There are three honest ways to buy refrigeration service: pay per breakdown, buy scheduled maintenance and pay for repairs separately, or buy full coverage where parts and labour are included. The right one depends on how much product sits in the box and how badly a Saturday failure hurts. We will tell you which tier you actually need, including when the answer is the cheapest one.
The four tiers
| Tier | What it includes | Per unit, per year | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance Audit | One visit. Full condition inspection, refrigerant type and charge size identified, leak-rate baseline established, written condition report with a repair-or-replace recommendation. | $0–$199 one off |
Anyone who does not know what they own, or has never had a leak-rate record |
| Cold Chain Basic | Two planned visits a year. Coil cleaning, drain flush, defrost verification, door and gasket service, documented leak check. Repairs billed separately at standard rates. | from $350 | Single-location restaurants, cafes, package stores, florists |
| Cold Chain Pro | Quarterly planned visits, priority dispatch ahead of non-contract calls, no after-hours premium, repair labour included. Parts billed. | $750–$1,100 | Multi-unit restaurants, convenience chains, schools, hotels, caterers |
| Cold Chain Total | Quarterly visits, all parts and labour, 24/7 emergency response, full compliance documentation package including annual leak inspection records. | $1,500–$5,000 | Supermarkets, hospitals, long-term care, labs, cold storage |
Pricing scales with unit count, equipment type and visit frequency. A walk-in prices higher than an under-counter unit because it takes longer to do properly. Figures above are for walk-in coolers and freezers, which is all we service.
What “priority dispatch” means here
It means contract sites are routed ahead of non-contract calls, not that everyone is told they are a priority. In practice, on a hot Saturday when five boxes go down at once, the order is set by who holds a contract and who has product at risk. We would rather tell you that plainly than pretend there is unlimited capacity.
The compliance audit, and why we lead with it
Most operators cannot tell us what refrigerant is in their walk-in or how many pounds it holds. That matters now. Since January 2026 the leak-repair rules bite at 15 pounds rather than 50, which means an annual leak inspection, a leak-rate calculation every time refrigerant is added, a 30-day repair clock, and a forced retrofit or retirement plan if that clock is missed.
The audit answers the basic questions: what is in the box, how old is it, what is it going to need, and are you now inside a rule you did not know existed. It is a document you keep whether or not you ever buy anything else from us.
How to check any contract price, including ours
Divide the annual price by the hourly labour rate. That gives total service hours. Divide by visits, then by units. Now you know how many minutes per box are actually funded. If a competitor is half our price, this arithmetic usually explains why.
Questions we get asked
Do I have to sign a long contract?
Terms are annual. We would rather earn the renewal than lock you into three years, and a contract that has to trap you is not one worth selling.
What is not covered on full coverage?
Damage from misuse or impact, failures caused by another trade’s work, and full box or panel replacement. Everything mechanical and electrical in the refrigeration system, plus doors, gaskets, closers and heaters, is covered. It is written out on the agreement rather than buried.
We have boxes at several sites. Can that be one agreement?
Yes, and it usually prices better. One agreement, one schedule, one set of documentation, with each unit individually recorded so you know which box is costing you money.
Can I start with the audit and decide later?
That is exactly how we would rather do it. The audit gives us both real information, and a lot of operators find their honest answer is the Basic tier rather than the expensive one.
Does a contract cover the compliance paperwork?
Every tier from Basic upward produces the leak-rate record as a matter of course. Total includes the full annual inspection documentation package.