Shepherd's Heating & Air

First off this customer originally contacted my company after hours on Friday evening. I myself, the owner, Greg personally spoke with him. The customer advised he had no heat and said he had already performed some diagnostic testing himself, he was pretty sure his blower modor bad. I asked him...

several questions about how he performed his diagnostic tests, I even offered to send a technician out however he was concerned about the overtime expense. Therefore I in good faith tried to help in diagnosing the exact failure with the customer over the phone as he seemed to be mechanically inclined by what he was explaining at this point. I specifically asked him certain question in starting with if he could read a meter, and read a schematic.  I had him send me a picture of the schematic of his unit so I could walk him through some diagnostic testing over the phone. Once again trying to help this customer as he had no heat but couldn't afford the overtime expense. After my initial diagnostic testing over the phone with customer I advised I didn't believe it was the blower motor but instead a relay. Again I offered to send a technician out to confirm but customer denied. The customer & I were on the phone for no less than an hour discussing the unit and diagnostic testing on this Friday evening after hours. Then customer called me back a couple hours later on Friday night advising me the blower motor had shorted out. He had continued to further his own diagnostic testing and heard a pop, which customer stated was the motor shorting out. He explained to me a previous contractor had use different color wires than what was on schematic causing him to connect wrong wires and short motor.  I advised customer I would check my inventory or technicians trucks for a possible motor match and getc back with him.  Customer advised me motor was only 2 years old he wanted to contact Grainger for a possible warranty claim first. All of this communication was in good faith over the phone, no charge to customer!  Customer then texted me Saturday morning asking if I had a motor and what supply houses were open on a Saturday morning. I advised him I had no motor in Stock and supply houses were closed. No further communication was made from customer to me until Monday at 12pm. Customer texted and stated he was expecting to hear back from me, however that was never relayed. I advised customer I didn't hear anything further therefore was under impression he had it already taken care of. Customer advised me he did replace blower motor however he wanted a preventative maintenance done on his unit. I scheduled for 2 technicians to be out to his residence within 3 hours. Customer met technicians on sight and walked them to unit, going inside crawl space with them.  Technicians advised customer simply brushing coil and vacuuming it off would not help, it needed to be chemically cleaned, which we use lemon fresh evaporator no rinse coil cleaner.  This is the same cleaner used in restaurant service areas, and on all HVAC systems nationwide. Technicians advised customer his electric heaters did not work, the heater pack was burnt up. He verified charge was good.  My technician advised me the customer was in the crawl space with him when he chemically cleaned the unit. The customer never said a word about not using any chemicals. The technician also showed him the can of the cleaner that would be used prior to starting the cleaning. The technician also advised the customer of all cost up front prior to any service being performed and the customer accepted and was in agreeance to perform the preventative maintenance. The customer was also in the crawl space at the time cleaning service was performed. Upon the technicians coming out of crawl space and going inside home to check t-stat to make sure all operations were good the customers wife then came up complaining to my technicians that she should have been made aware of what was going on and what chemical was being used. From when the original call to my company was made and I personally took that call the only person we were dealing with was Mr. [redacted]. My technicians weren't even aware of there being a Mrs. [redacted] inside the home at the time of the visit until she came up to him complaining about being made aware. My technician simply tried to explain to her what we use is non toxic, safe to be around, is used on all HVAC equipment. The real problem here seemed to be a lack of communication between the customer and his spouse, not between my company or my technician and the original customer that made contact with my company! Myself and my technician explained every detail every step of the way to Mr. [redacted]. He had no issues with any services performed.  As for the pricing for this service it is very reasonable.  After all did the customer consider the hours I took speaking with him over the phone after hours on my Friday evening/night. I can assure him no other HVAC company owner would take the time to offer that service at no cost. Or did he consider the response to his text messages on Saturday, or the same day service my company provided him when he advised me he fixed the motor himself but wanted additional services and diagnostics performed to be sure his unit was in top shape. Not to also mention my technician tried to offer him a preventative maintenance agreement plan which would have cost him $[redacted] for two cleanings - a spring and a fall cleaning with no service call fee. But again the customer declined accepting to pay $** for the service call fee to diagnose and be sure his unit was properly performing per manufacturer specs and $[redacted] for the one time preventative maintenance cleaning fee. Please feel free to contact me for any further information pertaining to this claim! I have all text messages if needed. Thank you!Greg S[redacted]Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC [redacted] office 540-854-5750 fax[redacted] cell

