Campbell Heating & Air Cond

Company/Tech tried to fix furnace start up problem, broke my working furnace then couldn’t fix and said, I needed to buy a new furnace. Notes: Techs impressed me more as parts fixers not technicians, not sure if techs were company employees or contractors for company (paid by the job - not hourly), difficulty with 1st tech in communicating had to keep calling office to get ahold of tech, didn’t take or want to take responsibility for work - breaking part - to difficult to fix - to old (doesn’t like to work on old stuff), working relationship good as long as things were going good- when things didn’t go right tech and company became very defensive wouldn’t return calls difficult to deal with - weren’t willing to work through problem, parts 1/3 more than same parts on internet, difficult to pin down on when they could get parts or would be completed, tried contacting owner or supervisor never returned calls. Really bad experience, wouldn’t recommend. What happened - Company sent out a tech a 3-4 days after calling, informed technician of the starting problem the furnace was coming on and then shut off, then repeat several times until it seemed like it had warmed up then operated fine and fan not running smoothly. (We had this same start up problem several years ago and a different company replaced a sensor, easy fairly inexpensive fix.) Tech while working on it broke a part (told me he was adjusting igniter by physically bending it into place and it broke said “this is what happens with old parts”) don’t understand why a part that was working had to be “physically adjusted by hand” to work again. Said part was old had to look for a new one or used one and I would have to buy the part, said I didn’t think I had to pay for a part he broke (I realize some parts do break on assembly or dis-assembly, didn’t think that was one of those times I was responsible). At this point working with company and tech became different and difficult, attitude changed to extremely defensive. Tech came back about a week later with used part said, couldn’t find new part. Said furnace was good to go. Paid bill didn’t charge for used part, paid for fan sensor new part. Furnace right after tech left wouldn’t come on. Called company wouldn’t return call, had to go to their business and informed them of situation asked for different tech. New tech came out looked at furnace said, used part other tech installed wasn’t any good, asked why a part was put in defective - could not give me an answer. Also there were several other problems with furnace, parts and labor would be expensive to repair, would be better to purchase new furnace. Told tech and company I would look elsewhere for repair or new furnace, won’t go back. Lasted about 2 weeks after they 1st came difficult for wife with health problems, had to purchase several space heaters.

The motor lasted 2 seasons. It was too big (1 1/3 rather than 1 HP) and was almost touching the bottom of the cabinet when installed. It was discovered sitting on the bottom of the cabinet, having rusted in a shallow puddle of water. When I called hoping they could give me discount on parts or labor, they denied ever selling a motor that large.

The motor lasted 2 seasons; then it hit the bottom of the cabinet & ended up rusting in a puddle of water. The motor was 1 1/3 HP; 1 HP is the biggest suggested for my model. I called them & told them that I suspected it was too large or not properly installed. They said they didn't ever sell 1 1/3 HP & would not stand behind the product, which may have been damaged by another contractor. Buyer beware--they guarantee their work for 1 year. We previously had other work done by them & it was fine.

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Decided higher efficiency unit would take too long to recover initial investment. I ordered a unit on Thursday and was told might have it next day (Friday) for a Monday install. I felt that was optimistic but pleased they would try. As expected, unit arrived Monday and was installed on Tuesday; to include being able to run the heater that night. Dave and his men removed my old external humidifier but ran out of daylight on Tuesday and had to install the humidifier the next day along with waiting for a warm afternoon to try the air conditioner. Crew was very enjoyable to work with; professional, and did a super job hooking up the humidifier drain to the condensate drain as well. Pine at Campbell's kept us informed about their arrivals and issues with the initial delivery slip (which did not surprise or bother us at all). Dave was willing to negotiate a bit on install and extended warranty price. Additionally, my last service call attempting to fix an intermittent heater issue was waived and not charged. Overall I am very pleased with the service, response and value for the money.

I called Campbell and was connected to the owner's son. He and I chatted for a few minutes - I explained that we needed a professional to tell us if we could repair our swamp cooler or should it be replaced. He was very nice, gave me a quick tutorial about cooler problems, and why they use one brand over another. He volunteered to go out and look at the cooler to see if it could repaired, and if so, how much it would cost. He volunteered a free first time call. I thought that was very kind and took him up on the offer. That's where the good stuff ended. He made an appointment, and we were there. Didn't show up. Then I chased him around for two weeks, repeatedly calling leaving messages and finally speaking to him. First there was a story that he was swamped and then he was going to send somebody out, etc. etc., and even said to me at one point that one of his technicians had been there and he would get back to me with the report. Nothing. No report. Finally I called the owner (who by the way, never bothered to reply). After a month since the first call to Campbell, his assistant called me back with some numbers to repair or replace the cooler. But since I didn't pay for the service call (offered to me free) I didn't get any details on the parts needed to repair the unit, OR any details on the proposed replacement, other than a brand name. Finally after pressing her, I got a general description of the replacement needed but that's about all. She explained it was because I didn't pay for the service call. I am flummoxed. I need a new swamp cooler, and wanted a professional contractor to do the work, but given their track record with me, I would not assume any professional after-market behavior, like good warranty response, etc. I think that Campbell has no competition in the Ridgecrest area and since they're the 800 pound gorilla in town, they don't feel the need to be particularly professional. Good for them.3555

They do quality work, however pricy. They need more personnel for the amount of work they do, especially in the summer, but they are very professional.