Archibald Heating and Air Conditioning Co

Description of Work: installation purchasing the installation heat system

Description of Work: Install the heating and aircodintiong system.

Description of Work: Changed from heating with oil burner to a whole-house heat pump.

Description of Work: Installation of Carrier Ductless System

Description of Work: evaluated problem and checked system

Description of Work: Diagnose and repair a leaking pressure-relief valve on my gas boiler.

Description of Work: Installed Carrier Heat Pump and oil Furance.

Description of Work: I called this company to check out a brand-new Carrier furnace (installed in December 2011) which had stopped running after a month and a half. The installer company did not answer my phone calls nor provide an alternate service number. Archibald was referred to me as a qualified servicer by the Carrier company itself. I called Archibald just after 5 PM on 2/2/2012 after my gas supplier had sent a team out to check the furnace and they declared that the furnace had a faulty blower, and said I should call the Carrier company. Archibald advertises that they provide 24/7 emergency service, so I chose their company over several others because it was now after 5 PM. When I spoke to their serviceman he told me that there was no point in coming until the AM because he couildn't order any parts until morning anyway. He said he'd be out first thing in the morning. I received a call at 7 AM on the next morning to confirm that the serviceman was about to come out. The dispatcher (a woman) told me that the new parts would be covered, but not the labor or the shipping of the part. I said I thought that was a pretty poor warranty, but she said that's the Carrier policy. I said OK. A few minutes later I got a cal from the serviceman himself who told me that he was coming out and he expected to be paid and the rate was $99 per hour. I told him that I felt that was an exorbitant price but that since all tradesmen seem to charge about that rate I would be prepared to pay him. He continued to insist that he wasn't coming unless I was going to pay him, at which time I told him that I always pay servicemen who work for me. I was becoming rather upset by what seemed to me rather poor customer relations and said so. He said it was only because I was a first-time customer. At this point I was thinking that if this is how they treat a first-time customer, they probably don't get a lot of repeats, but since it is cold and I have no heat and he was ready to come, I grit my teeth and told him to come ahead. After about an hour I went out to see how he was making out. He was conferring on the phone with someone about wiring within the furnace so I left. About a half hour later he asked to confer with me and informed me that it wasn't the furnace that was at fault, but my wiring system, and that I now needed an electrician. He then presented me with a bill for $320. I pointed out that as it was now just about 10 AM and he had arrived at 8:15, that @ $99/hour that worked out to $175, which I told him I was willing to pay. He informed me that he had to charge me for TRAVEL TIME as well. I have never had a tradesman charge me for TRAVEL TIME which I told him. He said that is Archibald's policy, OK, I said, I'll call your boss, which I did, and was told he was not available, altho he had been there earlier (I spoke with him concerning Carrier's warranty policy). The serviceman then stated that I was being charged not only for the time to travel TO my home, but also for the time to travel BACK TO THE SHOP. I was about to be charged an hour and a quarter of travel time, at $99/hour, without being informed of this unusual policy in advance. I would NOT have engaged this company had they so informed me. Furthermore, it does NOT take an hour and a quarter to make a round trip between New Paltz and Kingston unless I am also paying for the guy to stop for coffee and donuts. I gave him a check for $175, for which I received an diagnosis of my problem which may or may not be accurate.

Description of Work: We were consuming way too much oil. We were looking for a way to save money on fossil fuel costs. Our Oil company was constantly jacking up the price. We went looking for an independent contractor, someone who was not making money on selling us oil. Archibald Heating sent out a consultant named Rich. He was prompt, on time for the first two appointments (he did call to say he was going to be late) for the third appointment. He measured the house, did a lot of calculations (i do not get all of it), sized our new heat pump. We decided since we are going to be in the house a long time, we would get the best one. ARE WE GLAD! It is quiet and so far very efficient. They said they would come back in a year and do some sort of study to look at the oil saved. We've only got one fill so far since the heat pump was installed. When the job was complete they gave us a form to fill out. We gave them five stars. Neat and clean, in and out, no disruption, except for the spackling around the grill they installed. No big deal. We plan to install their boiler in the spring. Good company and the installers were pleasant and tidy. Highly recommend!