Gilman installed an HVAC unit in 2005 for the prior owners of our current home. In 2006, those owners moved into a new home and the house sat empty for 2 years, when we bought it in 2008. The unit services only the second floor of the house which consists of 3 bedrooms which are only used when we have guests (which is very infrequent), so for the past 6 years, we have had the unit set high in the summers and low in the winters so as not to heat and cool a large area of the house that is unused. We have never had problems with the unit - it has worked well when needed and therefore we have had to do no repairs. This week, we discovered water running down the outside wall of our house. There are no plumbing pipes in those walls, so we assumed the air handler in the top attic must be having an issue. When our HVAC technician arrived, he found that when Gilman installed the unit, their installer did not properly contain the wires in the unit and put the panel in place - what he found were the low voltage wires connecting the float valves (which control the unit if there is too much water in the pan) sitting in 2" of water. If we hadn't by chance seen the water coming down the side of the house, we would have had an overflow of water coming from the pan down into the ceiling of the entire upstairs of our house. I contacted Gilman because I was upset that the install was handled improperly. I was aware that it had been nine years, but I also knew that the house had been empty for 2 of those years and that we had never had anyone service that handler. After speaking with a very pleasant employee, April, I asked to speak to a manager. I was transferred to the actual principal of their company, Mr. Winston Hancock. I explained politely that I was a bit concerned that I was having to pay someone to fix something that was improperly installed and had not been touched by anyone since their install. He said "lady, we haven't been out there since 2005 and I can't believe you would insinuate that this is somehow our fault when someone else could have done it." He was so inflammatory, that I gave the phone to the HVAC technician who was witnessing my conversation, and he explained to Mr. Hancock that given that the house was only occupied for a year after his company's installation and sat empty for two, either their install failed within that one year and the prior owners called someone to fix something that should have been covered, or this was their original work. After several other verbally abusive statements after I informed my HVAC person that I was just going to file a complaint, Mr. Hancock's response was "you don't even know who you're talking to." Clearly the man gave me his name when he picked up my call - when my HVAC tech told him that we did know to whom we were speaking, he asked our technician if he was "familiar with Lowe's." My tech replied he was and Mr. Hancock told him (and I quote) "then drive over to one and buy a bag of sand and pound on it." Then hung up on him. He went on to state that Mr. Hancock was SO rude that he wasn't even able to tell him that the rest of the install looked very good, just that it appeared that they left the job to test the system with the intent of finishing and probably just forgot. When discussing this with my husband, my point was that whether or not they were agreeable to provide some sort of help with the cost of the repairs was of a small concern compared to the absolutely appalling way both the technician and myself were treated by the owner. As a person whose husband and father both own small business, I am shocked that anyone would treat anyone - customer or not - in such an unprofessional, rude, and derogatory manner. If he had kindly said "I understand your concerns and maybe it was the fault of our technician, but after 9 years, I don't think we can help you" I might have been slightly irritated but would have accepted that decision and moved on; however, that was not the case and after being verbally berated and embarrassed to see the same happen to another HVAC professional in my home, I felt compelled to let others know that you should beware of using their company - the customer service from the owner is absolutely atrocious.
As a follow up: I spoke with the prior owners on July 25, 2014, and they confirmed that they did not have anyone out to service that unit prior to moving or during the time that it was vacant in 2006-2008.