Stramowski Heating, Inc.

I've now called Stramowski times and have left a message for management to call me backEvery time I call they state Phil, the ***, is out and will get back to meIt has been two weeks now and they have not returned my callsI sent out an e-mail to Phil asking him to please reach out to me
He has failed to reply to my e-mailWhen I call and ask them this information over the phone, the response I get is that Phil is the only person that can assist meWell, Phil never gets back to meI've been trying to reach him now since April 24th both via e-mail and phone, and he just refuses to reply.At this point, I would like to return the partThe *** Anthony stated, that the part was the only charge, not his services"There was no additional cost for installation" is what Anthony statedThe lack of response from Stramowski is unacceptable and highly unworthy of an A+ ratingAt this point, I can drop off there part and they can give me a refundIf they would not have mislead us in the need of this part, we would have been able to make an educated decision on weather we wanted to move forward or not with the partStramowski was unethical and now are being elusive in trying to connect on this matterPlease assist.*** ***C: ###-###-####

*** *** contacted our office to dispute the amount paid. I was in a meeting and not available to take the call.Mr*** insisted on speaking with me on subsequent calls to our office; however, would not give any information as to the nature of the call. Since we were unaware of the reason and nature of the call the office staff was unable to help him.I went out of town a few days later and receive notice that Mr*** had contacted our office again numerous times. Mr*** was made aware that I was out of town. At this point he was able to explain his situation to Kim our office ***. Mr*** complained that we were charging “too much” for this repair.Kim informed him that all of the charges were up front and that Lisa, his wife, approved everything. This is also evident by the signature on the approval line on our invoice.Notwithstanding, Kim went above and beyond and contacted me while I was out of town to inform me about what had happened according to Mr***. Upon receiving the information I opened my own investigation into the matter. This included securing a copy of the invoice and speaking with the ***nician.I attached an image with a copy of the original copy of the invoice.The ***nician was at the *** residence to complete a tune up scheduled by Lisa ***. Upon completing his tasks he notices a problem with a part.Upon discussion with Lisa he recommended that the part be replaced, however, the system would continue to work without the replacement. It was just a matter of time before the system might fail as a result of the part going bad.Since we were there to perform regular preventative maintenance it is to inform a customer of any potential issue and make recommendations to remedy any such issue to prevent a breakdown.The recommendation was made in this case and Lisa began texting and calling her husband to see what he’d like to do.Approximately to minutes went by and the ***nician got to the end of his tune up. He asked Lisa one last time what she’d like to do about the part. She said, after speaking to her husband, “put the part in.”Everything was fully explained to Lisa NOT ***. And, Lisa was made aware of the price before we installed the part.It was my determination that all of the appropriate procedures were met within the operation of the office when they quoted a tune up and by the ***nician who followed procedure in quoting the price before completing any work.Therefore, Stramowski Heating will not be issuing any refund or credit.Please note that it is within Kim Cottons authority to issue or deny any refund or credit. She made the proper call here and I stand behind it.I am not always available to handle these issues. Kim is the proper authority in these cases. Mr*** refused to accept that.He proceeded to email me. Incidentally, our email system went down for a weekend and we did experience some data loss. As a result, I’m not able to produce my response to Mr***.Suffice to say, all of the appropriate business practices were followed and there was never any intent to deceive or evade as Mr*** claims.Unfortunately, Mr*** may remain dissatisfied with our services and products; however, his claim disposition remains the same. There will be no refund

On the original service call the technician did, in fact, look into warranty. He discovered that Stramowski Heating Inc did not install his equipment. The technician quoted the homeowner a price to repair his system. The homeowner became apprehensive about the repair pricing and inquired about...

