******** UPDATE: DEMOTED TO ONE STAR ********
Vlad just called me during dinnertime to complain about my review. He asked me to take it down, and offered to refund me money if I'm not satisfied. I was touched and told him I'd update my review to note that he's someone who cares deeply about his reputation and ready to put his money where his mouth is, as the saying goes.
Unfortunately, he won't take "no" for an answer and then proceeded to tell me that he was going to post a rebuttal to my review with my phone number so that people can call me up about my review!
What a loon.
I'v amended my profile to include my photograph and real name in the hopes that he can find some satisfaction in this, as he asked me why I posted anonymously, claiming it's not fair that he has his photograph up but I didn't, blah blah blah.
I spent about ten to fifteen minutes on the phone with him trying to calm him down to no avail. So here, here's my photo and my real name. Want to publish my phone number? Go ahead. My AT&T contract is up in September and I don't plan on renewing anyway.
This is a sad turn of events as I don't feel like Vlad is a bad guy, but he seems a little loony. To be fair, I understand that he takes pride in his work and feels wrongly castigated. But with thirty-two other reviews up -- all positive -- I seriously question his sanity for calling me up to argue about my opinions, with the threat to publish my phone number!
But again, to be fair, I should say now that most people will find Vlad just fine. I just happen to expect a lot more because I've had the experience of a real full-service HVAC company before, that's all. Was I harsh? Maybe; it's obvious the guy's upset so maybe I was too hard on him. But to call me up arguing with me and all the rest is absolutely unacceptable. I mean, Vlad is going to divulge a client's personal information because he's upset with the client! That's pretty fucked up.
Original review follows:
I really hate to be the one to buck the trend here, as I really wanted to like the guy and what he provided but you know what? He's just another handy man who has a high opinion of himself. I told him what I wanted, and he seemed frustrated that I wanted something that wasn't standard. WTF?? I'm paying the money, what do you care?? Maybe he had to go somewhere, 'cause he got a call while installing my AC, and not only took the call but went on talking in Russian or whatever in a fairly annoyed, almost angry manner for the next three to five minutes. That's when I reviewed his work and told him I'd expected something other than what I myself could have done (drilled some holes in the window and stick the AC in). I told him I wanted total insulation, taping up the gaps, and indeed wanted a panel covering up the louvers on either side, just like I had it done once by some dudes from an HVAC company at my previous address. Vlad was openly annoyed and telling me how I didn't need to do that, almost protesting. Understand that I was very polite, even offering him water on a hot day, and even went on to tip him $15 despite everything (I was going to do $20 originally, then $10, but figured I'd "give him a break" and did $15 on a $100 job that's probably only worth $15!!).
Anyway, he's not bad, but he's not very good, either. He's okay - but the two stars are because he seemed to be gritting his teeth at me and because, honestly, "I've experienced better."
Would I recommend him? Yeah, but not if you've "experienced better" like me from a real HVAC company and not just some dude with his own set of tools. read more