ARS / Rescue Rooter Laurel

We have a contract with them, and we've been generally happy with Mike B, an employee of theirs. He has made good suggestions for us. However, sometimes we feel as though because we have a contract, they have gotten us already so they don't need to impress us. It would be nice to be treated a little more specially (specifically on emergency calls) because we do have a contract with them, especially because we have paid the money up front.

They initially did our winter heating checkup in December 2009. They were decent, although even then I had problems with the price they quoted me over the phone and what the person who came tried to charge me. They were part of our home warranty network, so that was how we chose them to do the checkup. I signed up for an annual service plan, but they never called us in the spring to schedule an appointment. So I called end of June to set up an appointment. I was scheduled for July 2, 2010 from 8AM-12PM. 11 AM came and went and they called my husband's cell phone to tell him they would be coming closer to 1PM. 1PM came and went.... the technician did not arrive until 1:24PM. When I asked him what happened, he quickly blamed someone else and said that he did not know what time he was supposed to be here. He said that after each service he calls the office and they tell him where to go next. The service he provided was OK. But it is frustrating to schedule for one 4 hour chunk of time which then turns to 6 hours. I will definitely never use them again.

Called them and they sent a technician right away; then the salesman arrived the next day and they fixed the unit a day or so later.

Friday night, discovered gas furnace was failing to ignite. Next day (Sat), contacted ARS through their corporate 800 number and made an appt for that afternoon. Window given was for 2-6PM. Cancelled other plans and waited. Midwindow, called to confirm appt. Got transferred to local office, who told me they hadn't been contacted and were full up for Sat. Company rep was apologetic and offered to book me for today, ASAP, with a discount. ($89 vs normal $129 service call). Kudos to the rep for trying to make it right. Sunday - employee called in the AM and arrived punctually at the agreed time. Clean and courteous. Promptly diagnosed the fault as being an aged igniter (basically a heating element) and offered to replace it for an additional $220. 30 minutes, two screws and two wire nuts later, the igniter is replaced. Tech. verified correct operation of the igniter, completed the functional and safety inspections, and departed. I was quite happy with the tech - he was clean, courteous, knowledgeable and punctual. He answered all of my questions relating to the operation and maintenance of the furnace. He performed the work carefully and to my satisfaction. As for ARS the company: Scheduling issue aside, repair prices seem excessive to me. Per the tech, ARS company policy requires the tech to take parts boxes etc with them when they leave. Seemed odd to me, so I took the liberty of memorizing the model and number of the replacement part. Imagine my surprise to find it retailing for $30! Calculating the effective hourly labor rate is left as an exercise for the reader... My grapes may taste over-sour due to 'new homeowner sticker shock' - this was my first time calling for HVAC repair -- but I have a hard time swallowing a 9x markup on changing what amounts to a light bulb filament. I'd call them again for emergency service or a safety checkup, but if I can't do the work myself I'll be sure to shop around for future repairs.

I just think they do a good job. They will come out when I need them. I think they charged us $6000 because there were several rebates available.

They called ahead of time to let me know they were coming and showed up on time. The part had to be ordered, but it was here in a weeks time, just like they said. They were punctual on their return trip and the heater was repaired quickly.

I called ARS on Sunday and reported the problem. Erratic and then no heat, followed by loud noises. Technician came out on Monday, diagnosed the problem as the pump having gone bad, probably due to sediment which had not been drained. He came back Tuesday and installed a new pump. The boiler has been working fine ever since. The price seemed high and I had to ask for the 10% discount.

We have a contract with them for maintenance and the come out twice in a year. We have been using them for many years now. They answer all our questions. I haven't had any problems with them.

I have been using them for several years. I find them very reliable, very professional and their quality of work is very good.

We have been using them for years. They do a very good job.

They were very good at their work. It took a week for them to complete the work. The staff is very courteous and friendly. They did a good job so I can?t complain about them. All the estimates I received were priced almost the same. They knew what they were doing. They were responsive. They were not too punctual for me. One thing I did not like about them is that they did not tell me when they were coming in to work. There is usually 3 days to consider the contract after signing it. They did not give me that much time. I signed it on Saturday and they came out on Monday. I did not know the workers were coming.

They provide good and honest service. With this type of service that is what you need. We have been using the company for over 10 years and never had a problem. We had tried several HVAC companies before we found ARS.

We work up and found it a bit chillier than normal. I checked the furnace and it seemed all was blowing correctly and the gas was flowing, but the igniter wasn't sparking (there's no pilot light on the furnace; it uses an automatic igniting system). I called the call center, was fairly quickly transferred to a local booking person and told someone would be by today but they couldn't tell me when (it was about 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday). About an hour later, I was called by the technician and told he'd be by between 10:00 a.m. and noon. Around 11:20 a.m., he arrived and after briefly talking with me about what I'd tried and determined, he ran some diagnostics and identified the igniter as actually being the problem. Total time replacing the part and cleaning the furnace (something we'd neglected to have done previously) was about an hour. He was quick, cleaned everything up, and took time to explain what was done and why. I had a few other questions about modifications to the system to make the filter easier to access/change and he made some suggestions and said I could call for an estimate if I wanted. Heat's now working and feels nice.

