Follow-up to my previous post. ARS quality rep called me yesterday and asked for a call back. Just got off the phone with them this morning. In short, they were offering me a discount if I were to take down my negative post, i.e., a bribe! WOW! Wonder how often they are doing this? Obviously, I didn't take them up on their offer. If anything, as you can tell, it has upset me even more. First, shouldn't had "gouged" me on their first service call with me. First impressions are important in business too. Let alone utilized scare tactics to try to get me to spend the big bucks and replace my furnace/ac. B.S.! Poor form ARS. Good day. R.S. read more

Furnace flame failed within 1 year and they still charged me part and labor. All their technicians are very clever in-forcing you to spend. You hire them for regular maintenance they will find a way to charge you. read more

Sump pump has been replaced. Thanks to Marco for taking my call on a Sunday, customer service from ARS is by far the best. Also when Lenny arrived his professionalism was great. He installed the new sump pump really fast and left the area very clean after he was done with the job. I will use them again soon to get other things done around the house. Also, the price was right! read more

I called the day before and schedule with the operator a morning appointment with an appointment window from 8am-2pm. When I asked the operator if it could be earlier they told me they couldn't give me an exact time and would call me 45 min before my appointment when a tech was en route. I took off of work the next day because of the wide appointment window. I waited till 1pm and called to see where the tech was. The operator put me on hold and a manger picked up. She then told me I got the appointment time wrong and my appointment was between 2-4pm. Blamed me for the mess up and when I told them I had to take off work they had messed the appointment up they apologized for blaming me and admitted they got it wrong. long story short they did nothing to make it right and I canceled my appointment with them. Worst customer service I have ever experienced! read more

Had ARS come in for the $49 maintenance special on my furnace. Tech had a trainee with him that did all of the work. I was told my Ignitor was going bad and my Blower Cap was going bad and that both could go out at any time. Being in the middle of a family medical crisis, I decided I did not need my furnace going out in February, so I went ahead with the fixes. Ignitor replacement cost me $296.30 (OEM part I found on Amazon is only $17.59). Blower Cap replacement cost me $255.83 (OEM Part on Amazon cost $8.96). They were there less than an hour. Next day they did the same $49 maintenance on my mom's furnace and they missed a baseball sized hole in one of the pipes. When she got estimates to get a new furnace, as her's had stopped working, I showed the other 2 HVAC company's my bill and they laughed and said I got ripped off. They pointed out the cost of the OEM parts. When I contacted ARS to complain about how much I was charged, I was told that I was paying for professional service by a highly skilled HVAC technician and warranty on parts and labor (1 year, same as all of the other HVAC companies) and offered me 20% off my 2 part replacement costs (remember, my furnace was serviced by a new guy learning how to service furnaces). They did refund my mother's $49 on her furnace since the tech agreed he may have not done a complete maintenance once he realized the motor was about to go and knew we were going to quote new furnaces anyway. Let's just say, the new furnace my mom got DID NOT come from ARS and I will NOT be calling them for anymore services. They also tried to sell me a $60 humidifier pad for my humidifier, which I went out and bought 2 for $18. They are over priced on their parts AND labor. read more

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Avoid this company for any of your HVAC needs. We made the mistake of hiring ARS through Home Depot for furnace and A/c replacement in September 2001. July 2022 on a 95 degree day, the whole furnace iced over. The coil was completely frozen over and there was coolant spilling all through the unit. After having two technicians out and nearly a week later, we were told this was due to bad installation (done by ARS).. this cost $164 dollars out of pocket, just one year after the 10k new until was installed. Now, fast forward to one calendar year later (2023) SAME ISSUE!! typical waste of time with two separate appointments and two separate technicians to diagnose the issue. Less than three year old unit now needs a $500 repair which points back to the original bad installation. The blower motor needs replacing. ARS would not work with me on the cost. ARS would not take any level of responsibility to the possible damage the bad installation did on the longevity of the parts that were affected. Total amount of repairs now on a three year unit is close to $800. I never write reviews and understand that things can happen but please don't make the expensive mistake I made by hiring this company for HVAC. I wouldn't even trust them with drain cleaning. read more

