Hales Corners Heating & Air Conditioning

I made an appointment with Hales Corners Heating for a fall furnace tune up. Shortly after placing the call, the furnace stopped working. I realized that our timely tune-up would now result in a service call. The technician spent a fair amount of time troubleshooting the problem and informed me that the thermostat was calling for heat, but the motor would not start. He diagnosed the failure to start as a bad induction motor. Considering the age of the furnace and the high cost of a new motor, I asked for a quote for a new furnace. I paid him for the $94.54 service call and he informed me that I could deduct that amount from the new furnace quote.

Like any good consumer, I then started gathering bids from other HVAC contractors on the assumption that the induction motor was faulty. During one of the several free estimates, a contractor realizing it was a no heat situation, checked to verify that the motor was indeed bad. After bypassing the thermostat, the furnace started. The contacts on the Honeywell thermostat were cleaned and the furnace has been functioning ever since. Given the age of the furnace, I will replace it, but the business will not go to HCH – especially after the way I was treated after stopping at their office and explaining to them what happened.

On November 6th, I went to HCH to discuss the misdiagnosis, hoping that they would take responsibility for it – like a good business should. The man I spoke with basically called me a liar. He said that an incorrect diagnosis was “Impossible” and that the technician was “One of his best.” He made it very clear that he would “Not be refunding any money” and that “It takes money to run all these trucks” and that “I have the right to pay other contractors to come out.” Sure I do, but I didn't pay for other contractors to come out. They were bidding a job based on HCH’s incorrect diagnosis. Furthermore, if this was one of their best technicians, why did it take another vendor under 10 minutes to get the furnace started when he wasn't even actually there for a service call?

I realize that it takes money to run a business; however, I also realize that you need customers to sustain it. Upon hearing my complaint, not once did I hear an apology for the incorrect diagnosis they provided or was I asked if there was something that could be done to make up for their error. Instead they were defensive, negative, and downright rude. On top of it, among all the quotes I received for a new furnace, their quote was the highest we received - even with the service call credit. Believe me, there are better and more reputable HVAC contractors out there than Hales Corners Heating.

I have been a loyal customer for 12 years. Each year purchasing their esp service agreement. Up until today I have been very pleased with their service. Yesterday my ac quit working. I called them as I am supposed to get a discount for repairs. When it was all said and done, they replaced my thermostat, added 2.5 lbs freon and put some leak sealer in the system. After doing some checking this added up to about $260 in parts. Was charged $671. Tech was in and out in 1 hour 10 minutes. Checked around to verify what others would have charged for repair and not surprisingly all came in far less. Talked to owner and was told that he is only netting 2% margins on his repairs. Net doesn't mean anything as businesses can tax plan minimal margins easy enough. Gross is what concerns me. I figure he grossed at least 49% on me after labor. So much for that esp discount. Feel as if I was clearly overcharged on this repair despite what the owner said. But he already has my money so what can I do. All I can do is let others know and stop patronizing his business. It's not like there's a shortage of qualified contractors in my area. Sad because I referred several people over there over the years all because his son (our usual technician) is awesome.

Three years ago my furnace died on the day of my Mom’s funeral, with multiple guests staying at my house. I called Hales Corners Heating and Air Conditioning, who came to my house immediately. A fair price was quoted. I left the house keys and said, "Lock up when you are done". We came home to a clean house with heat. Two summers ago I called again about the air conditioner. HCH advised me not to put money into an old system. I appreciated their honesty. This Spring my air conditioner was replaced with a new energy efficient model by HCH. The owner came to check on the installation. The technicians were clean, polite and on time. They wore protective coverings on their shoes. They were nice to my dogs and small child. All questions were answered. I would HIGHLY recommend using Hales Corners Heating and Air Conditioning. I have already recommended them to my neighbors and co-workers.

Review: I call Falls Heating and Cooling about a issue with my blower wheel on my furnace. I told them over the phone that the blower wheel needed to be replaced and possibly the motor. They told me it would be $150 additional to get the part today and there would be a diagnostic charge of $129.95. I reluctantly agreed because I was without heat. When the tech arrived, I was told it would be $79.11 to figure out exactly what needed to be replaced. I again reluctantly agreed since I needed my furnace fixed. After spending about 10-20 minutes taking the furnace apart. The tech told me it would be $200 to get the part, not the $150 I was originally quoted. I was given an estimate to repair of an additional $687.96 (which includes the $200 charge). I told the tech that I thought the price was high because I list price on the part is $150 and I can get it for as low as $50 online. I asked him what there billing rate was and he did not know. I said I would pay $250 for the parts and labor to have it installed. He said he was just going by his book. I told him the price was outrageous and they were trying to overcharge me.

I called back the original person I had spoken with on the phone to see if we could come to a reasonable agreement. He told me he pays the tech $30/hr, and needs to mark up the price of the part. I said that is fine, you buy the part for less than $100 charge me a reasonable markup and labor and we come to the $250 figure I gave earlier. He refused to budge on the price. I told him I would report his business practices to the Revdex.com. He said he was recording the call without my permission and threatened that he would sue me if I reported what happened today.

