Dal Star Services

Rick came out and did a system check for me. He was most professional, on time and did everything great. When I asked him what I owed, he told me "nothing." He said he didn't really do anything. He is very honest, open and above board. I would have never expected someone to come out and walk me through and not charge me anything. I told him I will make a donation to the charity of his choice since he did not want payment. I would highly recommend him and I would definitely use him again.

It went fabulous. He is very trustworthy and he never tries to sell me anything I don't need. He arranges to come even at unusual times. He gives you a reasonable price. He is a great guy.

A/C went out on July 3rd. Called a company that installed A/C unit but that I have never actually used before, I didn't receive a call back until I placed a second call on July 4th and they left me a voicemail to call them back, which I did, and no call back. Called a second company and no return call at all. Out of desperation, I called Rick on the 4th of July who offered to come out at 10:00pm on the 4th of July after his son's birthday party was finished! I told him I could survive until Saturday the 5th, and to just come out then, which he did. Since I have never actually had anything done to the unit as it was here when I bought the house, he was very courteous to answer all of my questions about it. He even asked me if it was ok to answer a cell phone call he got! That hasn't happened to me in a very long time. I would absolutely use Rick again and would have no problem recommending him, he is awesome!

A/C went out on Saturday night. I found Rick on Angie's List and sent an email. I had a reply back by the next morning. (I didn't actually expect to make contact by email, especially on a weekend. So that was a nice surprise). We arranged for him to come out that afternoon. He showed up, fixed the problem very quickly. I had expected to wait until Monday for the repair. It was a huge help and convenience to have the problem solved on Sunday.

I called Rick based on his Angie's List information. He was very responsive. We worked out a time for him to come over and inspect the system but I had to reschedule because of a power cut. Rick came punctually at the revised time, inspected our system and presented various options for how to solve. I felt he was knowledgeable and understanding. We agreed on a plan to replace the coil in a unit that I was having problems with. He came early on the agreed day with a small crew. Everything was done exactly as agreed and the system is now working well.

The work was done in a very competent, timely manner. Great attention to details such as sealing seams between the unit and the air ducts. Rick is very candid in discussing options (such as repair/replace and brands). The total costs were (I felt) very fair. By the way, Rick also responds to emails.

He was prompt and courteous. He identified the problem in minutes and replaced the shorted part.

Set and appointment for 9 a.m. Rick arrived on time and diagnosed the problem quickly. He had the circuit board replaced within an hour and my heat back on. I would recommend him to all friends and family.

We have been having problems in our new house with high HVAC bills and with ducts that never blow more than a trickle of air. After bringing in two other HVAC "experts" that gave us different advice (one said that our system was working great, the other wanted to install a new $60 thermostat for $300), my wife read about Rick here and gave him a call. Rick came over on a Friday night (at 5:00) and did a full-system inspection. He found a small gas leak in a furnace connection which he fixed. He inspected the furnace and AC units and as much of the ductwork as he could reach in the attic. He then performed several tests with our zone control circuit board. He told us that our problem was likely with the circuit board, and suggested that we find another HVAC contractor here that was more familiar with our brand of circuit board. He didn't charge us because he "didn't fix anything". (Note that he did more in his inspection than two other HVAC inspectors that did charge us.)

This gentleman was very honest and I liked the fact that instead of charging me to replace the coil, he told me that I would be fine just refilling with Freon for now, as the leak was very small. In the future, however if I felt that it needed repaired to call when the weather is cooler and the prices in the industry are a little lower.

I obtained Rick's info. from Angie's List and it was worth joining for. Rick is so personable and honest, he arrived on time and charged me exactly as quoted. I felt he did a completely thorough job of the servicing (he was there almost 1 1/2 hours). He also found a freon leak in one of the coils, so made various recommendations to me, which I shall chew over and decide what to do. I would not hesitate to use his services again and whatever we decide to do about the freon leak, he is the one I shall call up.

The first time we called Rick we explained our concerns regarding noises coming from the A/C filters. He made some suggestions over the phone which worked perfectly. A month later, our heating system failed so we contacted him immediately and he came over the weekend to fix the problem. We asked him to add a manual damper as well to balance the air flow. He charged only a third of what another A/C company had charged us a couple of years back. Rick is very friendly and will do a good job. We will definitely hire him again.

Overall, we were very pleased. It came down to the fact that we didn't really know anything about our systems in the house. We have a heat pump, but didn't know this. We didn't know that when the weather gets VERY cold that the heat pump doesn't work well and you have to change to EMERGENCY heat. Now that we have the digital thermostat in place, we do not have to worry about that because Emergency heat will automatically come on. This is why we have been cold all winter. It was very educational.

Rick was really great. He was friendly and professional, and generous with advice. (Rick, please forgive me if I recalled the price incorrectly. I wrote a lot of checks that day!)