12/5/18 SCAM ALERT We would like to give this company ZERO stars. After replacing the blower wheel for $1350 on our furnace last summer, an ARS tech found cracks in our heat exchanger during a routine maintenance (in fact, no maintenance was done). Replacing the exchanger would cost $2400 but the tech recommended a new furnace. We were not shown the defective part and when we called the office, they send us photos, which did not help us feel reassured they were from our unit. Furthermore, the technician could at least have told us to check if the heat exchanger was under warranty (it is, as we found out later by calling the furnace company), however, he added 3 optional parts on the estimate that jacked up the repair $1,000. Further discussion with the tech revealed that the repair could be done for $1400, including $120 for a "part acquisition fee". That is obscene. We had to insist on having a tech come back to show us the problem (which they did) rather the ARS taking the initiative. Way to go to build trust and maintain your clients. Bye bye ARS. 12/7/18 We called another company for a second opinion. The technician did a carbon monoxide test at the unit and at the outside vent. He was surprised that ARS did not conduct a test (a test did not even come in the conversation with the ARS tech, the ARS office or with the ARS manager). BOTTOM LINE: even at high speed, the monoxide reading was marginal: 30 parts per million. We then showed the ARS photos sen to the other company's tech and he doubted these came from our unit. "With cracks this size there would not be a vacuum allowing the unit to operate." "They cannot properly diagnose a compromised heat exchanger unless they access the blower unit," he said. (they did not) We ended up paying $97 for a second opinion and saving $6000 + Do we think ARS Rescue Rooter was trying to scam us to buy a new furnace? ABSOLUTELY. read more

I called today at 1:30pm as their has been a smell like car exhaust in our house since yesterday morning. (Some quick googling suggested coolant leak when there is an exhaust smell. ). First I was given an appointment for tomorrow, then I called back and asked if it was possible to come today. I have had their service plan for many years after having them install a new hvac 8 or so years ago. I was told that yes, they could come today between 4-7pm and because I had the service plan it would be $59.00. Fantastic! So I waited until 6:55pm to call and see if they were still coming, the rep "called the tech" to verify, said I was next and he'd be calling me soon. I asked "but he is coming tonight, right?" - her "yes" left me with something less than confidence. So then I called back after another hour - I was told by a very nice lady that there was no appointment for today and they'd investigate and call me back, waited another hour and a half, called back and talked to yet another person. They have no way to see who I talked to previously- how is that possible? Then the prior agent called and we all talked together and confirmed only an appt for tomorrow. If they show up, I will cancel my service plan after they leave. Have watched this place go downhill for the last few years. Very, very irritated. Hopefully it is nothing dangerous. read more

Update: I left a negative review in which I expressed dissatisfaction with ARS's response to my request for an estimate to install a mini split. What is with this company? I explained I wanted nothing to do with them. Since leaving the review, I have been bombarded with 4 telephone calls. The most recent voicemail concerned my "scheduled estimate which did not take place." I never scheduled an estimate with these people because the salesman, over the phone, provided exorbitant prices without even coming to my home. It was pretty clear he wanted to vet my willingness to be ripped off before he made the trip to my house. ARS-- please stop calling me! I have reached out to two other companies who are more than willing to help me with updating my heating/cooling system. I will not be using your services. read more

I recently moved into a new home and within a week had plumbing backup issues. Terry and Marco went above and beyond what most companies would have done. They discovered that not only was my main sewer line cracked and clogged, I had a particularly bad clog from years of someone throwing grease right down the sink. Terry came back the same night and rodded it out until it was unclogged. If you're in the market for a previously-owned home, make sure you have ARS inspect the sewer line. You will save yourself $$$ by knowing the sewer condition upfront. Thank you ARS for saving my home from its sick plumbing system! read more

ARS installed a new furnace AND a new AC unit for one of the victim's families for FREE after the highland park parade tradegy. What a class act ARS!! Wish all companies were like this read more

