Rumpca Services

BUYER BEWARE! I WAS CHARGED $530 TODAY FOR A JOB THAT RUMPCA WOULD HAVE CHARGED $250 FOR ONE YEAR AGO: PLEASE READ ON: RUMPCA NO LONGER BILLS CUSTOMERS BASED ON PARTS AND LABOR. I Just spoke with Mr. Rumpca on the phone and he explained to me "We stopped doing that a year ago." The least they could have done for a long term customer was tell me up front that parts and labor charges are out the window. Mr. Rumpca further explained "We now charge a flat rate." IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING WHY RUMPCA NOW CHARGES A FLAT RATE here's how it works straight from the mouth of a reputable small business organization: "When a small business is paid a flat rate for completing a service, it can make more money by performing more services in a shorter amount of time" Unfortunately that means you, the customer pays more. In my case a lot more. More than double the price of what I would have paid under Rumpca's prior labor and parts pricing system. My furnace was not working properly yesterday. So I called Rumpca and they stopped by. They ended up replacing the gas control valve. Under Rumpca's prior practice of charging for parts and labor the total cost would have been $250. Here's how that breaks out: - LABOR $150: According to Homeguide The average cost for a service call is a minimum charge of between $75 - $200 and that is applied to the first hour of labor. I'm using $150 which is near the top of Homeguide's range. The technician was at my house for 1/2 hour - SEE TWO PHOTOS AT BOTTOM. Here's what he did: 1.) He looked in the error code window on the front of the furnace and it indicated that the gas control valve was bad 2.) He removed 2 screws and took off the furnace door 3.) He detached 2 electric quick disconnects from the existing gas valve 4.) He backed off the 2 threaded fasteners and removed the existing gas valve 5.) He rubbed thread sealant onto both threads and attached the new gas valve 6.) He plugged 2 electric quick disconnects into the new gas valve 7. He ran a quick pressure test 8.) He refastened the furnace door with 2 screws. THAT'S $430 DOLLARS FOR 1/2 HOUR OF LABOR - THAT IS WHAT I PAID UNDER RUMPCAS FLAT RATE PRICING - UNDER THE PRIOR LABOR + PARTS PRICING MY LABOR COST WOULD HAVE BEEN $150. - PARTS $100: The gas control valve Rumpca installed is sold on Amazon for $75. Since Rumpca is a business, they pay about $50 for the valve. Assuming they double that to make a profit on the part, $100 for parts. - TOTAL COST THAT RUMPCA WOULD HAVE CHARGED ME A YEAR AGO WHEN THEY WERE STILL CHARGING A FAIR PRICE BASED ON PARTS AND LABOR WOULD BE $250 ($150 labor + $100 parts). UNDER THEIR NEW FLAT RATE PRICING I WAS CHARGED $530. That's right! $530 dollars for 1/2 hour of labor and a part that cost them around $50. YOU NO LONGER RECEIVE AN ITEMIZED BILL THAT BREAKS OUT PARTS AND LABOR - Just a single line with the final amount. It's like taking your car to the auto mechanic and paying an expensive bill and you have no idea how much you paid for parts and labor - Since you're not a car mechanic or in this case a heating and a/c technician you have no idea how the costs break out for the parts and the labor - Not exactly good for an informed consumer but great for the small business, in this case Rumpca. RUMPCA IS NOT THE REPUTABLE COMPANY THAT I'VE BEEN DOING BUSINESS WITH ALL THESE YEARS. In my opinion their new business model is to gouge as much as they can from the customer with flat rate pricing and manage their Google reviews so they look good (That night after they preformed the service they solicited a Google review from me via text message just like shady online companies do). I will be filing a formal complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General and the BBB - Rumpca should have notified me up front that I was no longer being charged for parts and labor as has been the case for many years. Morally suspect to say the least when a company changes their terms of service without notifying an existing customer. I will also post my review on all other online review sites so others know the score.

For years we’ve relied on Rumpca Services for furnace and a.c. repair and installation, gas piping, and plumbing of all sorts. Contacting them for service or questions is easy and helpful, estimates are reliable and specific, we’ve never had to wait long for service and they are always on time and incredibly efficient. Pricing is reasonable and competitive. I don’t think you could ever go wrong with Rumpca Services.

Representative was on time and completed job in a professional manner.

Great work...done in a timely fashion

Be very wary about this company. They came out to give me a bid for a new central air conditioning unit and told me I needed to have my furnace replaced because the new air conditioning coil would not fit. When he mentioned the new furnace I abruptly ended the conversation and thanked him for stopping by. After he left I called their office and asked what type of units they sold and was told Lennox. I had two other companies give me bids for Lennox air units and neither mentioned an issue with the coil not fitting properly. His office had him call me back after he left and he still insisted I needed a new furnace. He also recommended a larger unit than I needed. The other two companies recommended a 13 seer unit and this guy recommended a 15 or 16 seer unit because he said the smaller units were of lesser quality. Yet the other companies are offering a 10 year warranty on all parts and labor. So I don't think he is correct. He said the smaller coil was going to be a cheap knock off. I don't know if they are dishonest or incompetent but I don't trust them.

They gave me good advice and then did a great job on the installation

They arrived on time and did a good job.

A service technician responded and left me a bill stating both were inspected and charged me $171. So, I thought that was it and everything was good to go. One week later, I get an estimate of over $3,100 dollars needed for repairs- not to include the already paid $171 for them to look at it. I hired a different company to come out and they quoted me only $275 worth of repairs and that the repairs Rumpca quoted were not correct nor needed.

They've always done exactly what I wanted, so it is a good company. Everyone is pretty standard with pricing. There isn't much deviation in that category. They are really easy to work with all of the techs that I've had around. They have been very good with me.

I wasn't home but my son let him in. Price was as quoted. He was on time. Thorough--checked septic tank in backyard too.