I've been a customer for perhaps 7 years or more. On the recommendation of a neighbor, I hired them to put in new furnace (boiler). The price was right, but within a year parts were breaking down; thankfully they were under warranty.
I also signed up for a service contract which has been useful on a few emergency occasions. The contract allows for a yearly boiler inspection and maintenance. However, instead of checking on it before the winter season (which perhaps would have prevented the following problem), they do it during the winter time: makes no sense.
Recently, during a no hot water/heat emergency call, they came out for a repair. So, I get the invoice, almost $500. However, all there was was one line of information; in other words it was not an itemized invoice. I called them on it. Wherein they said, "Oh that's all we do: one line invoices." That's just bullshit. Are they just incompetent or lazy? What about the labor cost, the parts costs, what about the discounts that come with my service contract, Did I get my discounts. I brought up their motto: Someone to Trust, Some to Call. They got the second half right. They said they would send me an itemized invoice which, in turn, I will pay promptly. The thing is this: with one general line with no specifics, I have no idea if they were cheating me or overcharging me. Maybe they just assume their customers are idiots and will never question their charges.
Also, two years ago, the guy who came took a break and had a smoke at the top of my cellar stairs. I could smell his raunchy cigarette all the way to my office on the second floor. I should have found out where he lives and taken a shit in his living room.
Did I mention how they forgot to put in a part when they replaced a toilet for me? The plumber who came to put in the missing part and finished the job admitted, "This should have been in the estimate and done at the time of installation." But it was not. And they still charged me for it ... with a one line invoice.
My advice: caveat emptor, buyer beware. read more