Questions to Ask a Refrigeration Company Before Using Their Services

As one of the UK’s leading commercial refrigeration companies, we know all too well that a commercial display fridge or cold room can be a significant investment for your business. As such, you want to make sure that you’re receiving premium products, quality customer service and fair prices – all from an experienced, reputable supplier. Fortunately, finding out all of this information is simple if you know the right questions to ask.

So, what should you be asking a refrigeration company to ensure you’re getting the best possible product and service? As industry experts, we’re here to help. Below, we’ve put together a list of questions you should be asking prospective commercial refrigeration companies to help you decide whether they are the right fit for your business needs.

1) What Services Do You Offer?

Most commercial refrigeration companies will list their service offerings on their page and are happy to discuss them at length, but this is nevertheless a useful question to help you determine whether a company can provide you with what you need. For example, are you looking for someone to design a bespoke cold room for your commercial kitchen? Has your commercial display fridge broken down and you need an engineer to fix it? Do you need to hire a fridge for your catering company? If you’re not quite sure whether a company can meet your exact requirements, it’s always best to double check. 

2) What Products Do You Offer?

This question is handy to ask if you’re looking for a very specific product, or even need advice about quality manufacturers. Some companies obtain products from various suppliers, and while they may not have exactly what you need, they may well be able to recommend you an alternative if necessary. 

It’s also important to ask this for the simple fact that not all refrigeration systems were created equal. While some brands are better quality than others, others may be of similar quality but better suited to different applications. For instance, a manufacturer may well excel at producing excellent value cold rooms, while their commercial display fridges are more expensive than other manufacturers. A knowledgeable refrigeration company will be able to point you in the right direction.

3) What Would You Recommend for My Company?

It’s often the case that a reliable refrigeration company will be able to recommend a solution based on your business needs, available space and budget. If you have a good idea of what you need, it’s worth asking if they can, if they are able to advise something based on your goals. This will also give you a better idea of how knowledgeable your chosen refrigeration company is about the trade. After all, there is a commercial refrigeration solution for everyone, it’s just a matter of matching your business with the right refrigeration company!

4) Why Should I Choose You Over a Competitor?

As consumers, we’re often faced with a choice between many companies, and searching for a commercial fridge is no exception. Often many companies will be offering similar products and services at very different prices, making it difficult to know whether the quality of service suitably matches up to what you’ll be paying, and vice versa. 

Questions like this are good for ensuring that you are receiving the best possible service. The companies you’re talking to should be able to give you an answer as part of their sales pitch, such as good value for money or a bespoke service. 

5) What’s Involved in the Installation Process?

The quality of an installation can differ from company to company, however, most experienced companies should be able to outline the typical steps of an installation process. Alongside this, your chosen company will typically establish an installation schedule to minimise disruptions to your business. Look for a refrigeration company that can perform an installation on your terms to reduce downtime, or at the very least, is willing to compromise on their installation schedule to meet your needs.

6) What Maintenance Contracts Do You Offer?

Because commercial refrigerators can be such an investment, it’s important to have reassurance that if something goes wrong, you can have an experienced engineer come and fix it. As part of their end-to-end service, many commercial refrigeration companies offer routine maintenance contracts to maintain the functionality of your system. Alongside regular maintenance and servicing, a reliable refrigeration company will be able to provide emergency repairs and spare parts when necessary – all at a reasonable price.

Our Recent Projects

As a leading commercial refrigeration company operating across the South West, Ian Hobbs Technical Services specialise in bespoke refrigeration solutions for a wide range of commercial customers. But don’t take our word for it; below is just a sample of our recent projects to help you get an idea of what our engineers can do for you. 

Radstock Co-Operative Society

Radstock Co-operative Society are a long term existing customer and asked Ian Hobbs Technical Services to design their refrigeration and air conditioning systems specifically to meet the needs of the superstore. 

Our installation team worked alongside the shop fitting company and carried out full installation of air conditioning and low energy chiller and freezer cabinets, as well as a 70kw dual temperature 10 scroll compressor external pack. All refrigerated cabinets were installed with full RDM digital control systems and data management systems.

Jones Food Solutions

Jones Food Solutions provide a complete food-service operation, supplying their customers with a full range of ambient, chilled and frozen goods. We were tasked with supplying and installing a bespoke freezer cold store to provide adequate space to help keep their products fresh.

During the design stage, we highlighted the inefficiency of the existing cold room equipment throughout the site and provided Jones with a solution to this; to remove all individual condensing units and replace with one large, energy efficient refrigeration pack. This would result in unprecedented electrical savings for the company whilst also preventing an upgrade of their mains electrical supply, providing them with spare capacity.

Make the Right Choice with Ian Hobbs

Tired of Googling “commercial refrigeration engineer near me”? Ian Hobbs Technical Services are the commercial refrigeration company to go to for commercial display fridges, bespoke cold rooms, refrigeration system maintenance and much more. If you’re looking for a free site survey or wondering which type of refrigeration would be best suited to your business, then we’re here to give you a helping hand. Simply get in touch with us today to speak to a member of our expert team.