SIgned up through Home Depot for a "reasonable price" furnace tune-up. I should have known that this would have to be recouped somehow. But I did not expect that "the technician" would make up a very serious condition such as a cracked heat exchanger ($2,000 repair "if you do it immediately") and subsequently scared us so we were not able to use the furnace until I got a second opinion. The heat exchanger was fine, but I was out the money for the original tune-up and the cost of the second opinion (forgetting about the aggravation of being in the cold for a few days). While asking for a refund from ARS they refuse and blame me for getting a second opinion ("they could have been wrong", NO YOU WERE WRONG). Unbelievable how companies like this can exist ! read more

SCAM. I requested a cleaning and inspection of my furnace. They told me everything needed to be replaced immediately or my family might die. I had someone else give me a second opinion, the furnace did need replacing but not as urgently has ARS tried to make it out. Also they did not do any cleaning. That's what got me piping mad. It made me feel like the only reason they came by was to try and sell me a new unit. I submitted photos to prove it. read more

ARS / Rescue Rooter - Photo after ARS "Cleaned" my furnace - Plumbing Near Me - Itasca, Illinois

I am writing another review on my recent Great Experience with this company. Irving worked his ass off to unclog our main drain line, good job, worked it until it was draining smooth and then camera the line for good measure. Mark accommodated me on a value pricing for the job. This was a serious emergency pinch job and they came out within a day to take care of it. Thanks Guys! read more

I also got suckered by the "reasonable price" tune up offer through Home Depot. When my technician arrived I had a fully functioning HVAC unit that was only 3 years old. By the time he left, my unit is no longer running and the technician was quick to blame previous repairs or repairmen. It's now 90 degrees in my house, my AC unit is on the fritz, and ARS took off like an antelope bolting when being pursued by a lion. ARS is terrible. Avoid at all costs! I can't believe Home Depot would recommend a lousy company like ARS. The ARS motto should be, if it ain't broke, we'll break it! read more

We were customers of this company since moving to our house back in 2015. Needed to have our humidifier on our furnace replaced due to leaking and during their inspection, come to find out that the heat exchanger has a crack in it and tech puts a Sticker on our furnace saying "do not operate". Quotes us over $ 6,000 for a new furnace which is pretty steep so get another quote from another company. Almost 50% less that what A.R.S. was charging. Never again. read more

This company came in for an annual furnace cleaning and inspection. That was done, but afterwards we were told that the flame sensor ($272), the igniter ($335) inducer assembly ($998) all needed to be replaced and the blower motor bearings were shot, or we should buy a new furnace. We called the technician from the company that installed the furnace and got a second opinion: Nothing wrong with this furnace. read more

Three years ago I gave this firm 5 stars. My recent experience with them doesn't even merit 1 star. When I called to schedule a furnace repair they asked how old the furnace was. When I said 16 years, the response was, wow, that's old for a furnace. When the technician arrived, his first comment was, you have an old furnace but I'll see what I can do. Sure enough, he found we needed over $2,000 in repairs and said it wouldn't make any sense to put that much money into an old furnace. After getting an outrageous estimate for a new furnace, I decided to have the furnace checked out by a local HVAC firm (send me a note if you want the name). They found I only needed one item repaired for a cost of $525 and our furnace is working just fine. In hindsight, it's clear ARS was simply out to sell a new furnace. They told me they don't have much work now so maybe scamming people is how they're making up for it. By the way, the estimates ARS gave me for repairs/new furnace were 40% higher than our local firm. read more

ARS employees are polite, courteous and perform great work. The company as a whole is awesome. In the past few years I had them install a new furnace, humidifier, and recently a new a/c unit, they always provide the best customer service that I expect and more! Thanks to Mike M & Bill S read more

I can't give this company any stars. They charged me 1500.00 for work they said they did, but didn't. They came out to charge my ac and seal a leak. It still has a leak. So I will never ever use this company again read more

My Mother needed a sump pump looked at. She was weary about having someone in the house due to current health risks. When she called ARS, she had communication with Tony and Terry. She was extremely happy with the kindness they showed. Both of these gentlemen explained things to her, and took the time to make sure she understood what needed to be done, and then followed thru to make sure it was done. There is another company that uses the slogan "consider it done" that we have had issues with before. ARS really does get the job done! THANK YOU Tony and Terry for the excellent service you provided to my Mom. read more

Service area is wrong, shows they service the city of Chicago but I just called and they don't.

