Gator Air Conditioning

06/26/23 Update! The Gator team had to come out numerous times between May and this week. When I had them put my new system in 10/21 I got the extended warranty on the system and am I glad I did! After about 3-4 service calls because our compressor was blowing capacitors and start packs they did what they should have and replaced the entire unit! Great team, great support technicians and great back office team! You want this company to handle your A/C and Heating needs! Take it from me! The Gator team has always been spot on for me! From replacing our system to the ongoing maintenance we’re glad we continued our previous owners relationship. Oh, and Luis rocks!

The customer service is terrible and the office staff is rude. I contacted the owner twice five months ago and I'm still waiting for a response from the owner to this day. I made an appointment and I took a day off from work to be home for the technician, but nobody ever showed up. I was furious. Gator A/C tried to make me wait a month for the first servicing on my A/C after I had already paid in advance for a twice a year servicing on may A/C. Consumers/Customers do not hire Gator A/C if you don't want the aggravation and disrespect like I endured from Gator A/C. I would never recommend Gator A/C to anyone. The Customer Service was so, bad that I filed a complaint against Gator A/C with the ( BBB) Better Business Bureau.

Very Smooth

They were quick and on time. They did what they said they were going to do. They gave me a quick estimate, and they were rated highly everywhere.

Roy was awesome. I was able to get a same day appointment and he arrived right on time. AC drain line was clogged. He was able to clear the line, performed the regular maintenance and replaced my filters. Roy was very knowledgeable and wasn't trying to over sell anything I didn't need like other companies we tried in the past. I signed up for the Cool Gator Maintenance plan for $159 for the year which covered my service today and another maintenance in 6 months. Excellent guarantee they offer standing behind their work and offering to come back free of charge if anything breaks over the next 6 months. Very happy with the experience and will use them again.

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We've had them since we bought the house 15 years ago. It's on a contract. There was a problem with something that one of their installers had previously installed incorrectly and caused an issue, but they covered it.

unknown

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The work was done efficiently. Joe was experienced and knowledgeable. He worked steadily and cleaned up when he was done.  Before installation, he had gone over what faucets I wanted and he had them by the time of installation.  I was very pleased. 

3/10/2016 as promised I am updating my review.  The new Operations Manager is absolutely good on his word.  Bill replaced the entire AC system in the garage because of problems.  He said "I told the owners it's just the right thing to do and they agreed."  It took me 7 months fighting with the original management and it took Bill literally 3-4 week to come in fix or replace everything.  This guy is cleaning house; and they've just gained a customer back. 

PS - Mike O also saw a bubble in my wife's tire; she took it in today and the service center said she was very lucky it didn't blow (w/my children in the car).  That's being observant & doing the right thing (even for a painful customer) - Thank you


11/18/2015 Still haven?t heard back from Gator Air & Plumbing but saw a reply to an online review today that they told me it was a ?logic board problems?, that I was ?happy after the install? and that ?some components don?t last as long as others? ? apparently they didn?t actually read the complaint
I?ve tried to reach Emilio at the number he left but keep getting passed to his voicemail.  I?m tired of getting upset over unethical
people.  You have my email & my contact information ? if you really wanted to make anything right or even stop dodging phone calls you would.  If by chance you ever do I will update my post.

10/22/2015 Called Gator back out for single system they moved/reinstalled in garage few 3 weeks earlier because dripping bad, condensation.  Tech said ?out of balance?, not draining & fixed.
Called Gator back out couple weeks later with same problem.  Technician told me circuit board is burnt out which is why it won?t run.  I explained that the problem is not running,  it?s not shutting off!  Head unit will turn off but condenser continues to run, profusely dripping and that I had to turn it off using the circuit breaker; did he turn the breaker back on?
Technical said let him go check it again & then left house later telling us he had to do research ? have not heard from anyone yet?

unknown

Work was performed as expected. Service man prompt and friendly. My main floor a/c unit is 14 years old and found to have a leak. Got quote on new unit. Here is where the problem arises. The quote was 30% higher than other quotes I received. Obviously I chose another company for my new installation.

We called Gator to please come back and and service the AC unit that they reinstalled in the garage; it was dripping water beyond use.  The technician said that the drain pan installed incorrectly or had moved and it was fixed very quickly.  The technician agreed not to charge us when we explained that Gator had just done the install 3 weeks earlier.

Technician was very polite, professional and solved out problem quickly.

