician's part, they know you're stressed. They know that you didn't call them because you wanted to. You're calling because you need them. Between that and the media trying to convince you that all service technicians are out to deceive the public, they know that the situation can be sticky. Stressful times are often emotional. In our experience, those circumstances, more than any other, are where disputes come from.

MONEY
Another reality is that phones and repair vehicles and parts stocks cost money. Labor costs money, even when that labor is driving to your house, waiting in line to buy parts for your job, or waiting to answer your phone call. Yellow page advertising is not cheap. All these things you justifiably expect as a convenience; but deep down inside you know that convenience comes with a price.

Realistically, your cost should be roughly between $100.00 and $150.00 for an hour's repair, plus any parts needed. That's reality. That's cost plus a reasonable profit. Very few people are getting rich while repairing heating and air conditioning.