I'm always reluctant to leave a bad review for something trivial, everyone has a bad day, but for vital HVAC services we all use, I may save some other unsuspecting homeowner from aggravation and overpaying for a service.
My review is almost verbatim the response I emailed to someone from GV who was supposed to come out for an estimate on a new air conditioning system. I'll let my email speak for itself as my review:
"Dawn,
"Your email ended up in my spam and I just saw it while clearing the folder out. Nonetheless, I was led to believe you were contacting me on Monday (per John) and by phone for an estimate. Which is yet another typical issue with GV.
''When I first began using your service, James came out and installed an Ecobee thermostat system. He was courteous, friendly and got it done correctly.
"Since then, however, I've had nothing but grief with GV, starting when James came out to fix a broken hose in our humidifier. He didn't have one in the truck, so he went online and ordered one from Amazon. Unfortunately, he'd ordered the wrong size and had to 'improvise' to get it seated correctly. Ok, those things happen.
"Following that, our furnace went out. James came out again -- promptly -- and said we needed a replacement fan motor. After he provided his estimate, I gulped, accepted the price and told him to order one. Once the motor arrived, he came out and installed it. All well and good. Until he gave me the statement that was TWICE the quoted price! He said he estimated using the wrong part number (sound familiar?). I called GV's office but the lady there (another family member, I'm sure) said that's the price. Period. So I bit the bullet, paid and let it go...again.
"The latest (and final) incidents I had with GV was that my AC was only generating air because while the condenser was running, the AC fan wasn't. This time Scott came out and after examining the unit, said he needed to replace the capacitor. He had one in the truck, and installed it. 'Only' $240 for a what was probably a $30 part. After replacing it and the fan came back on, he also recommended redoing wiring in the system connecting the capacitor -- for another $300!! I asked if it was essential and he said something like 'it would be a good thing but not essential.' So I passed. Oh -- and he had to call the office to see if the service-call fee would be waived -- as I was told by 'the office' when I called them to send someone out if service was performed. He argued that replacing the capacitor was not really "service." BTW, he didn't even measure the coolant to see if there were any issues there -- all AC service calls I've had in the past do that. He returned from his call to the office and grudgingly deducted the $108 service call charge. He's one of the better upsell sales guys I've dealt with, so kudos to him for that.
"The final straw (I'm a real masochist!) was that within 3 weeks after Scott's service call the AC went down -- again. This time John came out to inspect. He concluded that we needed a new air conditioner -- all this after I'd been paying for short term 'fixes' that never actually addressed the real issue of a 20+ year old unit. John told me a new system, installed, would cost upwards of $8-12,000 and if I couldn't afford it, GV would gladly finance it for me. I bet they would.
"Bottom line, on Monday and this morning (Tuesday) I received 3 estimates from apparently reputable HVAC outfits that came out-- as well as ABT -- for a Trane or Lennox AC system replacement. The estimates from all 4 companies were just within my budget --not even close to John's 'ballpark'. I'll be signing a contract with one of them tomorrow [today, 5/28 I did] and thanking my lucky stars I don't ever have to deal with this "nice local family business" again. We thought we'd found our go-to HVAC company for all our needs in that area but after all these costly con games I knew better, hid my wallet and moved on.
"Everything I related in this email is sadly accurate. I'll be posting this on Yelp and other social media. HVAC outfits don't have the greatest reputation as it is and GV has joined the ones to be avoided. Too bad, as I don't relish trying to find an honest and fair outfit in the business every time we have an issue."
Best regards,
George D. read more