It took Luis about 1 1/4 hours. He did not seem to know how to check things out properly and seemed eager just to replace the remote and be done with that. I do not think it would have been repaired had my son not been visiting me. I was appalled at charges for the part when Luis said it would be $300. But Luis said the charge for the Thermo Pile was originally over $400, but he was going to charge me only $300. Then he said he would charge me for the price of a switch at $200 for that part and I should keep the old Thermo Pile so no one tries to replace it again. The bill reads $227.89 for an "On-Off Switch" and $139.84 for the diagnostic fee for a total of $362.84. This seemed outrageous, but I signed the receipt because I have nothing to go by on price. My son called ARS immediately to complain and question the bill but they told him the manager was out until Monday, Dec. 1. Later we noticed that the remote does not turn on the gas logs immediately if the unit is cold. It takes about three tries and then the unit explodes into flame as if there is a gas build up before it ignites. I called again on Wednesday, 12/3/08 and was put through to the manager's voicemail. I explained who I was and that there are some issues with the service and to return my call. I want someone other than Luis to come back and fix the unit so that there is no problem with the ignition and possible gas leakage. I did not hear back from the manager. I checked online resources for the Thermo Pile and found it for sale at retail for $49. My gas log FP is a Heat N Glo made by GTI-Model SL-GLSLP. I find $227.89 an unreasonable mark-up and the service was substandard. The way Luis figured out the charges was irregular as well.

Our hot water heater ruptured last night, and we called the emergency number on the tank. This morning we received a call promptly at 7:15 indicating that the company, ARS, would be out between 8 and noon with a new hot water heater. We were specifically assured that the plumbers kept hot water heaters on their trucks. At 11 am, I called, and was told 2 pm. At 3 pm I called again, and was told 30 more minutes. At 3:45 the plumber called to tell me he was on the way (from at least 30 minutes away). At this time, I had the presence of mind to ask if he had the hot water heater on the truck, and he reacted as if I were nuts. Why, no, he said, he needed to come out to see what we needed, and he had just received the call! I told him I needed the hot water heater today and he said he would call me back. He didn't do that, but showed up at the front door shortly after 4 pm apologizing, and saying we could have a hot water heater in the morning. By that time I had already contacted another plumber who will put a hot water heater in this evening, but now I have not only wasted the entire day at home (I am a physician), and also we will be paying overtime charges now. So, had ARS just been honest in the first place this morning, I could have made more phone calls and had a hot water heater in time to go to work at least some of this day, and not had to pay overtime to boot! If I could bill ARS for my time, the inconvenience, and the overtime for the other plumber, I would be quite happy, but of course life doesn't work like this. So, I joined Angie's List instead, so I could ensure that others don't have this experience at the hands of this company.

Never had trouble with ARS. I was on their annual maintenance plan for my two systems. Units always needed Freon charge. Once I need a valve replaced. Repairs were dome promptly and efficiently. Responsive to emergency calls.

They are very clean, prompt and they have great prices. All the plumbers are certified and trained well. They instill confidence in the customer. Price listed is for blocked pipe which was a multi-day job.

I have used this company for the past five years. I have stayed with them because when I first called them five years ago when my furnace was broke, they were able to come to my house to fix it. I think that they are efficient.

I have been using their services for about a year now. They are great. They come on time, do what they are suppose to do and clean up afterwards. I am very satisfied with the service.

They have been on time and cleaned up marvelously after the jobs. They were helpful in giving me information about the job before doing it. They had to come back out to fix a problem with the water heater, and they were very responsive and didn't charge me for it.

We called on a weekend and they responded very quickly. They fixed it and they had the parts. They were very pleasant to work with. I would recommend them. We were referred to them from a family member.

He serviced the air conditioner and then had replace a part. The service man had everything with him and was able to do the work. I was surprised by the cost.

ARS of Laurel provides excellent quality of work. We are so happy that we signed on with this residential service because it saves us a lot of money. We don't have to pay them because we bought into a residential warranty plan. The people who we've dealt with have all been friendly, professional, and prompt.

They were very professional and customer service oriented. They called before coming and then they did two follow up calls too. They were nice people who explained everything to me and my husband and got the job done. They were clean and neat and wore slippers in the house. I can't remember how much they charged me exactly but it was under $200.

We called on a Sunday about a leaking bathtub that was exacerbated by a dripping faucet. Water was seeping through the plaster ceiling on the floor below and we had to shut off the water to the house to keep it from getting worse. We were told that plumber James Maybe (friends highly recommend him) would be out the next day. ARS sent someone else who told me that the tub could not be fixed (fixtures and drain attachment were too old and could not be repaired or replaced). The only solution was to install shut off valves. I also showed a dripping wall mount kitchen sink to the plumber who said that it would have to be replaced (estimate was nearly $285). WELL...I found another plumber who diagnosed the leak (fairly simple issue), rebuilt/reworked the bath/shower fixtures, and replaced the washers in my kitchen sink. Total charge was $275. Disappointing that the ARS plumber either had limited skills or didn't want to bother with our old bathroom and sink.