T F O Brien & Co Inc

A couple of days after the initial visit, my unit stopped working. They came back and said it could not be fixed and I needed a new unit soup to nuts. My staff was stuck in a hot office. The technician said that the sales guy would have to come back to give me a quote on the new system. Nobody ever called or came by. So I basically paid $1200 bucks to be told my system was no good. It would have been nice to have the professionalism to tell me what I needed to get up and running. Waste of money and time. They did not seem to care about the customer.

Richie finally called and told me that because of the inconvenience I was caused that I would be given special pricing on the parts. What follows is my email exchange with Kerry O'Brien. .Dear Mr. O?Brien,Once again I find it necessary to write to you about your policies. I am asked to believe that concessions were made on pricing for the components that were to be replaced on my system because of the delays and non responsiveness of your staff. It is offensive to me that your firm would be at the very least misleading and possibly at most behaving in a fraudulent manner. Your quote for parts reads as follows:PHIC-9GA-$289 normally $450 S688A1007 sail switch- $174.68 normall $266 PHIC-9GA is available anywhere on the net for under 200.00. This would mean that your ?normal? markup exceeds 200%. Even worse, the sail switch S688A1007 is available anywhere on the net for under $55.00. That would mean that your ?normal? markup exceeds 500%. This assumes that you pay retail as is offered by the outlets on the net. It would be reasonable to assume that you pay even less than those figures. Please don?t tell me that these parts are knock offs. I made sure that the parts I looked up were OEM.Why don?t we change how we continue in our business relationship. We will keep our service contract and when your technician sees the need for parts, he can give us the part numbers and we can get our own. This would save us over $200.00 on the parts in this instance. Money doesn?t grow on trees in this household. If you were being treated like we are being treated in a situation like this, I would imagine you would be just as annoyed. I look forward to your reply. ====================================================================================== REPLY Thank you, for sharing your concerns.There are many reasons the service to replace the parts costs what is does. Keep in mind that the cost includes the labor to install the parts. While the actual time to replace the parts may seem short, the ability to diagnose the problem, obtain the proper part(s) and complete the repair, as well as warrantee the repair is the result of an investment of our time to train our technicians and willingness to commit funds that allow for the quality repair. Our service technicians earn a living wage, have benefits and we have a support staff to answer your calls and dispatch in an efficient manner. We feel our prices are competitive and as reasonable as can be for us to continue to be in business today and in the future. We do not install customer supplied parts or materials. We subscribe to a service that sets pricing on all repairs for us. These prices are based on national standards for all of the costs I previously mentioned. If you feel we do not provide the value you are looking for, we encourage you to choose another company that provides a lower budget alternative. Kerry ======================================================================================= Looking at those two emails above, you can see that O'Brien really has no need to go the extra mile for the customer. He has the money for my annual service contract which was well over $200.00. That plus the markup on the parts and the 250.00 could cleaning they recommended puts me in the 1000.00 area this year for their service. The service agreement provides for them coming here ahead of those who don't have contracts when the system breaks down and we are supposed to get a 15% discount on parts and labor. Unfortunately the hourly labor charge is not stated so you really never know what you are paying for and 15% off of a markup that can be as high as 500% is frankly a complete ripoff. Don't use these people. Their are plenty of others out these who can do as good a job for much less and from the nature of the response telling me to go elsewhere, it is clear that they have no need for more business.

A plus plus. I needed a new AC system. I had heard very good things about them from my neighbors. I got two quotes which were both about the same (universal came in a little higher), but went with them b/c of their reputation. The crew installed a new Reem compressor and air handler in one day. The employees (Carlos, Danny and others) were polite and skilled. They also threw in a free return air grille because mine was broken and installed it - something I would have had difficulty doing on my own. They addressed all my concerns, did a nice, neat job, and are really customer service oriented. Very refreshing to deal with competent, nice people!!

