Chimney Cricket Inc

Made an appointment several weeks in advance. Returned from deep sea fishing trip to a no-show. Livid. Never again!

Easy to set up appointment. Workers were punctual and professional. Good job explaining benefits of additional service, but no pressure. Plan to use again and would recommend.

They have been great each time we used them. They are a great company which we enjoy working with. They also honored the warranty on the cap we purchased with them.

They arrived on time and completed their work in about an hour. After they swept the chimneys, Phil Taggart reviewed better ways to build a fireplace fire and told me about the construction of my chimneys. He let me know what was wrong and how often it was safe to build fires according to the damage in each chimney. About a week later I received a written estimate detailing their suggestions and the price. I have not contacted them on the repairs yet but will probably use them in the future after getting a second opinion on their suggestions. It was a fantastic experience and I felt comfortable having them in my home.

They were a very responsive and I thought their work was good, until I had to call them to repair the cap from storm damage wind. Apparently, it was not installed correctly. They were able to fix the error and also secured the part to my chimney. They were very friendly and did a great job. I would consider using this company in the future.

I was satisfied with them, I had no problems. I remember that the price was not great, but fair. I would consider using them again in the future.

He was here on time and was very friendly. The chimney was vacuumed quickly and with no mess, and he took the time to check out some issues I had with another, non-working, fireplace. A very easy, pleasant experience. I'll definitely call them for chimney maintenance in the future.

This is a follow-up review. I wanted to share additional information about my experience with Chimney Cricket. On 7-14-2008 I posted a negative review, however, after the owner read my review he contacted me directly and promptly refunded the $190 to me. I wanted to clearly state that he responded to my concerns in a professional, courteous, and timely manner. Therefore despite my initial negative experience with Chimney Cricket, I am ultimately pleased with the courtesy extended to me. I apologize that I?m only posting this follow-up now, however I let my Angie?s List membership lapse and was unable to post until I reactivated my account.

Service person arrived on time, completed work and made recommendation for better maintenance.

When I called to to inquire about their service, the office representative was very professional explaining the various costs and their procedure. We agreed on the work to be done and established a date and time. She called the day before the work was to be done to make sure the schedule was still OK. The company arrived on time, was very careful to prevent any ash and chimney deposits from entering the living area and put down large clothes over the rugs. He was very careful to keep all tools in plastic bags except when in use. He bagged all the ash and chimney deposits in large plastic bags and left them outside near the trash can for disposal. The apparent large cost was primarily because besides the cleaning we had 3 stainless steel chimney caps installed and they about equaled the cost of the cleaning alone.

He was a nice guy to have in the house. He was very professional and they kept the area very clean. They did a great job. I would highly recommend them.

The gentle man came, cleaned the entire chimney, cleaned up after himself, and said goodbye. Don't get me wrong, he was pleasant and professional. You can't make small talk with that equipment running.

Called the company based on Angie's List ratings and a neighbor's recommendation. The scheduler (Ginger) was very courteous, and on the ball. I appreciated the reminder phone call a day before, and also a call when the technician was on his way (I had specifically asked for this). The sweep was pretty much normal, but I liked how the the technician was careful about not scratching or dirtying my hardwood floor. Overall a great experience.

Appointment was confirmed by company one day in advance. Greg, the technician, arrived on time. He was polite, and spent almost an hour checking on the chimney. He provided me with a list of priorities, explained everything clearly, and said an estimate would arrive in the mail. He confirmed what a previous company told me, so I know that he knew what he was talking about and did not try to make the job more expensive. He was right on the mark about everything.

I set up an appointment approximately 2 weeks ago that specified a date and a two hour window in which the technician would arrive. I received a phone call the day before confirming the appointment. The technician was prompt, arriving mid-way between the 2 hour window. He was professional and courteous, very careful to lay down blankets to protect our rugs. He said the whole process would take about 45 minutes, and it did. He recommended a few things to keep an eye on in the future. There was absolutely no pressure to purchase other services. He recommended that we could have the chimney swept once every 2 years due to our light use. When he left, everything was very clean. Our rugs are white and there was no residue whatsoever. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the service and would definitely use them again in the future.

I thought they were fine. I called another company and just got an answering service. This company picked up right away. They came when they said they would and did a good job.

So in a nutshell, I paid $190 for nothing! I feel that I was willingly ripped off. When I scheduled the estimate, I was informed that I was out of their regular service zone (I live in South Philly) and that they charged a gas and trip charge of $190. They said that if they installed the liner that the $190 would be applied to the cost. I agreed because several chimney specialists had already canceled on me. I was also assured that Chimney Cricket came into the city and worked on row homes. The man who gave me the estimate showed up on time. He was on his phone in the basement for about 30 minutes asking questions to someone who seemed to know more about chimneys. A few days after another man called with the estimate and explained there was a blockage and they needed to investigate to see if putting in a liner was even feasible. This investigation would cost me another $300, which would not be applied to the cost of installing the liner if they decided it was possible. As any sane person, I decided to cut my losses and run: I did not want to be out $490 and still have no liner. If you live in Philly or in a row home I would not even consider hiring them.

We were able to schedule an appointment for the next day. The receptionist who handled the call was extremely professional and really appeared to understand the problem. Because we had no hot water, she scheduled the appointment for the next day. The sweep came on time, did the work in a very professional manner, and made recommendations to repair the chimney. He also told us that the repair to the chimney, while needed, was not the cause of our problem with the water heater, and he put this in writing. Armed with this information, we contacted the hot water repair team, and they came out again to repair the water heater. This time they found a faulty part and reinstalled it. The Chimney Cricket team was extremely knowledgeable, professional and thorough. They recommended that we have the chimney lined, and came out a second time to do a thorough and professional evaluation and gave us a bid for the repairs.

Very straightforward - the serviceman called 20 minutes before arriving, then arrived on time. Took extra care to lay down protective blankets to keep furniture clean, etc. The inspection and cleaning went smoothly, and there was no attempt to up sell. In fact, the serviceman said "someone really has kept that chimney in good condition - it looks great and doesn't need any additional work". This after the first time I used them. I will certainly use them again.

Very well done. Very clean. Initially planned to have the heater chimney cleaned also but this was not necessary, so not done.

Called approximately two weeks ago to schedule chimney to be cleaned. Wanted to get it done before our child was to be born. Chimney Cricket agreed to call prior to showing up at house. My wife ran to market, technician showed up and left. No one called. Would not return that day to do work.

Their price was was fair, they were prompt and they responded quickly.

Chimney sweeping went well, the estimate included a lot of up-sell that according to our 2nd opinion was not needed. Even though we requested that they prioritize their proposal, They simply provided an estimate for $8,000 worth of repairs. Our second opinion did $800 worth of repairs and notes that the other work was not necessary.

They are an incredibly professional business. They're very clean and totally responsive. I highly recommend them.

He was clean and did a good job of cleaning up after he was done. We also appreciated the estimate on what it would take to bring the entire system up to code.