Crabbe Service

I'd like to start this review by saying I had hoped I wouldn't have to actually post it. Unfortunately based on the cumulation of no shows, miscommunications, damage to our property, and unprofessional behavior my wife and I have experienced dealing with Crabbe services, I feel that others may like to know what we've dealt with. Our home was built earlier this year, and our contractor used Crabbe for the HVAC work. Soon after moving in, the weather turned cold and we immediately noticed that several rooms in the house were noticably colder, and that the returns were very loud. Since we are under warranty, we contacted Crabbe services as instructed by our GC to address the issues. An appointment was made for 12/19 at 3pm for Crabbe to come take a look. At 230pm on 12/19, I was contacted by the main office to say that they would have to reschedule (after I had taken the day off to be there). A later date was set up after Christmas, at which point the tech explained that they had to cancel last time in order to be able to make it to a company Christmas party. He then checked the entire system, adusted the dampers, and reported to us that due to a miscommunication between Crabbe and our GC, our unit was 3/4 ton oversized, and that we would need another return installed. He explained the lack of return was resulting in the heat in our cold rooms being "pumped out" faster than it could heat the room. He told us he would report his findings to his superior, and once it was sorted out who would be paying for the extra return (Crabbe or the GC) that they'd return to correct the issue. Several weeks later our GC arranged for Crabbe to return to complete the job (so we thought). The technician who arrived, while friendly, had no knowledge of why he was there, and proceeded to adjust the dampers(again), and look over the entire system. He did find a tripped breaker, which could have been attributed to storms the night before, or a few other factors. Regardless, this wasn't the issue and obviously wasn't an issue when the previous technician came out. No return was installed, and the issues persist literally as I'm typing this. On his way out, the technician dinged our sheetrock and door facings with his ladder, and only offered a "dang, I'm sorry about that". A few days later, we received a bill from Crabbe services for the visit, totalling +/-350 dollars, for basically doing nothing to correct our issues, which are covered under our home warranty per our contract. Furthermore, this visit was scheduled by our GC, not us. At this point I and my wife called the office multiple times during business hours without response. Our GC also called them without getting an answer. I called Ray, one of the co owners who informed me that he hadn't been largely involved with anything in the office due to medical reasons, and that he would have Tim, the other owner contact me. My wife called Ray later that day to ask for Tim's number since he would be addressing our issues apparently. Ray proceeded to tell my wife "I'm not going to give you his number, someone from the office will call you Monday like I already told your husband" My wife explained that this has been an ongoing issue now and she was just trying to get to the source regarding who we'd be working with, and that we had been more than patient and understanding in lieu of writing a (this) review to reflect our experiences. Ray then threatened my wife saying that there would be "consequences" for writing such reviews. My wife explained that this entire experience from day one had been documented, and that the review was more than justified. At this point Ray hung up on my wife, and as of Tuesday evening, we have not heard anything from Crabbe services. At this time based on what has transpired this far, we have notified our GC that Crabbe services is not allowed back on our property. If you'd like to contact Ray directly, his cell phone number is: 3363828173. It is my hope that anyone reading this review will search elsewhere for your HVAC needs, and avoid the headache we've had with Crabbe services.

We have built quite a few houses (5 for us) and have put geothermal in each one. We are building another one for ourselves in Mebane and Ray came to our house where we talked with him about what we had done in the past and what we were looking for. He took a copy of the plan with him and then a week later told me that he had the figures worked out. I would have like to have gotten them then but he wanted to meet with us to go over them. We set up an appointment for 7/22/14 at 10pm and the day before the appointment asked if we could change it to 9:30am. I said yes but he never showed until 10:10. (Not a huge issue). Now having built a number of houses (we were builders) I am familiar with unit sizing and cost to install a geothermal system and generally the price is around $20,000 for new construction. When Mr. Evans presented me with his proposal the cost was $57,200. As soon as I saw this I told him that he was out of his mind that there was absolutely no way that the cost should be anywhere near this. He was quick to point out to me that with all the tax credits and rebates I was eligible for my final cost would be about $19,240. I told him that I suspected that since the Federal government and the State of North Carolina was going to subsidize the cost of these systems via tax credits that many unscrupulous contractors would attempt to take advantage of that. He replied that they would not be allowed to touch the tax credits and I responded by saying that while they may no do that they could raise their prices so that the customer would end up paying about the same a before the tax credits. What Mr. Evans does not address however is the deceptive practice of telling customers that the system qualifies for the tax credits but that they may not be eligible. The tax credits are not money that the government gives you but money that is deducted from what you owe them. In the state of North Carolina the tax credit that you claim cannot be more than 50% of the tax that you would have to make at least $650,000 to qualify for the tax credit he was citing us. He claimed that I would qualify for a NC tax credit of $20,200 and I told him that the maximum credit was $8400 and he said that was for one system. I asked how many systems was this and he told me three. This house is only 2700 square feet and would only need one system that was zoned. After I gave him a what for he told me that he could resize the unit and give me a quote for it zoned but I would NEVER do business with someone whose business practices were so shady as to try to fleece me. What I feel bad for is those unsuspecting customers who will take Mr. Evans at his word ( which means little) and get taken to the cleaners.

A lot of people involved and very well coordinated. They answered all my questions before, during and after and provided opportunity for me to see some of their other work. I highly recommend.

The furnace was repaired and now functions. The quote provided was @ the very top of the estimate provided. I believe that we were a victim of "bait and switch". The parts were supposed to be covered under warranty and we were only supposed to pay for the labor ... A breakdown of expenses was never provided and when I inquired about the bill, I did not care for the way that I was treated / replied to. The response was very, very arrogant. I felt like the repair bill was excessive for the time that they were on site to make the repairs. (Less than a day.) Since the work was done, we now have a major pest problem - do not know if is a coincidence or not. I do know that we did not have an issue with rodents prior to the work & now we do

THEY WERE VERY SLOW TO RESPOND TO OUR REPEATED REQUESTS TO CORRECT PROBLEMS AND ISSUES THAT WE HAD WITH THE SYSTEM. IT'S ALMOST BEEN A YEAR SINCE THEY INSTALLED IT AND WE ARE STILL HAVING ISSUES RESOLVED BY THEM.

THE WORKER DIDN'T MESS AROUND, AND HE WAS KIND AND POLITE. HE DID WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, AND THAT WAS IT. I THINK THEY ALWAYS DO A VERY GOOD JOB.

THEY WERE PROMPT AND ON TIME. THEY WERE VERY FRIENDLY. THEY WERE VERY COURTEOUS. THEY ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS. I WOULD REFER THEM TO ANYONE. THEY ARE A VERY GOOD COMPANY.

Well, I've used their services for a while. They call me annually and check on the furnace and thermostat. Recently, the thermostat has been reading things a little strangely, or so it seems. It may be just me. I've not had any problems otherwise.