A & E Heating & Air Conditioning

We agreed on the items, price and work schedule. They came on time and while they took longer than anticipated, they completed the work the same day, late in the evening. The big problem was that they switched the heat pump on us and never told us they were providing one with less capacity. I was on site during the installation and accidentally looked at  the shipping carton and it was then I noticed that they had supplied a different and lower capacity heat pump (same manufacturer) than contracted for.

The technicians said that they were installing what they had been told to install. It was hot in the summer and we needed the air conditioning to function. Therefore, we let them complete the work. It was only when I went to the office to pay the bill and complained about the switch in equipment that they acknowledged the change and agreed to a price reduction. Their technicians are good and they are punctual, but you must carefully check that what they promise is what they will install.

They called the day before to confirm the appointment time and called 15 minutes prior to the appointment.  The repairman was very courteous and introduced himself. He reviewed the work order completed by the previous repairman and then he went promptly to work. He did the job until he was completed. When he was completed, the repairman reviewed what he had done and presented me with the bill that was exactly the same amount as the estimate.  I have had A&E do several jobs on my house and I have always been satisfied with their work.

On the busiest day of the year my usual service company could not fit me in.  A & E made sure I got the work done today.  Their telephone representative was very receptive to my problem and kept me informed on the expected arrival of the service tech who was excellent and repaired the problem in a very short time.

Went very well; punctual and professional.  Wore shoe covers before entering house.

It was good and we enjoyed their service.  They tried a cheaper fix to save us money, however it only lasted a few days, but they were quick to follow up when the initial service didn't fix the problem.

The crew from A&E were very punctual and had all the needed supplies and equipment delivered at the start of the job on the first day.  This was easily a two-day job, given that all the ductwork (crawl space and attic) was being replaced, in addition to the outside A/C unit and the furnace (located in the crawl space).  They worked very hard and efficiently through the entire job, and were always courteous and careful when having to go in and out of the house to perform the work.  The installation went very smoothly, and all the work was performed with utmost professionalism.  Our 34-year old furnace and ductwork was definitely ready to be replaced, and our system upgrade is fantastic.  I am so glad we decided to go with A&E to do the job.  I would certainly hire them again. I highly recommed their services to anyone.

It he crew was punctual and efficient. They had all the warranty and rebate information. All was completed within the one day.

We called them on Sunday and they got back to us bright and early on Monday morning at 9 am. They squeezed us in on that day to service it. They were very good. They were very professional and very thorough. We would certainly recommend them.

Couldn't have asked for better service. We got a quick call back after leaving a message and the service provider arrived promptly. Oscar was courteous, knowledgeable and extremely professional. Almost a week later, the water in our crawl space is about gone and the system is running smoothly.

The technician was very knowledgeable and completed a thorough job. His advice was spot on and overall experience from the work perspective was excellent.
The only complaint I have was their practice of charging visitation fee of $95.00 even if we are paying of the service is not acceptable.
Any comparable business who sends out technicians will not charge a separate diagnostics fee if you accept their quote for the repairs so I was very confused and concerned that A&E uses this practice. So in my case the issue was a bad Thermostat, so the Technician quoted me $195.00 to replace the Thermostat and another $95.00 as diagnostics charge. So a total of $290 was quoted just to change the Thermostat. I had to call their Manager to protest/complain and finally got this $95.00 was removed.
This is not a common or a good practice and that needs to stop. 
Other than this issue, the quality of work and deliverable was excellent. I will definitely recommend them and use their services myself again, but be sure to discuss this $95.00 add-on ahead of time.

