Hero Plumbing, Heating & Cooling

I decided to go with Uptown after reading all of the glowing reviews on Angie's List. They were the 3rd estimate we received and I was leaning towards the first company that provided an estimate but decided to go with Uptown because of the reviews, a little better equipment, and a better guarantee. Nonetheless there were several issues that arose once I decided to go with Uptown. - Uptown was the third company to provide an estimate and was the company we had to wait the longest for - about 2 weeks. The salesman came out and we discussed what we were looking for and he offered a couple of options. Curiously he told me he didn't think anyone really needed air conditioning. - I called him a day or so later and told him that we had decided to go with Uptown and wanted to set up an appointment to get the work done as I had to travel out of town for about a week later in the month. He told me he needed a signed contract before he could schedule the work. I was a little disappointed but also felt that was reasonable so I e-mailed the contract the next day. - After I had sent the contract, I called to set up an appointment. I called the salesman and got his voice mail which was the usual case and left a message but did not hear back from him. Not hearing back, I called the main office and said I needed to make an appointment and they were glad to oblige. While we were discussing setting up an appointment, they said the salesman had set up an appointment for Monday, July 29th without consulting or informing me. I was scheduled to fly out of town in the morning that day. I was able to change my airline reservation to leave in the evening so I would be home for the installation. - The week before the installation, the main office called and asked if everything was going OK with the arrangements (which was a nice gesture) so I told them I had left a question on the salesman's phone and he had not gotten back to me. The women I talked to told me she would talk to him and get back to me that day. I did not hear anything until the salesman called me back the next day and did answer the question. - On the day of the install, the crew arrived on time and I met with the crew chief. He told me the salesman could not make it but that he would take care of everything. I had discussed where the tubing and lines would be run with the salesman and we had decided on a route. When I told the installer about that he said it couldn't be done and he would have to run it right up the middle of the house and my newly installed $50,000 siding job. He did end up running the line up the corner board where it was not so obvious as I had discussed with the salesman but did not install it as I had previously discussed with the salesman who was not there. - The crew did an excellent job, started early and were done and cleaned up by around 3:00 pm which was great since I had to leave around 5:00. I was on the phone when they finished so my wife did the walk through with the installer. - During this process, I had received a voice message regarding the final payment and the message indicated that if they did not hear otherwise they would charge it to the credit card that I used for the initial payment when we signed the contract and set up the appointment for installation. - Two days after the installation I was in a meeting and had a call from Uptown informing me that I had an outstanding balance. I was a little surprised because none of the installers that were at my house ever asked my wife or I for a payment and one of us was there the whole time and we were both there when they finished. I was a little frustrated because I felt the caller seemed put out because we had not paid the balance even though, based on my understanding, everything was set up to pay for the installation with the credit card used for the first payment and they had that information. In summary: - Uptown did an excellent and efficient job installing our mini split air conditioner/heat pump. They did deviate from what I had discussed and agreed upon with the salesman who was not present at the installation. - I thought Uptown was very unresponsive to my requests for information and scheduling an appointment which was done without consulting me. - I did not appreciate how they handled the billing issue which I thought was set up to be charged to the card I used to pay for the initial installment payment. - I understand that they are a busy company and that is why we had to wait for an estimate, and for installation.

They spent considerable time with me going over the different options available and then reviewing the estimate. They had to coordinate different people to work together to 1) take down and haul away the old radiator, 2) move the old plumbing and fix the ceiling, and 3) install the new baseboard heating. We were pleased that they were able to get this all done in a day, and that they handled everything from start to finish. Very professional to work with, cleaned up everything before they left. Cost was exactly as estimated. Highly recommended.