At the very least, if you live in the Brooklyn part of Long Island, STAY AWAY. They can't handle situations that don't fit their cookie cutter idea of what service is. My husband called while I listened and clearly explained to them our exact situation: what service we needed (simple cleaning of our ductless AC system, which works, and just needs cleaning) and that we were on a high floor, the third floor, with compressors outside our window. Without asking for more details or clarification, the TF O'Brien representative told us it wouldn't be a problem, and scheduled an appointment for 1 week later. Given their supposedly good reputation, we thought we could rely on them to come through. Big Mistake. No one showed up during our 5 hour time slot. No one called, until I called to find out what was going on (while 9 months pregnant, with better things to do than wait around for them). When someone finally showed up at 8 pm, he indicated to us that they no longer had time to work with us that night because they overbooked their day. He then surveyed the units, went outside, viewed the compressors, and said he could service them, just not tonight. Foolishly, we relied on them yet again. After setting another appointment, we then got a call from them telling us there was nothing they could do for us because our compressors were too high up. They had no new information, they just changed their minds. We were fine just treating the actual units in the apartment since we only wanted a cleaning, and we were then told even those were too high up. So, 9.5 feet is too high up for the folks at TF O'Brien to access. Lame bunch of excuses because they decided they didn't want to work with us in Brooklyn. They did us a huge disservice by not listening to what we said at the outset, and by instead agreeing to do work, inspecting our units and situation and confirming they could do the work, and then just bailing on us. The weather is getting warm, and I am 9 months pregnant, and we are now completely screwed thanks to TF O'Brien jerking us around, during the precious last few days before our child comes, when we could have found a competent, honest service provider. We must now spend thousands of dollars on window units to keep the apartment cool for our newborn, because we have simply run out of time to deal with another company before our child comes (scheduled for the day after they decided to bail on us). Thanks for nothing, TF O'Brien. You are unreliable.

They charge for consultations and estimates. Before they started the job I had a problem with my chimney and had to get that fixed first. After the chimney was done the started by replacing my lower water cut off and a couple other parts. The bill was approx $800, then they recommended changing the water feeder. I didn't want to change it because that was replaced less than a year ago. They then suggested I change my thermostat. I agreed to change the thermostat and while negotiating I was looking at a Honeywell Wifi thermostat but it didn't have a lock. So I asked them to install the protective cover which costs $20. They were going to charge me $200 to install the plastic cover plus the cost of the installation. I had to beg the manager to not charge me the $200 because my total bill including the thermostat, install and cover would have been around $800-$900. I ended up choosing the Nest thermostat (build in lock code) and they worked on the boiler and thermostat wiring. The boiled still didn't work so now my bill was close to $1500 with the replacement boiler parts and the thermostat. They then wanted to charge me $800 for the water feeder. After I complained about that charge they said they made a mistake and reduced the cost to around $500. I then contacted the manufacturer about the warranty on the water feeder. I found a boiler electrician though the technician they sent out to check on it and they said the wiring was incorrect. The last people to touch the wiring on the water feeder and everything was TF Obrien. After he fixed the wiring it worked and has been working ever since. I gave them a "C" because there were other issues that caused my boiler to not work, like the chimney. But they would have just kept charging me and replacing parts that did not need to be replaced troubleshooting the problem. You don't solve the problem by just charging me to replace every part you see. They would have kept billing me thousands of dollars after they caused the wiring problem on my water feeder that never even had to be replaced. Everything was over priced. I had to change my water heater and they wanted to charge me $3000! But I got one installed from another company for $1400.

They were on time, courteous, and the price was reasonable.

I did not have them come out because i felt they were very dishonest to see free estimate with NO STIPULATIONS or restrictions and then want to charge me to see how much they would charge for the work. My system is functioning properly I just need the pipe replaced because it got damaged.

They were very courteous and came earlier than I thought. I have a senior in the house and they came as soon as he could. Rafael was the serviceman. He was very nice, professional and he explained things to me. He was very good.

Very professional, courteous and detailed in their work.

