Toptec Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical, Inc.

I purchased a toilet tune-up on April 8, 2016. My first appointment was scheduled for May 7 @ 9:00 a.m. Top tec called me that morning to say they were running behind. Because I had made plans for that afternoon, I asked if I could reschedule. I was told yes, May 14 at 9:00, and I would be their first appointment. May 14 at 7:48, Brian from Top Tec calls to say he is running late. He said he would be at my house between 11-1. I said ok, please call me when you're on your way. At 12:20 Brian calls again to say that he was leaving his job in Libertyville in 20 minutes and would be at my house at 1:30. At 2:15, still no Brian. I decided to call Top Tec and was told I would receive a callback. At 2:24, Jordan calls me back. He asked who the tech was that was scheduled and I said Brian; at this point Jordan's response was laughter. Anyways, Jordan said he was going to stop after he got done at his job in Lincolnshire. 2:35 and Brian calls. I couldn't hear or understand him because the background noise from wherever he was sounded like a noisy bar/restaurant. 3:00, to my surprise Brian shows up!!! I told him Jordan was coming, he seemed confused or possibly even intoxicated and called Jordan to say he was here. I showed him the toilet to tune up. Brian seemed to think I was better off getting a new one and didn't do anything. I couldn't help but think that this guy is 6 hours behind schedule on Saturday afternoon and he's trying to figure out how to catch up. I also thought, I am so frustrated wasting 6 hours on a Saturday for this?!? So........if you like rescheduling appointments, like waiting 6 hours for a tech, like feeling like you have just been ripped off then I can highly recommend Top Tec to you. However, if you don't like any of those things, stear clear of any "Deal" you might think of purchasing.

I had used TopTec before for electrical and HVAC. When they said they could do the carpentry work involved in installing exhaust fan duct work I trusted they could do the job correctly. Once the cold season came, all we could feel in the kitchen was a vigorous cold breeze coming from the exhaust vent over the stove. After they had someone come out and look at it and tell me there was nothing wrong, I finally pulled apart the duct work myself and discovered the ducting was not even connect to the outside vent. A rough hole was cut, a pipe was simply stuck in the hole and that was it. Nothing was connected, taped sealed or insulated. As you can imagine I was extremely angry and disappointed that the trust built up by previous good work was ultimately violated. I called the owner Joe and sent his pictures of the shotty workmanship. He was apologetic and sent out his top carpenter on Christmas eve to fix everything. His guy spoke almost no english and in my opinion was not a master carpenter. I had to watch him for the entire 6 hours he was at my house. This was one of those projects I should have either done myself or had a real carpenter perform. Joe offered to reimburse me for parts I had to order myself because the duct work they were using was cheap of the shelf home depot quality, but I was so disgusted by the whole ordeal I just wanted him and this disaster to go away. It was the last project I'll trust to Toptec.

Purchased their coupon and even though it asked for convenient service time, I didn't hear from the company. When I called them, I I was told they didn't service my area. Why wouldn't they put that in their coupon fine print? Big hassle to do the research to buy the service, then to call the company, the to call Angies list for a refund.

Minor scheduling issue, got that straightened out pretty quick. Plumber came and fixed the issue. Was in and out quick.

It turned out a lot more expensive than what we anticipated. It required a few returns to get something right. They kept coming back without complaining. More than one guy came out. They were very nice and they tried their best. It turned out to be confusing why it was an expensive job. They didn't make us wait. The attitude was good. They had to come out 3 or 4 times. We had a leak and I thought the leak was fixed but it wasn't fixed. We had them come back out again. They were nice when they kept coming out.

Andre (aka Dre) was very friendly, informative and performed the job thoroughly.

They were great! Professional, scheduled an appt with me immediately, scheduled at 8 AM and called to say they were there before scheduled and asked if they could come in. Completed what was necessary and left without leaving a mess. I will use them again.

They were fantastic and very professional. Our dryer was making a very loud noise when it was in use. They replaced a few parts and it has bee n working like new again.

