Right there with ya, it also comes down to doing business with the right people.
I called a HVAC guy to look at my AC a few years back, because the condenser was running all the time with very little cold air (in mid May = hot).
He would not schedule a time, but told me to just wait until he had an "opening". I asked how long until you have an opening? He replied, I dont know. So I called a large Denver HVAC firm who had a guy on site that afternoon (condenser was fried), by noon the next day I had a brand new 5 ton system installed along with a new HE furnace, bill was $17,000.00.
The first guy was stepping over dollars, to pick up pennies and he is likely still chasing around $500 and $600 dollar repairs.