Business ProfileforAltman's Cooling & Heating, LLC

Altman's gave me an estimate about 2 years ago for a new system install but I selected another company. After that install with the other installer, I heard from several friends and relatives about Altman's being an honest and reputable firm to deal with and so when I had an issue, I called them for help. The tech that responded determined I needed an expansion valve (which I may need but is completely unrelated to the problem I was calling about and would not fix my issue), so I restated my problem when he rediagnosed to another fix related to my fan motor. I received an estimate and accepted the price assuming the price of $380 would be inline with the amount of labor involved to install the part (the part was under warranty). The tech showed up and within 30 minutes was finished. I called the company and spoke to a co-owner who advised that was their pricing policy. He then stated that he noticed on my file that his company had provided me with an estimate which I did not select. Not sure why this would be part of this issue other than to say that this was retribution for not selecting them on that estimate. The co-owner certainly was indignant after this and abruptly suggested we terminate the call. I was certainly not expecting this from a company that was highly recommended to me, however, Altman's has lost a customer. I am not looking for anything from them, just beware. I certainly hope this was an isolated issue and maybe someone was just having an off day.

The details in this review are inaccurate. We Came out in 2020 and did leave an estimate to replace the unit as it needed to be replaced. The customer chose to go with a different company to install the unit. Which is fine with us, however 2 years later when the unit broke, he chose to call us, who did not install the unit, to fix it. The customer called at 9:14 in the morning on October 24th and stated the blower would not shut off. We offered a same day appointment, but the customer requested next day. At 12:57pm the very next day, per the customer's request, the technician called to let him know we were on the way and arrived via GPS tracking at 1:12pm. He spent a total of 1 hour and 12 minutes diagnosing the problem with the unit, wrote up a repair estimate and presented it to the customer. The customer signed and approved the repair, and the part was placed on order from the distributor. The customer requested the part to be installed on 10/31 at 10AM. We do our best to accommodate these requests of times, however if a tech runs behind on a call, then we cannot guarantee this time frame. The only time frame that we can guarantee is a first call request. We did our best to accommodate the call at 10AM but the technician got held up on an issue on the first appointment of the day which put him behind. We let the customer know that his technician was running behind via a recorded phone call with the customer. At 12:57 the technician called the customer and told him he was on the way to his home at to install the part. The technician arrived at 1:12PM where he began installing the broken part. The technician completed the job and collected payment from the customer where the customer was not happy about the pricing after he already approved it with the technician on the first visit. All in all, the technician spent between the two visits a total of 2 hours at this home. From diagnosing the issue to ordering the part, installing the part, and completing the job. We told the customer when he called in to speak with an owner of our company that we are a flat rate company. We do this because it benefits the customer not our company. We take industry standards of time to create our pricing. The statement that you suggested that "this was retribution for not selecting them on that estimate" is false, anyone could have called and had that same issue, and would have been charged the exact same amount for that warranty repair. The customer approved the repair and in fact paid for the repair. We explained to the customer that his technician is an excellent technician who has been doing this type of work for years. He has been with our company for 5 years and was doing HVAC work before us. He is well trained, so a part that may take him 30 minutes to install, may take a new technician 2 hours to install, which is why we DO NOT charge by the hour. The reason the owner requested to terminate the call, was because you were continuously arguing about the pricing of the repair, after you agreed to pay it via a signed proposal for the repair, you agreed to have Altman's order your part, you in fact PAID for the part as well. The conversation was going in circles and there was nothing left to explain, instead you became rude and the owner instead of hanging up was polite and suggested the conversation would be terminated. We are a highly reputable company where we have been doing business for this community for over 40 years on the same corner. We take pride in that, and we can be upfront with all of our customers regarding cost and the service that you will receive from us. You agreed to the work and the service that you received as well as the cost that you would be charged up front. If there was an issue with that, it should have been brought up to the technician before you agreed to have the work performed by Altman's Cooling and Heating.

I'm a reasonable man. I understand that there is a specific skill set involved when it comes to doing a specialized job such as repairing an air conditioning unit. I also understand that with this specialized skill set comes a price tag worthy of the skill. I, however, cannot wrap my head around someone doing 30 minutes worth of work and charging almost $400 to do it.

You do state above that I PAID for the part. You also state above that the part was covered under warranty. Additionally, your invoice to me also states that my unit is covered under warranty. Your technician, when originally quoting the job, also indicated that the part was covered under warranty. Since you claim that I have PAID for the part, I would like to formally request a refund for the part that should have been covered under warranty.

As I originally stated, you are a very highly recommended company which is why I reached out to you and not the original installer. In all honesty, I was hoping to establish Altman's as my go to company for regular maintenance. I would hope that any customer who may have chosen another competitor for their system installation would not be forever barred from seeking Altman's for maintenance issues.

It was a WARRANTY REPAIR. we stated that numerous times in our response. One sentence in our response to your review and claims against us stating you paid for the part, which has been clearly established as you paid for the repair and services, you blow it out of proportion. What you paid for, and what was trying to be explained to you over the phone call with the owner, was that the price is based on a service call to have our technician come out and diagnose the problem, as well as the price includes the industry standards for time allotted to do this part, not to mention shipping and handling of the part, on top of the cost for us to file your warranty and process it as well. A skilled technician came out to install your part like stated, who has performed this repair many times, if we would have sent a technician that doesn't have the years of experience as the technician that came out, it would have taken him much longer, however all in all, you would have paid the exact same price. We have not penalized you for choosing another company for the installation of your new equipment, as it happens all the time and we do not penalize anyone that may choose one of our competitors as we can not win everyone over. Your neighbor could have called for that same repair and if their unit was under warranty, they would have been quoted the same price regardless of if it was us that installed the unit or someone else. This debate is over, as we have provided thorough details regarding your services and continue to not get anywhere, which was the same thing that happened over the phone, hence why the owner had asked to terminate the call, because no matter what we say, you just will not happy with the response. This debate is done and no more responses will come from us as we have responded to your claims against us, not to mention have had to respond to your son's claims against us on Google is enough of responses from us as clearly nothing will make you happy regarding our services performed. So this is our last and final response to anything else that may come through as we have answered enough once again, and provided more details than we even had to provide. Thank you

Thank you for your timely response, I now understand why you are so highly recommended. Your customer service skills are nothing I have ever experienced before except for when your technician tried a sell me a part that was not needed (an expansion valve). Outstanding. Bad reviews from other people who I have spoken to, is not something I can control. The solution to no other bad reviews and less time spent by you justifying your overcharging practice could be achieved by simply being honest. I expect no other responses from you.