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
It appears that Sheherds Heating and Air is still placing all of the blame on the electrician when it has been made clear that the electrician did not touch the AC unit. The electrician did not repair the AC, Shepherd's Heating and Air did. Had Shepherd's properly and correctly repaired the unit in the first place then the electrician would not have been needed. Again, I have several other written statements from other established HVAC companies stating that the compressor repair job completed by Shepherd's was done incorrectly and thus caused the additional repairs that I have had to pay for out of pocket in order to have a functional AC at that property. I have complained about Shepherd's to the warranty company as well. If necessary we will file a small claims lawsuit. A suit by attorney says we have more than enough evidence, both physical and eye witness testimony, to win. I understand that the warranty company ultimately hired Shepherd's, but it is Shepherd's responsibility to complete jobs accurately and competently or else face the consequences of their negligent and incompetent actions. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Id [redacted]I received a response to my complaint from Greg Shepherd, owner of Shepherd's Heating and Air LLC. It's important to note that Greg was NOT present on site to witness my interaction or dialogue or the unbelievably deplorable attitude of one of the two workers that he dared to send to my home. The majority of my concerns were NOT at all addressed. One of the two workers, as previously stated, was incredibly nasty in his treatment of my husband and me. Greg NEVER addressed that. Why was there no communication with the customer about the procedure to be followed?That's basic customer service. You don't unleash a toxin in full view of someone and then deem that to be foreknowledge and consent. That's absolutely unprofessional and absurd.  Maybe a well written estimate with all pertinent information regarding the job, procedure, time and price, is a better way to do business and eliminate potential communication errors?  Why would a reputable business NOT use this protection?  I read the contents of the can of solvent. I looked up some of the ingredients and found one was actually a nature/ plant based product. Another was not so nice. It is a probable carcinogen I believe is what it said. It is a respiratory irritant causing many of the symptoms I presented with. The reason for the questions in the first place is because my reaction was pretty immediate and increasingly severe, upon entering my home, even with doors open.  The reason this is now such an issue is due to the worker's less than stellar response to both my husband and me. I really don't expect to be snapped at just for    trying to communicate the goings on in my home. That's crazy! Greg mentioned that all charges were fully disclosed. I find it curious that he mentioned that, as it was not part of my complaint... although they did NOT disclose the $** charge added just to come out, until after the job was poorly done. I stood there as my husband verbally expressed total surprise, yet paid ANYWAY.  Shepherds heating and air is owned and operated by a less than reputable bunch. We can go back and forth for the next few years, which I have no intent. My concerns have not been addressed nor do I expect them to be. Nor do I expect, although requested,  any reimbursement for my family, having wasted money keeping the heat pump going with open doors and windows in winter weather for hours to remove the irritant from my home that I share with a child and pets. The worker sent to my home should never have been allow to interface with a customer. Reputable companies reach out to customers to inquire about what happened and attempt an IN house Resolution. No surprise this company did not. 
Regards,
[redacted]

This claim was through a home warranty company Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC went out to this property on a no AC calls. On arrival the technician found the unit was off on the float switch safety due to water sitting in the drain. The technician cleared all water out of the pan and even blew...

the drain out so no excess water would continue to billed up in pan. He checked all other operations  before leaving the property and the unit was running per manufacturers specs and the drain was draining properly. This was on a Thursday. The customer called back on Friday evening and advised she was seeing another slow drip come from a light fixture which was located in the ceiling below where the unit would be located in the attic. The owner who answered the after hours phone line that night advised them the drain is more than likely severely clogged since it's reoccurring so quickly again. He advised the customer, who was extremely rude in her messages left on the after hours voicemail and on the phone with the owner, Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC could not get a technician out to her until Saturday morning however he gave them several options to try to stop the leak over the phone. Again when the technician arrive on site Saturday morning the unit was again off on the float switch safety due to water in the drain pan and a clogged drain.  Once again the technician cleaned the drain and all the water from her drain pan leaving no excess water anywhere in or around her unit. Now just to note the home warranty company does not cover for a clogged condensate drain as that is regular maintenance that should be done by the home owner or a preventative maintenance contract on the unit through an HVAC company. The customer paid her deductible amount directly to the home warranty company so no fee at all was collected by Shepherd's from the customer. All information was submitted to her warranty company. This customer then called back on Saturday night and again spoke with the owner after leaving several very rude messages on the voicemail again stating that the unit was working great Saturday but sometime Saturday evening when they arrived back home from running an errand it was now not cooling. The owner advised her we originally came out to fix the water leak if her unit is not cooling but there is no longer a water leak then she has to call her warranty company and put in a new ticket. We could not come back out on a different issue without a ticket from them as that is standard procedure and the warranty companys means of a paper trail. This customer became irate and demanded Shepherd's send a technician out immediately, again it was advised to her there was procedures we had to follow and would not come out without approval from her warranty company. When the warranty company called our company on this claim we advised of the entire situation and advised them at that time if they'd like to turn this claim over to another company that may be for the best. This is what they did. That is there choice as Shepherd's is just a contractor for the home warranty company and hold no warranties on the claims, everything goes through the warranty company. Any damages sustained to her home would be the result of her clogged condensate drain't which is a regular maintenance that should be up kept by the customer themselves.  Please feel free to call or email if there is any further questions or concerns with this.Thank you!

