CroppMetcalfe

They sent two plumbers to snake the sewer drain and clear the blockage (our second one in two months!). They took a video of the line and determined that it was in WSSC's portion of the service and helped us report the issue to WSSC (WSSC requires that a licensed plumber present the information before they decide whether it is their responsibility to correct). C-M stayed with it and provided the utility with all the information that they needed to get my line repaired. C-M charged me no additional money for all the time they spent being our advocate to the utility - and I appreciated that.

Our repair technician was very nice. However, I feel ripped off. We have the gold maintenance plan on both of our systems and were told we would not have to pay for labor when technicians came out to provide us service. Today the technician came to check why water was leaking from our furnace. He said there was a clog in the drain and that we should have a specific value, EZ Trap, EZT 230, installed because if we ever go on vacation and it clogs again we could have 3 feet of water in the basement. The part the technician installed costs $30-$35 wholesale and Cropp Metcalfe charged me $178. The technician also said we should have a "water alarm," installed on the floor near the furnace, again for the same reasons-if the alarm goes off due to a leak it shuts off the furnace. The part the technician used for this repair costs about $35 wholesale. Cropp Metcalfe price was $151. When I questioned why the prices for both items were so high, given the prices of the parts were significantly less, the repair supervisor said they are entitled to markup the prices on the parts. Also, labor for "safety items" is not covered in the gold plan. We had been told, when we purchased the plan, that we'd never have to pay for labor. A word to the wise....if a Cropp Metcalfe technician comes out, for whatever reason, be ready to write a check for something even if you have the gold plan. Additionally, the "analysis of the problem" took less than 5 minutes and the labor charge (waived because we had the gold plan) was $106. The entire job took less and 45 minutes and the total labor cost was about $375. If you call a technician out to your home be prepared to write a check even if you have a gold maintenance plan as they try to sell you stuff by instilling fear into you. We will be shopping for another company to provide us two new maintenance plans as soon as these expire. Don't make the same mistake and go with Cropp Metcalfe.

Technician arrive at the start of the schedule "window" (a rarity). Excellent service. Top marks.

I've been using them for 20 plus years.

The service was performed in an excellent manner.

I have received several emails from Angie?s List with the subject line ?CroppMetcalfe should get what they deserve.? That makes me think that maybe I?m not the only one who had a problem with them. I called them because I had a leak under my kitchen sink. I was not a member of Angie?s List at the time, but they had good reviews in Best Pick Report for Fairfax County. They made it clear that there would be a charge of $89 for the estimate and it would be applied to the bill. I agreed to that (this was my first mistake). The guy said I needed a new garbage disposal. He said it would be $608 to replace it. I agreed to that (my second mistake). Later it occurred to me that garbage disposals don?t cost that much. I found that Home Depot sells the exact same model for $99. So I paid $509 for installation? I called CroppMetcalfe and left a message telling them I thought I paid too much and let them defend it before I wrote a bad review in Best Pick Reports. They never returned my call. Best Pick never posted my review on BestPickReports.com even though I gave them my name and phone number for verification.

Over the years, each time a technician would come out, they would always say you need this and that. Back in 2012, the technician came out and said that my heater needed to be replaced, since in the past they have always tried to sell me something else, I went with another company. That company "Cypress" had a deal buy the heater get an AC free, well come to find out they marked up the heater so the AC was not free. I called CroppMetcalfe to get a quote on a new service contract, no one ever returned my call, so I found a great HVAC and I have given my opinion on the new company.

I called CroppMetcalfe on July 9, 2014 requesting to have a technician come to my home and do the following: (1) tell me the kind of expansion valve that was installed in my air handler; (2) tell me if it was the appropriate valve; (3) review the quality of the installation. I thought CroppMetcalfe would be able to do this because the company that installed the air handler (W.B. Maske Sheet Metal Works, Inc.) was bought or merged into CroppMetcalfe. I was led to believe that the above would be done with a diagnostic assessment. The following day, a CroppMetcalfe technician came to my home to provide me with a diagnostic test. He stated he could not give me the information that I sought. Morevoer, he missed telling me, or created, the following issues: (1) the distributor feeder tube was rubbing the evaporation coil; and, (2) the TVX bulb was not tightly mounted to the vapor line. I found it extremely difficult to communicate effectively with the technician because English was clearly not his first language. I consider myself particularly skilled in communicating with adult English language learners. I teach ESOL. I expressed my dissatisfaction with more than one customer service representative. Nothing was done. The inspection was a waste of $86.95.

