Airtron Heating & Cooling

Consumer beware! We’ve had a service contract with AirTron since we moved into our new build house in 2013. AirTron/Willis installed the heating and AC systems in the new build house. Our winter check this year required 3 visits because of errors made by a new tech. Our spring check was scheduled with one tech for the morning and ended up being performed by David H. in the afternoon. We decided to have another company that our neighbors use come do another check on June 1st because of the vague comments made by David in the service report and he indicated he was assigned coming to our house even though doing service calls was not his normal job. What the other company discovered was electrical tape around the copper connection joint because of a leaking (Freon) service valve. Also discovered that the heating AND AC units installed in our new build in 2013 are both undersized for our home size. Called and talked to Jessica at AirTron about our concerns and she said Seth the service manager would call to answer our questions about who put electrical tape to hide the Freon leak. Seth never called. We’re spending thousands of dollars to repair what some tech damaged and tried to cover up. Consumer beware of AirTron. Techs used to be very good. Our last two service techs have not done a good job. And for Seth not to call us back speaks volumes about their Customer Service and Customer Care.

Airtron is the go to company for geothermal systems! I highly recommend them!

The work has always been excellent. They don't do any unnecessary work. They had an opportunity where they could have done work on our unit and they told us "you don't need that, here's what you should do." That's unusual, when a company can not only not take advantage of you but can provide a service for you and then realize they don't really have to do that. You're expecting one thing but they deliver something different. That's what I really like about them, their honesty.

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On time, called B & arrival. Pleasant, knowledgeable, very efficient.

Technician arrived a little late, but unsure whether or not I wrote down the wrong time (8a. vs. 8:30a.).  Since, it was a Thursday, I was advised that the technician's don't start as early, because they have to file their paperwork first thing.  Technician started work around 8:45a., which didn't cause any real issue on our end.  So this was a non-issue, compared to our experience in the end.
SHORT VERSION:
Technician charged $232.00 for an igniter that I could purchase online for $19.99 + shipping (approx. $30 total).  He offered me the opportunity to "save" by paying for the part + a service contract for 2 cleanings (1 for A/C in spring, 1 for furnace next fall), for $251.00.  Feeling I didn't have much of a choice, as the technician holds what he thought may be a defective igniter, I agreed.  The next day, I found that they were gouging me for over $200, for a part that I could get for the formerly mentioned price.
I contacted the vendor.  Cancelled the service contract.  Demanded a full refund of service contract and part cost, upon their receipt of the brand new (Carrier Corp. issued) igniter, which I purchased from an online vender.  Will be shipping the part to them today (12/12/12).
Moral of the story:  If you're handy and the issue isn't time-sensitive, it pays to look up the part number to insure the vendor isn't sticking you with an almost 800% mark-up (That's even after I factored in the shipping)!.
LONG VERSION:
In the course of the technician's visit, he advised me that the existing igniter had a hairline crack in it and that it should be replaced.  He then advised me that the part would be $232.00!  From there, he suggested that I could get a better price ($100 off) on the piece, if I signed up for a year service contract ($119).  So, for $251.00, he said we would receive 2 more cleanings (1 for A/C and another for the furnace) plus the igniter.  I reluctantly agreed.
As luck would have it, I did not have Internet service at the property, while the technician was there.  So, I was unable to immediately check on how their price for the part compared with other sources.  The next day, when I had internet access, I put in the part number and discovered that this same igniter (part#  LH33ZS004) is available from various online sources for $19.99 +
shipping!   You can imagine my disgust, when I discovered that I had been duped for over $210!  I?m understanding of some mark-up on the cost of parts, when handled by a certified technician, but this kind of price gouging is unacceptable!
So, I immediately called the vendor, (12/7/12), to express my disgust, and inform them that I was cancelling their service contract and would be returning their overpriced igniter.  Kenny took the message and advised me that he would pass along the information to Jim Britain (sp?), their service manager, and he would give me a call.  I also sent an email to [email protected], outlining much of what I've covered here. 
As of late afternoon 12/7/12, I had not received a call back.  So, I called Mr. Britain to reiterate my displeasure, and I got him on the phone.  He advised me that their pricing was competitive within their industry and that $232, is the cost of the igniter, without a service contract.  He went on to attempt to justify his almost 800% mark-up, by saying he has a business to run and it costs a lot of money to stock the parts and "put the guys out on the road."  He suggested that the additional cost was also for the expertise of the technician, etc., etc..  Mind you, this igniter change amounted to unscrewing a bracket held by 1 screw, unscrewing the igniter from the bracket, mounting the new igniter to the bracket and returning all back into the correct location.
 
