ARS / Rescue Rooter Manassas

They are very responsive and very competent. We will get a phone call before they are to come. They call us if they are running late. It is really nice to have them to be up to date on what is going on.

We used ARS to replace our furnace and water heater a couple of years ago and we have used them for the warrantee contract since then. When the air conditioner started going out, we called them and they showed up the next day. They tried to repair the old system but it completely quit working a day later so we had it replaced. We are quite happy with the new system that we have.

He is a hard worker. His estimate is either on target or under. He also finishes as promised.

I was extremely impressed with Roop, the sales person, who came to give us an estimate. We had 4 companies come to look at the heat pump and provide estimates for replacements. Roop was the third person to visit. He did the best job of any of the sales folks in explaining what a heat pump does, the differences between a dual and single stage compressor and why one rather than the other would be better for our house, his opinons of media filters, vs regular filters vs electronic air cleaners, variable speed fans, etc. He took a ton of time answering all my questions. We ultimatley decided to go with a different product line so we didn't use ARS for our install but due to Roop's professionalism we would definately consider using ARS if it doesn't work with the new company.

I have been a customer of ARS for more than 15 years. They installed the original 3 systems when we built our house many years ago. In the past couple of years, they have replaced two of those systems. A few years ago, they implemented a $99 diagnostic fee. I did not like it, but felt an obligation to stay w/them because I believed they knew our systems. I attempted to go on line and make an appointment to service two humidifiers. Nowhere did it say that they had diagnostic fees or that they had gone up. It gave me several different two hour options for appointments. I chose 10-12. I received a phone call from a young lady who told me my choice was four hour windows; not what is on line. Then she told me that it would cost $119 for the 1st humidifier diagnostic and an additional $99 for the 2nd humidifier diagnostic. That is $218 (or $1308 an hour) for something that will take less than 10 minutes because I already know what the problem is. I told the young lady so that the technician would show up with the proper parts. I thanked her for her time and told her that ARS was losing a really good customer. Several moments later she called and told me she'd made an error, and that the above charges were to look at each HVAC system and that there would be an additional charge of $39 each to look at the humidifiers. I once again told her that was outrageous. I only needed the humidifiers looked at. And then she was back to the $218 gig to look at the humidifiers. I do not know about the people who work there but I know no one who makes that kind of money.

Our experience with ARS has been very positive. The service people have been very professional (on time, put booties on when entering the house, thorough in inspections). We only had one emergency call after a gas leak, and a serviceman came quickly and even apologized for charging for such an easy fix (loose pipe connection). After our normal service, the company sent a thank you letter to me for leaving a positive voicemail feedback for our regular serviceman, who I now request.

He installed a new Carrier System. He did not try to up sell us and it was nice that he recommend what he thought would be the best for us. He came back out to check on our humidity levels, etc. He was very honest and did not try to sell us anything. He gave us great tips to help us without costing us anything. He is a very honest person and we really appreciated that.

VERY BADLY The service man arrived hours later than promised, charged an excessive amount for work that took barely 1 1/2 hours, and gave us a big sales pitch for future services at a discount if I bought it now. These claims of the value of future service have proven to be worthless. They charged $105 for the service call and repair cost estimate, another $232 to install a $40 thermostat for a total of about $335. They then gave us a big sales pitch claiming that if we paid only $225 more and bought a service plan that day (normally worth $325), we'd get a package of work worth $950. This included a cleaning and service to be done that day to insure the system was working properly (which should have been done as part of the initial diagnosis). This cleaning took the service man about 20 minutes, and of course he gave the system a clean bill of health. This $950 worth of work was to include subsequent system check ups and service estimates for free, and Priority Service. The tenant has a disabled child in the house so the promise of priority service was appealing, and it distracted me from the fact that I had already been badly over charged. Labor for the installation of a simple thermostat should have cost about $75 for a total of perhaps as much as $200, not $335 and definitely not $557. Later I protested the price to an ARS manager who said he'd review the charges. He called me back and told me he'd reviewed the charges and decided they were completely fair and there was no basis for a reduction. In spite of the manager s denial, of my claim, I got an unexpected refund of $55 in the mail. The refund should have been closer to $350 to include the refund for a worthless service contract. Worse yet, when I called ARS on Saturday 7 June 08 to repair my air conditioning, I was told they would try to get a service man out by Tuesday 10 June 08, but that they'd put us on a waiting list, and that they would contact us before they came out. Our Priority Service didn't provide priority and was of no value. The next time we heard from ARS was Tuesday when the serviceman arrived unannounced at the house. By then, I had gotten estimates from two other companies, the parts had been located and installed, and the air conditioning was back in operation. Note the other companies had given me estimates within hours of being called (not days), and I didn t have a Priority Service Contract with them.

They come out on a contract to make sure everything is fine, they also have helped us fix our furnace when it went down. They are good, they are on time, friendly, and helpful.

I have a service contract with ARS. The latest was for an A/C, though they also do other jobs as well.

Additionally, their advertisement of $50 if they do not arrive within the time promised is false advertising. Two of the calls were well outside of the window by hours and I requested the $50. They said they would review and after 1 year, I am still waiting for those checks.