warranty. The technician looked it up in our system and determined that the system would not be covered as we didn’t install it. He went on and informed the homeowner about our warranty policy and procedures. He informed the homeowner that our installations come with 100% double coverage.  The homeowner responded to the technician indicating that he didn’t want to pay “Stramowski prices” and that he had this one(his furnace) installed for a “bargain” price. Despite his reservations the homeowner agreed to the repair. Our office ordered up the part and another technician was dispatched to the home and repaired the system on a different day. The payment was collected for the work agreed upon.  There will be no refund.   The homeowner stated that our technician “implied” that we considered other “independents” hacks. I apologize for the homeowner getting that impression. I hope to clear this up now. The reason for our warranty policy isn’t punitive in nature and it is not to diminish the perceived value or quality of any other contractor.  It is simply in place to honor our commitment to our customers that see the value in having a contractor who responds to their calls for service in a timely manner; those customers who invest with our company for the long term. This homeowner referred to having numerous units installed over the past 10 years.  He promises of lots of “potential” future work. What he may not know is that we hear that quite frequently from property owners who simply want work done and want it done on the cheap or at a “bargain”. In order to maintain our professionalism, we MUST respond to these customers no matter what or risk a negative review for not responding. We cannot escape it.  I can only respond to this complaint publicly and further educate our homeowners or anyone reading this as to why they may want to do business with a company like Stramowski Heating and why they may not want to do it the way this homeowner did.   To expand on the warranty “why not”, please understand the following: Most of the equipment breakdowns we see in cases like this(system installed by “independent”) are a result of improper installations.  Many of these installations are completed by companies without proper licensing and even without pulling permits.  Some are done by technicians as “side jobs”(cash jobs). I investigated this homeowner’s assertions. And, I was even able to run the serial number against the databases to determine how his “independent” contractor was able to install his furnace for such a “bargain” price. You can’t just walk into a furnace distributor and buy a furnace.  I wanted to know more. In this case, his furnace was not installed by an “independent”, but by a technician employed by another company. The furnace was sold by a local distributor for cash to a technician under his employer’s account.   Many homeowners may think they’re saving by having work done in this fashion; however, it is instances like these that it ends up costing homeowners.  In some cases, it may cost far more than they expect.  I would recommend that anyone considering installing heating equipment in their home let a qualified professional install their system.  Make sure the dealer is appropriately licensed and insured and is pulling permits.   I hope that this homeowner is able to understand Stramowski Heating a little better and realize that we never sought to “punish” him and that everything we did was above board and transparent.  He had the full authority over the call.  He could have simply declined the repairs and called another Goodman dealer.  He chose to accept the repairs, wait a day, and then call looking for us to adjust our pricing. It would be immoral and unethical to change our uniform pricing for this customer and not all customers.  And, while I can appreciate this homeowner’s comments I do not agree with his assessment.  There was no deviation in our policy or procedures and; therefore, will be no refund of any type.

The work Stramowski Heating performed on our heating system did nothing to resolve our heating issues.  I don't believe it is reasonable to ask us to pay the full amount quoted of over $1,200.00 for repairing our heat when nothing was repaired.  The quote stated the heating system would be repaired after the quoted work was complete.  We scheduled the work on those terms yet the promised results were not met.  Even so, we offered to split the bill to settle the dispute, but Stamowski was not interested as stated in their response.  We thank the Revdex.com for their service in attempting to assist us in resolving our billing dispute.  Businesses should not be allowed to misdiagnose needed repairs and then charge the customer the full price when the work performed does not resolve the issue. Therefore, we will consider other avenues for resolving this dispute.

I feel it would be a fair compromise if Stramowski would split the difference in the cost of the repairs.  We received no benefit from their work, but would still willing to pay half of what they are charging to resolve the dispute.

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and I accept the response with disappointment.  It is obvious that continuing would get us nowhere.   Several events outlined in the response are chronologically mixed up, probably because it was written second hand by the general manager who didn't returned my calls and never talked to me.  But the real issue is that I am disappointed that Stramoski feels they are "morally and ethically" bound to a policy where they say to the customer "you must pay for this part" even though the manufacturer will give us the part for free.  In the Stramoski response "our policy" is what they are defending.  As a customer I may not have policies but I have "principles" and if something doesn't seem fair or logical then I have a "moral and ethical" responsibility to look out for my interests and resist something that doesn't make sense, like "we could get the part for free for the customer, but instead we will charge him for it". Regards, 
[redacted]

Our pricing is consistent and upfront. We at Stramowski Heating understand that this is very unusual and we sympathize with the homeowner but we commenced and completed work at the price agreed upon and authorized by the homeowner. This was the first time Stramowski Heating was contracted by this homeowner.  Stramowski Heating had no history with this system and lacked specific operational knowledge about it; knowledge we attempt to get from the homeowner and through careful dissemination of a system.  Due to the obscurity with respect to this problem, the only way to obtain such information would be to complete the work Stramowski Heating technicians performed at the residence. Upon discernment of the north heating circuit obstruction another quote was provided with specific consideration for the work already completed. The homeowner halted any further work and prevented Stramowski Heating from getting the entire system functional again as was expected by the homeowner; notwithstanding, the original bill for services and/or products rendered remains valid. Unfortunately, Stramowski Heating cannot accept the offer to “split the bill”.  Stramowski Heating technicians completed the repairs as stated and authorized by the homeowner.

Review: We scheduled an appointment with Stramowski Heating and Air Conditioning as only half of our home baseboards were heating.

