FLAGSTAFF HEARTH & HOME

When we made the appointment we were given a date and time that the work would be completed (Monday at 8:00AM) The Friday before the work was scheduled I called to confirm the appointment and was informed that they did not do installs on the day we were told. They gave us a different day and time. The night before the new date, we got a phone call saying the weather was kind of bad (just a few flurries) so they may not be able to make it, they would call first thing in the morning. I called them after 11:30 that day and was informed that they could not reach the installer. After a few hours of phone tag we were informed that the installer had tried to take a shortcut, on dirt back roads in the snow, and got stuck. The owner was going to go pull him out and get back to me ASAP. I got no news until the next morning (Christmas Eve day) when I called him and he said it was after 9:00 PM when they got unstuck so he decided not to call me. I asked him what time they would be out and was told I would have to reschedule because the truck was muddy and he wanted to clean it. At that point I asked for a refund of my deposit, I did recieve the refund but he did not try to make it right, just said OK and put it back on my card. The customer service was great until we gave a deposit, then it was as if we did not matter at all. Lousy business practices.

We are new to the Flagstaff area, and after living in the house for 3 months, we identified work that needed to be done. One of these items was about heating. We have gas, forced air heat, which varies over a 4 degree range and is not very comfortable. In addition, we had a bulky pellet stove that had an ugly hearth and mantle and took up too much of the living room. Our old house was oil/hot water heat, which I find more comfortable. In addition, we had a pellet stove on a 4 season porch. I have also heated by wood (pot belly stove). Heating with wood in an energy efficient stove is nice. It provides a zone that you can warm up in, and it is nice to watch the flames. The biggest drawback is harvesting, cutting, splitting, stacking and hauling the wood. The pellet stove also provided a warm zone that was nice, but not as nice as the wood stove. The main drawbacks were getting, stacking, and hauling the pellets, the noise it makes and the fact that it doesn't work in a power outage (electric pellet feed). The pellet stove was a Quadrafire fireplace insert. I custom made a hearth, surround and mantle for it. The stove would come on and a blower created draft for the fire. Once it heated up, a second fan would blow hot air into the room. It was extremely noisy. Having reached my middle 60's, I didn't need all the exercise, and since we are on city gas, I looked into a gas fireplace. I went to all 3 shops in town, and Flagstaff Hearth and Home was the easiest to work with. My initial fireplace was too large for the house, and the sales people at Hearth and Home did a great job of picking the right fireplace for the application. They came out and looked at the job and came up with a plan. The things that didn't work well were the communications and installation schedule. We were promised a plan prior to the installation, that never materialized, and we might have changed some things if we had seen it. There was also a problem getting the installer on site, and we were delayed a few days for that. There also was a snafu with the burners that delayed using the unit for a few more days. I considered these small things, more inconvenient than anything. With the unit in, I am very pleased with the result. The fireplace has a remote that is also a temperature sensor. You can move it around the room to create a comfort zone that can be adjusted. The unit does a great job of heating the main living area, and allows me to keep the rest of the house at a lower temperature. Another great feature is that the unit has a smart thermometer. As you approach the correct temperature, the unit lowers the flame instead of providing a straight on/off function. At this point, we have the enclosure done in concrete board, at our request. We want to live with the unit for a while so we can get used to the size and shape and then we will decide what "finish" we will do.

