Holtzman Propane

BEWARE Tankless water heater nightmare! This drama lasted so many months, I will summarize by saying we had Holtzman install 2 gas Navien tankless water heaters. We're not angry over the fact that they could never get the almost $7,000 system to function properly, and we're not angry that we bought it for an expected houseful of company only to have to explain then (and every time we have visitors) that the water won't heat steadily and properly. We understand that things go wrong and that just happens sometimes. As long as they were trying to service it and make it right, we were patient and appreciative. They repeatedly misdiagnosed the problem (i.e. once telling us the problem was our old faucets (?) without knowing that all our faucets are new/had recently been replaced, another time saying it was our well...) But the *horrible* part was they ultimately left us high and dry, $7,000 in the red with a non-functioning system!! We couldn't believe it. The way it went down at the end was like this: they had promised (in writing) to make a final switch of one of the two systems to rule out equipment malfunction. On the date of the appointment, they didn't show up. When I emailed later to ask if I had the date wrong, the manager wrote me this: "I’m sorry. The day we were switching out the water heater is the day it snowed and we didn’t run any company vehicles that day. I will get in touch with you Monday to reschedule." Monday came and went and I didn't hear from him. When I emailed to inquire, he sent me the following email: "I was with the owner last week on a business trip and he asked about your situation, I explained to him what was going on and what we’ve done up to this point and he does not want to switch out the other water heater. He feels that we have done everything possible and the problem is in the well and faucets. He said he would do the switch out if you are willing to pay for the service call to do so." I was stunned. Over the 5 months since they installed our $7,000 system, they knew it never functioned properly yet they disavowed responsibility and wouldn't even see through the troubleshooting they promised to do in writing. I called Navien and they said there's nothing they can do, that they just make the systems. They did offer to refer me to a more experienced Navien installer. This different company that I had to hire at my own extra expense came and fixed the problem on one visit. It wasn't the well. It wasn't the faucets. The bottom line is: you can spend $7,000 with them and they won't even make sure your system works, even if they promise to do things in writing. I'll add I was even more surprised because we were so patient and nice about the whole fiasco along the way (maybe that was a mistake?) and because we have been excellent customers for years with a propane gas account and were responsible for encouraging many neighbors and friends to switch to Holtzman for propane gas. As a result of this disappointment, we purchased our 1000 gallon propane gas tank from them (even though it was expensive) so we could switch companies and no longer patronize Holtzman. Very poor business model; not only were they dishonest but, as a result, are going to lose more money from our account than they tried to save by not servicing the systems they sold us. I would stay away from this company and not believe them if they state (even in writing) that they will stand behind their work or products.

Holtzman propane penalizes its loyal customers for conserving energy. I have a 500 gallon tank and Holtzman has decided to add "minimum use fee" (MUF) to their loyal customers since their multi-millionaire owner can never get enough. This MUF is really a "conservation of energy penalty" or a "few extra bucks for my already fat wallet fee". Since I was short of using 400 gallons last year I was gouged for an extra $125. After all the poor old millionaire has to put food on the table for his children. But this monopolistic ploy is not enough for the man. I got 200 gallons put in early this year and yesterday when I called to ask for 200 more gallons to avoid the MUF I was informed that they "can't" deliver propane unless my meter is under 40%. The lady I spoke with said "we can't just deliver 10 or 15 gallons to people". Apart from the fact that they can deliver the propane but won't, the idea that it is too inconvenient for them to deliver 200 gallons of propane for $578 because it is such a "small" amount is preposterous. But if I pay 40 cents extra a gallon it all of a sudden is not so inconvenient for them. Yes for a mere $80 more than it should cost I can get them to deliver propane as they graciously allow me to avoid paying $125 extra. The owner only cares about money and not simply a decent profit but all he can legally gouge from his loyal customers. It is never enough for the filthy rich, they always have to have more, and at the expense of those who barely get by when the pricing is fair. To add insult to injury we were not even notified of this change. I mean after all what's an extra $80 bucks at Christmas? He makes the rules up as he goes along and the unwary customer just has to play along. What happens when he charges $1250 MUF? What about an extra $800 because I want "only" 200 gallons? Is there any limit to the extra fees he can charge? I asked a representative this very question last year and got no response. And that is a scary thought. We are a single income family with young children of meager means and I’m sure others they “serve” are even worse off, yet this is the second time we have found out that our pockets need to be picked by the multi-millionaire owner of Holtzman propane. First the $125 MUF and now the extra "$80 because $578 is to little to make delivery worth our while fee". And both just in time for Christmas. Where does the owner think we get the money from? We don't pluck from trees. Would a kidney work for him? I offered the President of the company (I suppose another poor man barely scraping by that needs the poor to pitch in and help) to put the $80 cash directly in his pocket so he could avoid administrative costs. He hasn't responded to that offer. But that probably would not be a good idea on my part as I'm sure I would be charged a gas fee, and a wear and tear on his car fee for the trip he would have to make, and perhaps I would have to pick up the bill for the groceries he gets on his way home. Holtzman is not a company we chose but is a company we inherited with the house. We are stuck with them as the charge to buy the tank (which we "lease", though since 2007 when we moved in it has paid for itself several times over, and all their tanks have paid for themselves many times over since they were bought in 1972) would be $1441.68. Of course a look at their internet site does not reveal these hidden charges nor show how much it would cost to move on from them. But gratefully it shows other corporations they own which we can now scrupulously avoid. Swell corporation those Holtzman guys are; if you want to start giving to a new charity.

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It is the same young man who's been here three times before. He knows the house and he does good job. They come every time I need them.

They tend to have a little bit better pricing than another company. I own my own propane tank in the ground, so I can go back and forth with Holtzman Propane and another company without much trouble. Holtzman is a larger company; one if its divisions is the propane outfit. The price on the propane varies by the month depending on the market. They are easy to work with. They have been very responsive if we have issues in terms of if we are getting low, they will come out and do a fill. Like all other propane companies, they put us on a schedule as far as our usage and then they do their routes accordingly. Their pricing is good.

I had a very bad situation with another propane company in the dead of winter. I was panicking because it could have taken up to two weeks. I needed the tank to be fixed for heat. They made this a same day service. They could not have been more accommodating. Lena Chace was the one that helped us out. It should work extremely well for me! I didn't skip a beat being without heat. They really go the extra mile to be fair and keep you happy. They are right at the top for service and everything else! It makes such a difference that they make an effort to make you happy. I'm going to stay with this company for awhile now!