Absolute Comfort serves cool customers for past 13 years

Worried that your heating and cooling system might not be up to par for the upcoming roasting Southern summer?

Absolute Comfort Heating & Air Conditioning LLC wants to help you be more comfortable, and they have plenty of ways to make that happen. Absolute Comfort installs and services all makes and models of HVAC equipment, from new complete installations including ductwork to renovations, expansions or additions. They also replace old, outdated equipment.

And right now, customers can get a complete basic checkup of their existing HVAC systems for $49, just in time to get ready for summer.

The family owned and operated company has been serving the Memphis area since 2003. Owners Jeff Whitehorn and Ed Taylor make it their business to see that every customer is 100 percent satisfied.

“We guarantee it,” Whitehorn said.

Besides basic installation, Absolute Comfort pays close attention to things like balancing air flow in the system and ensuring indoor air quality.

“In this particular geographic area, there’s a lot of interest in variable speed technology in blowers,” Whitehorn said. “This technology can eliminate hot spots and cold spots, and continually cleans the air using a filtration system. And if it’s run for longer periods, it actually helps your entire system use less energy.”

Variable speed technology can be installed on its own with existing HVAC systems.

Another advance in HVAC technology that is popular in this area is the programmable thermostat with auto-changeover features and the capability of wifi control, he said. Such thermostats allow owners to set temperatures automatically, adjusting to the actual temperature.

Whitehorn said this feature comes especially in handy in the spring and fall, when temperature variations can be wide and unpredictable, even over the course of a single day. And it’s surprisingly affordable.

“We can install a programmable thermostat without wifi for under $300,” he said. “And it can be installed on any brand of system.”

While Absolute Comfort can and does work with any brand of HVAC system, it is also a factory authorized Carrier dealer, and they put a huge emphasis on continuing education for their technicians. According to Whitehorn, fewer than 10 percent of Carrier dealers are factory authorized, which requires regular retesting.

“We have NATE-certified technicians who are tested on their knowledge of systems regularly, with retesting twice a year after continuing education,” Whitehorn said. NATE refers to North American Technical Excellence, the nation’s largest non-profit HVAC certification organization.

He says that Absolute Comfort’s technicians are continually being trained to improve the service they can provide to their customers.

Happy customers

David Goodwin Jr. , owner of Goodwin Homes LLC, is a homebuilder and a commercial landlord, and he speaks highly of Absolute Comfort as a great team. The company installs high-efficiency Carrier units for the homes his company builds.

“It’s all extremely good — I’d put it in the ‘excellent’ category,” Goodwin said.

Absolute Comfort has been handling his HVAC work since they opened, and the relationship began eight to nine years earlier when they were employed by another company.

When Whitehorn and Taylor starting planning their own business, Taylor stopped by to talk with their longtime customer.

The homebuilder told him, “I do business with the company you’re with now. But I always say, ‘Call Ed Taylor.’ You are the company as far as I’m concerned. If you form your own company, certainly count me as your first customer.”

Susan Payne, a partner at Goodwin Homes, echoed Goodwin’s thoughts about Absolute Comfort.

“They’re the number one contractor in my book,” she said.

She’s known one of the owners, Taylor, for about 25 years, and she trusts the company to handle heating and air work for her company’s commercial and residential properties and also for her own personal residence.

“I’ve recommended them to I can’t tell you how many people,” she said.

How to thrive

The company’s dedication to quality helped them survive lean economic times when other businesses faltered.

In 2008, the housing market nationwide took a huge hit as the economy stumbled and fell.

“It sure did,” Whitehorn agreed. But Absolute Comfort weathered the economic storm by falling back on our principles.”

Goodwin agreed on how the company managed through tough times. “I’d say it’s pretty remarkable. They did things to flourish and prosper and grow during the recession, or depression, as I call it.”

Whitehorn said, “We focused on paying attention to details while taking good care of our core basic customers. And help from the good Lord.”

Now that the economy is recovering from 2008, business has been improving for Absolute Comfort too. So much so that they are in the process of expanding and are now looking to hire new qualified and experienced service technicians and installers. Goodwin said that anyone interested in applying is invited to contact Absolute Comfort’s office.

Whether you need warming up or cooling off, Absolute Comfort has your comfort in mind.

Maintenance and prevention

So is there anything a customer can do help himself with maintaining an HVAC system? Whitehorn says keeping filters changed regularly is critical, and having your system cleaned and maintained at least once a year makes a huge difference.

“We offer affordable preferred customer plans or preventive maintenance plans, in which we’ll come out twice a year, in the spring to check the cooling system and in the fall to check the heating system,” he said.

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Written by Judy Crump, special to the Express.