My wife called TopTec at 7:20 a.m. on February 10th to advise them of a water leak and puddle underneath one of our furnaces and also underneath our hot water heater in the basement. She spoke to John (he told her he has been a plumber for 25 years), and she mentioned to him that she wasn't sure if the hot water heater was the problem but that she only had a minute to look at the puddle of water on the basement floor before she had to leave for work that morning at 6:00 a.m. (I?m handicapped and it?s hard for me to go down the basement stairs which is why she called TopTec). My wife told John that the reason she found the source of the leak confusing was that the furnace also had water under it and the basement floor was slanted downward toward the drain with the hot water heater being downhill from the furnace. So it didn't make sense to us that if the hot water heater was the cause of the leak that the water would travel uphill to the furnace. Also, she mentioned to John that we had our hot water heater serviced/flushed within the last year or so and the technician said there wasn't much sediment at all and in fact, that our hot water heater should last us for another few years or more. I was at home when TopTec arrived and went down to the basement with John (the plumber). He did not investigate the leak at all when he came to our house on February 10th. Instead, he proceeded to send the other driver to pick up a Rheem hot water heater since the one he brought with him to our house was not the same type of hot water heater we currently had installed in our basement and immediately started dismantling the current hot water heater. John replaced the hot water heater and we paid $1,635 for it, assuming that was the cause of the problem and that now it would be fixed. My wife was home sick from work for two days -- so when she went downstairs a few days later to check out the new hot water heater, she again saw the same puddle of water underneath the furnace and hot water heater. She called and e-mailed Joe (the owner of TopTec) and James (the Office Manager) and included pictures to show them that we still had a water leak in the basement. They sent an HVAC guy to our house but before he arrived, my wife sat down on the basement floor, dried the water puddle and it took her all of two minutes to determine that the water was dripping from up above (when she looked up she saw that the humidifier had a steady drip coming from the bottom of the casing). She placed a bucket under the humidifier and no other water was on the floor when the HVAC guy from TopTec arrived. The leak turned out to be from the filter in the April Aire humidifier attached to one of our furnaces -- it was leaning forward and leaking. Since we have a maintenance agreement with TopTec that includes our two furnaces and two humidifiers, there was no charge for the service call. The HVAC guy placed two pieces of cardboard to "shim" the humidifier filter to brace it upright instead of it leaning forward -- to eliminate the leak. He was at our house for less than 10 minutes to rectify the problem. The fact that our hot water heater was replaced without it being the cause of the water leak upsets me and also the fact that my wife was the person who found the cause of the leak (she?s a secretary for a living), which took her all of two minutes to figure out. I don't understand why their plumber never bothered to investigate the cause of the leak. TopTec is rated "A" on Angie's list which means to me that their work should be top-notch and that customer satisfaction should be 100%. My wife still has not received a call from Joe (the owner) or e-mail response to her several phone messages and e-mails that she sent him once the misdiagnosis was made and since the hot water heater was replaced. She did receive a call from John (the plumber) apologizing for the misdiagnosis the day after the HVAC guy came out and fixed the humidifier filter with cardboard. Don Miske

Electrician told me the job went smoothly with no problems.

I had signed up for a Angie's list clean a drain special. Upon inspection the tech said that although they would preform the purchased service it would only fix the problem short term. He offered to give me my money back or against his recommendation do the job. However he also offered a more effective and expensive solution to my problem. I knew he was correct as I "Snaked" the drain a 2 months ago and the problem reappeared. My house is nearly 50 years old and this drain that we were having trouble was used exclusively the washing machine and had a build up of soap coated to the inside of the pipe. They preformed 3 jet high pressure cleaning of the pipe. It took 3 tries flush it completely. It is draining properly now.

Quick response. The workers were punctual, respectful and listened very carefully to our concerns. They found the problem quickly and resolved it in no time. Would definitely call again.

