RCS Fireplace

"We have appreciated helping you over the past several years, which is why we discounted your Dec 31st visit. You're right-- you reached out during our busy season so were out a few weeks, but we squeezed you in as soon as we could. You did mention when scheduling that the fireplace was not staying lit for long and needed cleaning, so I had that in our notes for your service call. When the tech arrived however, he asked (as is customary for us, especially as it had been a few weeks since the appt was made) what was going on with the unit and your wife said she thought it was fine and just needed a cleaning because it had been a while. She made no mention of the intermittent issue. (According to our records, it had been 1 1/2 yrs since it was last done). So with a cleaning in mind, that is what the tech did and that was the service call you received. As explained and as you also mentioned, often a cleaning can resolve issues so that is always what is needed and where we start with our service. Cleaning your fireplace is a proactive approach, so that you as the customer do not waste money unnecessarily with part replacement costs when parts are just dirty from time and use. There are plenty of fireplace companies that will readily replace parts for you, without ensuring their necessity, but again-- that is not us. In your case though, the fireplace stayed running while the tech was there and cleaning up his tools and space (certainly longer than the 10 seconds you afterwards experienced), so no further issues seemed apparent during our experience in your home. Unfortunately, because the tech did not witness the fireplace going out during his time there and you were provided with the requested service, there appeared to be no additional issues to address. Our tech gave you an hour of cleaning, so he most definitely was thorough and we stand by our service offered. If he had seen your fireplace go out while he was there, then we would've known that with the cleaning just recently done, parts would definitely then be needed. Again, that did not happen. Regardless, whether you pay for additional time beyond the 1 hour cleaning at that first visit (because we observed the fireplace not staying lit) or if you'd been willing to schedule a return visit like I offered for that additional time for part replacement-- the costs would've been similar. Additional labor time and parts required. That is clear now, but was not at our initial visit since the unit was running and appeared fine when we left, given the hour long cleaning. I did send you a message via Yelp and also left you a voicemail explaining what we did and how that hour labor charge was used, and I also explained the reason for the needed return trip and the additional labor and part costs. Obviously I did not hear anything back from you for a few months, until this poor review now. I must have missed any positive review from your satisfied experience with us over the past 7-10 years, I guess...? Yes, our return trip charge is discounted to $180 (because a cleaning is not needed at a return visit and the tech can get right into troubleshooting and part replacement). That return trip cost covers another visit w/ 1 hour of labor towards part replacement. Plus as mentioned, you will have the cost of parts. I apologize that you are unsatisfied with our discounted labor charges or the loyal service we have offered you throughout the years. Unfortunately, leaving a bad review on multiple platforms with months of no return contact is not a helpful way to seek resolution because the fact remains- you need more labor and parts. We have always shown customer appreciation during our 20 yrs of operating our small business, which is why we have repeat customers and offer discounts whenever possible (discounts you've received every time we've come). We are happy to help you, should you be willing. If not, we wish you well!"

"Thank you for the review. Unfortunately if the fireplace is working properly when we are on site all we can do is proceed with routine maintenance which we believe solves a lot of issues that the fireplace could have. That is why we continue our service after we determine it is working at the time of service so that you can get the maximum amount of work for what you are paying for. We are homeowners too and understand the frustration of having someone out for service and it works properly at that time then it malfunctions after that. Please in the future give service professionals the opportunity to come up with a remedy to rectify the situation. If that happened and we didn't we apologize."