A B Chelini - United Service Specialists

We had contacted several HVAC companies to help us decide how to fix the problems but AB Chelini was the most responsive and professional so we hired them and were very glad we did. They did a first class job, and we felt confident that our HVAC was functional, efficient, SAFE and most of all installed to building codes after the work was finished. They were always timely, professional, cleaned up well after the jobs which were performed to the highest standards. I would recommend them without hesitation or reservation.

I call, they show up, they do the work, they clean up after themselves, and then they present a bill. The one time I had a concern about a completed job, there was someone back at my house within two hours of the call. Top notch!

I contacted A B Chelini for a second opinion regarding a compressor failure in one of my building's A/C units. I called in the morning (the person who answers the phone is very polite and responsive) and they sent a technician over that afternoon, who was extremely professional. He patiently took the time to explain, in his view, what the potential issues were and the steps needed to proceed with repairs. The quote I received was very reasonable. I would have proceeded with A B Chelini, however, I had an existing service contract with a different company. The information I received from the estimate/site visit enabled me to make a confident decision in the level of repairs to make to the A/C unit.

I have used them more than once. I chose to call them back because they provide excellent service. I started using them from last year.

I have a service contract with them and they are just fine. I had a home warranty on my house when I first bought it and they are the company that the warranty company sent out. I have been using them ever since. I have been happy with them. I haven't compared their prices. They are available for emergencies.

It was a fine interaction. It was good but I decided not to have them do the work at the time but it wasn't because of the company.

A.B. Chelini replaced my gas furnace on 24 OCT 2011. on 17 OCT 2011 I had scheduled a "fall inspection" of my furnace conducted by Multi Air, specifically John. John found that my furnace, that was as old as the house (40 years) had several cracks in the exchanger and had to be condemned. John gave me a price for a Payne 80% gas furnace on the spot. I phoned around to solicit other estimates using Angie's "A" list and Washington Checkbook's Heating and Air Conditioning ratings. I called 7-8 but few of the top rated outfits that operated south or north or west of the beltway wanted to make the trek to southern Prince Georges vic. Andrews Air Force Base. Bottom line is AB Chelini, D****, and one other company agreed to give me estimates. AB Chelini sent Charlie Parker who gave me a quote for both an 80% and a 90% furnace (80% Rudd Mod RR-RGPN-12EARJR Achiever 125K). Charlie got here very quickly, took some time explaining the differences in the installation requirements for each type of heater (the 80% can use existing setup, the 90% requires PVC run to an outside wall) Bottom line Charlie was very customer oriented and listened to my concerns. Charlie provided a bid via email the next day. After reviewing all the bids, 3 of 4 of which were within 15% of each other, I went with AB Chelini. Note, as a layman, gas furnaces seem alot like carpet, mattresses and other consumer products in that are all probably made by 3 or 4 different companies but are marketed and branded as 50. The bids consisted of Carrier, Payne, and Ruud equipment. Consumer Reports magazine (who did not rate individual models) said that statistically there was no significant differences among brands in failure rates. I think all the bids said they'd guarantee the labor for one year, the parts for 10 or 15 and the exchangers for 20 years. But all estimates but one tried to steer me to carrier, ruud (owned by same group as carrier) Rheem, essentially to the brand names, which cost $300-400 more in the case of mine.) In the anecdotal evidence they estimators provided, there is a difference between the 1st and 2nd tier manufactuers. Back to Chelini: they said they'd be here at 8AM on the 24th, Sherry called me at 7:30 and told me they were inbound, and they arrived at 840 or so. Benjamin came first with Carlos following him about an hour later. They layed drop cloths hauled out the old installed the new and left here by about 5:40 PM. They said the installation was routine, no big problems. They walked me through the furnace operations and made sure my gas water heater was back on line before they left. The place was neat as a pin. Both were totally professional and did a great job.The only area AB Chelini needs to improve in was email. Sherry (sp) at the office couldn't receive my scanned signed proposal. I got the "recipient mailbox full" 16 hours after i hit send. They thought i hadn't yet accepted the proposal and i thought that by hitting the send button i had done my bit. This led to a mad scramble to order the furnace by FRI noon for a MON AM install. Luckily, once they got hold of me on FRI i was available to fax the necessary information to them in time to get it ordered. Summary: AB Chelini hustled to get my business, gave me a competitive bid, was double check rated by Washington Checkbook and got an A from Angie. That's why i went with them. They did exactly what they said they were going to do and within the time frame they stated at the outset. Totally professional from Charlie Parker, to Benjamin and Carlos at installation to Sherry (sp) at the office. Based on this experience (even though i will still get other bids) they have the inside track on all my future heating and air conditioning business. Employ them with confidence.

He gave me an estimate which I had no idea whether it was high or low, because of my lack of experience. But I was tight for money at the time, and really needed to explore whether I could get similar goods & services for less. I was luckily able to find another HVAC contractor who got me the same product at a 40% savings. So, while I felt confident AB Chelini would have done a fine job, price became the driver for my decision, and i am very happy with the results.