Flagstaff Hearth & Home (fhh from here forth) was visited in June, 2012 to inquire about a fireplace insert. A model was tentatively chosen, final decision to be based upon their site visit for measurements and feasibility study. A substantial deposit ($2,500.00) was given at the time. Out of town business prevented an immediate follow up, but a house visit was finally done and the person showed up ominously late. A week passed without hearing back the result of their site visit, and another visit to the store revealed that the owner had not even looked at it yet. Following week, another visit to the store gave us the bad news; a simple installation is not possible, but the existing chimney has to be demolished and a new one built in its place. A new plan was drawn up and the project continued. At this point, we asked if the entire project will be done by fhb, from A to Z; and they said "yes" - a claim that later turned out to be thin on truth since fhh relies on various "sub-contractors" to do the work and none of whom carried any visible permit or license other than business cards with phone numbers. The demolition began in Oct 3rd, with the owner's (Troy Baker) reassurance that it would take no more than 2.5 weeks at the most. With the demolition done, lack of further activities had us hounding Mr. Baker for explanation. Mr. Baker created more delays then telling us that our choice of fire box was too big even with the old fireplace completely removed. He suggested an alternate product. Relenting in the face of approaching cold, we okayed the switch and was told that a new unit will be ordered. After weeks went by, Mr. Baker let on that he's having difficulty getting the manufacturer to "ship" the product as bundling multiple units on a shipment was least costly way for him to receive them. In the end, to make the long story short, Mr. Baker tried to pull a switch by attempting to deliver his floor model to us as a newly delivered unit. Only upon being questioned with evidence of lie, Mr. Baker admitted that the unit is indeed out of the showroom floor and that he will give substantial discount when he finalizes the invoice. It's now been going on 7th week, and the sub-contractors have returned multiple time to correct or remediate works that were either done poorly or not done at all; including, poorly fit tile, crooked dry wall, mantel header not installed, missing firebox pieces, cosmetic touch-up for the firebox, and carpet cleaning due to precaution the sub-contractor DID NOT take to protect the carpet while working. Yet, two vertical cracks have formed only a day after the last repair visit was made where fresh mud used for replacement drywall (in place of the crooked one that they initially put on) looks to be applied too thickly. Mr. Baker was informed of it by email once 2 days ago and twice today. We have yet to hear back from him, which is NOT the least bit extraordinary so far in our dealing with him. Lastly, this must be mentioned. In the meeting before last, we tried to impress upon Mr. Baker our exhaustion with his less than professional conduct thus far, and conveyed to him that, as a last recourse, we may have to ask that the project be scrapped and the firebox pulled out. Mr. Baker replied without humor or regret, "Well, then I'll have to put a lien on this property..." Please! One would buy a better service hiring an alcoholic pool cleaner on New Year's Day morning than with FHH if you're looking for a fireplace related service and product. I just wonder how many more mistreated customers are out there.

Flagstaff Hearth and Home came to my house and took measurements, then had to call me back a few weeks later asking to come out and take measurements again because they had lost the original ones. I gave them a deposit for the insert and was told they would be out to install it on a Friday. They called me Thursday and informed me that the insert they ordered would not fit and that I would have to purchase a free standing wood burning stove instead. They assured me that my deposit check would not be cashed until we had come to an agreement on the purchase of a different stove. I went to their store on a Saturday to look at stoves and requested quotes. The following Monday my deposit check was cashed without me having received a quote on the new stove. I called demanding to know why my check was cashed, the person that answered the phone replied back that "it shouldn't have been cashed, somebody in bookkeeping must have made a mistake, let me talk to the owner". I was put on hold and then told that the check was cashed because they had ordered the stove for me in which I replied "how can you order a stove for me when you haven't provided me a quote?" On Wednesday I finally received a quote but it was not accurate, there were items that were missing and items that were included that should not have been. After receiving a few other quotes the remainder of the week (most of them were inaccurate) I decided that I did not want to do business with this company. I requested my full deposit back and was told they would send me my deposit minus $150 for the cost of shipping the stove back. I informed the owner that I did not order a stove and would not pay shipping costs due to his mistake. I had to file a claim in small claims court against Flagstaff Hearth and Home to try and get my deposit money back.

Initial correspondence: Over the phone and in person, Chris was very nice and professional. In person, Troy unprofessional; in their place of business, Troy used the "F" word twice while on the phone with a customer while I stood on the other side of the counter. Installation: The crew was to be at the house by 8:30; they didn't arrive until 10:50. The crew hemmed and hawed for 2 hours trying to figure where to cut a hole in the roof for the chimney; not something on which to make a mistake. The crew had been instructed where to exit the roof buy didn t agree with their instructions. My wife, panicked that they would cut a hole in the wrong place, came and picked me up from work so I could be there to help them. I arrived home around 1:30 and worked directly with the crew, crawling in the attic to confirm the correct location of the chimney, moving duct work and insulation so the hole could be cut, and assisting the crew installing the junction box(where the chimney and the stove pipe meet). The crew and I worked together until the job was complete. On two different occasions, the crew said that if I had not been there, the job would not have gotten done. Not good! After they left, I noticed that the stove pipe directly above the stove was not plumb; off per foot. The crew was scheduled twice to return and fix the problem; they missed both appointments; therefore, I fixed it myself, using my own materials. When asking for the price to be adjusted to reflect the materials used and to compensate me for my labor, they would not budge on materials and only wanted to take $150 off of the $450 labor fee. I would not recommend this company to anyone; friend or enemy.