BEDFORD MECHANICAL INC

I called Bedford Mechanical early on a Friday afternoon. An A/C technician came to my house within an hour. He inspected the A/C condenser and determined that two parts needed to be replaced. He also stated that the unit was 19 years old and that I should weigh the cost of replacing the defective parts ($600-700) vs having a new unit installed. I decided on the latter (the service fee from the Friday call was waived). Two men came on the following Wednesday and installed the new condenser in about 1/2 day. I was very pleased with all aspects of the service.

We are giving Bedford Mechanical a C because their work is, well, erratic.  We have been using them for years, and frankly, we will probably keep using them because they are familiar with our system, and we now know we have to keep an eye on them and give them very specific instructions.



Had them on a service call in May 2013 to do a minor furnace repair.  Since they charge so much to simply appear, we asked that they also check the Freon level on the AC system, which was working fine as of Spring 2013 but which has in the past lost significant amounts of charge through leaks.  We believed the leaks were repaired last fall, but it was spring, so we asked the worker to check the charge.  He thought it was fine.  He decided the compressor was dirty with pollen, and decided to wash the outdoor unit.  We warned him that if he washed it, he would need to check to make sure the little Schrader valves had not gotten knocked loose again.  After he left, the heat worked fine with his furnace repair, but the AC did not work.



The first service was performed before the first major heat wave of the summer.  We now had a newly-broken AC system with the first heat wave on the way.  Bedford Mechanical could not fit us in to repair the damage, because they were too busy.  This despite the fact that we have used them for years.



Finally got a repair man out to have another look, after the heat wave.  They sent the senior guy with an assistant who was learning.  They didn't bother to wipe or cover their boots, just marched up white carpeted stairs to check out the half of the system that is in the attic.  Asked him to check the Schrader valves on the unit outside and he laughed at us.  Asked him to check the charge on the AC again, to see if a lot of Freon had leaked out, and he laughed and said he didn't bring the device he would need to measure.  He appeared mystified as to why the unit did not cool.  Explained to him about 3 times that the Schrader valves are constantly coming loose and causing leaks; then he went outside and looked; then he noticed they were loose and he stuck them back in with something like locktite.  He also said he added Freon, and we were charged for a specific amount, although he could not actually measure the amount.



Got the bill for the second service that we believe was necessary because the first service knocked the little Schraders loose.  Over $400.  We were charged for 2 hours of labor.  They were here 40 minutes max.  I called to complain.  Oops, turns out they accidentally charged for 2 hours of labor instead of 1 hour of labor.  They adjusted the bill immediately.



We have contemplated calling someone else and trying a different repair service.  But from time to time, they do send someone useful out.  When we used them in 2012, a year ago, they sent out a very polite young man who labored in the heat to fix leaks in the attic unit after several others from Bedford Mechanical told us it was too much work to attempt.  I keep asking for them to send this repair man out again on our service calls, but for some reason we have not seen him again. The bill for his 4 hours of labor was about $500 and we paid it happily, because he did a great job and his labor in the heat of the attic was worth every penny.  If I were rating only that service call in this writing, Bedford Mechanical would get an A.



All in all, try to be specific with this service group. Repeatedly tell them what you want and what you don't want.  If you complain enough, they do finally do listen and fix things.  Also, keep an eye on the bill, which we think is generally on the high side to begin with, and which can accidentally become astronomical.



We are basically spending an average of $600 each spring/summer with Bedford Mechanical  to keep a 12 year old AC system working.  We think they could do better with our service, pay more attention to the past problems which tend to repeat themselves, and make more of an effort to send the repair men who have had success fixing our system out on the repeat calls, rather than sending a new person each time. 



However, this company is basically competent, they are basically professional, and they do listen if you repeat yourself often enough.  We will probably keep using them, because we are not all that sure we can do too much better.

WAITED 3 DAYS WHILE OFFICE A/C WAS OUT!!! Repairman Dan K. was great when he showed up. Dispatcher was terrible.
Monday: called Bedford Mechanical (contractor used by our office landlord) at 5:50 pm on a Monday when our central A/C failed during a heat wave. To their credit, someone answered (might have been after-hours answering service).
Tuesday: Nobody called in the morning, so I called again at noon and spoke with Andre, the service rep./ dispatcher. He was very polite and said someone would be there by 4 pm on Tuesday. We had to stay late, and by 6 pm, nobody had arrived.
Wednesday: we called again and Andre said someone would be there by noon, and that the repair person who should have arrived Tuesday night had been fired (highly doubt this). Of course nobody showed by noon. By 3 pm, we left a message saying we would call the landlord and ask for another repair company. 10 minutes later, Andre called back and said someone would arrive by 4. At 4:15, a very nice and knowledgeable repairman arrived (Dan K.), looked at the problem, and said he didn't have the right parts in the truck. He said he would be back Thursday morning around 9.
Thursday: Dan K. showed up at 12 and did a great repair job. It was clear he cared and was taking the extra steps, but it was 3 days too late.
When will service companies like this learn that truth in customer service matters almost as much as the actual work done?! If they had said "really sorry, but we won't get to you for 3 days in this heat wave", we would have respected that and WORKED FROM HOME! Andre was always polite, but  wildly inaccurate (4 different times) about when a repair person would arrive!

They came right on time and were very easy to work with schedule wise. When I reviewed the type of furnace he recommended, I explained to him the unit got poor reviews. We then discussed alternatives and they were very willing to work with me. I never felt unsafe with them in my home and they worked late, too. I was so happy I bought them pizza on the last night. The worked through all the paper work for me on getting my government rebates. They were exceptionial in every way. I would suggest they look up reviews on the furnace you wish to install before beginning.

The new unit would need a new pan under it, but somehow the technicians did not notice the rust in the old pan. It was a big fight getting the pan for under the AC. The day of the installation, part of the machine didn't work. The said it was because the electronic heat part of the machine was incompatible for that machine. They said that Carrier had sent the wrong unit. I wanted a digital thermostat that I could program. The service manager insisted that was no big deal, the one they had on the truck was no big deal for me. I told how I had read in consumer reports that it could save me money. He had reasons as to why that was over exaggerated and not true. Everything with hem was a battle. I had asked while talking about replacing th unit if this was the most energy efficient way to go and I was told that it was. I am no longer sure about that anymore. During the winter I was concerned about how it worked, but I did not want to call them again, because it was not a pleasant experience. There was something that was not working and they fixed that. The unit is very noisey and I am not sure all of the ducts work properly.

As I said I have used Bedford Mechanical before and always liked their work. It was the unexpected invoice for an estimate that bothered me. I would use them again for HVAC work. With the help of Angie's List Resolution process the dispute was resolved successfully.

THESE GUYS CALL YOU BACK EVEN THOUGH YOU ALMOST ALWAYS HAVE TO LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THEIR ANSWERING MACHINE. BE SURE TO GET A QUOTE BEFORE THEY DO THE WORK

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