TF O'brien was a lower than average provider. I would not recommend them. There were some good points, but mostly a disappointing experience. They were called about a location not receiving heat, and responded the same day. So far so good. But it goes downhill from there. There is a $145 diagnostic charge, which is NOT credited to work done! This was duly informed up front, but that's still ridiculous, especially since every other provider I dealt with gave credit towards this "diagnostic visit" charge from any work they would do. And their diagnostic charges are less than $145 anyway! After arriving on scene, the technician conducted his review and then replaced a valve and said it "might" solve the problem, but if not, I would need to do some other work that costs over $500. And I've just finished paying $255 for the diagnosis and valve replacement. When completing the transaction the technician failed to provide a receipt/bill/invoice, after he was asked multiple times. Basically, I had to pay cash and no receipt provided. Obviously this shoddy service/work didn't solve the problem. I had to call another plumber after 2 days and he arrived and fixed the problem permanently, without a diagnostic charge and for way less than $500. The final point I have to make is that they have a good customer service manager who heard my complaint and tried to alleviate my frustration. They did clarify that they couldn't provide a receipt because email connection was down, but that shouldn't prevent them from issuing a hand-written one temporarily, since we are dealing with cash. Unfortunately, a good follow-up doesn't preclude poor service experience. Not to mention that $145 visitor's fee....that alone would prevent me from using them again.

I had a fairly small work to do on my AC but needed to have it done by a professional because of local building code. This company reacted pretty fast to my request on Angie's list but when I spoke to them over the phone they did not seemed interested and simply told me they would charge $129 for an estimate...

Last year (2013) was fine. Made appointment for this year (2014). FAIL. Cleared my afternoon, five hour chunk to wait for technician. Technician called before supposedly being "on his way". I was unable to answer my cell phone. However, I was looking out the window the whole time, having lunch, awaiting the technician's arrival. The call center left me a voicemail (after repeated attempts to reach me) saying I would have to reschedule my appt because I wasn't answering my phone. If the policy is stated as "the technician will call when he's on his way" that means he will arrive at the destination. If the policy is "the technician will call, and if there's no answer, he will not show up," then that should be the clearly stated policy. Sending out misinformation to customers results in loss of your annual contract customers. Will not be hiring TF O'Brien due to poor communication and lack of customer service skills from dispatch employees. *UPDATE: Oct/Nov, 2015: After skipping a year and using a different company for 2014 (see above), I decided to give them another chance this year and I had a slightly better experience regarding the administrative process. They did forget to confirm the appointment the day before, but the technician called ahead and arrived on time. Raphael did a good job on the maintenance check-up and then installed a new hot water heater. Since we bought the house 2.5 years ago, numerous inspectors and the like have recommended replacing the hot water heater. Finally did. Professional, respectful and thorough. Satisfied.

After spending some time on the phone and getting the run-around from a few other HVAC companies, I finally called T.F. O'Brien. First of all, the woman who answers the phone is very nice and helpful, especially compared to the other receptionists that I spoke with from other companies who seemed annoyed that I had called. The first good sign. I was able to make an appointment for early the next morning for a consultation. No obligation, no charge. Chris showed up on time and spent time answering all of my questions about our buildings existing PTAC units and the costs and complications associated with a possible conversion to a ductless system. This was extremely helpful and will be essential in our condo board making a decision on how we want to move forward with a solution to our PTAC woes. Highly recommend giving these guys a call.

