Seaway Services

It didn't go

He was very good.

Seaway Services declined the services.

Late July, Bill came to collect $1000 check deductible promptly. Too Prompt, I thought. Our insurance was to deliver the condenser to his company Seaway Services and he was to replace the old AC condenser we had. Ha! Weeks went by after depositing the check of $1000. I called him to find out how was the process. He said that he is on vacation and cannot perform the work. Do not use this company!

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This was an exercise in futility. The work was not performed, but not for lack of trying on my part. Over two months, after receiving and cashing a deposit toward installation of a gas line to a decorative heating stove, Bill Flannery would make appointments and then fail to keep them, generally not notifying me that he had no plan of coming unless or until I called him to confirm or to ask when he was coming because he was overdue. I left messages and emails and he wouldn't respond. When he did answer the phone I'd have to remind him who I was and what he was supposed to be doing (I had taken a day off work to be able to be there when he came). He had ample excuses - everyone else's job seemed to be more important (it seems all his clients are elderly people without heat - even when we had temps in the 60s and 70s). I don't know if it was because he underbid himself too much and it wasn't worth his while, disorganization on his part, or just plain poor business. The bid was comparable to another one I had received, but I went with Bill, taking him at his word about his initial plan for installation. I should have bailed after the first time he didn't keep an appointment. Call me stupid, but I learned my lesson. I didn't know his company name initially (I found him via Craig's List), so couldn't find him on Angie's List. If I had known it and looked him up, I never would have gone with him. Pat yourself on the back for doing that first and move on to a different provider, assuming you want someone who will actually do a job he's committed to.

Let me start of by saying that you get what you pay for. Their initial proposal may be less expensive than others, but Bill's follow-up asks to increase the price are continuous. In my case Bill sold the deal on his capabilities and then showed up with subcontractors totally un-prepared to do the work, which was to replace a forced hot water heating system. Upon arriving he asked to borrow a hose to drain the water out of the system and didn't think to even cover the wood flooring until I said something. Once complete he had to borrow my caulking to seal the vents, and then took it with him when he left. He did such a poor job caulking I had to redo it myself, as it was totally open to the outside across more than half of the area. During the installation of the new system, they didn?t know what parts were needed for the install and tried to convince me that even though I had two zones to support, it really wouldn?t be necessary as this system has a control that mounts next to it. They finally got the necessary equipment during multiple trips to the plumbing supply houses and after 2 long days his subcontractor still could not get the system running. Thankfully he called in another company to help who were the real experts. All the while I heard from Bill how he underbid the job and it should cost more. Anyway 7 months later, the system stops working on a Saturday morning. I call in get voicemail on his line though he notes he has 24/7 support and finally get a call back an hour later. Bill goes on to say that he has no one to help for 5 days or so due to the upcoming holiday. After saying that's not acceptable I am told that's all he can do and for the price I paid for the system, I should be happy. I then proceed to call the company Bill brought in to get the system working in the first place. That other company immediately calls me back and in 10 minutes on the phone with him the system is up and running. Only then does Seaway call back to say they found someone to help. This company claims to be BBB accredited, I suggest you check for yourself. My recommendation is to stay away, far away. I am already not looking forward to the next time there is a problem as my preference would be to have nothing to do with this company ever again.

I did not end up using the services as they stated the work I needed completed would not fall within the offer requirements so I ended up getting a refund from Angie's List.

Thanks so much for a smooth visit.

When I spoke with them on the phone, they informed me that they were no longer honoring the Deal.

I called Seaway Services twice to attempt to have a technician service the equipment. On the first call, in late June, I was told by a woman answering that Bill had a lot of work but would call me within 2-3 days. After no response, I called again on July 9th. I was told by the same person that Bill had my contact info and would call the next day. I'm still waiting. I called another firm with good reviews on Angie's List and they came out the day after the call. Here is what they found: - The units use R-22 as a refrigerant. Manufacture of HVAC equipment using R-22 and the refrigerant itself was discontinued in January 2010. The equipment was installed in October 2010. Obsolete equipment was installed. Did Seaway Services do this with the previous owner's permission or did they pull a fast one. I don't know but it reflects poorly on Seaway either way. Recharging the system will get prohibitively expensive since R-22 is no longer produced. - The unit is undersized. A 3 ton unit was installed for a floor plan of 2300 square feet with a long southwest exposure. The technician said that it should be a 4 ton unit and a salesman for the same company said I needed 4.5 tons of cooling for this house. I know that the unit is undersized because I disconnected one duct line that served approximately 700 sq. ft. of space. The system performed better but was still running a lot on moderately warm days. Seaway doesn't seem competent to calculate heating loads to adequately size equipment. I can't believe the previous owner would have accepted an underperforming system, even if they knew they were going to sell the home a year later. I had to install two window units to compensate for poor system performance. - The condensate line for the air handling unit is connected to the vent stack. That is a code violation. - A 16" diameter intake duct was installed to the air handling unit with 2 16" diameter ducts installed as outflow to deliver cooling to the house. It's basic math. Outflow has to equal inflow. Splitting the duct line without narrowing the ductwork at the outflow killed airflow. A knowledgable contractor would know this. Airflow improved after I disconnected one of the 16" diameter outflow ducts. - The refrigerant was slightly undercharged. It seems odd that a system that had only run for one season previously would be undercharged, even if slightly. Like I said above, I never interacted with Seaway Services but after this experience I am left with the impression that this firm is unresponsive to the customer, untrustworthy, and incompetent with HVAC work. I'm kind of glad Bill never called back because I'm sure I would have never learned about the things wrong with this installation if he did show up. If Bill should write a response to this review like he has others, let me say this: "Instead of focusing your energy on a poorly written excuse (see other reviews), get in your van, drive to my house and fix your mess."