We were so relieved to find Rick on Angie's List, after dealing with a different company for years. He replaced the evaporative coils on both of our A/C units, because they had a manufacturer's defect, that our previous contractor had overlooked for years. He was very professional, completed the work in a timely manner and his price was extremely reasonable. It was so refreshing to deal with an honest contractor, who truly takes pride in doing quality work. We will only use him from this point on!

Rick is a one man operation so his availability depends on how much other work he has. He was very competent, answered all my questions, had the needed motor in his truck, and didn't try to sell me anything I didn't need. Excellent price. Very nice to work with. I will absolutely call him next time I need service and even wait a day or two if he is busy.

Most places only offer 13-seer units these days. Rick was able to obtain a 10-seer unit, which was much cheaper and a better match for my 10-seer air handler. He was quick, clean, and professional. He did not charge for the coil cleaning (most Angie's List A-grade places said it was a 500-600 job to pull the coils and give them an acid bath) and came in for about half of the best estimates I had been getting. I recommend seeing if Rick can help you out.

Very good. Rick returned my call within a few hours, and arrived the next morning. He quickly diagnosed the problem and replaced the capacitor. The problem was fixed within 24 hours of my first call to him, even though we were in the middle of a heat wave and I'm sure that he was busy. Didn't try to sell me anything that I didn't need or fix anything that wasn't broken. Friendly and professional.

Oh my gosh, Rick McKay is absolutely wonderful! After two unsuccessful and quite expensive attempts by larger repair companies to remedy this situation, Rick determined that there was really nothing wrong with the a/c unit. The outside icing and loss of freon was due to two caps not being properly tightened at the outside value/line where the icing was occuring and the freon escaping. I believe this man ''understands'' heating/air conditioning and knows that repeat customers are his bread and butter. You'll love him.

Rick is fast, efficient, and kind. He charges an exceptionally reasonable price for any work, and asks if there are any other issues, but never "fishes" for additional work.

He was very pleasant and came right away. He explained different things about that area. He couldn't be nicer.

I've finally found an A/C guy that I can trust to do an outstanding job, arrive as scheduled and charge as quoted! This is the second time I have used his services and both times we received superior service. His prices are very competitive and more importantly, he's honest about what needs to be done and won't try to sell you on something you don't need. The first time we called him was for a second quote on replacing my A/C unit. The first quote was close to 4,000.00. Rick came in and looked at the unit then diagnosed it was just a bad blower motor - he replaced it and the A/C worked like a charm. At a FRACTION of the cost! At the same time he did advise us that the evaporator coil would need to be replaced within the year and quoted us a price that was very reasonable. When that time came, we called Rick and had him do the job. He is very thorough and will make sure it's done right.

Rick estimated that our job would take about half a day. He did not end up leaving until after much closer to 8 hours, because he ran into some unexpected difficulties as he was performing the work. However, he did not moan and groan about these difficulties, nor did he change the price, even after I offered to pay him for the additional effort. In effect, he said, ''That's how it works with a fixed bid - sometimes I come out ahead and sometimes the customer does.'' I have gone into several agreements that I thought were fixed bid, only to discover they were not. I greatly appreciated his take on the definition of ''fixed bid'' and think it speaks to his integrity.

WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED AND WE WENT TO LIGHT OUR FURNACE PILOT LIGHTS, IT APPEARED THAT PART OF ONE OF OUR FURNACES HAD COMPLETELY FALLEN OFF AND WAS HANGING FROM SOME WIRES AND PIPES, WITH A BIG GAPING HOLE IN THE SIDE OF THE FURNACE. IT WAS THE HUMIDIFIER, WHICH HAD BECOME DETACHED SOMEHOW. I CALLED RICK AND, EVEN THOUGH I WAS A NEW CUSTOMER, HE WAS ABLE TO COME OVER THE SAME AFTERNOON I CALLED. HE REATTACHED AND RE-SEALED THE HUMIDIFIER AND TESTED THE ELECTRICITY AND WATER RUNNING TO IT. HE TOOK THE TIME TO SHOW ME HOW TO REMOVE AND RE-ATTACH THE COVER, AND REMOVE AND RE-INSTALL THE FILTER. AT THE SAME TIME (WITHOUT ME ASKING AND WITHIN ESTIMATE HE PROVIDED) HE ALSO DOUBLE CHECKED THE PILOT LIGHTS. THE PRICE HE STATED ON THE PHONE WAS WHAT HE CHARGED, AND HE WAS FRIENDLY, EFFICIENT, AND PLEASANT. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE OVERALL.

HE WAS ABLE TO COME IMMEDIATELY THE SAME MORNING WE CALLED. HE ALSO GAVE US ADVICE ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT SEER RATING REQUIREMENTS. (OUR COMPRESSOR UNIT WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO BE REPLACED AND THEY WILL BE REQUIRING MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT UNITS.)