Sabala Electric

I moved in to a house with a swamp cooler and contacted Sabala to troubleshoot why the swamp cooler switched off the breaker. They sent a technician and he changed the switch and the problem was fixed in under 30 minutes. He did not inspect the actual swamp cooler on the roof. I payed the bill and was happy with the service. After about 1 month, the swamp tripped the breaker again. This time the same tech came out and tried the quick fix again. After 4 hours, he said that the motor went bad because the pulley was loose. He installed a new motor and he claimed the swamp cooler worked properly. During the work his cell phone often rang with the ring tone that exclaimed that "your baby mama is calling". He was in a hurry to leave and the trash he left behind showed that. The swamp cooler was left on by the tech and it worked only on vent and none of the functions listed on the switch were working, high cool was vent, low cool did not work, the low vent turned on the pump, the high vent was low vent and pump position did not work. The tech said there may be a bad wire that requires cutting into the wall to rewire. I called and spoke to the receptionist after I got a bill for almost $500 for a service that Sabala failed to fix and informed them that I will not be paying my bill until my system works properly. They sent techs to the house without contacting me first. The same tech was there and insisted to my girlfriend that the house was too small and that the swamp won't work. There was a new tech there and they went on the roof and worked on the wiring and replaced the cooler pads. In the end they were able to fix the swamp cooler, even though they did not cut into the wall like the first tech said. I was still disappointed in Sabala's service and the laziness of the manager Jim for not returning any of my several calls. To top off the terrible service, they sent a bill for the work they did on the 3rd trip, after I told them I wouldn't pay the ~$500 bill.Desired SettlementI should not be charged for the last bill. If their tech would have checked the roof the first time, I may not have had a $500 bill in the first place. I never agreed to have them come back to my house the 3rd time, they completed a service without contacting me. I am willing to go to small claims to get this bill dropped. They only spent 30 mins each on the first and third trips to the house and I was charged the full hour each time. They are not losing any money, I payed what was agreed upon.Business Response We got a call to repair a swamp cooler on 6-10-15. After assessing the situation we found a control switch that was wired wrong and broken so it was replaced. Swamp cooler worked fine and the bill was paid. 1 hour labor and parts. The next call was 7-31-15. We responded that afternoon late in the day. My tech set it up for the following day Sat 8-1-15. Accessing the situation, he replaced the motor and the pulley probably installed by previous owner and once again the bill was for 3.5 hours straight time, not time and a half as could have been and material. The bill was paid. The final call came in on 8-12-15. They said that it wasn't working again. Same tech went out that day and found it working fine so he changed the pads with the okay of the homeowner. 1 hr labor and material. Essentially we rebuilt a swamp cooler over the course of 2 months for a total of 5.5 hours and material cost of $188.48. I feel that we did an excellent job not once trying to take advantage of the homeowners. I'm appalled that we preformed a service at the request of the home owner, were not only fair but diligent in every aspect. Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I am not the tech's employer and I am not required to pay time and a half, so no I cannot be charged time and a half. Wouldn't it be ethical to tell someone before you charge them time and a half for a repair? I would have rescheduled for another time. After the 2nd repair, he told me it worked and I was happy that he came on a Saturday, I even gave him a $10 bill to show my appreciation, even after he failed to repair it on the Friday that I scheduled it for. The swamp cooler was not working and that is why I called the 3rd time and left a message that I was not paying the bill until it was fixed. You not communicating with me resulted in the techs going out to fix the swamp cooler again without my input or consent. I have no reason to lie about the switches not working and I was actually happy when it was fixed the third time, although pads were unnecessary, since I replaced them in June. Is it possible that your tech or techs do not remember correctly? There is no way I would contact you to come out and fix the switch if it was working. After the 3rd visit, the swamp cooler performed excellently and I cannot complain about its function today because the swamp cooler still works and effective cools the whole home. Your timeline says the bill was paid before the 3rd visit and that is incorrect, the check was delivered to your business after the 3rd repair was completed. You sent techs out without contacting me. I am appalled that a manager of a small business cannot take or return a simple phone call and the only way to communicate with him is to file a complaint with Revdex.com. You failed to show diligence by not returning any of my calls. I have more than enough money to pay the bill, but your refusal to return my calls to discuss a billing issue led to me contacting the Revdex.com and this is why I have an issue with your company. Changing the pads does not have an effect on the switch and I am 100% sure that the switch did not operate correctly and this can be verified by my girlfriend who also was at the house, as well as my parents who visted my house before the 3rd visit. For further clarification, I left the the house on 8-1 after the tech finished his work for a vacation and I was unable to recognize the issue with the switch until I returned home and wanted to use the swamp cooler. You say the tech changed the pads with the okay of the homeowner and that is incorrect, I am the homeowner and I did not give the okay. They told my girlfriend who was home that I called and gave them the okay to fix this, which is not correct, she was unaware what was going on. Once again, this miscommunication would likely not have occurred if you returned phone calls from customers. Before the 3rd visit, I payed all my bills on time and I was agreeable to the service you provided until I discovered that the swamp did not function correctly. I was under the impression that the 3rd visit was free of charge to fix what was not accomplished during the 2nd visit, since I told your receptionist I would not be paying the bill until my swamp cooler worked. I was mostly pleased with the service until I received the unexpected 3rd bill. Your tech did not stay long enough to test if the swamp cooler worked during the 2nd visit and his insistence that I had a "bad wire" that required cutting prevented me from addressing the problem until I returned home. His talking about a "bad wire" is evidence that he knew that the system did not function properly. He even told me that he put 2 of the same wires on the same position on the motor and this "may be a problem". I do not believe that they did not work on the wiring on the 3rd visit, otherwise the swamp cooler would still not be functioning. How can he not remember this? The single vent function worked after the 2nd visit and there was no function of the cool position, which is what allows a swamp cooler to work. Since the tech left the swamp cooler on, I assumed it worked because he said so, which was a mistake. My swamp cooler did not function properly after I was billed almost $500 and the service I wanted was not completed. You are a member of the Revdex.com and you are a licensed contractor in Nevada, so I am assuming you care about your business. Please understand that I am telling you the truth and I would urge you to listen to your customers. It sounds as if you are listening only to your employees and not getting the whole story. I would appreciate it if we can reach an agreement on my issue. I would even be willing to negotiate on the cost of the pads, since you did incur the cost of the pads while the techs repaired the electrical system of swamp cooler the 3rd time. Up until I received the 3rd bill, I had no significant issues with Sabala and I assumed you were a good manager who was warrantying one of his jobs that failed to repair the problem.Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)I accept this resolution, so long as I receive written documentation from the business that shows the billing issue has been resolved and there is no balance owed. If I do not receive documentation, I will re-open my complaint. It is useless to argue about honesty in this situation as it is subjectively biased, but I am 100% sure that what I have told you is the truth. Again, there is only one homeowner of the property and that is me, whom you never spoke with about the charges. My girlfriend called you to inquire about the charges, since I was unable to reach you. During that conversation she explained the issue and you told her you would speak with the tech and get back to her. You never returned her call or my calls after that, which led to my complaint. Final Business Response In the interest of maintaining a solid relationship with all of our customers, I will concede this matter to the homeowner.However, I stand behind my technicians 100%. The are qualified for the work that they preform, and they are honest and loyal. As far as communication with the homeowners, I did speak with one of them and explained the charges.