I felt I made the right choice working with ARS. Their work was beyond my expectations. Kevin, Bill, Dan and Dave did a beautiful job! They were all extremely professional and knowledgeable in their respective specialties. Despite all the challenges of my home, they were able to find the right solution to solve the problem. They also took the time to walk me through everything before they left so I felt comfortable with all the updates. I look forward to using ARS for future HVAC cleaning and would gladly recommend them to friends, family and neighbors! read more

I had a really good experience with ARS replacing my furnace and air conditioner. I interviewed 5 companies because expense was going to be between 8 and 11K. My sales person was Ken P and we met around 11:30 on a Saturday and by 3:30 we started the contract process. I took advantage of the 24 month free financing provided by hardware store they represented. Carrier and Lenox have great products but they wouldn't offer enough incentives especially knowing Chicago had two mild winters. On Monday morning Eugene and Kevin showed up around 9:30 in 2 big truck and Dave M and Arnulfo showed up shortly later. Eugene and Kevin went through the process, discussed manual dampers I wanted and relocating the air conditioner from one side of the house to the other. You could tell they were experienced, no nickel and diming saying that would cost more. It was the price Ken and I agreed on that Saturday. At 8:00 PM that night new furnace turned on and they went through everything they installed and changed. I went with a Rheem system with variable speeds for furnace and ac. They included air cleaners, humidifier, pumps and many other things I didn't ask for. It is amazing how much more comfortable the house is, we sleep better and Ken offered me a discount for duct cleaning (with special truck for 4 to 6 hours) that will be scheduled in the next few weeks. I highly recommend you do your research & interview a few companies if you are planning on making an investment in your hvac. ARS is a quality company you will be glad to be associated with . read more

Excellent service with these guys. I needed to place a service call, and they were very willing to work to my schedule. They called me an hour before the Tech was scheduled to arrive, and then the Tech called me as he was on his way to me from his previous call. I showed Rob the issues when he arrived, and he very quickly identified the problem. He was upfront with me with costs, and was very professional. Rob did a great job today, and is a clear asset to this organization. As a service manager myself, I appreciate the obvious work this company expends into training their guys. There's a whole lot more to customer service than technical skills. The "soft skills" are the hardest to teach, and it is clear to me that the service leadership at this company has it right. Keep up the great work guys. read more

We had a technician representing ARS out to the house to take a look at our air conditioner which had stopped working. The technician (who was very condescending and truly a blow hard) assessed the situation and informed us that we were looking at a very expensive repair bill. He told us that there was probably a Freon leak, and almost all of the Freon had probably leaked out, which would be expensive to re-fill. He also identified a serious problem with our heater, which would also be expensive to repair. When we inquired about replacing the air conditioner only, he told us that a new high efficiency unit would over-tax the old heater. He recommended that we should put in a new heater and a new air conditioner ($7,000 - $8,000). I did not have a good feeling about the technician or his assessment. He gave me some absurd story about regularly having your alternator in your car checked to preserve your battery. (Really? When was the last time you saw a check list with an alternator on it - to preserve your battery?) His rational was that a faulty alternator will over-tax your battery - like a new air conditioner would over-tax your old heater. When I raised some skepticism about check listing car alternators, he began to lecture me about the importance of checking your alternator, on and on. He assured me that he knew cars! As if I, a woman just fell off the turnip truck! To top it off, he treated me condescendingly when I did not immediately notice the spots to sign his $95 service invoice. He was a talker and took up way too much of my time, and he did nothing but feed me a line of BS. We had another reputable company send out a technician out the next day, and learned that our air conditioner and heater were fine. The filter on the heater was so full of lint from our dryer that things got clogged, causing the lines to freeze up, and water from condensation started dripping. The Freon in the unit was completely full. This technician suggested a few minor adjustments and regular maintenance. In the end we only had a bill of a few hundred to have our heater and a/c serviced! I believe the ARS technician was inept or dishonest. Either way, he was representing ARS, and I ask the question, was he was just propagating a culture of dishonesty? Or, was he poorly trained and therefore unable to locate the true problem? I am curious as to how ARS technicians are compensated, when customers buy new rather than repairing the old. I cannot recommend dealing with ARS Rescue Rooter after my experience! read more

