HEP Inc

This review is for HEP and not for Advanced Heating and Air--I don't know why it is appearing here under Advanced Heating and Air, who have provided us with great service in the past. Angie's list won't allow me to delete it from my account. Now, onto HEP: The technician from HEP was punctual and friendly enough, and able to come out last minute. Unfortunately, that's where the good review ends. While inspecting our HVAC system, he simply said that the board was corroded and that was what was "probably" making our A/C blower not work. My husband asked him why he came to the conclusion that the board was definitely the problem and if there weren't any temporary fix. He said no flat out and suggested that we replace the whole system. We were eager to get a second opinion. We had another company come out and take a look. They were able to get the board and blower up and running in less than 5 minutes. Though our system is old and will probably have to be replaced sometime, the new company has saved us that cost, at least for some time period. I resent paying $50 for a service call where the technician didn't take any time at all to even try and solve and decisively diagnose the problem.

HEP Inc took their time. I watched as they went along so I have an idea how they do it. Went out and bought the tools to do it. It took them 3 or 4 hours to do it. They'd take it back loose if they weren't happy with it. They brushed it out first and then sucked it out. The staff were friendly, talked after they got done, and the price was reasonable.

Randy the master plumber arrived precisely as scheduled and spent quite some time scoping out the job and measuring to see how to best complete the work. Work was performed a couple of days later, when Randy was helped by GW. The job was reasonably difficult, as we have deep shelves running along the wall, so it hindered access to the pipe. Randy pointed out that the pipe was also not properly supported by straps along the length running on the connecting wall, to connect to the down pipe leading to the sewer line outside the house. He added several straps to secure that pipe, before working on the bad section. We had cleaned off the shelves and draped plastic sheeting over the shelves and the floor. But Randy was very careful to drill holes in the low points of the pipe, to drain it as much as possible before cutting it loose and removing it. He taped the ends to further prevent spillage. When he installed the new pipe, he carefully measured and secured the straps to give the require 1" per 4' drop for the best drainage. I watched the whole procedure (hopefully was not too annoying!), and learned quite a bit about how to do good plumbing work. After the work was complete, Randy ran the clothes washer through a cycle, and we noted that we could no longer hear the 'burbling' sound coming from the kitchen sink drain that was a symptom of the old problem. No leaks were noted, and Randy and GW did a nice job with the overall cleanup. This was a bit tricky job, and was handled in a very professional and competent. This is the second time we have had occasion to use Hep Co., as they helped us recover from a sewer backup incident a couple of years ago, which was a bigger job than the present one. I would have zero qualms about employing Hep Co. on other jobs as needed in the future.

My experience with HEP Inc was good, they came out on time, did their job and cleaned up the mess. The workers were professional and got the work finished.

I called for an estimate to get my roof replaced and they had to reschedule twice. Then I didn't hear from them for about 6 wks. By then I had already had another company complete the work.

I had performed research to make sure I had the proper flange and it was of good quality (Kohler). The plumber they sent out was very friendly and professional (Ralphy). I showed him the flange and the strainer I wanted installed and he got to work. HOWEVER, when all was finished, he had not even opened the package with the flange for the garbage disposal. He had installed the old stainless steel collar that had been on the disposal, so I was left with a bright silver stainless steel flange in a brown sink. When I asked why he hadn't used the brown flange I had bought and showed him, he only then opened the package and tried to just stuff it inside the garbage disposal opening. He said it was too big, that I had gotten the wrong size, and I could just go down to a hardware store and get one that fit that looked just like it. I knew the flange was meant to be installed in the place of the stainless collar and told him that was why I had bought it and needed a plumber in the first place, and he said the flange was "crap" and that in two months the disposal would fall through the sink and he'd be out to fix it again, plus my sink would probably be ruined. This was a Kohler flange and had received excellent reviews, by the way. He was in a hurry to get to his next job, so I let him go with the intent to take his advice and look for the 'proper' flange. My first thought was he was being lazy, had realized he made a mistake, and just didn't want to do the job right, but then I'm not a plumber, so I took his advice. All over Knoxville, no stores knew what I he was referring to...all said I needed what I already had, which was a brown flange to replace the stainless one. I called HEP to explain what had happened and to please send someone to install the proper flange that I had paid for and had already paid to have installed but wasn't. HEP had Ralphy (same guy) call me and he assured me that I was mistaken, that Ferguson's would have it and I needed to trust him that he knew what he was doing. Went to Ferguson's, they had no clue what he was talking about, but they offered to sell me new drains to match....would cost me way more and I didn't like the look of them. Plus, I'd need a plumber again to install them anyway. Grrr... It was clear that Ralphy had not installed the brown garbage disposal flange as I had requested, but he only realized it after the job was done when I pointed out the unopened package next to him with the flange. He was just too darn lazy to fix it. I called HEP again to tell them the situation, but this time, I did not want Ralphy doing any more work--he either didn't know what he was doing, or he was truly too lazy or prideful to admit he made a mistake and I did not want an angry plumber fixing anything else! I was told by HEP that Ralphy would have to be the one to fix it, and that there was nothing more they could do unless I wanted to pay for another one of their plumbers to come out and repeat the job. So, I chose to pay another plumber (DIFFERENT COMPANY) to come out and re-replace the disposal with the proper flange. They just shook their head in disbelief when I told them the fiasco. It was fortunate however, because Ralphy had not angled the pipes properly under the sink, either, and the disposal wouldn't have drained properly anyway. All is functioning fine now and my beautiful brown sink now has a matching brown collar on the disposal side. I had to pay twice for the work, but in the end, it was worth it, but with no thanks to HEP or Ralphy. i will never use them again and will encourage any one who asks me for a recommendation NOT to use HEP. Rotten experience and apathetic customer service--no accountability or responsibility for poor work.

