Unfortunately, we've recently had some poor experiences with the folks that installed our LG Art Cool AC system, so we decided to try a different contractor (JMT) and so far, I'm glad we did.
Interestingly enough, JMT was one of the two folks we considered for the initial install and they're who we called for the tune-up this time. Both times they've been to the house, they've been on-time (which should have been an initial positive indicator), so we hope we're in a good situation now with a responsible contractor.
This morning Brandon showed up right on time and discussed how he'd installed another of these units (no doubt from a RedneckModern reader!) in Marin, so it was comforting to know that he knew his way around the system.
The tune-up itself is a pretty simple operation: cleaning, testing for operation, coolant pressure/level, etc… so the most important factor is (1) knowing what you're doing and (2) being on time to do it — and Brandon did a fine job at both. He didn't even skip a beat when he headed for the weird, hard-to-configure air filters in the head-units… a nice indication that he knew what he was doing.
JMT is a more casual outfit than our previous provider — and this "outward appearance" might have been the reason we didn't go with them in the first place (hey, I'm a designer — I notice these things). But in the spirit of "never judge a book by its cover", they seem to have come through where it mattered: service and knowledge.