I contacted them and they just told me they were not going to honor the deal because of a miscommunication with Angie's List. I got a refund.

Please don't get fooled by Bill. He will thump on and on about his vast experience but the truth is he makes a lot of mistakes; doesn't listen, is not thorough and then rude when there are problems. We had an upstairs air conditioning unit that wasn't working but difficult to find, instead of spending the time to investigate, because, I think, he wanted to get on to the next jobs, he rushed us into buying a newer larger more expensive superfluous air conditioning unit. It was the hottest day of the year, so we felt a bit over a barrel and foolishly gave the O.K. It didn't help the problem, then the retro fit duct work they did, to accommodate the larger unit, leaked all over our basement. He blamed us for not knowing where the second unit was and hung up on me. Luckily, he has a good fix it man he sent to us that stayed until 9:00pm at night fixing all the problems Bill and his day crew had caused. Again, all talk but not the skills or know how to execute.

Please don't get fooled by Bill. He will thump on and on about his vast experience but the truth is; he makes a lot of mistake, doesn't listen, is not thorough and then rude when there are problems. We had a second air conditioning unit that wasn't working but difficult to find, instead of spending the time to investigate, because, I think, he wanted to get on to the next jobs, he rushed us into buying a newer larger more expensive superfluous air conditioning unit. It was the hottest day of the year, so we felt a bit over a barrel and foolishly gave the O.K. It didn't help the problem, then the retro fit duct work they did to accommodate the larger unit, leaked all over our basement. He blamed us for not knowing where the second unit was and hung up on me. Luckily, he has a good fix it man he sent to us that stayed until 9:00pm at night fixing all the problems Bill and his day crew had caused. Again, all talk but not the skills or know how to execute.

Called to use the coupon and was told they would not honor it due to some mis-communication between them and Angies list. What I found surprising is they didn't even make an attempt to get my business while on the phone. I am looking up another plumber on angies list now......

Before I purchased this coupon, I called the company to make sure that they would be willing to do work in my area. I was told that they frequently travel a distance and it would not be a problem. I purchased the coupon for $49 for a service call and 1 hour of labor. I called the company 4 times and was told that they could not set up an appointment and that I needed to talk to the plumber directly. I finally did talk to Bill, the plumber. I was told that to install a toilet would involve 2 men and would take a couple of hours. The price he quoted me was for $206. The $206 was in addition to the $49 that I already paid for 1 hour of labor. So my total cost would be $255. I was told that he doesn't get the $49 that I prepaid and that amount goes to "Angie's List." I got another licensed plumber to do the work and the total cost was $135. Seaway Services was charging $255 which included their Big Deal coupon and I paid $135 without any discount coupon. The only good part of this experience was that I called "Angies List" and they very willingly refunded my $49 back to my credit card.

The guy who quoted the job was significantly cheaper than the previous basement waterproofing company. When the job was done I still had water but I figured out that it was because the downspouts (where rain used to run from the gutters into metal pipes in the basement) where left totally exposed to the elements and rain was coming right in. I thought that was a pretty bad oversight, but it was easily fixed by covering the downspouts outside the house with coffee cans. After that it's been dry even in heavy rains. So, I'm pretty satisfied with the end product. A month or so later I got a message from the water company saying they couldn't read my water meter. When they came out, they said the remote reader was gone. GONE! Perhaps it was removed to do the sewer line work and accidently thrown away. Perhaps it was intentionally stolen. All I know is I had to pay $300+ to replace it. Finally, the plumber on the job talked to me a few weeks later and he said that the guy who owns Seaway never paid him (the plumber) for the job, claiming I never paid him (Seaway). I faxed a copy of the deposited final check for the job in case he needed to take the Seaway guy to court. In summary, the job was done cheap but I was taken advantage of for the add on work. Somebody, either Seaway, or the plumber he subcontracts to is screwing the other one, and somebody stole or broke and threw away a several hundred dollar item.