They came out and did the roofing work and some of the gutter work. They never came back to do anything else. I had to hire someone else to finish the work. The gutters will also need to be redone. I feel like I got taken advantage of.

As to the actual worked performed, I have no complaint. We had to have a broken window replaced and also requested that the workers add gutter guards and change the outside light bulbs in the area where the roof was really high. The window was installed very professionally, and the outside work done well. According to our contract, they were supposed to replace some wood on our outside deck, but the workers did not know anything about that. By this time, we were so frustrated, we just signed the work order as complete and vowed never to use this company again. You may wonder why we were so frustrated when the work was done without complaint. Well, the biggest problem we had was communication. When we signed the contract, we requested that the work be completed before January 4. The man who came to our house to get the contract signed assured us that this should not be a problem. I never heard anything from the company, so I called on Monday, December 31 and they scheduled the window to be installed on Wednesday, January 2, and the rest of the work to be completed on Thursday, January 4. I took both days off work and stayed home all day waiting for them to come. Finally, on Wednesday, I called and asked if they could give me a time frame, and they informed me that the window did not come in. This was done very unprofessionally, as the customer service person had the window installer call me. He said I was on his list, but he found out the window was not there. When he found our, however, he did not call me. Am I being unreasonable in thinking that the company should have called me? Anyway, I called back and asked if I was still on the schedule for Thursday. They looked and told me I was. Again, no one showed up. Finally, I called and even though I was on the schedule, I was told that they would not be coming that day. No communication until I called. Again, the work was scheduled on a Saturday,and they did not show up again. When we called, they admitted the window was still not there. Why did they schedule us all these times if the window was not there? Finally, I called and requested a refund. The service manager told me he would promise that the work would be done on Saturday, January 19. It was a very cold day, but the work was done. Every single time we found out any information, we had to initiate the phone call ourselves. Unless you have a lot of time and patience, I would not recommend this company.

I met the service guyat our house as I was interested to know what was going on in my new home (new to me not brand new). He was very friendly and appeared to know what he was doing. He hooked up gages to my A/C unit and noticed that the unit was running hot. We got my water hose and cleaned off the coil to the outside unit, the temp immediatly dropped (cold water on the coil will do this every time ) so we went inside where he checked the temp coming from the vents, and said all was well. We went back outside and the temp was back to the high reading from earlier. so he tells me the coil needs extra cleaning !! he went to his truck and came back with a pump action garden spray and a small packet of a cleaner. He put the cleaner and water into the spray and washed off the coil for about 5 minutes, then hosed it off with clean water, some debris was removed but not a lot. again the temp of the coil dropped, but after a few minutes was rising again, he said to leave it for a few minutes, so we went into the house. After fifteen minutes we went outside and checked the gages, it was back to full hot temp as earlier. He disconnected the gages and went back to his truck. He came back to the house with a bill - $60.00 service call and $189.00 for the coil cleaning !!!!!!!!!! I said that is rediculous but had to pay him. I called the service manager who told me how expensive this cleaner is ( $10.00 Home Depot) after arguing for a while he said he would return my service fee of $60.00 ( AND they did). I was never asked to approve the "extra" cleaning ( and I would have said no) and the result was a no change to how the unit was running. We did get TVA to come and check what was going on, and we added extra insulation and that cured the 24/7 running. I would never use HEP for anything again, as I could not trust them to give me an honest answer as to any problems I may have.

They did a good job, and cleaned up reasonably well. I am very pleased with it.

Asked HEP to come out and look at some minor toilet issues--slow leak in a tank causing it to run 1-2 times per hour and some moisture around the base of another. He called to find out if he could come a little earlier than scheduled--that was great! However, From the time the plumber came through the door, it was a tobacco-scented sales pitch to subscribe to the service contract. So annoying! The plumber "found the problem" with the running toilet-- a warped flapper-- which he quickly replaced. When he went to the truck to get the part, he just happened to notice our HVAC units (they were not on the way to the truck.). He called the HVAC manager to see if he could offer us a better deal on the service contract. We declined. The toilet is still running, but we are not interested in having HEP return.