I liked their service. They were prompt, courteous and informative. I would use them again in the future if necessary.

I contacted them based on location and recommendation on Angie's List. The office personnel were very accommodating of my schedule and contacted me in advance of arrival. I indicated that the AC system's efficiency was lacking and needed replacement of refrigerant piping insulation at the condensing unit (the outdoor unit). Technician replaced insulation and tested refrigerant charge. Technician indicated the refrigerant charge was correct, the technician advised me to clean the coils of the condensing unit. Being a very hot and busy week for them, the tech was out of coil cleaner in the vehicle. I had previously cleaned the evaporator coil (indoor unit). I purchased coil cleaner, cleaned the condenser coils and the system performance was markedly improved. As an important note to readers of this review, I am familiar with HVAC systems and their servicing. I DO NOT recommend that you perform such work as coil cleaning yourself if you are not familiar with the process.

I was very happy with them. I liked that they responded quickly and the service was of high quality and helpful. I also liked that they were reasonable in terms of the price. They gave me good advice on things that I could do myself, which I went ahead and did. I would use them again in the future if necessary.

Excellent service and advice. Helped me save money by replacing needed parts myself. Will definitely call them again.

We were able to have someone out within a few days. Unfortunately, our heater is an older/unusual model and they had to order the replacement parts. I had to call a number of times over the course of the next week to find out if they parts had been ordered and received. Once they were in, the second appointment was also scheduled within a few days. The technician who came to our house was knowledgeable and professional and fixed it right the first time. The only slight wrinkle was that I was quoted a price, then told that I had accidentally been told their wholesale cost, not their resale mark-up. It was a significant difference. When I balked, though, they apologized, admitted it was their error and charged me only the original quote.

The customer service representative was professional, but they were expensive and inflexible and charged for overtime when others didn't, such as after 4 p.m., which I thought was unreasonably early.

The guys that came in were very professional and efficient. They cleaned up after themselves really well. They gave us a 20-minute walkthrough.

It turned out very well. They were very competent. They fixed it inexpensively. We wound up doing a service agreement with them because we liked them. They will come out before summer and winter seasons to check the systems. Their office person is really efficient as well. At the beginning of the season they called and made an appointment, which helped us because we pay for things and forget to get the service.

The work was more expensive than what I thought it will be. I had a good experience with them though. They were very pleasant. The guy who came was very nice. It was just that they were very expensive. The quality of work was good.

They are responsive by phone, show up on time and do the work they are supposed to do. We were pleased with the service.

I really can't fathom how this could have gone any better. I called A.B. Chelini (on the recommendation of a neighbor) in the morning after a weekend without air conditioning when my heat pump stopped working. The dispatcher was able to squeeze me in for service the same day when I told her I had no working A/C whatsoever. I was told the tech would come between 12 and 4 and that I would receive a call when he was on his way; I did receive that call and he did arrive well within the appointed time. The tech, Hugo, was great to work with: polite, knew his stuff, and fastidiously clean. He also gave me very clear explanations of what he was doing, which I particularly appreciated. I wouldn't hesitate to use the company, or Hugo, again.

The plumber who came did an adequate job but didn't have a replacement item. He told me he would have to go and purchase the part--a small plastic piece--and come back later to put it on and it would cost $60. Since the job was not completed and I could not locate our household checkbook I asked him if I could write him a check when he returned to finish the job. He contacted the Chelini office and the person there said 'no', he had to get the money then and there. I then called up the office and told the woman the situation and she insisted that I pay for the work that had been done. I paid by credit card and told her that I intended not to do business with them anymore because of their inflexibility. They are also expensive. A couple of weeks ago we had an a/c job done that took the technician about 5 minutes and he told us that the standard charge was $175. We paid that without complaint but in looking back I wish we had gone with another plumbing/AC company.

Everything was fine. We have a new furnace, so they the twice yearly inspection comes along with the installation. There were some problems with the new installation, but they were very responsive. It is a small company and you deal directly with the owner and one person in the company, so it is very easy to interact with them. Over the years they have done a reasonable amount of work for me and as far as I know they have been pretty competent, except for the mix up on the order for the furnace.

I called around 9 a.m. to request a plumber for the broken water pipe. A. B. Chelini technician Alexander arrived around 12:30 p.m. He quickly located the leak and diagnosed problems with the pipe layout that had been done by the previous homeowner. Alexander was very thorough and knowledgeable, and the work looks solid. There was no mess to clean up afterward, either. I will use this company again for future plumbing projects.

The project cost a lot because we needed a crane to lift the unit onto the roof, but they gave me a discount. I have been using them for routine stuff, fixing things, and so I used them for this job partly because I had used them for fixing some things that turned out to be a problem. Overall, they were satisfactory though.

I was very impressed by their work. The rates that they charged were reasonable and they were knowledgeable and quick about their work. They cleaned up after themselves and they responded to my call the same day.

They were great. They were very friendly and told me what they were doing. They were very respectful about being inside my house and around all my belongings. I recommend them and would use them again in the future.