Based on the technician’s evaluation during the scheduled appointment on 11/12/2015, he determined that we had an air block in one of the two loops of piping which could only be resolved by installing a purge system near the boiler. He stated the repair work would have to be done at a future date and he provided a quote for the repairs of $1,156.94 plus tax. The quote listed the work to be performed, the cost, and the statement “after all this work is done we will be able to pressurize the system and purge each loop, then any micro bubbles left in the system will be taken out of automatic vent “ .

We scheduled an appointment and on 11/19/2015 the technician performed the work listed in the quote, but could not purge the air out of the system as stated they would be able to do after the work listed on the quote was done. The technician called the manager who came out and he also could not determine why the air could not be purged. The manager stated they would send us another quote which would include the cost for the work completed plus additional diagnostic and repair work.

On 11/23/2015, we received a new estimate via email of $1,876.60 from the manager. This new quote included the cost for work already performed plus the new diagnostic and repair work they said we needed. They also stated this time that if no flow were present after the new work was done, more invasive diagnostic methods may become necessary and may be charged additionally.

We replied to the manager’s $1,887.60 email quote advising him that . . . . . considering we were already into the heating season and we did have some heat, we should not continue with additional work at this time. We did this out of concern that once they began tearing into our heating system we would be without any heat for an unforeseen amount of time at an unknown cost and would revisit the issue in spring.

We had several email exchanges with the manager in an attempt to negotiate a reduction in the price for the work performed based on the fact that our heat was not repaired as stated it would be in the quote, but the manager refused to discuss any reduction in the cost for the work.

We received an invoice on December 05, 2015, postmarked December 03, 2015, dated 11/19/2015 for the full $1,156.94 plus tax stated in the original quote to repair our heating system.

We never signed anything stating we would pay the original quoted repair cost of $1,156.94 plus tax, but would have immediately paid the full amount quoted upon completion of the work had the problem been resolved as promised in the quote.

We don’t believe it is reasonable to charge us over $1,300.00 – ( $94 initial service call + $1156.94 plus tax) for the completed work) for work that did nothing at all to resolve our heating problem, especially when the quote stated in writing, “after all this work is done we will be able to pressurize the system and purge each loop, then any micro bubbles left in the system will be taken out of automatic vent “.Desired Settlement: Substantial adjustment to invoiced amount.

Business

Response:

The homeowner did contact us about a problem with her system only heating one side of her home. The technician diagnosed the problem as air in the system. In order to remove the air from the system a number of repairs needed to be made to the system. Upon completing those repairs the technician should have been able to push the air out. Unfortunately, there was something else that was creating an obstruction in the piping on the north side of the home. There was no way for any technician to have known that until the system was repaired in a way that would allow him to diagnose it further. This is so remote that it’s not something that could have been reasonably foreseen prior to the initial repairs made to the boiler. This homeowner was given a quote on repairs to install an air elimination device and re-pipe the boiler so the system could be purged of air. The quote also included the installation of a customer supplied expansion tank. All of the aforementioned repairs were completed. Upon completion of the repairs the technician realized there was an issue with the system beyond just air. Again, very unusual. At this point he involved his manager (me). When I arrived on site and inspected the system it became clear to me that the system had been tampered with at some point in its past. There were bleeder valves broken off on several baseboard radiators. Upon discussion with the homeowner’s husband via a telephone call, he informed me that he had broken the bleeders off in years past. He indicated to me that he had problems with the system for at least a year. As noted on the original quote, the homeowner had his own Filltrol (expansion tank and auto-fill) system which we used per his request. I then visually traced the entire nonfunctional loop of baseboard out. The baseboard piping did run under a piece of concrete slab. I indicated to the homeowner that we could alter the system to eliminate that area under the concrete as this is where I suspected a more severe and unusual obstruction to be. I also indicated that we would certainly roll any current repair pricing into the next set of repairs needed to get the system working so the homeowner wouldn’t be paying full service rate. After I sent the revised estimate over to Mr. [redacted] he expressed his dissatisfaction with what had taken place and declined further repairs citing what is mentioned in this complaint. The reasons for why the heating system problem was unable to be resolved had to do with something very unusual and remote taking place within the system; something virtually impossible to diagnose without completing the necessary repairs as listed above and the homeowner declining to go further by eliminating the section of piping where the obstruction may be located. Notwithstanding, Stramowski Heating completed work necessary to purge air from the system. We still need to collect for the job we completed. Stramowski Heating was perfectly willing to move forward to get the system operational but the homeowner prevented us from doing so. We do our best to diagnose problems as thoroughly as possible. I understand that this was a very unusual problem and if I felt our technician was negligent in his diagnostic process or simply made a mistake I would not have hesitated to remove all of the charges. This is not the case. To recap, the technician diagnosed some severe issues with the boiler upon arrival that are very common and could have been 100% of the cause for the heating issue. The repairs were made per the estimate. After those repairs were made we found another more major issue in the system. The homeowner was quoted to fix that as well. The homeowner declined those repairs. The homeowner owes Stramowski Heating for the initial repairs made to the system.

