Air Conditioning Specialists

6/13/2015, 1:45 AM I awoke to find my A/C unit had quit working. I called the Air Conditioning Specialists, with whom I've had a maintenance service agreement for 5+ years, to request an emergency service call. They advertise 24/7 emergency service, and again, I was a long-time customer in good standing. The operator told me a technician would call me soon to arrange the visit. 6/13/2015, 3:30 AM I called the company back because I hadn't heard from the technician. The operator advised me that she would "page" the technician again and have him call me to provide an ETA. 6/13/2015, 6:30 AM I call again because I hadn't heard from anyone with the company. The operator told me that the on-call technician said that he received the notification that I require service and he would contact me closer to 8:00 AM. So much for 24-hour service. 6/13/2015, 8:15 AM I call the company again because still no one has called to confirm the service appointment. The woman who answered the phone knew who I was and knew my situation and said that the technician had been out until 12:45 AM on another call, went home to eat, and apparently didn't get the messages regarding my service call. The operator said the tech would be at my house between 10:00 and 12:00, after he made another service stop that somehow must've come in before my 1:45 AM call? 6/13/2015, 10:05 AM The technician arrives, diagnoses the problem and fixes it within 10 minutes. FANTASTIC! Unsolicited by me, he apologizes directly to me for not being there sooner and explains how he was out late at another call, went home to eat, and fell asleep. I accepted his apology and we went on quite cordially for the remainder of the visit. There was not a negative word said by either party during the entire visit. The technician calculated the payment owed, and presented me with the bill via iPad. I provided my AMEX card and he swiped the card for the full amount the tech said that I owed. $238 6/15/2015, 4:58 PM Allen Smith, OWNER of the company, calls me and aggressively and rudely accuses me of having not paid my bill from 6/13/15. When I protest, his tone becomes accusatory and more aggressive like he was going to bully me into paying. When pressed to explain how that was possible given that I had a credit card receipt, he told me the technician said I had refused to pay the $100 diagnostic fee. This was absolutely a complete lie. I never refused to pay for any part of the services rendered, and hadn't even asked for a discount on the price since they dropped the ball on the 24-hour service claim. When I attempted to back the conversation up and explain the series of events as I recalled them, Allan interrupted me with "I know all about you calling at 1:45 in the morning. I dont even want to hear about that anymore." And when I mentioned that I had requested on 6/13/15 (Saturday) for a manager to call me about my complaint with their "24 hour" service, Allan chastised me by saying that "it's only Monday. It was just Saturday that you asked and we're not even through Monday of 100-degree heat, so yeah, no one has called you yet." After a heated exchange in which I lost my temper with these accusations, I told Allan to send me a bill for what he thought I owed, and to cancel my agreement with his company. He indicated that he would be glad to do that and hung up. This was the MOST unprofessional interaction I have EVER had with a business person - especially one to whom I had been a loyal customer for several years. AWFUL customer service. 6/15/15, 5:09 PM Allen Smith calls me back and leaves a voice message for me indicating that there was a mix-up and he had mistakenly called me when he should've called another customer, who really had refused to pay his diagnostic fee that day. He also said he spoke to the technician after he called me and learned that the technician had WAIVED the diagnostic fee for my service because he felt bad that it took him 8 hours to arrive at my house. So Allen didn't even bother to fact check a single thing with his technician before he called me and falsely accused me of not paying my bill. He apologized profusely. This is too little, too late. This is NOT how you treat any customer. Allen valued his $100 diagnostic fee so much that he lost 1 loyal customer, and 2 more customers who I had referred who will be cancelling their contracts with AC Specialists. Penny wise, pound foolish.

The work was completed in a timely manner. After inspecting the installation of the duct work i found some major problems which i addressed to there QA who made it sound like no big deal, but if i hadnt climbed every square inch of the installation i would have never found the issues. After climbing in my attic i found they never installed a new return, tried to hide a register that wasnt hooked up ( they ran the duct insulation over the old duct line to try and hide it, found another register that was improperly hooked up ( i could reach inside the register from the attic because of inadequate sealing of the register to duct connection) and lastly they didnt replace my main return. After calling there QA and having to justify myself the finally came and fixed it. If i wouldnt have climbed my attic which i dont think most people would i would have never found these issues.

