Chim-Chimney Sweep Inc

First time I called the man answered the phone by just saying hello. I didn't know if I had the business or a wrong number. After asking if this was Chim Chimney Sweep, he said yes. I requested an appointment and he said he could have a guy out tomorrow at 3pm. The next day I waited at home till about 4:30 to 5pm with no one showing so I called and left a voicemail since no one answered. I never got a call back. The next day after my appointment I was not home and I got a call stating they were on their way to my house. I explained that the appointment was the previous day and I was not home at the moment. So I had to reschedule. The next week someone came to provide their service. The man was less than engaging when a question was asked. He basically used the shop-vac to vacuum the ashes from the two fireplaces and that was all. He brought in a brush but I never saw him attach the rods and clean up the chimneys. About 15 after he left I called to ask about the service provided. When I spoke to the owner if the service provided brushing the chimney out, he immediately said yes he did that. I said how do you know, you were not there and the guy just left. He defended his employee without knowing anything about what I saw and basically acted like I must have missed it. He started describing how they vacuum then brush by attaching additional arms to the brush till they reach the length they need to clean the entire chimney the they vacuum again to clean up again any ash or substance the brush knocked off. This service only turn on the vac once for each fireplace, not before brushing and then again after as he stated. Oh and somehow with 4 adults in the house and me watching we missed all the rods being attached to the brush and used to clean. So basically it was $270 for someone to come out and shop-vac the ash out of the actual fireplace which I could have done with my shop-vac for free. The service man that came did say I needed a couple of things but did a poor job of explaining it to me. His demeanor did not make me feel this company was on top of their game, not even close. The response from the owner when I called did not give me the feeling that what I said held any merit that he was believing anything I said. I did not get the confidence I would have liked from their service and will be calling out another company to make sure the fireplace is safe and clean and any further work that is needed. I just do not trust using them at this point. I will consider the $270 as a lesson learned.

Alas, when one asks a provider a question about possible work being done, the least you expect is a reply. But when my first email didn't get answered, I sent another, then another, then one to Angie's List to see if the provider was still in business (I still don't know if that is true as I've yet to receive a reply), then yes, a FOURTH email suggesting that perhaps something happened to the earlier ones. But no answers ever came...this over a week of sending messages waiting for a reply. When this happens, I can only question the reliability of the provider. If they don't even have the courtesy to answer --to say they're too busy or don't do that type of work or are out of town-- then I have to wonder what they will be like if I ever did call to use them. Would they show up? Would they answer my phone calls? Would they even be able to be contacted? If the record of NOT responding is any record, I would have to think that this firm 's work might be reflective of its communication. There are simply too many other companies out there that are quick and reliable in this field. For myself, I always use their calling back or emailing back as a gauge of their reliability and quality. Unfortunately, the only thing I now know about this company is that they never respond... Admittedly, it could have been worse. Had I paid for work and still not received an answer, I would indeed be even more worried. As it is, I can simply move on to another provider (we've used several others in the past...but I was faked out by the good reviews of this provider and thought I'd try someone new). My recommendation to this provider...at the very least, check your emails and phone messages. You might be losing more customers than you're aware of...

unknown

I called and left a message after hours and received a call back the next morning. We set up an appointment for that same day. He showed up on time, performed the service, cleaned up after himself, charged what I was quoted, and was done in about an hour.

The company arrived at the appointed time to clean both chimneys. I believe he did a satisfactory cleaning and was very courteous. However, I placed an order for the chimney caps at that time and had to call repeatedly to follow up on the order and installation. They were finally installed 3 weeks late.

Did not show up for the first appointment I had; did not let me know what happened until I called them to follow up. Were 45 minutes EARLY for the 2nd appointment -- how did they know I would be home yet? Did not know what service they were performing at my house. In fact, both the receptionist who called the morning of my appointment and the service technician who showed up at my house thought I was having my swamp cooler serviced rather than my chimneys.