Basically this is a father and son crew. I had called them yesterday to repair a heating unit in my condo where my renters lived. I was happy b/c the son arrived that evening and was able to tell me the problem right away. He said he'll call me in the morning to let me know what the part and cost would be.
Next morning, no call. Not wanting to delay this if possible, so my renters don't freeze, i call them instead - the father answers and lets me know the cost. $125 for labor (which is steep, considering that's what other companies charge for overtime work - i called a few others before this one) plus a few hundred in parts. I looked up the part (a inducer motor assembly) online and it costs about $100-$150 and there's nothing that's over $200 - they were charging me $325 for it. I say ok, let's do it. The owner says his son will stop by 6-7 in the evening. I leave all the information he needs, including my renter's numbers, and my own in case something goes wrong or they have trouble reaching them. I even called the son to make sure. He says all good.
That evening my renter texts to tell me that no one's showed up. I say let's give them another hour and call to leave a message with the son. I called the shop but no one picks up. An hour later, still no show - i call the son again and leave him another message. No return call, no show. I call the shop and finally get in touch with the owner and he starts to give me some bs about how his son can't get in touch with my renters. I tell him that i had left messages, and he and his son have my number to call and let me know if they had problems. He says maybe they have to reschedule or something. I tell him that's unacceptable. He says he'll call the son to see what's up.
30 minutes later my renter texts me and lets me know that the owner is there to do the job himself and told him some story about how his son's van broke and couldn't get in touch with him. My renter tells me that he got a call from the son to let him know his father will be there to do the job. So the story doesn't make ANY sense.
I don't know what's going on in the shop between the dad and the son but it's not a good feeling to pay premium price to get something fixed and also babysit a business. I mean, in this economy when i'm shelling out money i can't afford, the least that they can do is to get the job done without me having to oversee and bitch at them. It's unbelievable to me that they couldn't be on the up and up with me and let me know when things went wrong so i don't leave my renters in the cold and keep me updated with any problems.
Maybe this was a rare occasion, but hey, that's my experience and my rating. In either case, the pricing is probably high so i'd compare before committing.
Update: The owner did send me an email to apologize and to give me a 5% discount, so that gets them one more star up. But overall still unhappy about the experience. read more