They were prompt, available the day we called and charged the quoted price.

Estimate was prompt and work was great. I felt safe leaving my teenagers home alone with these guys outside. They were very efficient, polite, and professional. I would definitely use them again.

All on a Saturday. Everything has worked excellent since.

My heater was not working properly the first cold night we had. I called HEP the following day and made an appointment for the next day between 1pm & 4 pm. Nick Zeller called the next morning at 11:30 wanting to know if he could show up early because he finished his previous job earlier than the allotted time. So when he got here he turned the heater on to listen & it apparently did something else because he found out the contacts were burnt & then the heater started making the clicking sound that I originally called HEP about. The high limit control was bad & it was the culprit of the clicking noise. So he replaced both parts & was on his way in no time at all. I have used HEP in the past, I like their work & I will continue to use their services.

They were pretty good. They did what they said they would. They were professional.

Fine service by HEP. The technician, Mr. Soto, completed several additional tasks above and beyond without exceeding the estimate. I would not hesitate to ask for Mr. Soto again for a plumbing-related problem.

The gentleman that came out to do the service work was very thorough. He checked out the outside unit and the unit in the attic to see how the two interconnected. He wore surgical booties inside the house, which I thought was good. He was on time and very courteous.

They were very good. They did a good job following up to make sure that I was pleased with the work. The gutters have been functioning very well, better than they had before.. The crew was very polite.

The quality of work was good. They had to come back and fix one thing and they did do that. The only thing that I guess I didn’t like was that they used a different manufacture that I asked for and being a breaker box I wanted it to match with what I had in other areas so that I could use the same style of makers and they didn’t do that but I will still use them again. They were responsive to me and I would use them again for electrical work; we had some other dealings and some other things that I would never use them again but for the electrical the work they did I was pleased with it.

They did a routine inspection and told us that everything was "in perfect working condition", however less than a week after they were here the AC unit upstairs seemed to have stopped working. We wanted them to come out and check it again since it was such a short period of time, and they told us the compressor was bad and they are not responsible that it occurred so close to the initial inspection. They made us pay the $59 again for having to come back out. All we asked is that they waive that fee since we paid it less than a week prior- and we assumed they would've noticed the compressor was not healthy. They refused because they said a compressor can break anytime with no warning, so even if it broke as they were leaving our driveway they would've charged us again to come back out. While we somewhat understand, we would have appreciated them comping the last fee due to the conincidence in timing.

I got him out of the yellow pages. This is a group that is around this area, I've seen their trucks, and they are handymen. When I called them, the lady said she would put it out to the proper guy. I sat there, watched him, and 2 pounds cost me $81. He came in told me what he was going to do, did it, and he was gone. I asked questions and he answered right away. He was a very friendly, nice guy. If someone can't explain what they're doing, they probably don't know what they're doing. I called the lady early in the morning, she got someone out there that afternoon, she was extremely friendly, very professional, and I was off the phone it 3-4 minutes. They were only there less than 30 minutes. We have a slow leaking air conditioner and have to someone out every 2-3 years. Another guy came out previously, said you need to keep yours fins clean, wiped them up, down, asked me to borrow my hose, hosed down the unit, handed me a bill for $140, and I said I'm not going to pay that, you used my hose. For the time spent, he charged me $49. The price is all reasonable. He told me about the slow leak, he uses a thing that turns purple to show that it has a slow leak. He worked while he was answering my questions and was very professional. I was so pleased.

I know the one guy who came. He was great. He did a very nice job. He did everything right up to snuff. He put a plug in. He put a cord in from the disposal. Everything as far as I was concern was right up to top-notch electrical standards. I felt very comfortable with the job after he left. I will absolutely use him in the future if need be.

HEP Inc We had won a $3,000 bathroom remodel at a home show from HEP Inc. We have had a terrible time trying to get them to come to the house, actually they still have $1,500 worth of work to do. They haven't come back and it has now been over a year. They have a definite lack of communication, management keeps changing hands, so there is no continuation of service and the workers they did send out didn't even know why they were there or what kind of work they were supposed to do. (We had already told the managers what electrical & plumbing jobs we wanted to be completed.) Additional on 4/13/12: They gave me a call after seeing this report. They came to our home to assess what they still needed to complete and what needed to be corrected. I will update this report again once everything is finalized. 7/7/2012 update: HEP completed the work within two weeks of the initial report. Workers were professional and completed the work to our satisfaction. The company seems to be growing quickly and is now trying to work on customer service issues. Hopefully, that will be their main focus. We updated our ratings according to latest service. We might consider using them again, but not sure. Thanks Angie's List! Without you, we would still be waiting....

They were very responsive, came out the same day I called. However their service charges are tricky, it sounds good that they offer half off service calls but then they want to charge every 15 minute increments so basically you are still paying the full service charge.