I hired Toptec to inspect and fix my humidifier. Technician arrived as scheduled and inspected the humidifier. He told me the problem is with thermostat and need to be replaced but he didn't have the parts with him and said they need to order it. I said okay and asked how quickly they can get the parts to fix the humidifier. He said it would be done within couple of days and his office will be in touch next day to schedule an install. The next day I received an invoice in email which mentioned nothing about parts replacement or anything the technician discussed with me. This is the first red flag for me! Two days have gone by, I have tried to reach the company several time to get a status on parts order but so far unable to get any update on the status. I spoke to three different people at the company and every time I hear the same thing that we are tracking it down and will call you in 15 min but the call never came. Now I don't even trust if what the technician told me the problem is even true. From where I stand I wasted my money and time and can't get it back. This company is a fraud. I would not recommend them for anyone. Update (Feb 1st): It turned out the problem with my humidifier is not the thermostat as Toptec technician mentioned. There was a problem with the outdoor temperature sensor and it wasn't reading the temperature correctly. Replaced the sensor and the humidifier is working fine now. So I can confirm what the Toptec technician told me is completely incorrect and I demand my money back.

The service rep was knowledgeable and professional, and above all courteous. He knew how to explain what to me are the complicated functions performed by the HVAC system. He gave me as a customer a feeling of security that he knew what he was doing, did it, explained to me what he had done, and did not try to sell any additional services from his company. He let the quality of his work and personal interaction perform as the sales pitch. It was a most pleasant experience; something you don't expect from such a service call. Highly recommended.

A previous owner of our home built out the basement but the construction company he used did a poor job of insulating and placing the pipes coming into the basement bathroom. In the winter, on the coldest days, we were forced to let the faucet drip and ran a heater to prevent the pipes from freezing. Toptec was one of four plumbers I called to explain my situation. All on Angies List with good ratings. One didn't return the call, two must have wanted a simpler situation and declined to even come out to see my problem. Toptec came out, gave an estimate in a day and did all the work I needed done. They were very professional. And they did all with a minimum amount of needed drywall work when finished. I highly recommend their work.

Guys were very efficient, helpful and gave me the peace of mind knowing everything is up to par. E-mailed the video like they said they would and walked me through step by step what they were looking for. Overall very professional experience.

The technician, Dre, arrived as scheduled and inspected the furnace and humidifier. The furnace was deemed fit for the winter season. The humidifier needed a major part. Dre arranged to return in the afternoon to fix the humidifier. He arrived as promised and fixed the problem. He instructed me on the care of the furnace and proper operating of the humidifier throughout winter's temperature changes. Receiving the instruction gives me confidence in working with the system.

The Top Tec technicians arrived on time and explained the entire procedure. This was the first time I had had this done. The foreman, Mostapha, explained that some of my dust was coming from the ducts and some was from my dryer vent. He provided solutions for the dryer vent problem. The team was very respectful of keeping my home clean as they conducted their procedures. Mostapha determined some additional problems which we were able to take care of. He explained details we needed to be aware of to maintain the integrity of our duct system. This was a very positive experience.

I think it was good. No additional costs.

It went very well, Adam did a great job of fixing a clog in my system and cleaning. He also went the extra mile to make recommendations on maintenance and helping me better understand my system. I think this could help me identify issues in the future.

Service went well. Dre showed up on time and quickly began working. He checked all parts in the furnace and took the time to explain how my specific high-efficiency 2-stage furnace worked along with pointing out the parts, the heating process and how it worked - very informative and even made it easy to understand! I am pretty good at monthly filter changes, so I wasn't really expecting anything to be majorly wrong and fortunately there wasn't except for a pretty dirty filter in need of changing, which I was out of - and typically I always have a couple on hand - a little embarrassing on my part! He also asked when was the last time I had flushed the water heater, it had been a while, he suggested it should be done annually and told me how to do it and the tools I would need to pick-up at the hardware store. Oh, and by the way, he's a great story-teller! Somehow we got on the subject - why is it that major hvac or plumbing emergencies often seem to happen when it is most inconvenient - on holidays when most companies are closed! He shared a true, wonderful Christmas Eve experience he had when he was called to a home with no heat; it almost sounded like one of those Christmas miracle, feel good Hallmark movies! I would definitely use this company again, and even request Dre, he did a thorough job on my furnace, provided me with great maintenance tips, and even an entertaining holiday story! Bonus!