I bought HVAC system from ARS 2years ago. Price was super competitive on one of the pricier fancier units that we have chosen. Installation was very professional. They left my basement after installation cleaner than it was before and ware shoes overalls in the house to keep everything clean. Unit in the garden was installed very nicely too. I can honestly say it was the cleanest and most professional team we hired up to day to work on the house. My family and I are very happy with the purchase. We also pay for ARS yearly membership, which includes tuning up the HVAC system couple times a year. Just for the piece of mind that everything runs well and smooth. People who show up to do tune up always respectful and professional. I would highly recommend ARS to anyone read more

Shame! shame! shame! I would be happy to walk down the streets ringing a bell to warn my neighbors. You disappoint me. Shame! How do you deserve even one star when you don't even show up to the appointment? My husband scheduled the AC "tune up" & was given a 4 hour window. You never even showed. Thank you for wasting a beautiful Saturday. AND Thank you for reminding us that we needed to stick with a company that has never let us down. UNLIKE YOU!! read more

Our vase above the toilet broke and glass and potpourri balls got into the toilet as it flushed, and caused a clog at 1am in the morning. Called up ARS and they came promptly in the morning. Mark and Pat were great,explained what they were going to do, estimate of cost, and were really helpful explaining what may happen next. They quickly fixed the issue and tested to verify it was fixed, stated that there was a 7day warranty and to call back if we had any problems. ARS was great and I would highly recommend them. read more

Yes, ARS is as good as it gets, and Ryan D., the specialist that helped maintain our furnace in top shape is representative of that excellence. Briefly, they are: * Informative and detailed * transparent. None of this black box stuff where you don't know if you got ripped off, but somehow you go to bed paranoid that you're just another sucker. Nope. These guys lay it all out, plain as day, and you can research it later if you want. * Organized to the point where when one guy comes out, he or she knows everything that's happened before. these guys build up a relationship. As for Ryan D. specifically: very friendly, efficient, a fount of knowledge and he never got tired of my questions. In short, in a world of experts in this and that, where we laypeople can never know it all anymore, ARS leaves me with a sense of peace and comfort. read more

My townhouse is 23 years old and I was having plumbing issues and it had been several years since my furnace was cleaned and my CO 2 Sensor had gone off 2X, did not have a CO 2 leak but figured I should get my furnace chkd out. I decided to sign up for a mntc contract which includes 1 yrly furnace tune-up, 1 AC tune-up and flushing of your hot water heater, inspection of all your plumbing, 5% of services, 10% of installs, etc. The customer service person was nice enough to tell me that they had coupons online and for me to print them prior to the service/s. I really appreciated her telling me about this. I ordered plumbing service for the same day I signed up for the contract and was told the drain tech would be out between a set window of time, then the company called to extend the window of time, then the tech called and said he would be even later, did I still want him to come out, after waiting for 7 hours of course I wanted the tech to still come out and fix my problem. He covered my floors with drop clothes, he removed all the stuff under the sink. He needed to rod out my main drain in my kitchen several times and then treated it with their drain right product. He cleaned up the area very well and told me I had 2 other issues in my kitchen and provided estimates for the cost to fix them. I gave him my coupon for the $79.95 for drain cleaning. My total should have been the $79.95 plus the cost of the drain right. The technician did not apply my coupon correctly, he took the $79 of my total service, I did not want to get into an argument with the technician so I just gave him my credit card. I called the company Saturday morning and explained to the customer service person my issue with the coupon and the overcharge, he told me the person in billing was out of the office for the weekend and would call me back the following Monday. She called me and said that she would credit me the difference to my card, it took a while but I did receive my credit. read more