After some additional discussion, Mr. Britain offered to cancel the service contract and sell me the igniter for $175.  I told him that this would be unacceptable, and that I would be disputing the charge with my credit card company and notifying everyone I have contact with that their company seems to have a policy of grossly inflating part costs and overcharging for services.  This isn't to mention the fact that, in hindsight, it seems as though they were employing tactics to recover some of the profits they were sacrificing, when they offered the cleanings through Living Social, for $39.
I received the brand new (Carrier Corp. issued) part today.  I called Mr. Britain back to let him know that I would be sending it to him, and reiterated the fact that I expect a full refund of the $251.00 charged to my card last week.  He said he would look the part over and call me back.  He should receive this on 12/13/12, and I will follow up with him then.  Once this is resolved, I do not intend to use this company for anything, in the future.
Moral of the story:  If you're even a little handy and the issue isn't time-sensitive, it pays to look up the part number, to insure the vendor isn't sticking you with an almost 800% mark-up (That's even after I factored in the shipping)!

We've gone with them for years.  We've just kept contracts every year and we are very satisfied.  If we don't like them, we wouldn't have them.  The people that come out are very nice, very careful and they are very informative.  When they installed the new furnace, they went through everything step by step.  They'll come back if anything is wrong or if anything is not working.  We've not had a bad experience.  The only experience we've had with them is, one guy came out and he was afraid of my little westie and we just kept him away.  We would recommend them to others.  We have a contract for fall and spring for them to come out.  We buy the contract every year.  Their quality is way up.  We haven't had any problems or nothing out of the ordinary.  As far as the life of whatever we've had is concerned, it’s been average or better.  Their responsiveness is very good.  They give us a window that they are going to be in and they are in.  If they are not and if they are late, somebody will call and apologize.  When we had a service contract, something had happened and everybody needed air conditioner work and they said that they couldn't come out.  We were fine with that.  They always call.  People needed to have their air conditioners on that day before I could have my service contract.  They are very professional.  They are very good and responsive.

Very efficient! Very nice, they will tell me straight up if anything is wrong.

They have merged with another heating and a/c company.

He arrived about an hour after the lady told me he would be there, but I don't think he knew that they had told me 8:00 because he didn't call for directions until after 8. After that was great. He sequenced his work so that he finished up outside and I could go off to work. Then he noted that I had forgotten to close the garage door and called the office who called me. My house would have essentially been standing wide open all day if he hadn't done that. He wasn't my regular guy but he surely won me over with that.

I pay by the year. Last year I had someone come and say I needed a new furnace. I had someone come this year from the same company and say my furnace was fine.

We have used them for two years with no problems. They called once to see if we could reschedule an appointment due to someone being without heat which was fine. Only complaint would be wish they had a good follow up service to make sure you scheduled your maintenance service, but maybe that is my job.

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I was pleased. Good all-around service.

Job 1: THEY ALWAYS DO A GREAT JOB FOR US. Job 2: The price is for a package that we have with them. I have used them for more than 10 years now. I won a free complimentary call for their service, so that is how I started with them.

They were the first to respond to our call for emergency repair on one of the coldest weekends.

Excellent.

Airtron showed up on time and the worker covered his shoes upon entering my home! He checked our furnace, air filters and air cleaner promptly and thoroughly.

I have them come out twice a year & their service has just been declining steadily ever since. They keep making excuses about why they keep having to repair the work they've already done. They keep doing work & charging me visit fees, even when they are fixing things they've already worked on.

Had gotten several estimates, theirs was the most reasonable, which I regretted later. After installing the Trane units, they were baffled as to how to integrate the new thermostat wiring into my old existing system. After getting it to run, the air handler motor burned out within the first 2 hours. It took close to 3WEEKS to get the thing running correctly with various other issues, INCLUDING incorrect drainage (my primary problem to begin with). That meant having to make arrangements for their workmen to come back each time, almost every day for 3weeks. Because my units were in and running they were making my calls bottom of priority. Office seemed completely dissociated, from the guys doing the work. The system was the guys who did your work had to be the guys responding to your problem- very inefficient. To top it off, in the winter my furnace would not respond to the thermostat, had to call them back to fix the incorrect wiring.

ON TIME. COURTEOUS.

SERVICE WAS FAST, FRIENDLY, CLEARLY EXPLAINED, AND QUICKLY REMEDIED.

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VERY RELIABLE, LOW COST