I chose Uptown based on the great reviews on Angie's List, but I have to admit, I was disappointed. The first problem was when I called to make a diagnostic appointment for our AC. I bought the Angie's List deal and told the woman I spoke to about the coupon. When the time came for our appointment, there were no diagnostic tests performed. Turns out they just sent out a salesman to write us an estimate for a new AC. Since our unit was fairly old, I decided he was right and we probably needed a new one. For reference, the problem was that all last summer our AC wasn't cooling properly and the condenser/evaporator coil was leaking water all over our basement. The salesman (who I thought was a tech--as he was dressed like a tech and I called for a diagnostic visit) said it would be very expensive to replace a single part of our unit (like the coil) because it's such an old model and they don't make that kind of AC anymore. Ok, fine. After discussing the estimate with my husband, I called Uptown to make an appointment for installing the new unit. I told them that I was disappointed that I paid for a diagnostic visit but was only given and estimate for replacement. After speaking to several people in the office, they said they would take the price of the coupon I purchased of the new install. I appreciate that they did that and was happy with that solution. On from there we booked an appointment for installation on a Tuesday morning. My husband took the day off work so he could be home during the service. Once it was 45 minutes past the scheduled installation time, I called to find out when the techs would get here. Turns out the appointment was not booked properly. It was noted on our file, but not booked in their system--or something along those lines. Fine, mistakes happen, but there wasn't much apologizing on their end, which was disappointing--in addition to the fact that my husband burned a vacation day to be home during the service. Second appointment to install was booked for mid-day that Friday. I have a feeling they squeezed us in between appointments because the guys were done in about two hours and I was told it would take about four. Also because fast work usually equals sloppy work and by Sunday our brand new AC was having the same problem as the old unit: not cooling properly and water leaking all over our basement. As you may guess, I was not happy. I called Uptown and they had a tech out the next day. The repair tech informed me that coolant was leaking--some valve wasn't attached or welded properly--and that's why the condenser was leaking, the evaporator coil was freezing up into a big block of ice and then melting, leaking all over our basement. Which, if you remember, that was the problem we had with our old AC. He fixed it promptly and was very courteous. Great--except that means that our previous AC unit probably only needed to be refilled/charged with coolant and it would have worked properly again. So there it is. If I could I would give them a C-. Main take-aways form my interaction with Uptown: --Everyone i interacted with was very pleasant, but not very apologetic when appointment was missed. The service people were very friendly and courteous when in our home. They were very prompt to schedule a repair on the new unit and I appreciate that. --If the initial diagnostic visit was actually a diagnostic visit--rather than just a salesman writing an estimate--I may have saved thousands in replacing our AC when all it needed was more coolant. I kind of wish I'd gone with the other company I contacted who offered a $89 AC tune up, which included fixing any minor issues or identifying any bigger ones for more extensive repair. I checked that I wouldn't work with Uptown again, but maybe I would work with them again. We'll see how their warranty and service holds up with this unit.

They did a good job and everything works fine.

When the repairman arrived and I showed him the air conditioner he ask if this was just a diagnose or a diagnose and fix call. Since it wasn?t working I told him we needed it fixed. So he then diagnosed the problem and outlined the options for repair. All the options seemed way over priced but I needed it repaired so I took the second to lowest option which was repair with a one year warranty. The work was done in a professional manner and took about 2 hours. I know for what we paid I could have bought a new air conditioner.

They did not solve the problem, and they had to come back and reinvestigate. They were able to resolve the problem but it cost me more money.

Replace a malfunctioning part on the AC unit. I was notified that the unit was also very dirty. The price for spraying the AC unit was $100. Seems very spendy for that service. The technician was new and needed to make many phone calls and was guided through the repair. Was very professional throughout though. It was a good experience besides the cost.

Uptown provides excellent service at a fair price. They did a good job on the big deal; I've used them for other services and found them to be responsive to customer need, very good about timely communication, and very professional with quality of service and follow up.

My central air conditioning wasn't working and the serviceman was able to come over that day (Thursday) and order me a new unit for quick installation early Monday morning. The serviceman explained several different options to me and was so helpful in helping me understand. The installers were fast and professional.

The provider was very professional. I would highly recommend uptown plumbing.

Excellent. Extremely professional. Would use again any time.

I have nothing but good things to say about Uptown Plumbing and Heating. Before selecting Uptown, I got two other estimates on the project. Not only was Uptown the lowest bidder (by about $6000), but they had the quickest turnaround time for installation. The person I met with for the estimate, Chris Buchanan, was professional. He listened to what I asked for, gave me options, explained the benefits and costs of each option, and helped us select the best cooling system for our house. He stayed in contact with me during the entire bidding process. After i selected Uptown, they stayed in contact with me to let me know when the project would start and when it would finish. They arrived on time on the day they said they would, and installed the system in about a day. The Uptown workers left the house cleaner than when they found it. Everyone was respectful of the space, and polite. They have a good crew there. One thing I was slightly disappointed in was placement of the conduits from the attic to the ground floor. There was supposed to be a vent in the kitchen according to the contract. However, the person in charge of the installation told me that installing it there would add to he cost of the project. However, we have not had any problems with the system so far, and the kitchen stays cool. The system has worked great so far. I've had the system about a month, and have slept comfortably since. The system keeps the house cool, and is quiet. Far better than the window systems we've been using.

I have a very old system and they did not try to sell me on complete replacement, he actually told me it would be way too expensive. fixed within two hours.

I purchased a coupon on Angie's List for a diagnostic service call. When the person arrived I was told that it was for the service trip to get to the house. He proceeded to write out 6 different service levels for the air conditioner. It was difficult to choose a service level before anything had been diagnosed, or checked over. I chose the second lowest level at $225, not knowing if my air conditioner needed anything. The air conditioner did not need any service at the level I chose. Usually, service people will do a thorough diagnosis and tell me what needs to be done, or what they would recommend, and then the cost. The latter is the type of service I prefer.

