A-1 AIR & ICE SERVICE CO

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I own a compact Avanti washing machine. My warranty was only for one year.   A few weeks ago, I noticed the tub water emptying onto my floor from the bottom of the washer but could not ascertain why.  I called the manufacturer and was referred to A1 Air & Ice for service.  I looked online for reviews before calling. I called at 3:30 in the afternoon and was pleasantly surprised that the company was willing to service my washer that day.  They even gave me enough time to get home from work. While I waited, I continued looking at reviews and noticed that they were on Angie's List.  You can't read the reviews without a membership so I paid for one just to see.  They rated well. When I made my appointment, I was told that the labor fee would be $89.50 per/hour.  I agreed to schedule the same-day appointment because neither I nor the company anticipated the visit taking more than an hour.  Unfortunately, it took awhile to discover that there were two pin-sized holes in the drain tube. The holes were located WITHIN the washer body just below the area where the tube was connected!  If I had tried to fix this myself, I wouldn't have found it. The machine had to be taken apart from the bottom.  I'm not just talking about removing a face plate. Danny and Willie had to really work with the tube to get it free from its connection. Over time the inner brackets designed to hold the tube in place during agitation/spin cycle were worn making it vulnerable. Once it was disconnected we headed to Lowes to buy a new one.  Unfortunately Lowes didn't carry the proper tubing.  By this time it was nearing 8pm which meant another day of service for the machine and labor for me. Oh well.  The next day, Danny bought the proper tubing from another store and returned to do the install.  The replacement tubing and brackets Danny purchased costed $20 and were stronger and more durable than the original to avoid repeat damage.  They cleaned up after completing the job and my machine works great.  Though I was not happy about having to pay labor twice, I was very happy with their service.  Danny and Willie were really nice, professional, and helpful.  Danny even noticed the refrigerator in my kitchen and left instructions with my mom on protecting its motor from burnout caused by dust particles/debris.  I would definitely use them again.

Our Avanti dishwasher was not getting things clean any more, and after trying everything I could think of myself, I contacted the company to find an approved servicer. They referred me to A-1.

They were extremely prompt and efficient--they were able to come to the house the same day I called, and diagnosed the problem within 10 minutes (faulty heating element). I volunteered to order the part myslef, and they told me to call them when it came in and they'd come back and install it, without another service charge. The part arrived with a week or so, and I called and again they were able to come out the same day, on my schedule.

The installation was tougher than expected, since the dishawasher had been installed before the countertop and baseboard--making sliding it out a little tricky. These guys were creative and hardworking though, and figured it out. The whole thing was done within 90 minutes, and the dishwasher runs great again. They cleaned up after themselves, inclduing vaccuming the whole kitchen. Then they gave me tips on how to make my fridge seal last longer and keep my coils clean.

The only reason they get a "B" on professionalism is that they are a little rough around the edges--real working guys who showed up in an unmarked van and dirty jeans and smelling like cigarettes. This didn't bother me much, since they did excellent work at a completely fair price. Guys are allowed to get dirty and smoke cigs. But if you're looking for someone in a company van and a clean uniform, this is not your place.

He's fantastic. He is really good and he saved me thousands of dollars. His name is Al Roberts. It was excellent. If I'd had another contractor come out, they would have told me that I would have had to replace my air conditioning system. He came the same day that I called, which was a Saturday. He came back on that Sunday to work on it. He hooked up the meters and checked everything, unlike a lot of people. He talked too much but he was fantastic. He showed me exactly what the problem was and I could watch everything he did. It was all out in the open. He is an engineer to boot. He was really good. I had another company that quoted me $1,600 to repair my refrigerator. I called Al and it was $500. He was very professional. I will absolutely continue using him.

First of all, it is almost impossible to find competent people to work on icemakers (they also do refrigerators). In my case, I had called many appliance firms and could not find anyone who worked on them. These folks do primarily icemakers. They were very polite and helpful (they even fixed something that required shimming a drawer that was unrelated to the repair. They know their stuff and they are very efficient. They are not inexpensive but you get what you pay for and I would use them again in a minute. They cleaned up afterward and were very familiar with the icemaker. I would absolutely use them again. They get an A for all aspects of the work and an A- for price.

Overall, I'd give them an "A". Very responsive, technically proficient and careful of surroundings. Also very pleasant to do business with. Price seemed high, but I don't know what the industry norms are.

I was 100% satisfied with the most recent service call. He immediately saw what the problem was and also offered to replace a component of the ice maker, which had been updated by Viking since our machine was manufactured. Then he offered to program the refrigerator, which had not been done when the refrigerator was installed, or during any of the other service calls. The company also seems to be responsive when there is an emergency and schedule the service call as soon as possible.