I have used 5 Star Mechanical for several years, and they used to be responsive, thorough, and easy…read moreto deal with. Apparently, at some point, that version of the company quietly left the building.
In early June, I had them out for an ongoing air-pressure/airflow issue. The technician looked at the system and told me someone would get back to me with options to correct it. While he was there, he also fixed a loose thermostat wire and recommended that I sign up for their service agreement, which supposedly included preferred scheduling and service.
That sounded reasonable, so I signed up.
It is now late August.
I am still waiting for the magical follow-up call.
Over the past several months, I have called repeatedly. The woman who answers the phone tells me, every single time, that she needs to speak with Tommy and that Tommy will call me back.
Tommy has now been "calling me back" for several months. At this point, I can only assume his phone requires a replacement part that is also waiting on a callback from Tommy.
After enough unanswered calls, I finally asked for a refund on the service agreement. After all, the entire reason I bought it was because I was told it would provide preferred service. Apparently, "preferred service" at 5 Star Mechanical means you are preferred to the customers whose calls they ignore even longer.
I was then informed that the service agreement is basically non-refundable.
Fantastic.
So to recap: they encouraged me to purchase a service agreement promising better access and preferred scheduling, failed to follow up on the problem they already came out to inspect, ignored months of phone calls, repeatedly promised callbacks that never happened, and then told me I cannot get my money back.
At this point, I'd get more value out of wiping my ass with the service agreement, which may actually be its most practical use
Had they simply told me in June, "We have no intention of getting back to you," I could have called another HVAC company and saved myself an entire summer of chasing them. Instead, I kept giving them the benefit of the doubt because I had been a customer for years and because I had literally paid for a service agreement that was supposed to make this process easier.
Lesson learned.
I don't expect a company to drop everything the moment I call. I do expect that after five calls over several months, returning one of them shouldn't require an act of Congress
This is not one missed call or one scheduling mistake. This has been months of being brushed off while holding a paid service agreement that appears to guarantee absolutely nothing.
5 Star Mechanical used to be a company I recommended. Based on my experience this summer, I would now recommend keeping your credit card in your wallet until you have a very clear understanding of what their "preferred service" actually gets you.
