STANLEY RUTH CO INC

These people are crooks. Please do not use them. We bought a $6k PTAC unit from them in the spring. Has never worked properly. They have been over to “fix” it about 10 times and never address the problem. They refuse to replace the unit and are extremely unprofessional.

 used this company last year.  They were super expensive and I had some problems with the unit.
They answer calls but are extremely rude.  I have heard multiple complaints from others in my building and I am hoping the building will switch to another company.  Today I called to get a new unit and was spoken to very rudely! I am going to complain to my building board.

Our experience with this company has been nothing short of a nightmare.  They charge top dollar for the installation and renovations of the heat / AC systems, and we have paid thousands in yearly service fees just to have them come twice a year and (supposedly) service the units.   But we have constant problems....numerous switches and thermostats have broken, they come and leave having not completed the work.  Then we have to keep calling them back.  But no one EVER answers the phone, and they take their time about calling back.  They NEVER keep their commitments about appointments.  Today for example, I had an appointment to "fix" an AC unit that is not working at all.  It should not need to be "fixed" in the first place, as they came to "service" it just a few weeks ago and we had not used it until now, but it does not even work, so we have to call...spend a whole day calling, then a whole day waiting for them to come and "fix" what should have worked in the first place since THEY installed it, and THEY service it.  This morning they were supposed to come from 9 to 11.  NO one came.  They "forgot" to call and tell me they had a "service emergency" and were not going to make that appointment;  so they said they will actually come from 12-2.  It is now 2:10.  They are not here yet.   The amount of money we have paid to them and the days and hours of hassled are unreal, for AC systems that do NOT work about as much as they do.  Also at least once they tracked dirt and grease all over a light yellow carpet.  Really, if this were a movie that was supposed to be about a horrible service provider coming to a home, you would think it was an exaggeration.  But sadly this is real life and this service is HORRIBLE.  Today, we finally discovered that the wire connecting the fan to the condenser was not connected.  It had "come loose."  But they themselves serviced this unit only weeks ago, and it is covered by a huge cover, behind a sofa, and no one else has touched it since they have been here. My entire day today has been devoted to getting this wire plugged back in.

The service people who came for the consultation, and the service people who came to do the installation and repairs were prompt and professional, as well as tidy.  We received a detailed estimate and contract following the consultation, the charges were as we agreed, the office staff was responsive and it was overall a very positive experience. 

First, excuse the formatting below.  Had a hard time with this text box.  Here goes: 
Stanley Ruth Inc was called to repair four AC units in my apartment.  The company had modified and installed five units about 20 months earlier, and four were dead.  A repairman came to my apartment, spent about three hours moving VERY slowly, poking, prodding, diagnosing.  Finally confirmed that they were broken, could not be repaired on site, and would need to be brought back to the shop for further diagnosis.  He charged me almost $800 for his "work".  

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Two days later, the shop manager, Michael Ruth, informed me that he could fix the units for $2,500 or replace them for $3,600.  I called him the next day to tell him I would replace them, after which he informed me:
1. that the price to replace them was actually $5,000
2. that he highly recommended replacing them with Friedrich units rather than the Frigidaire units I had since Frigidaire units are junk.   
3. that his shop doesn't have any relationship with Frigidaire and it would take up to three weeks to get the parts.   In some cases, the three weeks wouldn't matter, but we have been in the middle of a series of heat waves  -  so it matters.  I informed Michael that these parts are available through a multitude of vendors for overnight delivery on the Internet.  Michael responded that Stanley Ruth only deals with one vendor - who doesn't normally sell Frigidaire parts - and that the company had no capacity to alter this policy.

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.....Ok.

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I subsequently had another AC guy (found on Angie's List) come to my apartment to look at my one remaining unit and bid on the repair or replacement.  He informed me that Frigidaire units are not "junk", they should last 10 to 15 years, that he could get the parts, fix them, and have them back in place in a week.  His price was lower for both repair and replacement.

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In the meantime, I spoke with the architect who had designed my apartment and brought Stanley Ruth into the mix.  He said that he had some kind of a relationship with the Stanley Ruth company, so he would contact them to find out what happened with the price going from $3,600 to $5,000, and press them to complete the repair faster, since three weeks during a heat was was too long for me.  
-Regarding change in price, the architect was simply informed that it was a mistake.  No "bait and switch" mentioned.
-Regarding the schedule, Stanley Ruth never responded to the architect's queries on that.

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Finally after several sweltering weeks of this, I ended up driving to Stanley Ruth's shop in the south Bronx to pick up the four units and then delivered them to the other repair shop in Queens.

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Conclusions:  Michael Ruth, the owner's son, is charming....a really nice guy.....when he is good enough to return his messages.  I guess he thinks charm is more important than service, since he clearly does not care about servicing the company's customers.  After charging me almost $800 and taking my four air conditioners to their shop, MIchael boosted their price for replacement in a way that appeared to me like a "bait and switch" (although I of course don't know precisely what his intentions were).  
And the company couldn't get a hold of parts for three weeks that are available by overnight delivery?  Me thinks they didn't care to try.

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I would stay away from this company.

This company was horrible and I would NEVER recommend them. They were very responsive before I gave them the order, but after that they were impossible to reach. Far worse, they did a terrible and dangerous job on the installation and I had to hire a second contractor to repair their mistakes. Buyer beware!!!!

I hope people are informed of the company's service agreement before hiring them.

This company did such a good job installing my HVAC unit. I really like them. I would highly recommend them to others. They have always given me great services. I think they are good to their customers.

THEY ARE VERY GOOD. I HAVE BEEN USING THEM FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS AND HAVE NEVER HAD ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THEM. THEY ARE VERY RESPECTFUL IN MY HOME. THEY SEND US A NOTICE WHEN IT IS TIME FOR THEM TO COME BACK AND THEN WE CALL TO SET UP A TIME.

IT IS VERY DIRTY WORK HAVING THIS DONE, BUT THEY DID A GREAT JOB OF CLEANING UP. I FEEL THAT THE COST WAS HIGH, BUT THE VALUE OF WORK WAS VERY GOOD. I AM HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS.

THIS COMPANY IS SUPERB. THEY ALWAYS DO A VERY GOOD JOB. I HAVEN'T HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS COMPANY. THEY FIX THINGS IF THEY NEED TO AND THEY LET ME KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. THEY ARE GREAT.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS COMPANY WAS GREAT. THEY WERE A VERY PROFESSIONAL GROUP OF PEOPLE. THEY DID EVERYTHING THEY PROMISED TO DO. I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE AIR CONDITIONER AND THEIR WORK.