I purchased the Gold Service Contract and have had no problems with CroppMetcalfe. I have nothing but the highest regard for the company and its employees. They have been absolutely great!

Went very well. I have a older unit but the technician did not try to do more than needed on it.

They just did their spring cleaning. I have a contract with them. They tell about any repairs and they give me a discount on the repairs. I get a priority on the weekends for the repairs. They do good work.

This went perfectly. A late spring snowstorm postponed the termite treatment, but they called me early to advise of the delay, and still offered to do just the pest control. They performed all services as promised.

Called to get estimate on capping drain pipe, installing new plumbing for sink and dishwasher and replacing outside hose valve. First call was transferred from operator to rep. Rep said she had to transfer me to plumbing to get accurate quote. Plumbing dept told me what he would do but wonder why I was transferred to him. He transferred me back to rep. Re-explained what I needed to rep. she put my info in their system (name address phone #). Call went dead. She disconnected me. I waited for call back, none. I called again Spoke to a different rep. All my info was in system (so other rep could have called me back. Explained what I needed. To provide quote there is an $89.00 service call fee (credited to bill if I use them). While I can appreciate that quotes do take time, I am unwilling to pay $89 for the pleasure of getting a quote.

I used CroppeMetcalf on three different occasions earlier this year while making some plumbing improvements to sell my house. Each time, the technicians were on time, courtesy, focused on cleanliness and getting the job done right, efficiently and with attention to saving me money. The plumbing technicians are not commissioned based...I learned early on when I had Nugent & Sons out to provide estimates that they were commissioned based on the services or products they sold me. Specifically, one of the services I had done (because I am limited on characters in this review).. Two of the four bathroom sink faucet handles in my double vanity were leaking. The technician could not fix it but diligently searched for the manufacturer of these odd faucets (on the internet and on the phone) trying to get replace my parts so that I would not have to have new faucets installed. Would definitely recommend CroppeMetcalf!

My first recommendation is do not buy insulation services from a pest control salesperson. I was oversold on the need for this additional $8000.00 worth of work. From the very beginning, this salesperson got things wrong. My first realization of how confused he was occurred when I received literature from the finance company - He had given them the wrong name. This guy couldn't even get my name right! I had to take more time to straighten that out. He quoted me a price for work for 1600 sf of attic space - I'm now going to have a few other companies come in and verify whether or not I actually have 1600 sf of attic space. I think it's less !! I initially called this company for pest control services. I had seen evidence of mice in the garage and wanted services to rid the garage of critters coming in. When I initially saw his estimate ($8000.00) for this work, I wasn't interested at all. He was quoting a price for removing all attic insulation and providing new blow-in insulation. They would also do a sanitation of attic space because he saw some droppings up there. Thought it was alot of money for work that I didn't really need right now. He proceeded to tell me there would be energy rebates available since I was improving the insulation in my house - in addition to fact that I would see significant differences in my heating and cooling bill. (I have alot of this communication in emails as well) He told me I had R11 batting up in the attic and he was installing blow-in insulation of R-30. He also told me he saw remnants of mice nest in the old batting and he thought everything should be removed. Thinking I would get some rebate/credit for this work because of the energy savings/improvements, I agreed to have the work done. When the workers removed the insulation, I asked if there was much evidence of mice droppings or nests, they said no. When I asked what R value the batting was that they removed, they said R-30. I again went back by email to the salesperson (WHO IS A PEST CONTROL SALESPERSON) and asked what R value was in my attic that he was replacing - again, he said R-11. When I went to various websites so look up how to get these wonderful rebates that this salesperson referred to, I was much surprised to find out that this company should have performed an energy performance audit prior to doing this work to enable me to get any kind of rebate at all. He didn't mention this. AND you wouldn't get any energy credits/rebates UNLESS THERE ARE ENERGY USAGE IMPROVEMENTS. Well, if I'm going from R-30 to R-30, there certainly wouldn't be any energy improvements - so no rebates or credits at all could be received for this work - EVER! I believe this guy lied to me regarding this work. When I called the company to talk to someone who has some authority, I get a pest control supervisor - of course I would - this guy is a pest control worker. The supervisor informed me that this work was performed solely to rid attic of pests. Hmmm.... the guys working up in the attic didn't see evidence of pests up there. The home inspector didn't see any signs of pests up there when he inspected house as part of buying process. I hadn't been in this house a year yet. I WAS NOT SOLD THIS INSULATION ON THE PREMISE THAT IT WAS FOR PEST REMOVAL ONLY. I WAS ABSOLUTELY TOLD I WOULD SEE ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS/SAVINGS AND WOULD BE ABLE TO GET SOME REBATES FOR THIS IMPROVEMENT WORK! Bottom Line - If I was told I should remove all insulation in attic because of attic infiltration of pests ONLY, I certainly would have gotten a few more estimates before spending $8000.00 !!!!!!!!!!! This guy told me he was improving the insulation in the attic and upgrading what I had from R-11 to R-30. Hmmm again, the insulation removal workers said they were removing R-30 insulation. I trusted this company and am now screwed out of alot of money for nothing. There will be no energy savings as this guy originally stated to me both verbally face-to-face AND in emails and text messages -- because he was replacing R30 batting with R30 blown-in. This company owes me something for this huge mistake. At the very least, they owe me some energy improvements as originally stated would be provided. What a rip-off. BUYER BEWARE. Fraudulent practices.

