As an attorney of over 15 years, truth and candor are very important to me. I often spend the time to write positive reviews of businesses and rarely write a negative review. However, in this case the poor business practices of and abominable treatment provided to me by AJ Warren Service Company warrant the time and review. This is NOT about their technicians and I did indeed find Willie to be the consummate and knowledgeable professional and someone I would easily trust in my home without being there. This is about the company's OWNERS and the profound disrespect with which they treated me when I had the "audacity" to express my dismay that the company charged me $450 for less than one hour of work.
AJ Warren had serviced both of my residential air conditioning units a number of times before I contacted them to address a "gushing" sound coming from my vents that sounded like a windstorm inside my house. The first technician, as nice as he was, was unknowledgeable of my system and believed it was one called an "iQ Drive" model that constantly changes speed. He left my home with a small service call charge not having corrected anything. My system then completely failed and I went to the attic to find that parts of my system from the technician's visit had not been replaced, including important protective covers for the circuit boards, and that the emergency shutoff sensor that prevents the system from running with the cover off was "taped off" so that it would run in the technician's presence even without the cover.
AJ Warren then sent Willie, who had performed previous service at my home,and who immediately identified that the system was indeed failing by making the "gushing" noise because the motor was racing up and down in speed and also that the system was NOT the "iQ Drive" model his colleague misunderstood it to be. Willie advised that parts would be ordered under warranty and the system repaired.
To my dismay, when I called my wife after the parts arrived and Willie performed the repair, AJ Warren charged $450 for what was less than one hour of labor. I then called the company and spoke with Dwayne Ehlert, who, with A.J. Warren, III, owns AJ Warren. After I explained the prior course of dealing (including the mistake the first technician had made and the poor condition in which the unit was left) and requested an explanation as to how the charge was $450 since the parts were under warranty, Mr. Ehlert tersely responded, "How about I don't charge you and don't do business with you any longer." Unbelievably, Mr. Ehlert then told me that I should expect a lot more repair bills for my Maytag unit because it has one of the poorest reliability ratings in the industry. What's so unbelievable about that? AJ Warren showcases the Maytag system as one of their best selling products on their website! However, I suspect the company is generating serious revenue on repairs of these units that they so eagerly sell.
Again, this is a company with very courteous technicians, but whose owners believe that IT IS THE CUSTOMER'S PRIVILEGE to do business with them and not the other way around. Do not be fooled by the "window dressing" of Angie's List and BBB badges on the website, because if you dare seek to question a $450 hourly charge, you will be reprimanded and left searching for another servicing company. read more