Dowd Mechanical Heating & Air Conditioning

See what I wrote above

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Couldn't have been better

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I call to set up an appointment to get a quote on the whole house dehumidifier. At the time I said I live in a condo and I'm not sure it would work but wanted to explore and the guy said that's why we come out to look around and let you know. We set an appointment for between noon and 3 PM and I was told Joe the owner would be coming. About 1:20 Joe called said that he had a dehumidifier on his schedule and wanted to get more information. I could tell immediately that he was not really interested in performing the service. He told me the price he estimated. When the price did not discourage me, he asked me details and said it probably wasn't feasible in my condo (which he had never seen). He said that he did not want to waste his time or mine -- of course he'd already wasted nearly an hour and half of my time as I waited for the appointment that would never come. Joe should let his staff know if he is unwilling to waste his time coming to give an estimate on whole house dehumidifiers for condos. It would've saved us a lot of trouble and I would not be giving a negative review.

All was going famously well - friendly, helpful - arrived to do the assessment and make recommendations. They then left to go run the numbers and get back with me. They provided a thorough estimate with part numbers etc on 3 different options. Their price I was given on estimate was fair based on 2 other estimates from other ac/heating companies I had out to my house. I chose the one I wanted and all was signed and good to go to set up install appointment. Joe Dowd, Jr called me and told me he had a problem come up and that he quoted me the wrong price for the equipment I wanted, and that the new estimate would be higher. It was not an insignificant amount - like a $1,500 difference. I told him I understood that these things happen. Now, bear in mind, this now made his estimate the highest of all 3 companies I compared. Furthermore, it was a bit suspicious given the other estimates I received like a bit of a bait and switch. But he seems honest and I don't think he would intentionally do that. So, I asked him if there was any discount he could give me - an amount off the labor or some other perk to compensate for his mistake. He was completely unwilling to budge or negotiate. I told him - listen eat a little of the profit margin for your mistake on this one and you will have a long-term loyal customer that pays for routine annual service as well as the other system that I will buy in 2 years from him as well. Again, unwilling to do anything for me at all - no discount off price, no free service perk, nothing. I have been in customer service at many different points in my life, and this is not the way you treat a customer with "exceptional" service. Literally, he wouldn't give $5 off the price. It was ridiculous. I can't believe he past up a potential long-term customer. I guess Dowd's just doesn't care that much for their customers. It's unfortunate. Their loss. In the end, I went with Clyde Walton who not only had a better price by several hundred dollars ON THE EXACT SAME Trane equipment and install. I was incredibly happy with Walton's and believe this all happened for a reason and put me with the best AC/Heating company. Forget Dowd's - go with Walton!

Overall, the Dowd's employees were very professional and completed their work efficiently with a good price when compared to other vendors. They confirmed that the installation was as we expected during and after work was completed.

Joe Dowd provided estimate and advise for new Trane HVAC system. The estimate and advise was helpful and good but was matched and beat by Engel who installed our original system. We would not hesitate to recommend Dowd's to anyone looking for a new system.

Last winter on Decenber 18th 2013 I purchased the preventive maintenance contract for my heating and air conditioning system at a cost of $180.00 to insure the unit to be trouble free through the winter season. The first service was performed ant he unit checked out to be functioning as it should. The second was to be performed in the spring of 2013. During the winter months starting in December, it came to my attention my electric bills had doubled from the previous year and during the severe cold last winter electric bills had almost tripled. I found that to be unusual after having the heating system serviced and functioning properly. In late May with the hot weather approaching, the heat pump failed when turned on to the cooling cycle and did not work at all. I then called Dowd's to check out the problem. The service person arrived and found the heat pump to be low on freon and could be recharged at a cost of $500.00 with no guarantee that would solve the problem and the Freon would not leak out. There wa a additional service charge of $95.00 which I had to pay being a service call. Dowd's would not honor the $60.00 for the spring maintenance follow up visit which was paid in advance and never performed. So now with the preventive maintenance contract in Dec. 2012 at $120.00 and the follow up maintenance in the spring at $60.00 which was never performed and the service call $95.00 wher the technician tested the Freon level and gave his prognosis. I feel that the charges were inflated and the initial diagnosis in December was not performed properly to insure a touble free unit throughout the heating and cooling season. Total expence $275.00 for the poor service and inflated cost. The entire system has since been replaced.

I am really happy with the overall experience. They were patient, friendly, communicated well and left everything clean and organized. And most important to me, they seemed to take a lot of pride in the job they did, which has been rare for the work that I've had done on our house so far. They even showed me how some existing equipment (like a humidifier) had been installed incorrectly, and they fixed it. I would strongly recommend them to anyone.

The technician (Scott Fisher) arrived on time. He was very professional as he explained everything to me while servicing my unit. I have been using another company for this purpose for many years, and I can honestly say that I have never felt so good about the quality of the service or the competence of the technician. I agreed to a service agreement for one year ($260) since, for now, I will be using Dowd?s for my heating and air conditioning needs.

Overall it went very well. Initially, I wasn't sure that they guys worked really hard they had an extremely difficult job trying to get down the steps because my house is several hundred years old and are uneven to the basement and stuff. Initially they showed off like three times they didn't put a pump and finally that they did right away for the drain water so it kept turning off and they came back and fixed it and they put a pump on it and I haven't had any problem since. I think that initially they should have had the foresight to do that instead of taking that short cut, but because even when they did it, the guy wasn't sure it was going to work. Overall I am extremely satisfied with them. They are very responsive. They said they will do it until I was satisfied. They are very impressive and in some ways they went above and beyond. I would definitely recommend them.