After checking the compressor, the technician advised that he found the condenser's dual run capacitor to be underperforming.  He stated that he could not determine exactly how much longer it might last but offered that it could be anywhere from 24 hrs. to 6 months.  He offered to replace the part then, during the maintenance visit, and, noted that if A & E returned to replace the part at a later date I would be billed for a service call.  He quoted me a price of $191.00 but offered a 10% discount, bringing the charges down to $171.91.  I opted to replace the part and paid the bill with a check.  The bill itemized ' 1 dual run capacitor for condenser @ &171.91'.  There was no itemization for labor or service call.  (The tech had the part in the truck and needed 10 minutes to switch out the part.)
Later that day I was advised (by someone who had also recently replaced the same part) that its cost was approximately $15.00 - $20.00.  I researched the part on the internet and could not find one priced higher than $30.00.  I called A & E and explained the situation.  It was an unpleasant call.  I was informed that I was, indeed, charged for a service call (in spite of the fact that the technician found the problem during a routine maintenance check).  I was also informed that the diagnosis of the problem (again, part of the maintenance check) as well as the price of the part, were included. 
After mentioning my pricing of the part, the bi-annual agreement, the fact that no labor or service charge had been itemized on the bill, and, Angie's List, it was agreed that I would write a check for $50.00 (for the part;) and that my first check would be destroyed.  (Note: I had stopped payment on the first check.  I do not know if that had come to the attention of A & E at the time of this phone call.) 
In the end, I will not enter in another maintenance agreement with A & E, nor can I recommend them.  I definitely felt as if I'd been 'had'.

Very smoothly. Excellent follow up. Excellent customer service. House is a rental and I am OOT so very helpful that I could pay over the phone. 

When we decided to replace our old HVAC system on the 2nd floor of our house we consulted Angi's List and arranged for 3 different companies to come out to give us a quote.  Even though all were rated highly (that is another story) we knew almost immediately who we would hire for the job. All 3 companies came in, discussed our needs and provided numerous options.  All 3 companies were fairly close in price.  However, my husband knows enough about HVAC systems to be able to critically evaluate the information given to him and A & E did a much better job customizing a system to meet our exact needs and concerns.  It was obvious from the suggestions they made, that they really knew their business. When we contracted A&E to do the work  all pre-work was done in a timely and efficient manner.  The office staff was extremely friendly and professional.  On the day of installation the team arrived on time, were VERY polite and worked well into the evening to get the job done.  
Now I understand any of these companies would have installed a working HVAC unit.  It is their business.  However, it is the customer facing interactions that makes one company stand out from all the others.  A&E is a small family run company and their reputation is very important to their success.  They did an excellent job, were very professional and I would recommend them to others.

Very professional, family-operated business. Technician was punctual, knowledgeable and organized. I could tell that it was important to him for our unit to be fixed correctly and efficiently. One slight issue I had was with receiving a return call, but it was straightened out and handled nicely. I would definitely recommend A & E!

We scheduled a time for the quote and Mr. Walters arrived punctually.  He made his recommendations without any of the sales pressure that had made us wary of calling in a bigger company.

The guy who came was pretty good; his name of Tim and he did a nice job. I am satisfied with them and their price was pretty low.  

The representative was prompt, courteous, and professional.  He provided me more information than any other company, and I felt I could trust him.  I did not award to the contract to this company because I gave it to my current service provider, but I was pleased with the estimate process.

This is explained above.

Tim came out later that day and made sure diagnosis was correct, replaced part on unit quickly and at quote.
Tim was informative, knowledgeable, polite and we felt very honest.    Also wore his booties when he came in the house which pleased the lady of the house.
Would highly recommend this local company that appears to be more concerned about providing honest, high quality service than other area providers (note: this first company that grossly overcharged is also an Angies A lister)....

Ron Walters came out and looked at the job a gave me several options and explained why. After we selected our options he gave me a written quote and that was the price we paid. They were spot on for when they said they would start. Even though it was a big job it only took two days to pull out our old system and duct work and the end of second day we had heat back in the house. I could not have ask for a better effort because they worked late to get the job done.  A&E was very professional with their  teamwork, I haven't seen much in today's world. Professionals that didn't wait for orders they knew what to do and did it.  The only hitch came when the county inspector came by and said they had to change something in the wiring, even though what they had done had met code before. No other problems occurred, in fact one inspector of the gas line said that he knew with A&E doing the job it would be done right. It gave me confidence in the entire job. After a year we had a failure for the outdoor sensor for the Honeywell thermostat and A&E came the next day and fixed it at no charge. In summary, they did the job right the first time, fast and with quality.

