Blue Dot Services

My A/C quit working on 07/24/10 due to the A/C line icing over. I called Blue Dot the next day, Sunday, and a technician, Keith, responded right away. He looked over the complete system for any visual problems and then added freon to the system. He was quite willing to talk to me about what he was doing to troubleshoot the system and what possibilities there could be. He was friendly, worked quickly and very professional. I brought up service contracts and he described the companies service contracts very well and I subsequently purchased one.This tech is an excellent representative for this company.

The AC compressor had failed the day leading into Memorial Day weekend leaving me in a scramble to find a repairman to come out. After calling multiple companies, Blue Dot was the only one capable of coming out that day (though it did require an additional service fee for as the only opening they had was after-hours). The technician came out that afternoon, did a thorough check, and eventually tracked the problem down to an issue with the disconnect box which he was able to resolve. Very nice and professional.

It went very well overall. They were very professional. They even saved me money by checking to see if my old compressor was covered under the manufacturers warranty, and it was. I never would have thought of that, especially since it was close to 10 years old.

Service people are thorough, point out problems if any or areas of improvement if any, and answer any questions.

I set up the appointment using their website. One of their representatives called me back the next day, but put me on hold and then I lost the call. I called them back and got a different rep, and made an appointment for Wednesday. However on Tuesday I realized I wouldn't be able to stay home and easily rescheduled for Thursday. They then had a cancellation and asked if I wanted to be the first service call of the day. Yes! The tech came by and got things operational in short order. He identified an underlying issue and gave me a fair estimate to fix it. I got a call a few days later with a confusing representative. I eventually figured out that she was calling to schedule my parts replacement. I made my appointment. I got the call from the dispatcher that the tech was coming. She was very short on the phone, like she was in a hurry. Not extremely polite. But the tech came soon after and was very congenial and good. I feel good about his work. So in conclusion, they seem to do a good job with their technical service, but maybe could use some improvement on their customer service :-) . Still, I'll likely consider them again if I need any Heating or A/C work done, and would say that they were worth it all.

Cons: Excessively expensive, unreliable, late, shady Pros: None noted First, they showed up late. Appointment was a four hour window - they showed up 40 minutes after the window ended. They did call, but not until the window was over. They also only do service contract work during the day during the week, so no weekends or nights when it's convenient to most working people. So I had taken time off from work to be home for them. They do not respect customers' time. Second, we feel like they totally ripped us off, tried to get us for more. They told us we lost almost all of our freon from our A/C system - in one year - they tested last year for a leak before and couldn't find it. 7-8 pounds supposedly missing and they couldn't find the source of the leak? It must be a pretty big leak. Hard to believe. Then they told us we needed to replace the system or that it would keep happening. The system is only 12 years old. It can most likely be fixed if there is a big leak, but only if they find it. Complete replacement should be a last resort. But it gets worse: They charged over double of some of the most expensive service providers (over $50 per pound of Freon!) when other providers charge max $15 or $20 and it likely only costs them around $5/gal for the stuff. If we had only known the overpayment we were doing before we had this service!!! Do your research before you pay for this! We had no idea (until talking to a friend who does HVAC, who clued us in to the real cost and how much we *should* be paying) that Blue Dot had been ripping us off so badly over these years. I did some research and it is in fact as of May 2010 $175 for 30 lbs of freon, or roughly $6 a gallon cost to them. So we overpaid by at least $45. There is no reason for all of this other than to encourage us, the consumers, to purchase a new system. They seem to be trying to take advantage of us, which is unfair and unethical. But really, why would they *want* to find the leak when they are gouging us for $45 or so per gallon and possibly getting us to spend $2500-6000 for a brand new A/C system along with continued service? So rather than finding and fixing the leak like a reputable company should do, they just tried to extract as much money as possible from us - for the Freon and then for a new system. We will never, ever use them again and we will definitely not be using them if we ever do need to replace the system. We are having the leak fixed by a reputable company (not Blue Dot) instead. Beware excessive pricing, or failure to fix things and then telling you you need an entirely new system. We are not happy about this, but at least we will not be taken advantage of anymore.

