Southern Comfort

please see my story above.

I engaged Emil about 18 months ago to provide a quote on our HVAC system (one of three units).  At that time he appeared responsive (yet, in reflecting back, it frequently took numerous attempts to contact him and so difficult to schedule, we had given him access to our house key).  He repaired unit one, and we were pleased. Then during a check of electrical connections on unit two (By Emil's employee), I observed and heard this unit go out.  Emil looked at it and assured me it was not his fault (I certainly don't know - but have remained suspicious).  Anyway, at that time I trusted Emil, and he quoted on a second unit, a dehumidifier,  and installation of NEST thermostats (I directly questioned him if he was familiar and knew how to install).

PROBLEM 1).  He never hooked up the dehumidifier to the NEST, after telling me he had!!!  When I questioned him and pointed out that it wasn't connected, he explained that this dehumidifier was a two wire system and wouldn't connect to the NEST.  So I showed him the NEST instructions on how to connect a relay to make this connection.  Also, I arranged a call with the NEST technicians and the technician explained the process to Emil.  Emil said he would install the relay - but never has despite my numerous calls and emails.

PROBLEM 2)  Now the second HVAC is vibrating horribly (the one just replaced)  It is uncomfortably loud and running hot. There is clearly a problem.  Emil has been informed of the problem and I have requested he come out and check the unit.  Because he had not responded to several contact attempts, I sent him an email (return receipt) and finally got a response. In early April 2016, Emil told me he got a new phone number and that must be the problem (funny, I looked at my records and noticed it is the same phone number).  Emil wanted me to first get our pipes flushed (these are geothermal units), which we did.  The pump man also noted the problem and called Emil and left a message that there was a problem (I overheard the message).  Since then I have emailed and called Emil that we need warranty work.  Absolutely no response!!!  I even told him I would explain this all on Angie's List and BBB - but again no response. 

He installed a cooling condenser.  System did not function properly as air was not flowing through all the vents.  Provider said he would be back the next day to make repairs.  He never showed up again. Over several weeks he would not return my phone calls.  I texted him and he texted back that he was in a meeting.  He would never respond after that and never gave a reason why he would not respond.

I purchased my home about one year ago.  Since the existing HVAC units were approximately 13 years old, I negotiated a home warranty with the seller.  This was a good idea as the downstairs unit went out in early June.  I contacted the home warranty service and they sent out another contractor from their list to diagnose the problem.  It took almost a week to get the diagnosis that the unit needed replacment.  The warranty company then had to approve the replacement and pricing and would only replace the unit in kind with a 13 SEER unit.  After nearly two weeks without AC, I had enough and decided that I was moving forward with the replacement with or without the warranty.  I contacted two other contractors from Angie's List for estimates. Emil from Southern Comfort air came out the day after my call on a Sunday to meet and discuss pricing.  The warranty company contractor had yet to give me a quote after nearly two weeks and the third contractor said that it would be Wednesday (4 dyas after my call) before they could come out.
Emil was very thorough in his information regarding options and SEER ratings and provided pricing on the spot for each unit.  I decided I wanted a higher SEER rating (17) unit and wanted to check on options for gas service in my neighborhood before deciding on a gas or heat pump unit.  Emil told me to call him Monday with my decision and he could install on Tuesday (2 days after his visit!).  I worked out that gas was not available to me and let Emil know on Monday.  He showed up late Tuesday around 5 pm as he was working me into his schedule as an emergency install.  By 630 pm I had AC blowing in my home.  His crew connected all of the ducting and power and Emil scheduled for his metal worker to come and complete the rainshield the day after the install.
All the work was installed professionally and clean up was great!  Emil serviced my existing upstairs unit at no additional charge and included a winter checkout on both units (existing upstairs & new downstairs) at no additional charge.  Emil performed the work with no downpayment and invoiced once all work was complete.  I gave Emil a B in responsiveness as he still owes me a copy of the SEER paperwork for my tax incentive purposes.  As this is not needed until next tax season, I am not overly concerned and I feel confident that this issue will be corrected once the weather cools and AC season slows down.
Overall, Emil is a very friendly and conscientious contractor and does an excellent job!  He is very responsive and works hard to help you out in these emergency situations!  I would highly recommend Emil.  After finally recieving the quote from the warranty contractor, Emil's price was competitive and I would have still chosen him if I had competitor pricing sooner.

Did what you do for maintenance and even put in a new filter for me.