Also the old original flashing that covered the lines going up to the 2nd floor was used which was about 3'-4' too short were reused; so that all of the lines (power, refrigerant, return, etc) were open to lawn maintenance and anyone walking by to accidentally snag.  Originally there was another outside condenser unit installed in that space.  Gator did not replace or add to the flashing to account for this.

I drove to Gator AC off of 301 to complain and show them pictures of the installation problem.  Operations Manager then gave me 2 new 10' pieces of flashing to install myself to correct the problem and did not charge me for them.

3/10/16 As promised I am updating my review.  The new Operations Manager is good to his word.  He brought in representatives from Daikin to my home to troubleshoot the problems.  Most issues have been corrected; the system is cooling & heating great with just 1 problem left (some modes won't power down; called "Whisper" mode by Daikin; system runs constantly).  I am going to work with Daikin on this problem but Gator has done everything I could have asked of them.  I fought with the original management for 7 months; it took Bill 3-4 weeks to come in and fix or replace everything.  Thank you Bill & Mike

8/21/15
The installation was done very well, ?Gary? is an unbelievably hard worker, very professional and extremely nice.  His partner had been injured recently so he had to do the complete installation by himself, which might be why it took 2 ½ days.  The representatives who worked up the estimate (sales rep & Sen Tech Chris) had to work with me over the phone on our best options, which must have been more difficult.

Complaint #1 & #2:
During signing the contract we asked specifically if the equipment was available.  We conveyed that if the equipment was going to go on backorder then we were not going to sign a contract at that time.  We had gone over 3 weeks without AC in a Florida summer, were hot & tired.  The Senior Technician (Chris) called back to the office to double-check that everything was available and that they would be able to start the installation the following week, which he was confirmed by his office.  I had read on the back of their business cards that they were a ?veteran owned? business, which made me feel a little bit better, so we signed the agreement.



Later that afternoon I received a call at work from Gator that the equipment had gone on backorder.  Currently they were estimating only 1 day.  I was upset but agreed to continue as long as the AC in the house was replaced by the end of next week.



I was told that they would install the ?Gree? system, even though it was more expensive for the same price instead of waiting for the Daikin (3rd time they tried to push a Gree).  I hadn?t done research on this system and declined.  I researched both systems online:the Gree did not have as good of reviews (take w/ grain of salt) but was cheaper.  I am still very surprised that I could buy it online for approx. $800 cheaper but it was $900 more expensive to install?  I also thought that certified carriers got the equipment for cheaper; but I could be wrong how that works.



Using the exact model numbers as provided on estimate:

1.  Daikin = $4,068

2.  Gree = $3,271



Before the install Gator notified us they were able to allocate the equipment needed and started the installation on the original installation date.







Complaint #3



I honestly blame myself for this one.  I know better than to rush something without all the facts; but it had been over 3 weeks.



The day after we signed the agreement we received a 2nd estimate from another company.  It was for a system I did not want (Fujitsu) but was $3,830 cheaper for exactly the same job.  I figured it was cheaper because it was a cheaper system so using the exact model#s on the estimate and the same website the Fujitsu was actually $312 more expensive than the Daikin we were having installed.  The 2nd estimate was $3,830 cheaper with a $312 more expensive system.



Even if the retail prices are off, it gave me ballpark cost and a good comparison in difference.  At retail prices online; the system was only 1/3 of the cost and the labor was 173% the cost of the system (not including a ?chase? ? next complaint)





Complaint #4



I?m normally ok with paying a little more for a better system and a better installation but we also discovered that the other estimates (verbal & written) included all the parts & pre-work.  When Gator first estimated the work they wanted us to hire a general contractor for the ?chase?.  They could reuse 3 of the 4 existing runs (piping, wires & insulation) but we needed 1 new run.  The Gator representatives told us that they hadn?t done this without a general contractor (replacing a mini-split?).



So I agreed (before receiving other estimates) to dig out the chase over the weekend. This took 2 days for my wife, my son & myself.  It included running a 4? pvc pipe for about 25?.  1 foot down, 1 foot away from the house (see pics).  I also had to purchase the pvc, all the ends & fittings, the rubber boots and a circuit breaker for the garage system (which after searching for 2 days because of the odd size Gator agreed to take care of it)



All of the other estimates (verbal and formal) included these parts & this labor.  Including the formal 2nd estimate for $3800 cheaper!



I still feel like suck a sucker!  And it about killed my back.







Complaint #5:



After the installation and everything had been running for a few days the Senior Technician came back to the house to give me all the warranty information.  I thought that he would try to sell me a monthly maintenance plan but he did not even bring it up.