They came gave us an estimate for 2 different units. We needed it installed by the end of the year to get the tax rebate and that was no problem. They also installed according to our specifications, having to cut through drywall. We had one problem since it was installed, they came out and found they needed to order a part they returned (after one reschedule because of the weather) and replaced the part.

Five months ago, I purchased a NuTone "high efficiency" heat pump from Blue Dot for $4,278 to replace a 20 year old Trane. The new unit heats beautifully, but is worthless in terms of cooling. Yesterday, with the thermostat set at 72 and 5 ceiling fans running on high, the temperature in my home rapidly climbed to 79 degrees. The outdoor temperature was only 88 degrees, so I can only imagine what going to happen when it hits the mid-90s or better. What's worse is that it took over 12 hours to lower the temp to 73 degrees. And 15 hours later, we still can't hit 72, even though the outdoor temperature is only 74 degrees right now! After a sleepless night, I phoned Blue Dot at 6:00 this morning. I was told that my call would not be dispatched until 7 AM, which was fine. I waited patiently for a callback, which finally came at 8:30 AM, and I am simply appalled by how rude and obnoxious the service technician was on the phone. Without coming out, he claims the unit is working fine and that my house is poorly insulated. Mind you, we NEVER had these problems with our 20 year old Trane.

The initial work was good. The estimate was much cheaper than other companies we talked to because we were long time customers of Blue Dot and had a maintenance plan, so we got a discount. We also got a rebate on the equipment because we bought the Blue Dot in house brand. The estimator showed up punctually and was very polite and answered all our questions. The workmen also showed up on time and did all the work they were supposed to. We were a little concerned with the retrofitting work, because the ducts didn't seem to fit that well, but they told us there was nothing they could do to make it fit better. Everything was fine until this winter when we had all the snow. The defroster in the heat pump unit broke, but we couldn't tell until a neightbor looking out the window told us our unit was covered with ice. It took about a week for the unit to get repaired once we reported it, because a part had to be ordered. We had to make a couple of calls to Blue Dot to keep this on track. Then the electric bills came. Due to the mafunction, we had a $1,000 bill for December and a $900 bill for January. Needless to say, we contacted Blue Dot, becasue the equipment had been under warranty. They paid us $500 towards the increased cost of the electric bills, without even protesting our request. In fact, they were really nice about it. All the repairs to the unit were without charge as well, since everything was still under warranty. So while we were not happy with the defective equipment, we were OK with how it came out in the end. Not sure what those electric bills would have been had the unit been functioning correctly though.

We were panicking when we came home after 10 pm and found the heat not working, and the thermostat blank. A blizzard was due the next day. We tried to find someone available at that hour, and one business said they would page a technician, but we never heard from them. After waiting an hour, and calling back, I remembered Angie's list. I found Blue Dot, my husband called, and a human voice answered the phone! The gentleman told us to call him back if we hadn't heard from the technician in 30 minutes. After 15 to 20 minutes we got a call from the technician, who had just finished a job north of us, and said he'd come directly to our place. He arrived and was very pleasant and professional. The job took several hours overall, between the initial fix, and then finding the wire problem and having to replace a box, but the technician remained pleasant, though it was close to 3 am when he left. We were extremely relieved not to have to go through the blizzard without heat (some companies that called back that morning, Friday, said they would not be able to look at the problem until Monday). I would recommend Blue Dot to anyone, and will use them for all of my HVAC needs in the future.

The estimate was on time, the work was performed on time and at the price given. All employees were polite and professional. I will definitely use them again!

Had them come out to give me an estimate. Had issues scheduling for an estimator to come out, but once the date was set, they were punctual & arrived on time. The estimator was very nice & knowledgeable, but did not give me what I asked for. I specifically stated what I wanted as far as brand name & model and they still quoted me on their in-house brand of NuTone heat pumps that I did not care for. Their estimate for the Carrier system I requested was higher than all 6 other estimates I had received. I did not go with this company due to the higher estimates, although their alternative heat pumps were very nicely priced & still qualified for the government tax credit. If you want a cheap heat pump replacement this company is a good bet, but their prices for Carrier seemed to be higher than most.

