The morning sun shimmered on the surface of Ballina’s Richmond River as the Artisan Air repair van drove across the Hill Street Bridge. As it was just a tick past 10am, traffic was light and we knew we’d arrive at the air conditioning repair job early. Which of course meant we had time to grab a much needed coffee along the way!
Tim was driving, as usual. He swung the van right and drove along Bentinck Street heading west, where we knew there was a Coffee Club at the Ballina Fair Shopping Centre. With no parking spaces close to the cafe, Tim pulled up outside the local KFC and walked across the car park. After grabbing two takeaway lattes from the Coffee Club, it was back into the van to head to the job (which was to replace an old Panasonic CW-2070QR window unit air conditioning system). Instead of replacing it with another window model however, the client had requested it be superseded by a shiny new Daikin 3.5kW Reverse Cycle Split System setup. So there was much work to be done!
Following Tamarind Drive we crossed over North Creek – which looked like a great spot for fishing if we didn’t have to work! – and took a right at a roundabout into North Creek Road, coming to a halt outside a single storey home just past the Aldi store. Keen to get the job done, we leaped out of the van and virtually raced each other to the entrance. Tim rapped loudly on the timber door, and within seconds it swung open to reveal a petite woman in her late thirties dressed in overalls which were covered in paint splatters (she was obviously doing some renovations).We introduced ourselves to Kelly the owner, who thanked us for turning up on time. She said that she’d recently had some bad experiences with tradesmen, so it was nice to see someone taking their job seriously! Tim laughed at this and said, ‘If you’re impressed by the fact that we’re on time, wait until you see how good we are at replacing your air-conditioner!’.
The introductions done, Kelly led us into the living room, to the old and dusty Panasonic window unit air conditioner that apparently ‘Had to go!’. When switched on the air conditioning unit came to life, but with a god-awful, raucous noise, that could probably be heard at the other end of Ballina! The fan motor was definitely on the way out (a common issue with these older type models). It still seemed to chill the air, to be fair to the unit, but wasn’t worth repairing given its age. The right choice (as always in such situations) was to replace it with something a little more modern.A glazier had been arranged to fit some new window glass that afternoon (‘If he turns up!’), after we had removed the old Panasonic air conditioning unit. So with the clock ticking we set to work installing the Daikin FTXM35Q 3.5kW Cora Split System Air Conditioner. By the time we finished it was nearing lunch time, and Kelly was kind enough to make us a chicken, egg and lettuce sandwich each and a coffee (free lunch is always a welcome bonus!).
As we scoffed down the much needed food, Tim switched the new air conditioner on and showed Kelly the functions on the remote control. We left right after lunch and drove the Artisan Air Conditioning van back into town to our next appointment, feeling satisfied with another job well done.
A Typical Day and a Free Lunch