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I wish to dispute what was said as things are not being told properly. I informed the home warranty that my unit was not working and Shepherds was sent out to fix the reason why the unit was not working. I did not know about a clog as the unit was not working. After the technician fixed the supposed issue, a water drip was found. I was not rude but frantic as water way leakjng from a light which could cause a fire. Myself and my fiancé contacted you multiple times before you decided to come out on Saturday. I was not there for the technician on Saturday due to the extreme heat, I sought refuge at my mother's home. The technician patched the leak and left, within 3 hours of his departure the unit was again not working at all. After I called Shepherds again and tried to explain that we were back to square one, the owner of the company refused to listen to anything I had to say, talked over me time and time again to the point where he refused to take responsibility for obviously not finding the correct issue and hung up on me. I called the home warranty who apologized profusely for this company not getting to the bottom of the issue, then tried to contact Shepherds before and got not response on multiple points of contact. We finally had to go with another company who has yet to repair the a/c, we still have water damage happening and I have concerns about my ceiling caving in my bathroom as the drywall was soaked and could cause mold to build up. I even had to contact a friend who is familiar with HVAC units and he said to wait for another company to come because the work that was done was subpar. He informed me that what was going on was a coil probably going bad and that a technician should never patch a drip pan but replace it as a patch can cause more damage. I am extremely disappointed in how this company handled things and put the health and safety of myself, my fiancé and my animals on the line. I did my very best to assist this company with quick fixes that may have worked but every time the owner became exasperated and continued to talk over me or my fiancé. In my opinion, this company never fully investigated what the issue truly was and we've had to suffer for their lack of thorough investigation into the ultimate source of the problem. 
Regards,
[redacted]

First off this customer originally contacted my company after hours on Friday evening. I myself, the owner, Greg personally spoke with him. The customer advised he had no heat and said he had already performed some diagnostic testing himself, he was pretty sure his blower motor bad. I asked him...

