Excel Mechanical

OUTSTANDING and PROMPT SERVICE!

The associate of Excel Mechanical Inc. was not honest. The execution of the work was bad. Nobody should hire him. They weren't cooperating. He was attentive in the beginning but in the end, he turned out to be a different person. In the beginning, he was truly professional but in the end, he was terrible. He was unethical.

Appointments are very easy to schedule and they have been responsive to our more immediate/emergency needs. The technicians are professional and courteous. In general we have been pleased with their professionalism and their work. They may not be the cheapest option but they have been a consistently solid service provider.

Very responsive on telephone, quoted $1900-2200 depending on time (6-8h) and offered to email quote which never materialized. The worker was friendly and cleaned up after, but was gone for 1.5h to get parts. Also new unit was delivered 1h late. Overall it took 6h to complete the job but billing claims 7h of work and charged us at upper end of range. Based on the fact that they did the work at very short notice, I really wanted to like them and give them a good rating. However, I was disappointed that they could not resist charging at the high end of the estimate.

William Souza, president of Excel, and his associate, Rob Cohen, met with us to discuss our desire to replace our existing gas furnace (which was on the blink) with a geothermal system. Both were knowledgeable and eager to work with us. We had met with one other company, who spent far less time with us and gave us an estimate nearly double that of what Excel had provided. Other geothermal providers I had contacted did not even want to discuss our project with us, given that we live in Cambridge and our land site presented difficulties. Bill gave us an estimate, and he and Rob met with us to go over it in detail. We signed a contract and waited for the various people (well driller, landscaper, pit diggers, etc.) to get their ducks in line. The process took more time than everyone had hoped (not surprising, as I find most contractors underestimate the amount of time things will take), but all was done in a professional manner. We signed contracts in March, had been told the work would be done in June, but delays in getting the pump we wanted caused delays, so the project was not finished until the beginning of August. When problems cropped up, Rob was always on hand to offer counsel, devise solutions, and calm all parties involved (for example, the water run-off from the well digging overflowed the pits we had dug to contain it, but Rob instantly arranged for a pump truck to come and take care of the overflow so that we wouldn't flood our yard). He was great! We were very pleased with the work performed, and the responsiveness of everyone we worked with at Excel as well as the subcontractors (well drillers esp.) they hired. A few minor problems cropped up after the system began running (a non-functioning thermostat, for example), but Excel came in a timely manner and fixed them without charge. Our system has been up and running since August, and so far the energy savings have been substantial. We would recommend Excel if you are thinking of retrofitting your heating system to convert to a more energy-efficient source of heating and cooling, or if you are building from scratch and want to make your home environmentally conscious.

The removal and installation went smoothly, but a problem developed with the boiler. It wouldn't turn off. A new thermostat was replaced and then the boiler was "switched out" to solve the problem. A minor plumbing problem causing water in the basement also had to be solved and was. The response to my calls was speedy and effective, and there was no additional charge.

ACCORDING TO ALL THESE PROFESSIONALS, INSTALLATION OF THIS LOOP IS STANDARD AND THUS NOT SPECIFIED IN THE ORIGINAL NSTAR CONTRACT AS AN ADDITIONAL COST. EXCEL REPS WERE VERY COURTEOUS AND PUNCTUAL AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS EXPERIENCE. THEY WERE VERY EAGER TO WIN THE CONTRACT AND NEGOTIATED TO MATCH THEIR COMPETITOR. HOWEVER, THINGS FELL APART WHEN I DISCOVERED THEY CUT CORNERS BY NOT INSTALLING THE STANDARD ''HARTFORD LOOP''. THE REPS SUGGESTED THAT I (NOT A PROFESSIONAL PLUMBER!) SHOULD HAVE REQUESTED THE ADDITIONAL LOOP BECAUSE AS THEY NOTED, THE LOOP WAS NOT SPECIFIED IN THE COMPETITOR'S CONTRACT WE WERE WORKING TO MATCH. I POINTED OUT TO THEM THAT, ACCORDING TO 5 PROFESSIONALS I SPOKE WITH, THE LOOP IS SO STANDARD THAT IT IS NOT IDENTIFIED AS AN ADDITIONAL COST. THE COMPANY FINALLY RELUCTANTLY AGREED TO INSTALL THE LOOP AS A GOODWILL GESTURE. HOWEVER, IT TURNS OUT THEY INSTALLED A FAULTY VERSION OF THIS LOOP AND I HAVE HAD TO HIRE ANOTHER PLUMBER TO FINALLY INSTALL A PROPER LOOP.