I believe it is unethical to take advantage of someone in the situation that they have no heat and try to extort them with insane prices. I will be happy to submit the price I actually pay for the part as evidence of their extreme overcharging. I further believe that it speaks volumes that they keep a lawyer on retainer and try to threaten customers from accurately representing there experience with them.Desired Settlement: I want a full refund of the $219.72 I paid for the service call. They did not fix the problem and did not need to diagnose the problem since I had already told them what was wrong.

Business

Response:

On January 28, 2014 at approximately 9:44 am Mr. [redacted] called our officethree times on a recorded line. He told me that his blower wheel was broke onhis Armstrong furnace. He did not know make our model numbers, or actuallyhow much damage was done. He asked several times if we had a blower wheel instock. 1 replied that nobody would have it in stock on a holiday weekend otherthan a distributer. He could not tell me exactly what parts he needed, so my replyto him was that it would be $129.95 to come out plus any time there fordisassembly. The only way 1 could get a blower wheel assembly is to open up adistributer after hours on a holiday weekend. I also told him three times that itwould be $150.00 to open up a distributer, that is what they charge me and thatwould be passed on to the customer. I also told him it would be $75.00 to pick upthe part which would also be passed on to him the customer. Being he resides in[redacted], and the distributer is [redacted] it would only chargehim $50.00. At that time he authorized me to send the technician out on therecorded line. My technician arrived 11:28 am and once again explained thecharges and disassembled the blower compartment. At that time, it wasdetermined that he needed a blower wheel assembly, as it was broken at thecenter hub where the motor attached. The technician gave him our up front pricefor the blower assembly installed including the price to open the distributer andthe pickup charge. ($150.00 + $50.00 = $200.00) at that time Mr. [redacted] did hisbest to talk my tech into doing the work for $250.00 cash. To which thetechnician explained that he would be fired if he did something like that, andcalled me to explain what was happening. At that time Mr. [redacted] declined allrepair, he approved the work with his signature on the service ticket up to thispoint. He also stated to the technician that he could find the blower wheel online for under $100.00 dollars, and again tried to talk the technician into doing itfor $250.00 cash. At 2:44 pm Mr. [redacted] called our office again on a recordedline that he had found the blower wheel on line for $57.95. He argued with meon how we charge our customers, he was told up front pricing before we got tohis house, and again when we arrived. He demanded all his money back and Ideclined for obvious reasons. He also stated that if I did not refund his money hewould use socia l media to give our company a bad name and threatened me witha Revdex.com complaint. I replied to him that he could file a Revdex.com complaint, it is his rightand I would take the affirmative action if he did. He proceeded to tell me hewould stop payment on his credit card. I said he could try to do that, however hehad signed the invoice to approve the work in three places. He approved the$129.95 on a holiday weekend, and the additional work while the technician wasthere. The technician was there an hour and 5 minutes. He charged him a level 4repair to disassemble the unit which was $79.11 the diagnostic $129.95. Whichequaled $209.06 + tax $10.66 for a grand total of $219.72. We will supply thesupporting document HS 4182 with all the approved signatures. In overview hewas told up front and every step of the way and was given all the choices anddeclined the repair. Therefore, I will not refund any money.Mr. [redacted] has to understand that I have overhead, such as the cost of vehicles,the cost of the technician, insurance, workman's compensation, building, the veryphone he called on... just to name a few. Overhead is not inexpensive. He did callon a holiday weekend after hours and we did answer the phone 24/7. He has noreason to ask for any back nor will he get any. Nobody works for free.

Consumer

Response:

I was very pleased with my furnace repairs! I have recommended this company to other family members and everyone has only good things to say about them.

Thank You [redacted] ) 10/10/2014

Customer service is not the strong suit of the owner, Once he sold us our furnace we were on our own. We felt bullied and reluctant to call about problems, which he claimed were our fault. He is rescued because he does

employ some very competent service guys.

I would never recommend HalesCorners Heating to any one I cared about,and I am looking into other professionals who can service our furnace and air

conditioner in a friendly and professional manner.

This company sent a service technician out who explained what he was doing, was very professional, put on protective coverings on his shoes/boots when coming in the house. I just had the hard wood floors redone, and appreciated this. They offered a service/contract that will allow a call/post card next year to have my furnace and air conditioning unit looked at, which included a discount on parts. What a relief this is. I would recommend to anyone.

I had a 4 year old furnace that was making a loud virbration noise which continued after my annual tune up. I had just purchased the home 3 years ago and the company that installed it was out of business so I had to find someone certified to do the warranty work and Hales Corners Heating & AC was recommended. I received top notch service from the time they took my call to the time they fixed the problem. The service tech had to trouble shoot this noise and determined it wasn't even the furnace, it was the cold air duct vibrating from the furnace fan.
I highly recommend them and will definitely be calling them for my future business... THEY ALL ROCK!