One of our pipes started leaking late on a Sunday night. First thing Monday morning (7AM) we got on Angie's List and looked for plumbers. We saw Blue Dot and called them. They answered (still at around 7 AM) and they said that they could have someone out that morning. A team of two showed up a little later in the morning and were able to fix the problem in no time. The two gentlemen were courteous, competent, and did a nice job of cleaning up the area. We would *definitely* hire Blue Dot again and would reccommend them to anyone else.

Discovered water leaking from a pipe in the basement ceiling. Luckily it was in the unfinished part of the basement. We called Blue Dot based on good reports from Angies List. They could come in the early afternoon. Surprisingly they called back and were able to come within the hour. The plumber was great, he had to cut through another pipe to make the repair. After assessing the work he gave us the price and how long it would take him before we were obligated. He worked quickly and was very professional. His estimate was right on. We were very happy about how fast they came out and the great job in repairing the pipe. I would certainly use them again for any plumbing problem.

I found BlueDot to be very helpful in several ways: first, by returning my after-hours call quickly to get an assessment of the problem; then, by sending two plumbers the next day to take a closer look (they were unable to do the repair that day b/c of complications--see below); next, by sending an estimator out the next day (which was the day the first of two blizzards arrived); and finally, by sending two plumbers (when the roads and my driveway were cleared) to do a repair that took several hours, was complicated by ductwork and other obstructions, and turned out to be a bigger repair than originally thought. The repair looks great. Above all, they answered the phone or returned calls promptly, and they answered my questions. Communication means the most to any consumer and for that I give BlueDot an A+!

The technician who arrived was a field supervisor, so he was experienced and knowledgeable. He determined that a capacitor had blown and needed to be replaced. He found a compatible capacitor on his truck and installed it. That solved the problem.

They had a scheduling conflict and were not able to come out for an estimate.

The sales consultant (Mr. Sears) was WONDERFUL. He answered all my questions (I had a lot of followup calls to him) and was VERY knowledgeable. I did a lot of research and narrowed down the job to two companies. Blue Dot won out due to their warranty on labor. The crew was a little late but called me to tell me they were on their way. After the job was finished, all my old (1953 original) faucets started leaking. I called Blue Dot back twice to inquire but they never returned my call. I still am not happy about this and have rated them less than A on responsiveness due to this.

All the people I came in contact with seemed very good. The salesman who came out seemed to know his stuff. The installers were very good. They also had a contact person who came out after it was finished and told me if I had any feedback or anything else to contact him. He gave me his email address. It seemed that they are very conscious on getting feedback. After it was done, the salesman called me to see how it went, which I found pretty amazing. My experience was very good. He dropped the price a little bit, but it was more than another estimate, but I think it was better equipment.

They only charged me for a service call, not for the actual work. There was nothing wrong with the filters, they just needed to be changed.

They were professional, very responsive and came out early. Their pricing was reasonable and the quality of their work was good.

The man who came out to my home was professional and respectful of the equipment. He answered all of my questions and was willing to check out something that I was concerned about. Years ago I had a maintenance contract with a company after using them I lived abroad for ten years and when I came back I found that Blue Dot had purchased the company that I was using prior. I was originally concerned about that, however I have been pleased to find out that they still had maintained the same values as the previous company. They have continued to have a respectful nature, responsiveness, and price structure.

They are professional, responsive and punctual. The quality of their work is good and I have been satisfied with their service.

The experience was very positive. They came when they indicated they would and were clean. They came timely and were the cheapest of the bids we received. I would use them again.

very punctual in getting back to me and coming for the estimate. answered questions fully and explained the details well. price was within the range of all the estimates i received. work was performed in a month on my desire to fit my time frame. the workers were very polite and very clean! (even on a rainy day). they finished within a day. the system is easy to use and works wonderfully. my energy bills have gone down by half! what a great benefit.