The technician (George Faltaos) was very professional and informative. He explained to me what needed to be done and then did it. He also told me that I should not have mulch around my AC unit and suggested that I put rocks around it instead. He then offered to clean out the unit with the hose which I let him do. I felt that George went above and beyond what was expected and I was very happy with his service.

Their work was professional, they very efficient in going about making the bypass work. They minimized the damage to my house and did an amazing job cleaning up after their effort.

Have an usually sized water heater. Worked with Alan Oddenino to ensure the right one was ordered. Installation went as planned.

My house is over 40 years old with a crawl space that makes a haunted house look like a Barbie doll house. Add a water leak to the area and imagine having to crawl in there to fix it. Thats exactly what Cropp Metcalfe did. The technician (Matt) was awesome. Punctual, assertive and straight to the point. He diagnosed the issue right away and proceeded to detail what was going to take place during the repair process. He crawled in the ground, repaired the leak and came out smiling. The job was dirty and difficult, but the professionalism and fantastic repay time made my worries of foundation damage, and other possible problems disappear. Good job!

Before Angie's list, I used Crop Metcalf for all the jobs around my house. They were generally reliable and going through the yellow pages down the list of contractors for my needs was just too difficult. To often, when shopping quotes, I'd end up with sloppy work when the prices were low, or really bad service, or even higher prices. Crop Metcalf became my "go-to" company because even though they were generally overpriced, I just couldn't seem to find anyone else that was any good to come onsite to do a quality job on time. Angie's list has changed that, and my life has gotten substantially easier. Unfortunately for Crop Metcalf, I no longer need to sole source my repairs and replacement of major home systems to them. Overall, the Crop Metcalf does a quality job. Their prices are consistently higher than every other company though. In their defense, they do do quality work though. They've installed a furnace for me, and did a decent job (although they failed to install the filter tray at first, and then installed it improperly afterwards - although again in their defense, when I told them that the job wasn't done correctly, they sent out a crew to take care of it immediately and I just never bothered to tell them about the improper installation since I've been able to stuff a filter into the system). Most recently though I called them for a quote on an AC replacement. I met with their sales rep who was on time and very punctual. Unfortunately, I still have not heard back from him - which is why I can't rate Crop Metcalf any better than a "C."

The estimate was lower than others - by $1000 - for a more expensive unit. The salesman spent a lot of time with me - measuring every room of the house, looking at the radiators, asked me specific questions, asked about any problems in the house, and if I had any concerns. He also asked about what type of unit I wanted and then recommended a particular system. The salesman also came out to the house several times to make sure the estimate and total proposal was spot on. It was actually a nice document and well put-together. It included a price break down too. He gave me a lot of instructions and a 5 year maintenance program. The installers were fantastic too and explained everything.