They were very rude and didn't want to take responsibility for the coupon. They acted as if by calling them, we were bothering them and complained about the number of calls they were receiving. They ended by saying that they would never do work for us ever, which is how we feel now, too.

Overall ? Well it seemed to be going well at the first meeting with the contractor, he's VERY coloquial and comes off sort of like 'Larry The Cable Guy'... you know just a good-ol'-boy. However, the beginning day of the job was when any previous rapport and camaraderie seemed to quickly evaporate when the 'Contractor' immediately racheted up the anxiety level ,with what I believed, to be an over reaching and unnecessarily complex fix...potentially involving intrusion into at least two(2) tiled bathrooms walls, ceilings, and floors, and even the possible necessity of involving the roof of the home and therefore a roofing contractor. I mean this wholeheartedly...I wish the overall experience was a good one, but it was not.

Bill Flannery and his team at Seaway Services in Marshfield performed excellent service at my home under difficult conditions. The water pipe between our home and the street had a leak. The repair was our responsibility The challenge was that the electric utilities followed the same path as the more deeply set water line. The only way to find the leak was by hand digging. Bill and his team agreed to dig and once committed I knew that I was trusting their honesty and relying on the their follow through to get the job done. The water was shut off and my wife and I moved out as they went to work. Bill lived up to his word. He communicated with me on a regular basis. Conditions were difficult because not only because of the utilities but digging had to go under our porch and brick walkway. The resolve of Bill's crew to solve the problem as quickly as possible never waivered. Bill's cost estimates were reasonable and carefully outlined in writing. Once they started they were single minded and focused on getting our job done. They came faithfully every day for the time it took to complete the job. Once the leak was found and repaired Bill and his team took extraordinary care in restoring my porch steps and walkway to their prior condition. The restoration and cleanup were done immediately. This situation had the potential to be a nightmare for us. Bill and the Seaway guys, Bob and Steve, pulled us through with patient determination that inspired our confidence in them. Anyone looking for a straight talking, professional contractor who says what he will do and does what he says will be well served by Bill Flannery and Seaway Services. My wife and I cannot thank him enough for the work he did and the way he did it.

Seaway Service was Great!! We were told upfront how much the materials and labor would cost us. Seaway Service Also walked us through what work would be done and included in their services a full disclosure was given to me before they started.Everything was completed as we talked about all the bathroom fixtures were installed and We also got our basement water proofed for flooding purposes so that we can ensure water stays out of our home during bad rain or storms. Thank you, Thomas

They were here from 6/21-6/24. I didn't like the guy that owned it but the people that he had working for him that actually did the work were good and they did a really good job. He was obnoxious. The owner came and it was a hard sell. He wanted half the price down and I wasn’t really comfortable with that because I had just met him 45 minutes prior. I really didn’t want to hand over a $2,500 check but I did. He did what he said. He didn't actually do the work; he had a supervisor do the job. He does a lot of plumbing. They came when they said they were going to come and did what they said they said what were going to do. The guy that did the sump pump did an excellent job. They hired some young kids to do the grunt work but they were lazy and out of shape and couldn't do it so they kicked them out and did the work themselves with a couple of other guys. They did what they said they were going to do and they were here when they said they would be. They completed it within 4 or 5 days just like they said. I liked them except for the personality of the owner because I don't like a hard sell. The supervisor was very good and very responsive. He did what I asked him to do. He cleaned the backyard and didn't trash it. He took care of my backyard. They had to dig and put in new pipes and I couldn't even tell. When I asked questions he explained why they had to do it a certain way. He was good. I didn't really see the owner until it was time to be paid. I would use the guy that did the work again because he was good but I don't know about using the owner again. I would use them again for certain things.

I HAD PROBLEM WITH WATER HEATER AND I NEEDED A NEW AIR CONDITIONING UNIT INSTALLED AND SO I CALLED SEAWAY SERVICE AND THEY GAVE ME A FREE ESTIMATE FOR BOTH PROBLEMS. THEY REPAIRED THE WATER HEATER AND INSTALLED A NEW AC/ UNIT AND GAVE US A FULL DISCLOSURE OF THE WORK DONE AND LABOR COSTS WHEN THEY FINISHED. THANK YOU AGAIN, BILL!

His name was William Flannery. We were quoted $14,000 and it ended up costing us $17,200. It was a horrible experience. It's a two-family house and the first unit was started they had to shut down the heat and water. He ended up having to hire 3 different subs to come in and actually finish the work because he couldn't ever get anybody to finish it. It ended up costing us extra because he either wasn't paying attention or lied to begin with. He also was not upfront about the costs of things. There is a vent on the back of the gas boiler and he kept telling us that cost $500 extra and it actually comes standard on the unit when you buy it so it was really a horrible experience. We would advise people not to use them. We would never use them in the future.