T.F. O'Brien was a great company to work with. They are extremely responsive and did an excellent job of accommodating my schedule for the initial appointment and subsequent work. The technician, Anthony, was professional and quickly diagnosed the problem. He was able to order the needed part and return the following week to install it. When I had a question after he left for the evening he called me back right away and was willing to assist. I have certainly found my new heating and air conditioning company. Keep up the good work!

said that they would send in an AC sales person. We had a sales person come in May/ June. He didn't have enough details on pricing and he said that they should have suggested AC replacement given the age of the AC system, instead of blower replacement in Feb and that he would try to provide us enough discount for the previous cost as that should not have been incurred in the first place. After he left, we waited for a few weeks and got no response . He never called. we called again at the end of August and complained about not getting a response.They sent another salesperson in early Sep, who said that he will get back in 2 weeks. My husband followed up after 2 weeks with the sales person 4 times with no response. Finally we called and asked for a refund of our cost as we were getting no service for our maintenance agreement and we had replaced a blower that will again need to be replaced when the AC gets replaced. The person on the phone was sympathetic and said that the manager would call back and we still have not heard back after 2 weeks. We are very disappointed as we had chosen them based on the reviews on Angieslist.

Things went very good. I was very pleased with them. They honored the $49 Big Deal. They did a great job. They came out fairly quickly. I chose to use them over the other providers available in the area because it came down to price and the fact that he was licensed and everything like that. So, I felt confident plus he has been in business for quite a long time according to the financials so that counts. Their responsiveness was very good.

I purchased an Angei's List coupon for $49.00 for a 15-point furnace inspection and cleaning. The appointment with our technician, Andre, went off without a hitch. Andre arrived on time and quickly went to town on the furnace, doing a very thorough job for a relatively simple job, and making sure he went through each item on his checklist. He also let me know that, while not serious, the water feeder needed some work, but that I could make do with just turning the feeder on and off for the time being. The office came back in a few days with a quote for this and some other work. The water feeder is still broken, but if I run into other heating/plumbing problems in the future, TF O'Brien is on the short list of companies to call.

He worked very neat and was organized . The work was done really quick.

The installers were professional and took great care to maintain clean work area.

Outstanding service and quality! The salesman, supervisor and installer communicated effectively and worked together in a seamless manner to make sure that everything went smoothly and that the system was installed as designed. We would highly recommend the company!

Just one person came out for the job. It only took about 15 or 20 minutes. He was nice and it went well. Overall it was a good experience.

I had to wait for months to get an appointment with this provider to service my mum's central air cooling system. Worse is that they told me a technician would arrive between 12PM and 5PM. I took the day out of work and went to my mums to help her. She is a senior and not comfortable with having service people in her home when she is by herself. I am really disappointed with the lack of consideration and care of this company. I called them several times to make sure a technician was still coming. Guess what? They didn't even show up. And they did not even have the courtesy to call me to say they could not make it for whatever reason. My mother is a senior and I can't afford to take days out like this for unprofessional people who don't care about their customers. This is unacceptable. I found this company through Angie's list. I would never recommend them to anyone else because of this experience. I had a feeling they were not going to show up when I saw the rain falling. They are very unprofessional and inconsiderate.

We had 3 different vendors come in to give us quotes. T.F. O'Brien came in the middle (just slightly higher than the lowest) but they gained our trust when they didn't try & sell us a larger unit than we needed or try to tack on some added value services that aren't necessary. They came the day they were scheduled to & did the installation without any problems. We've been enjoying the split AC unit since.

Making an appointment was easy, they even called to confirm. They called before arrival and the technician, Anthony, was extremely courteous, very informative, thorough and went beyond my expectations. The experience on the whole, made me feel like I finally found a company I can trust for our HVAC issues. Would definitely recommend their service.

After getting 4 different estimates for a new install of a 2 zone CAC system into our 1935 home, we decided to go with TF O'Brien for various reasons, including their reputation. I was pleasantly surprised at the transparency of the quote they gave me, which broke down my options by price in terms of the different systems that they offered. No other company did this-instead they all just gave me a blanket quote for the install but did not specify the brand or SEER level of the unit they proposed to install. The TF quote gave us the most value. Their installers were professional, courteous, and prompt. They installed a 2 zone CAC system (with very minimal damage that they then gave me a repair credit for) and installed a separate ductless unit in the family room (a converted garage with a separate roof and no attic access). Our house is nice and cool and our CAC system is silent. They even threw in a top of the line air filter after learning that my older son has severe allergies.