A few weeks prior to hiring TopTec, I had my carpets cleaned, the gentleman that cleaned my carpets noticed excessive dirt around the heat registers and suggested I have the air ducts cleaned in doing so this would reduce the staining around the vents and recommended that I contact TopTec stating they do a "good job and have the best equipment". Shortly thereafter I contacted TopTec, this was my first experience with this company, and it went well, and I am happy with the results. Scheduling was easy and they were very accommodating of my schedule, I preferred a Saturday appointment and it was scheduled for the next available Saturday they had open. On the day of the appointment, a 2-man team, Mustafa and Rich showed up on time (actually a little early, which was a little surprising because we were in the midst of a large snowstorm that morning!) Having never had this service performed in my home before, I had quite a few questions as to how it all worked, Mustafa explained what he was going to do, and how it all worked with ease and so that I understood perfectly. We then promptly toured my home where they covered all of the heat registers, and began their work. That is one loud and powerful truck they use! As my home is relatively small, it took less than 2 hrs to complete the job. Both gentleman were very respectful of my home, wearing booties on their feet and conscious of my very scared kitty under the bed. When addressing an upper air return in the master bedroom they noticed that the wall shelf just below this vent and the misc. decorative items atop where very dusty and in need of a good cleaning, they offered to wipe down the shelf, remove the items for me to clean and even put them back up on the shelf for me! That was a really nice, unexpected surprise that I very much appreciated. They cleaned up nicely and moved the furniture back in place. The only small hitch was, they have recently moved to a newer technology and upon completion of the service and providing payment you sign on an iPad and supposedly are sent a copy of the invoice via e-mail, after about 10 days and still no receipt, I phoned and spoke to Joe in the office, who was very apologetic for the oversight and forwarded me a copy of the Invoice. As I am hosting around the holidays and some of my guests suffer from allergies, I am confident that this service has improved the air quality in my home and it was a good investment. I will definitely use this company again in the future.

Service call was delayed from originally scheduled time due to issues with call before mine. Was notified and given the opportunity to reschedule. Wanted to have service completed on same day so I was updated as to approximate appointment time. Arrived and work completed in a timely fashion.

I had a bad experience with them in 2014 but as they are one of the 3 Rheem warranty service partners (Rheem website) in our region, I gave them a second chance and bought two of the $42.50 Heating or Cooling Service Call/Diagnostic deals on Angie's list (they allowed me to buy 2 as 2 furnaces were not working). Toptec sent somebody to look at our non-working furnaces. The repair person did not state his name when he showed up so I cannot identify him by name. He spent ample time with the furnaces but did not leave any information about the results of his diagnostic, except he stated that circuit boards need to be replaced. I called the Toptec office after the service call and was told that the owner (Joe) will get back to me on Saturday (10/31). As nobody called or showed up I called the Toptec office on Saturday morning but nobody seemed to recall the phone-call the afternoon before. No communication with Joe was possible on that Saturday. So I talked to the office manager Marie (or Mary) and she read to me what the technician put down on his internal paperwork. Something about replacing the boards but also that he needs to talk to Joe. Marie wanted to get in touch with the technician before noon on Saturday and call me back, she did not call before she left her office at noon. We expected to be without heat the entire weekend and without any information from anybody at Toptec. I took matters in my own hands and looked at one of the furnaces on Saturday. I found that the gas valve was turned off (a very simple and easy to find switch). I turned it on and the furnace started working. It seems that the technician missed a very obvious problem. The other furnace had a blinking light showing that the pressure switch did not work properly potentially signaling a problem with the vent (as stated in the manual). We had a birds nest in the vent a while ago and removed it, some parts might still be in the vent and potentially cause the issue with the switch. The technician never asked or checked whether the vent could be plugged, he seemed to rather change the circuit board, a rather expensive part. I pulled out parts of the nest and the furnace turned on and ran without any issues. On Wednesday of the following week Toptec called and advised that they had received the circuit board spare parts and wanted to send out a technician to replace the boards. Based on my request I made on the Saturday before, they would not charge handling in case the board was not the problem. I told Mary that there is no more need to replace boards as the furnaces are in working condition. At the end I have paid the cost of the Angie's list coupons for a completely wrong diagnosis of the problem and if I had not taken things in my own hands potentially would have paid a lot more money for additional repair attempts.

He was very prompt and professional. I would use them again.