
A real maintenance visit checks refrigerant charge, tests the capacitor and contactor, clears the condensate line, reads temperature split across the coil, and looks at amperage on the motors.
Most summer breakdowns start as a reading that was already off in spring. Catching a weak capacitor in April is a twenty minute job. Catching it in August is an emergency call.
Spring for the AC, fall for the heat. Twice a year keeps the surprises down.