This is rental property that I do not personally manage.  My management company call A&E most of the time and we are pleased with their price and the fact the fix it the 1st time.  If a unit is replaced it is done without a problem.

Excellent job during estimate explaining pros and cons of various options.

Professionalism throughout the process of getting options and quotes on a new heat pump system through installation to final inspection.  The estimator was quick and thorough, heard and understood my objectives, suggested two options that were right on target, asked if he could write them up and then dictated them from his truck in my driveway.  Within 20 minutes I had clear, detailed, typed  proposals in my inbox.  The net price to me after coupons and rebates was $500 less than those of proposals by two other large companies.  The installation crew was prompt, very professional, answered questions clearly, gave me a good briefing on the system's operation and maintenance, automatically slipped on shoe covers when coming inside, and cleaned up thoroughly.  The crew leader even asked me to walk around with him to make sure everything was OK (that's never happened before).  The office handled the power company rebate for me and gave guidance and documentation for the tax credit, and arranged for the county inspection, which we passed with flying colors (the inspector even said "you got a good company").  The whole experience can be symbolized by the owner's response when I asked him when he would expect payment.  He said, "When we are finished and you are happy."   The new system is keeping the house much more comfortable.  It breathes easily and keeps temperatures consistent throughout the house.  I very much wish I had done this long ago and cannot imagine anyone doing a better job..

Repair was extensive and required 2 visits.

The gas pack unit at my house failed with a cracked heat exchanger near the start of the heating season this year.  Since the repair was pretty expensive and the unit was getting older and was troublesome in other ways I decided to replace the unit rather than having it repaired.
I searched Angie's List to find contractors with good reviews and feedback, and based on that called A&E as well as 4 others  for estimates.  Ron Walters, the owner of A&E, came out to do the estimate.   He was prompt, courteous and professional.  He scoped out the job to determine what needed to be done, and explained the options in terms of equipment manufactures they represent and had experience with,  the options of type of equipment (single stage, multi-stage, etc.) and the pros and cons.  I found him to be very helpful with his answers and recommendations, with no pressure tactics to try to upsell extra options, etc.  (I actually found the same to be true with the other 4 contractors I called for estimates as well.)  Ron had his estimate back to me the next morning. 
Each of the 5 contractors I had called quoted me a couple of options each,  spanning various Trane, Lennox and Carrier equipment.  I decided to go with a Trane XL16 unit, and for that unit the estimates I received varied by 15% from low to high, in part based on who could offer manufacturer's rebates or not, with A&E's quote coming in as the lowest of the 5.  Based on this, as well as their generally very good feedback on Angie's List and my positive experience with Ron, I decided to give the job to A&E.  Once the work order was signed, the office schedule the work for the next day.
The installation crew arrived as scheduled in the morning, and after some brief introductions got right to work.  They removed the old unit and concrete pad, and installed a new concrete pad, the new unit, and connecting ductwork in the crawl space.  No inside the house work was needed as my thermostat was already multi-stage capable.  After only 2.5 to 3 hours of work, it was time to start up the system and the guys tested both the heating and air conditioning functions to ensure both were working and responding to the multi-stage control from my thermostat.  They took me outside to check out the job site to make sure things were satisfactory and to familiarize me with how to install replacement media filters in the unit.  Everything was neat and tidy with all old equipment and packaging for the new unit already in their truck to be hauled away.  A few handshakes to thank them for a nice job and their were on their way and I had a new gas pack system.
Besides handling the installation, A&E also took care of registering my Trane unit so that I would get the full entitled warranty, filed the paperwork for the Progress Energy rebate that was available, and contacted the Town of Cary to schedule the inspection of the work.  The Town inspector came out about a week later, and found no issues with the job.
I had a terrific experience with A&E from start to finish, and would not hesitate to use them again next time I need HVAC work done.