I explained all of the problems to him that I had with this project, the backordering & change back, the trying to replace with a Gree 3 times, all the work my family had to put into it, the follow-up estimates, the work and expense in parts that I had to put into it (with parts over $4k difference).  I had everything printed out.  I showed him the other estimate, I showed him the online prices, the communications requiring me to do the extra work and purchase the extra parts, etc? I had everything printed and laid out in front of him.  I offered copies to him.  The Gator representative told us that he would discuss everything with the ?Operations Manager? to which we have never heard 1 word.



We did contact them a couple weeks later for a plumbing problem (they did good work) to which the lady on the phone told my wife (after hearing some of this); that we could ?ask the Operations Manager for a discount?.





Summary:



·      Quality installation (except aesthetics)



·      Quality equipment (so far)



·      Paid over $4,000 more for Gator than next competitor for same installation (55% higher)



·      Gator required 2 days manual labor that other estimates included



·      Promised no back-order to sign contract, went on back-order but delivered on time (stressful)



·      Gator required us to purchase extra parts to which competitors s

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I took a long time to make up my mind about the new air conditioning and heat pump. I wanted one that was extremely quiet, extremely efficient, and basically noiseless air handler model for the house. Both the salesperson and the installers were wonderful. The salesman kept trying to figure out how to save me money. He made suggestions saying that I might be just as as happy with a slightly lower efficiency unit. But I wanted the best model American Standard made (in my case). My outside a/c unit sits down below my master bedroom and a second bedroom. I got the 19.5 seer model which has a variable speed condenser. It's quieter than any other unit sold on the a/c market. It is the same as Tranes highest seer model (Trane and American Standard are all under the same corporation). Boy am I happy with the results! Now when I go to bed at night I hear the rain on the roof, the sea breeze, and sometimes even the surf rolling ashore from about three Blocks away. I used to sleep to the drone of the A/c unit which drowned out all the beautiful night sounds of being in Florida. I am just like most people; I hate to overspend on anything. But this is something you use every day, all day in Florida. If you are going to live in your present home for several years and can afford this kind of unit, (put in by this great company), do it! You will never regret it. P.s. I also have an superquiet AquaCal pool heat pump ( made in st. Petersburg, Fl.) and a quiet variable speed pool pump by Hayward. All three units sit together along side the house. You can have a very low voice conversation next to them while they are all running. Need I say more?

They pushed their pre-pay preventive maintenance plan & I bit. Payments were auto-billed to my credit card. After a few months of billings my identity was stolen & all my credit cards had to be reissued. I had totally forgotten they were billing that card. Six months go by before they leave a voice mail that I'm $60 in arrears! Wait. What?? I've been paying ahead for annual maintenance visit that hasn't even happened yet. That is most definitely not arrears. But wait. It gets stupider.
Before I could connect with them to sort out the credit card glitch, our A/C system died. I called for warranty service only to be told we were delinquents and they would not come out until I paid up. Backing up your warranty is a legal commitment. They are obligated to fix such issues regardless of their little Gator Club membership. Refusing to honor their commitment until I pay ransom is flat out extortion.
I protested and said as much and they relented. Yippee! My service technician will be here late tonight. Funny, every other a/c company I called could get someone here in a couple of hours...

They were knowledgeable and professional. They explained thoroughly why they were making the recommendation. They provided us a quote the way we needed it. They are probably not the least expensive but we feel confident in them.

They visited twice to work out all the details, which involved mapping the existing ductwork. Once a plan was in place to optimize airflow, the work was quick, and it accomplished exactly what I was hoping. An inhospitable wing of the house is now comfortable!

unknown

I found them on Angie's List and they were phenomenon. They were thorough and punctual. We had a small problem with something but they were able to come and fix it at 7:30 pm. In 2 hours of us calling they came over and replaced it at no charge.We had five bids but they were the most reasonably priced.

They were recommended to me by a fella who used to be a maintenance man at our condo. I was not pleased with their service. I had a tendency to think I was about to be ripped off. This dude checked it out. He said I may have a leak. He came in with his little machine and said I need a new air conditioner. The thing is currently working, if I don't tell the temperature too low. I suspect the fella did not fully charge the a/c. I had a salesman come out who was talking about in the $4000 range. His company had a good rating in google. Only one person complained. He had a situation similar to mine. I am a very suspicious person anyway and I think a lot of these companies are on the look out for us old people so they can sell us anything they want to. It has been working fine now for two weeks without being replaced. It is about 7 years old now. I'm not saying he is crooked. I am not saying he is straight either.