Clerical confusion created a situation where what was communicated to me by the initial technician for a roach visit was not transmitted back to the office - which was that an initial one-time visit costing $255 could be transformed into the first visit of an annual contract costing $440, with the first payment applied to the annual cost. That led to my being charged $110 each time I was visited throughout the year, with outstanding invoices eventually exceeding the $440 that should have been my total bill. Several conversations with the accounting department led to frustration and continuation of the problem (techs coming out, charging me the regular amount). The problem was compounded because of scheduling confusion - there was no advance notice provided by techs that they were coming on a certain date (else I could have refused service until the billing questions were resolved), and if I wasn't there, the tech sprayed outside and left a bill in the mailbox. The logistic problems were caused by miscommunication (original tech should have told me that they would always come every 3 months on a certain date. Then I would have known they were coming), and a phone number on my end not having voice mail (they claim they called but no one answered). Anyway, after I posted an initial review yesterday (this version is an updated review), a manager called me right away and made it right. He also explained some of their policies as to why I didn't get advance notice of service visits, and acknowledged that there had been administrative confusion about my account in their system. I appreciated his effort and the situation is resolved. On the actual quality of service, I have no complaints. Roaches were well-beaten back after a few treatments and the company kept their guarantee (when I saw some roaches after the first visit, they came out again to beat them back some more).

The heat pump in the attic was not working. It kept blowing the circuit breaker. He checked the system in the attic and determined that the problem had to be in the wiring of our 2 yr old house because it was not tripping the breaker at the unit, but at the main breaker box for the house. He quickly discovered that the breaker itself was very loose and apparently never tightened down when it was installed.

Sometime in the late 80's and early 90's, we were having winter somewhat like what we are having right now. It was very cold and it was miserable outside and our heating system stopped working. I called 3 different places and the only one that responded and said they would get back to me within 24 hours was CroppMetcalfe and in the interim, talking to my brother who had worked with some HVAC told me what to look for so I went out and I was able to fix it. I called CroppMetcalfe and told them that I was able to fix it and they said they don't have to come on an emergency thing, but they can do a follow up just to make sure everything was okay. Ever since then, they had been my HVAC person. They do my mother-in-law, they do my brother-in-law, they do a couple of my neighbors because they are 100% dependable and quality service people. They call you before they are coming. They are usually a few minutes early. The technician will most often talk with you and explain things if you want to. They don't seem to be bothered if you're trying to understand what they are doing and ask them questions. They seem to work with you really well. They don't pressure you to buy anything new, but they will tell you about products that they have. For instance, one guy that I got serviced this house 10-12 times. When the circuit system was going down, he recommended that I call them to have one of their managers come out to check the system. When I was going to replace my system, I had been told by my friends that I would have to really upgrade my system. He came out and said that they have a system out there that he knew would be coming house. He came in and I was able to get a big discount because I was already a people, but it was the company that was making the product that they are going to install having a discount going on. My heating bills truly went down probably between 15 and 20% after that system was put in. The programmable thermostat made the quality of the house so much better. They don't pressure you with sales things, but they tell you about things that may improve the quality. They are probably more of a middle of the road in some places. You have probably heard of friends who have had service with ABC Company and XYZ Company and everything else, and they are probably middle of the road, but the quality is so much better. It is a one-time shop. They come out and fix it and you don't have a problem. I have used them since the late 80's or early 90's. I have been with them all that time. Other people ask me who I get and I tell them CroppMetcalfe.

On the coldest night ind decades, our furnace stopped working at 5 pm. Phone support was great, telling me to expect someone soon and he then called back to confirm. This is after striking out with several other companies I was calling at ramdom, and calling their "after hours" numbers too. But Jason arrived within an hour and found the heating problem quickly and fixed it. But after I described some other issues with our unit, he went the next step and used some sophisticated methods to diagnose design flaws in the ductwork capacity that was causing our coil to freeze up periodically in the summers. All the other techs before had misdiagnosed that problem. So we got our heat fixed AND our a/c plan of action all at the same visit. Great job Jason!