several questions about how he performed his diagnostic tests, I even offered to send a technician out however he was concerned about the overtime expense. Therefore I in good faith tried to help in diagnosing the exact failure with the customer over the phone as he seemed to be mechanically inclined by what he was explaining at this point. I specifically asked him certain question in starting with if he could read a meter, and read a schematic.  I had him send me a picture of the schematic of his unit so I could walk him through some diagnostic testing over the phone. Once again trying to help this customer as he had no heat but couldn't afford the overtime expense. After my initial diagnostic testing over the phone with customer I advised I didn't believe it was the blower motor but instead a relay. Again I offered to send a technician out to confirm but customer denied. The customer & I were on the phone for no less than an hour discussing the unit and diagnostic testing on this Friday evening after hours. Then customer called me back a couple hours later on Friday night advising me the blower motor had shorted out. He had continued to further his own diagnostic testing and heard a pop, which customer stated was the motor shorting out. He explained to me a previous contractor had use different color wires than what was on schematic causing him to connect wrong wires and short motor.  I advised customer I would check my inventory or technicians trucks for a possible motor match and getc back with him.  Customer advised me motor was only 2 years old he wanted to contact Grainger for a possible warranty claim first. All of this communication was in good faith over the phone, no charge to customer!  Customer then texted me Saturday morning asking if I had a motor and what supply houses were open on a Saturday morning. I advised him I had no motor in Stock and supply houses were closed. No further communication was made from customer to me until Monday at 12pm. Customer texted and stated he was expecting to hear back from me, however that was never relayed. I advised customer I didn't hear anything further therefore was under impression he had it already taken care of. Customer advised me he did replace blower motor however he wanted a preventative maintenance done on his unit. I scheduled for 2 technicians to be out to his residence within 3 hours. Customer met technicians on sight and walked them to unit, going inside crawl space with them.  Technicians advised customer simply brushing coil and vacuuming it off would not help, it needed to be chemically cleaned, which we use lemon fresh evaporator no rinse coil cleaner.  This is the same cleaner used in restaurant service areas, and on all HVAC systems nationwide. Technicians advised customer his electric heaters did not work, the heater pack was burnt up. He verified charge was good.  My technician advised me the customer was in the crawl space with him when he chemically cleaned the unit. The customer never said a word about not using any chemicals. The technician also showed him the can of the cleaner that would be used prior to starting the cleaning. The technician also advised the customer of all cost up front prior to any service being performed and the customer accepted and was in agreeance to perform the preventative maintenance. The customer was also in the crawl space at the time cleaning service was performed. Upon the technicians coming out of crawl space and going inside home to check t-stat to make sure all operations were good the customers wife then came up complaining to my technicians that she should have been made aware of what was going on and what chemical was being used. From when the original call to my company was made and I personally took that call the only person we were dealing with was Mr. [redacted]. My technicians weren't even aware of there being a Mrs. [redacted] inside the home at the time of the visit until she came up to him complaining about being made aware. My technician simply tried to explain to her what we use is non toxic, safe to be around, is used on all HVAC equipment. The real problem here seemed to be a lack of communication between the customer and his spouse, not between my company or my technician and the original customer that made contact with my company! Myself and my technician explained every detail every step of the way to Mr. [redacted]. He had no issues with any services performed.  As for the pricing for this service it is very reasonable.  After all did the customer consider the hours I took speaking with him over the phone after hours on my Friday evening/night. I can assure him no other HVAC company owner would take the time to offer that service at no cost. Or did he consider the response to his text messages on Saturday, or the same day service my company provided him when he advised me he fixed the motor himself but wanted additional services and diagnostics performed to be sure his unit was in top shape. Not to also mention my technician tried to offer him a preventative maintenance agreement plan which would have cost him $[redacted] for two cleanings - a spring and a fall cleaning with no service call fee. But again the customer declined accepting to pay $** for the service call fee to diagnose and be sure his unit was properly performing per manufacturer specs and $[redacted] for the one time preventative maintenance cleaning fee. Please feel free to contact me for any further information pertaining to this claim! I have all text messages if needed. Thank you!Greg S[redacted]Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC [redacted] office [redacted] fax[redacted] cell

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.It appears that Sheherds Heating and Air is still placing all of the blame on the electrician when it has been made clear that the electrician did not touch the AC unit. The electrician did not repair the AC, Shepherd's Heating and Air did. Had Shepherd's properly and correctly repaired the unit in the first place then the electrician would not have been needed. Again, I have several other written statements from other established HVAC companies stating that the compressor repair job completed by Shepherd's was done incorrectly and thus caused the additional repairs that I have had to pay for out of pocket in order to have a functional AC at that property. I have complained about Shepherd's to the warranty company as well. If necessary we will file a small claims lawsuit. A suit by attorney says we have more than enough evidence, both physical and eye witness testimony, to win. I understand that the warranty company ultimately hired Shepherd's, but it is Shepherd's responsibility to complete jobs accurately and competently or else face the consequences of their negligent and incompetent actions. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: The air conditioner at one of our rental properties had been broken and not working for over a month. Shepherd's Heating and Air finally replaced the compressor on July 14, 2016. Immediately upon installing the new compressor the technician reported that the breaker kept tripping and the breaker needed to be replaced by an electrician in order for the AC to be completely repaired. Shepherd's then left (and the AC was still not working). We then hired an electrician, Brown's Electric, LLC to change the breaker that same day. The electrician did not tamper with any of the HVAC components. He unplugged the AC unit and changed the breaker (even though he stated he did not think the breaker was the problem). Once he changed the breaker he plugged the unit back in and the AC came on. According to the Electrician and the tenant who was present at the time, within seconds they heard a loud "boom" and ran to find the outside unit smoking and spewing freon. I then called another HVAC company (Able Heating and Air) to come look at the unit on an emergency basis. The technician with Able Heating and Air advised me that the compressor had "blown" and in doing so caused damage to other components in the unit and the repairs were estimated at $3600. I reported this information to Shepherd's Heating and Air who immediately accused the electrician of some kind of wrong doing. Greg at Shepherd's Heating and Air never offered to look at the unit again, never offered to fix his technician's mistake, and never acknowledged that it was possible that his technician was at fault. Instead Greg said he would charge approximately $1000 to repair the unit or $3800 to replace the unit (in addition to the fees we have already paid to have the compressor fixed and whatever labor fees they have gotten out of the home warranty co, HMS). We had 3 other HVAC companies look at the unit afterwards, and every technician reported that the compressor was installed incorrectly as well as other problems.Desired Settlement: Had Shepherd's Heating and Air completed the AC repairs accurately then we would not have had to incur further repair costs. Instead their negligence, and subsequent lack of personal responsibility and refusal to fix their errors caused us great financial loss. We did find another HVAC company to replace the AC unit at nearly $1000 cheaper than what Shepherd’s Heating and Air quoted. Additionally, once advised of Shepherd’s incompetence (by several other HVAC companies), as well as their total denial of wrongdoing and unwillingness to remedy their mistakes, we decided that we did not want them to complete any further work at our property. We are seeking full reimbursement for our total out of pocket expenses caused by Shepherd’s, totaling $3130. $2900 for the AC replacement done by All In One HVAC and $230 that we paid Shepherd's for the initial (and failed) compressor replacement.