They were excellent. They were very professional. The job went very well and very smooth. The guys were very nice and personable. They came in and cleaned the entire area, including fingerprints. They cleaned the rugs even though they did spill anything on them. They were tremendous, good people. I plan on having a yearly service contract with them and would recommend them.

It was problems from day one. The air condition unit kept freezing up. They were continuously in here trying to make things work and eventually they admitted that they would need to put on a furnace to give them more room to get the air flow. They quoted me a price, it was not a very good price. They were polite but their system did not work.

They are very prompt and easy to schedule with.

I got five estimates before picking Dowd's. I am completely satisfied with this company as they provided me with the right system for the home that I have at a fair price. The installers were diligent, taking all the time needed to do the job right without cutting any corners. I highly recommend this company.

Although we chose another provider we were very impressed with Mr. Dowd.

My condenser needed to be replaced and I made the decision to replace my furnace and coil at the same time since they were at the end of their life expectancy. I called out four different contractors for quotes and information. Joe Dowd, owner of the company, was extremely informative and patient with my questions. He also suggested that I do additional research on my own so that I was comfortable with the decision I was making. Everyone I spoke to, whether it was the women scheduling the work or the men who installed the units, was extremely friendly and respectful. In addition, they all paid close attention to detail. There was an out of box failure with a product (which happens once in awhile with all manufactured items and is not a frequent issue) and they wasted no time to have it replaced. They wanted to do the job right and made sure it was perfect, unlike many other contractors that might have just hoped I would never notice since I am not using my air conditioning with the cool weather now. They also scheduled a time to come back in the spring when the air will be turned back on to be sure everything is working up to standards. This type of follow up is not found very often. I will continue use Dowd Heating and Air and will Eco mend them to others.

Everything went very well from the initial contact through the final installation of the HVAC Systems. We had done some research on options in advance but learned valuable new information from the owner Joe Dowd. Installation was exactly as agreed upon. Neat and clean work completed respecting our home. Lots of furniture and electronics were nearby and nothing was bothered at all.We only had some light dust on things due to need to run new ducts through masonry walls. I should have covered up everything with sheets. Then again, the amount of dust was minor. Overall, excellent work performed on time at reasonable cost.Thanks Dowd People !

The initial experience was great, install and all went fine. Had a flood and called them back for help. After several events it boills down to the fact that I jumped to some concllusions and was scathing over the replaceement of a piece of hardware. Personally we had a lot going on w/ famiy illness and this was pressure relief valve. Most of my angst wasn't justified. Joe was beyond professional and when he found out how upset I was he called me immediately to talk it over. The bottom line was that he did everything he could to rectify things incuding eating shipping costs that were mine to pay and running the part out to me the next day. Dowd's is not a perfect company but they dealt with me graciously and with integrity. I don't think I could have asked for more....highly recommend Dowd's.

Working with Dowd's was a pleasure from the first call to the office. A real person actually answers the phone. Tara is pleasant, she never put me on hold, and impressed me with her knowledge, that was before she scheduled the estimate. Joe answered all of our questions, explained high efficiency units, rebates, and tax credits available. Bob and Scott arrived on time, covered the floors, and even work covers on their boots. The guys are professional, pleasant, and courteous. Everything was cleaned at the end of the day before they left. The system works great and is quiet and comfortable.

One of the best and easiest home repair experiences we've ever had.

The Dowd's people were very prompt and professional from day 1. They were referred through Home Depot. A representative came to our house and provided a quote with multiple detailed options right at our kitchen table. I subsequently sought several other quotes, and all were comparable for similar equipment (except one, from a highly rated company on Angie's List, which was outrageous). Unlike a lot of the other companies we contacted, Dowd's gave us the information we needed. They provided it in a comprehensive and straightforward manner, and they actually gave us the information we asked for instead of trying to upsell us, or convince us to replace both of our systems (we have 2 zones). When it came time to do the installation, the technicians showed up about half an hour late (had trouble with GPS), but that didn't really matter since the finished well within the allotted time. So far the system has worked flawlessly, and Dowd's has been very helpful on some followup questions I had.

Over the past week, I've spoken with this company about an annual mainteance agreement to service my Trane Heat Pump. I've spoken with Joe Dowd, himself on one occassion as well as his wife and office receptionist. All were very gracious. They mailed me an annual service agreement. I called their office on 11/8/10 to set up an initial appointment. I alerted the receptionist that I wanted Joe Dowd to come out to perform the service, at least for the first time so I may be able to meet him, as well. In speaking with Joe Dowd, on the telephone a few days earlier, he did say that he would not have a problem coming out to perform the maintenance and, in fact, agreed to come out any time I wanted him to. The receptionist was careful to check his schedule and advised me that early afternoon of 11/10/10 would be good. So, an appointment was set in place for Joe Dowd to arrive at my home that early afternoon. The receptionist did advise me that Joe Dowd would call 15 mins before arriving. I agreed and the appointment was set in place. Come the early afternoon of 11/10/10, not only did Joe Dowd never call my home, but he failed to show up for the scheduled appointment. I waited all afternoon and well into the evening. Obviously, it goes without saying that Dowd's Heating and Air is Bad News, but the very owner, himself, Joe Dowd, is also Bad News. My recommendation to anyone considering using, Dowd's Heating and Air, look elsewhere and stay away from these disreputable people.