Powers Chimney & Masonry LLC

Good morning Natasha, This the statement that Zack reply to Danica complaint: We provided a cleaning for Danica in the beginning of August The cleaning was performed professionally and in a timely manner by a technician who has been with the company over years and has a
extremely Good reputation, including employee of the year out of the last yearsOn January 18th 2018! The office received a phone call from Danica, who was upset about the service we provided a YEAR AND A HALF priorShe hired a different company to clean her wood burning insert just before the complaintDanica was told she had a large amount of creosote build up and that her chimney was not to codeI don't know if she told the company it had been a YEAR AND A HALF off burning since the last cleaning was performed or what she was burning? I do know, You should always burn good dry seasoned wood to prevent heavy creosote build up and burn a hot fireChimney fires start from low burning, smoldering fires and burning unseasoned or wet woodBurning Wood high in sap really increases your risks of a chimney fire and some people burn trash in their inserts which also is not good for build up and chimney firesIt looks to me like the other company was trying to earn her business on some work and used a tactic of bad mouthing another company to make themselves look betterI have been doing this over years and have never had a cleaning complaint a YEAR AND A HALF LATER! If you burn a lot of wood you should have your insert cleaned twice a year and burn Hot Fires to prevent build upIf you burn a half a cord of good dry wood you should have your insert cleaned once a yearIf you only burn at Christmas and Thanksgiving, a couple fires a year you should have your insert inspected for the possibility of a cleaning every yearsDanica went to elementary school with the technician who performed the cleaning, she signed off on her paperwork and willing paid for her service in Danica has a insert she is claiming to have paid $for, which is lined with a 6" stainless steel flex liner and I assume was installed by a professional companyIf her chimney was not up to code the company who sold her the stove(insert) & Liner kit would/should of informed her of her chimney not being to code and got it to code before the installation of the insert and liner kitThe amount of creosote build up has to do with what your burning, how often your burning and how your burningIf a cleaning is not performed correctly you will know instantly! Your stove (insert) will be plugged up and not draft at allYou will not be able to get a fire going and you would call the company who did the cleaning back immediately not a YEAR AND A HALF LATER! When we performed the cleaning the chimney cap was removed and flexible polymer rods where used with a 6" brush-headThe brush head did get stuck in the top of the stove do to the transition of the liner to adapter to stove, this is not uncommonYou can get it unstuck by wiggling the rods or disconnecting the liner and reconnecting it, after it's dislodgedThere is no way your picking up and moving a 250lbs-300lbs stove around with a flexible polymer rod before the rod brakes ( Maybe if your Superman) So yes the brush head got stuck and was retrieved with no damage to the stove or pipingThe fact it was stuck shows that it was swept (cleaned) all the way down the liner and into the stove! This complaint is equivalent to getting your oil changed at one location and waiting 15,miles to have the next one done, when 3,was recommended and then going back to the first company saying you went somewhere else and your oil was really black and lowThey said I needed a new air filter, transmission service, wipers and a headlightWhy didn't you tell me this? Also your technician didn't check my tire pressure and I have kids in the car and my car has been running funny ever sinceI called Danica and listened to her complaints, She was upset and angry! She repeated herself times with the exact lines of complaintI tried to squeeze a word or two in but she would get louder and speak faster yelling at me that I'm not hearing herWhen I tried to reason with her and explain anything, she would snap back and tell me how we didn't use the right poles and her stove was lifted off the groundI tried to explain how you can't use a hard fiberglass pole on a flex liner, the brush heads are different for polymer rods and one don't fit on the otherIt's impossible to stick a 12"x12" or 12"x16" wire head brush down a 6" flex linerAfter she voiced her anger she didn't want to hear what I had to say and hung up on meI'm sorry Danica feels this way and I hope everything works out for her and her family with the wood insert Thank you for your help, Connie

Complaint: 12624967
I am rejecting this response because:This is not an accurate description of what happened.  Yes I did know the technician, but the owner failed to state that there was a new employee training who was the one that did all of the work, which I stated over the phone.  I also saw the equipment (poles) that were going to be used and they were not flexible like the owner says.  They were hard stiff rods that you would see in Mary Poppins movie.  When on the  roof the training technician got the rod stuck and pulled so hard on it that my insert lifted up a few inches.  I ran outside and yelled for them to stop because I didn’t want my property damaged.  They both told me that it was a very normal thing to happen and not to worry.  I took their word for it (they are supposed to be the professionals not me) and they finished and I paid.  The owner was not there to see what I saw and I do not appreciate being called a lair. I was not worried about the job they performed until I contacted another company to do the cleaning for me January 2018.  The amount of soot that was build up was very scary to me because I burn good dry wood and that is the most I have ever seen come out of a chimney.  I had been having issues with my unit for months which is odd because we have had it for over 4 years now.  I was very upset with the way my previous cleaning had been done once I saw how it should have been performed.  They took a flexible pipe with a soft brush head and went from inside the unit all the way up the liner to the chimney.  Then they went from the chimney town to the insert.  I had about 6 inches of soot that had fallen off.  Because I had so much build up and and my unit was not drawing air I don’t feel like this company said they did the work I paid for.When on the phone with the owner he kept interrupting me and dismissing the complaints I had saying there was no way they could life the unit and that they used flexible brushes for the cleaning.  As a woman I was very offended by that.  I got so tired of the constant interruptions and dismissiveness that I hung up the phone.  Had the owner said something like, “I am so sorry to hear about this.  In the future if you have any problems or questions please call us.  I will go over all of this information with my technicians and make sure they are following proper procedures.”  Had the owner listed and said something along those lines I would not be filing a complaint.     I do not feel like the work was done the correct way and I am very upset with the customer service I received.  The owners lack of consideration and lies is frankly unacceptable and that is why I am filing a complaint.  
Sincerely,
Danica J[redacted]