Business

Response:

First off this job was not directly through Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC. Instead this job was contracted to us through the Home Warranty company Cross Country Home Services. The new compressor was supplied by the home warranty! When the technician from Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC installed the new compressor & found the breaker continuing to trip off the compressor was disconnected and the tennant as well as the property management company and the home warranty company was advised an electrician was needed. After the electrician repaired the breaker Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC would return to finish reconnecting the compressor and starting the unit up. An electrician has no business trying to plug or reconnect any of the compressor components. When the home owner, Mrs. [redacted] called me to explain the new situation at hand that was the first time I heard of any of the new damages. I did advise her at that point my company would cone back over to take a look but to be advised if it was electrician error, which is exactly what the warranty company would say due to the electrician should not have touched any parts of the hvac system then it would be a denied claim & she would then have to pay out of pocket. I told her I would have to talk with the home warranty company to explain the new situation as any of my authorization ultimately comes from them. My regional rep, Rebecca H[redacted], from Cross Country Home Services got involved and advised me let her get all details and she'd get back to me. In her doing so she later called to advise me there will be no more handling of this case from the warranty company or Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC unless this customer contacted us back directly and went through us as a contractor without the home warranty. This decision was due to the electrician that was called out was not approved by the home warranty for repairs, the multiple other hvac contractors that were called out were not approved by the home warranty company and therefore we were advised this claim was bring denied and would not be authorized for any further dealings with this claim. Mrs. H[redacted] was going to advised the home owner of this decision on her own and advise her if she wished to continue to use us for repairs it would then be full retail out of pocket and she would have to contact us directly. Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC never heard anymore about this claim from the warranty company nor the property owner, tennant, or management company. This claim pricing was adjusted with warranty company which has no direct connection with the home owner and to my knowledge the non covered charges the home owner is speaking of paying Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC for the compressor replacement was not collected due to having to come back on the job to make final repair once electrician completed his part. However even if it had been collected it would be for the time and materials to replace the initial compressor as explained to her by the home warranty company which was completed in accordance to the guidelines set by the home warranty company. Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC followed the correct protocol as set forth by our agreement with Cross Country Home Services in stopping the repair to fix other needed situations as to not damage a new compressor supplied by them. All communication efforts to the warranty company, the tenant living at the property and the property management company handling the property for the home owner Mrs. [redacted] were done properly as per our required contract with Cross Country Home Services in which we made them all aware electrician was needed, the reason, that the compressor had been disconnected for safety of new equipment not being further damaged, and what the next steps would be and that Shepherd's Heating & Air, LLC would return as soon as warranty company advised electrician had made accurate repairs. This claims negligence was solely based on whomever - home owner, tennant or property manager going outside of home warranty company for repairs instead of them following the proper channels as outlined through their home warranty plan. PPlease feel free to contact me directly for any additional needed information at [redacted] or by email.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

It appears that Sheherds Heating and Air is still placing all of the blame on the electrician when it has been made clear that the electrician did not touch the AC unit. The electrician did not repair the AC, Shepherd's Heating and Air did. Had Shepherd's properly and correctly repaired the unit in the first place then the electrician would not have been needed. Again, I have several other written statements from other established HVAC companies stating that the compressor repair job completed by Shepherd's was done incorrectly and thus caused the additional repairs that I have had to pay for out of pocket in order to have a functional AC at that property. I have complained about Shepherd's to the warranty company as well. If necessary we will file a small claims lawsuit. A suit by attorney says we have more than enough evidence, both physical and eye witness testimony, to win. I understand that the warranty company ultimately hired Shepherd's, but it is Shepherd's responsibility to complete jobs accurately and competently or else face the consequences of their negligent and incompetent actions.

Regards,