Everything went well. The crew was able to complete the entire installation of the high-capacity condenser and the three head units in my home on the same day. They actually were able to do the installation a couple of days earlier than scheduled, though the electricians were not able to reschedule so it did sit there unusable for two days. However, both the installation crew and the electricians were professional and cleaned up after themselves and when all was complete, the units ran as expected. The larger head unit in the downstairs does a fantastic job of keeping the whole lower level cool, even on very hot and humid days. The two units in the upstairs bedrooms do very well in the rooms they are in, but don't really keep the hallway/stairwell, bathroom or third bedroom that cool. We got the high-capacity condenser so that we have the option to get a fourth head unit installed in that third bedroom when we need it. Overall, I'm very pleased with the whole system. It's very quiet and efficient, and works so much faster than window A/C units.

The offer was for a toilet tune-up. It surprised me that he took the water pressure coming into the house. I wasn't aware that was part of the whole house plumbing check. I learned that the city's water coming into my house was a certain level and it wasn't all that substantial. That was an eye opener. One of the two toilets in my house was acting in a manner that I thought it needed some professional attention so that's why I took the offer because it was exactly what I needed. That is where the plumber focused most of his work. In addition, he did a few other things. He visually checked the plumbing in the house and he also checked the other toilet. The price seemed appropriate to me. I thought that just calling a plumber out to the house would be $50 and any work he did would be extra so I think the price was fair. He came at a time that suited him and suited me. His mannerisms, the fact that he went directly to his chores, doing the other things I had not expected, and he gave me a report. I thought he was very professional.

They checked out the furnace that they installed, which we were happy with. We asked him to look at the toilet on the third floor that had low water flow, and he said there was a $300 flat fee to work on the toilet. We thought it was expensive but told him to go ahead. It took him 5 minutes to fix the toilet and he charged us the full $300 fee for the toilet. It was such a small repair, I feel he could have told us that what needed replaced and we could have done it our self for much cheaper. They also charged us the service call fee of $70, which I thought would be waived if they did any work. We were very happy with their HVAC work, however.

It was fine. It was good. I was really pleased. They followed through on the advertisement. They followed the right paperwork for it being a rental property.

I misunderstood the Deal. It didn't involve any work at all, just him showing up. I had a leaky faucet and he brought out a huge binder and then tried to sell me a new faucet. I ended up not using his services at all, but priced it out, myself.

Jake was professional, informative and provided optional, appropriate service options.

Went well, showed up on time, answered all questions.

I had four bids on the project, two were for a low-flow system and two for the high velocity. All other bids were at least $3K higher and said it would take 4 or more days to install. Uptown said they could (and did) install it in 1 day- actually less- I think they were done by 3pm, it was truly amazing. Uptown did a fantastic job and I am so happy that I picked them. The salesmen for the low-flow systems warned heavily that the high velocity systems were noisy and 'whistled' horribly, so I was a bit hesitant, but the benefits seemed to outweigh that risk. The low-flow systems just didn't seem to be able to get ducts to the places they needed to go, particularly the kitchen and back addition, plus they were going to use so much of our precious closet space. Of the two low-flow, one couldn't get a/c to the addition and wanted to use a split unit and the other wanted to take our built-in china cabinet and use it to run ductwork through it. After the system was installed Uptown was very careful about getting the velocity correct so there was no whistling or excessive noise and walked me through the whole system and made sure that I was 100% satisfied before they left for the day. The system cools very quickly and is no noisier that my friends low-flow systems. And it was significantly less expensive and less intrusive. Uptown really knows what they are doing with the older homes and I absolutely recommend them. I should really write them up for page of happiness they were so good. At some point we are going to do some work with our radiators and I will definitely be hiring them for that project.

Jake came on site early after a call to verify that the time shift was OK. He checked the furnace end and the refrigerant on the condenser. He explained that the high efficiency air conditioner unit I have was operating normally and would not pull moisture from the air as quickly as I had expected. I was impressed with Jake's knowledge and how he explained everything to me. I was expecting a hard sell since this was a check out visit with a coupon but it didn't come. He declared the air conditioner working properly and didn't push for any additional work and expense. Very impressed - I would use this firm and specifically Jake next time I need any HVAC work.

They discovered conditions which were interfering with efficient use of the air conditioner. Everything works much better now.

I originally bought a deal to have our toilets inspected. Before I had a chance to use it, a pipe sprung a leak in the basement. I called and they took care of the problem and inspected the toilets all at the same time!