Initial quote was $13,950.00 for a furnace and central air for a 2000 square foot ranch, showed him several quotes in the $8,000 to $9500.00 range. I asked him to come a couple hundred under the Bloomingdale HVAC quote, and I will take it. He reduced the price to $9,300.00 The competitor offered an Infinity carrier, he told me its the same product, just a different serial number. I paid him that afternoon, and he said they will be there at 7am the next day to install. Wow quick service right? Oh NO I checked the serial numbers on the receipt that evening, he tried selling me the Carrier performance series, inferior to the Infinity Carrier. The salesman looking at the other printed/typed offer, and me telling him match the offer and product. This was not done, and an inferior product was put in the place. I believe I was deceived and lied to. Trying to sell me a product I did not ask for. These are not the same furnaces ARS Performance 59TP6, I asked for 59TN6 an infinity series. The sales person knew exactly what he was trying to do to me. This is the servicer for HOME DEPOT, they sent me to them. Buying a furnace and CAC, can be more complicated than I thought, and buyer BEWARE. I wonder how many folks get tricked by HVAC guys desperate salesman trying to make a sale, I almost did by a couple of hours before the install guys at 7am. Again No excuse No mistake, the salesman knew his serial numbers also, how each number and letter means what type of furnace. Being a real estate appraiser for 28 years, Boy do I feel dumb! There ITASCA, IL office is only 1 mile from my home, so I am spreading the word, BUYER BEWARE folks. read more

What a rip off!!! My furnace stopped making heat. I changed the filter and still nothing. The repair guy comes and literally pushes a button to "reset" my furnace burner. $175 to "reset" + $95 to show up. Its just ridiculous how misleading this ppl are. Theres no more integrity in anything. This is the last time i use ARS. Consumers be warned!!!! read more

ARS / Rescue a Rooter Great job. Thumbs up. Highly recommend. Did install in one day. Very courtesy and professional. read more

Last year we purchased the monthly payment plan that offers us bi-annual tune ups of our AC and furnace. Today was the THIRD visit in a row that they have tried to up-sell us on about $1,000 worth of "improvements." We fell for it the past 2 times as the technician scared us so badly, we didn't think we had a choice. And both times we've seen absolutely no improvement on the function of our systems. We will not be renewing this monthly service. It's just a scam. read more

I was so relieved to have called ARS when my AC went out on this 85 degree Sunday. The on-call technician, Rob, called me within 10 minutes of me calling for service to let me know he was about 30 minutes away. Rob was incredibly nice and asked some questions about the issue via phone. After looking at the unit, he found the issue within minutes and explained his findings and what he was going to do to fix it. He also went the added step to clean parts of the unit that had been covered with dirt and put everything back in its place. Thank you Rob and the team at ARS!! Update! Used ARS again but for plumbing! Roger was great. Efficient, helpful, and respectful! He installed 3 new toliets in under an hour and a half! read more

On what my family had the bad experience from the man that stated there was a problem when there wasn't and would've cost $3,000.00, I would never take the chance on using them. Call Four Seasons. They are Ethical!! read more

I would put zero stars if they had it? Beware !!!!!! This company way over charges by 1000%. They came out and changed a capacitor on my compressor and a small plastic connector panel with 3 screws for $650. Reality is capacitor costs $30 and the plastic connector costs $10, so why did they charge me $650? They said if I get on their maintenance plan for $20.00 a months they would clean my compressors and test everything twice a year, and get 10% off today's charges, which I did. Well compressors were still dirty when they left. Then they said I needed a whole new HVAC system for $7800? Well I just got my unit fixed elsewhere for $100. Stay away from these guys they are a huge rip off. read more

Renee lies. When I made my appointment, I explained I worked nights. Renee said it was no problem to get a 9am appointment. Now, I'm told it could be noon. If he had been honest, I would have called someone else. read more

We've used ARS/Rescue Rooter Illinois for years and have always had excellent service. We have their magnet on our refrigerator and it has come in very handy. Our technician today was Jimmy D. He was on time, courteous, efficient and skilled. He suggested an optional service to us but in no way forced it upon us. read more