Consumer

Response:

I feel it would be a fair compromise if Stramowski would split the difference in the cost of the repairs. We received no benefit from their work, but would still willing to pay half of what they are charging to resolve the dispute.

Business

Response:

Our pricing is consistent and upfront. We at Stramowski Heating understand that this is very unusual and we sympathize with the homeowner but we commenced and completed work at the price agreed upon and authorized by the homeowner. This was the first time Stramowski Heating was contracted by this homeowner. Stramowski Heating had no history with this system and lacked specific operational knowledge about it; knowledge we attempt to get from the homeowner and through careful dissemination of a system. Due to the obscurity with respect to this problem, the only way to obtain such information would be to complete the work Stramowski Heating technicians performed at the residence. Upon discernment of the north heating circuit obstruction another quote was provided with specific consideration for the work already completed. The homeowner halted any further work and prevented Stramowski Heating from getting the entire system functional again as was expected by the homeowner; notwithstanding, the original bill for services and/or products rendered remains valid. Unfortunately, Stramowski Heating cannot accept the offer to “split the bill”. Stramowski Heating technicians completed the repairs as stated and authorized by the homeowner.

Consumer

Response:

The work Stramowski Heating performed on our heating system did nothing to resolve our heating issues. I don't believe it is reasonable to ask us to pay the full amount quoted of over $1,200.00 for repairing our heat when nothing was repaired. The quote stated the heating system would be repaired after the quoted work was complete. We scheduled the work on those terms yet the promised results were not met. Even so, we offered to split the bill to settle the dispute, but Stamowski was not interested as stated in their response. We thank the Revdex.com for their service in attempting to assist us in resolving our billing dispute. Businesses should not be allowed to misdiagnose needed repairs and then charge the customer the full price when the work performed does not resolve the issue. Therefore, we will consider other avenues for resolving this dispute.

I recently used Stramowski Heating for service work on my furnace. I'm usually conservative with high ratings, because I'm never sure how everyone can rate above average. But, this place was exceptional. The offices were clean, neat, and the receptionist was very pleasant. They provided same day service, the service tech called before coming and was within the time window promised, he explained what he was doing and what parts needed to be replaced and why, and he left a detailed list on the invoice of what he did. I highly recommend them.

The installers did a first rate job installing my new furnace and air conditioner. They arrived on time with a truck fully equipped to perform the job. The attention to detail was evident by the clean, professional way the equipment was installed. They took away all of the old equipment and totally cleaned up after themselves. When the job was complete and they had left, the only evidence that the installers had been in my home was the new air conditioning behind my house and the new furnace in my utility room. In my opinion, a great company to work with.

Review: I've now called Stramowski 5 times and have left a message for management to call me back. Every time I call they state Phil, the [redacted], is out and will get back to me. It has been two weeks now and they have not returned my calls. I sent out an e-mail to Phil asking him to please reach out to me. He has failed to reply to my e-mail. When I call and ask them this information over the phone, the response I get is that Phil is the only person that can assist me. Well, Phil never gets back to me. I've been trying to reach him now since April 24th both via e-mail and phone, and he just refuses to reply.Desired Settlement: At this point, I would like to return the part. The [redacted] Anthony stated, that the part was the only charge, not his services. "There was no additional cost for installation" is what Anthony stated. The lack of response from Stramowski is unacceptable and highly unworthy of an A+ rating. At this point, I can drop off there part and they can give me a refund. If they would not have mislead us in the need of this part, we would have been able to make an educated decision on weather we wanted to move forward or not with the part. Stramowski was unethical and now are being elusive in trying to connect on this matter. Please assist.

Consumer

Response:

I've now called Stramowski 5 times and have left a message for management to call me back. Every time I call they state Phil, the [redacted], is out and will get back to me. It has been two weeks now and they have not returned my calls. I sent out an e-mail to Phil asking him to please reach out to me. He has failed to reply to my e-mail. When I call and ask them this information over the phone, the response I get is that Phil is the only person that can assist me. Well, Phil never gets back to me. I've been trying to reach him now since April 24th both via e-mail and phone, and he just refuses to reply.