I was pleased with the service call until I was quoted the charge but did not make an issue of it with the techs and paid them with a credit card. When I called the home office to see if there was a mistake in the charge I was told that it was correct. I asked to speak to a manager or the owner (Mr. Smith). I was told that Mr. Smith would not take my call but I could send him an email concerning the issue. I sent him the email quoted below: "Mr. Smith, First, a little background. In June last year you installed a mini-split system in my room over the garage. There was a minor issue with the condensate drain which was resolved quickly and I was pleased with the experience. This week I had a problem with my geothermal system not reversing to heat so I called AC Specialists based on my positive experience with the mini-split system. Ryan Somers and a trainee (Philip) came on the service call. Both were professional, neat, and amiable and Ryan was especially knowledgable. He tested the wiring from the thermostat to the furnace and found two wires were shorting out. There were spare wires available so he used two of them to make a good connection and it solved the problem. I had a $69 coupon from Angie?s List for a refund on the diagnostic and after applying that the bill was $485. So it was really $554 for a little less than 2 hours of work with no parts involved. I didn?t make an issue with the techs and paid by credit card. Recognizing overhead, expertise, etc. I still think $275 + an hour for one tech seems excessive so I thought maybe I was charged for two people even though Phillip was just in a training mode and other than a connection he did for practice he did not contribute to the work. I was hoping that I had found a reliable and affordable contractor for any future HVAC work; the reliable I?ve found however at $275 per hour for all personnel at the job site I?m afraid is not affordable." Mr .Smith responded after about two weeks with what I perceived as a very condescending email that basically said that I didn't know anything about the HVAC business and that someone had to pay for his overhead including training employees; and that the bill stands. I took no further action and about six weeks after that I received another email from Mr. Smith saying that he just found my original email (the one quoted above) and couldn't remember if he had responded. He reiterated that he believed that I didn't know anything about the HVAC business and he thought the charge was good but I could, quote "Pay what you WANT to pay. Let the office know what that is, and we will get you a credit. Thank you." I still believe AC Specialists is a good company and this has been an unfortunate experience for both of us but can't see doing more business under these circumstances. I recommend getting an estimate after the initial diagnosis before continuing with the work on any service call. In my case the work was basically done as part of the diagnosis.

They were absolutely wonderful, and did quality work.

I didn't renew it this year because the price went up too high.

My experience has been good. We did a $250 service plan. They're courteous and on time. If something breaks, they come out. They come out periodically to service my equipment.

They were very prompted and professional. I am so pleased with the Mitsubishi ductless unit they installed. I highly recommend there services, I only wish I had discovered them earlier when I had replaced my ac/ heating system.

After the budget breaking equipment question is decided, it comes down to the install. A/C Specialists was very professional from estimate to install. Ron, our estimator, was available to answer all of our questions (even when husband called from out of town on Sunday). He recommended a unit that paired well with the existing upstairs unit. The price was comparable to other estimates and very fair considering amount of work done. The 4 man crew was highly skilled, very knowledgeable, and completely professional throughout the install. They took the time to explain what they were doing and answer any questions I had. They made sure to treat my home as well or better than their own home, the job site was always very clean and neat. During the install they rebalanced my ductwork to completely eliminate any hot or cold spots in the house. A/C Specialists is recommended by the BBB, and they are a factory certified Trane installer. The new system combined with rebalancing the house lowered my electric bill by almost $100 in the first month. I would definitely recommend A/C Specialists for any HVAC replacement or repair you may need.

Great job all around. One year ago, they sent a "comfort specialist" out to evaluate our needs. Rob came to our home and provided us with an estimate, but we weren't ready to go ahead with it at that time. This summer, we were and the company happened to send him out again. He could have just gone off his last assessment, but told us that since a year had passed, he'd go ahead and re-check our old system in the attic and out back; he didn't cut corners. We accepted Rob's offer and he got us in for installation for the following week. All the workers were great. They took care to use shoe covers and carpet covers to protect our home during the installation. After pulling the old system out of the attic, they showed us how it was clogged with dust and advised us on filters, even supplying a 10-pack to us at no extra charge. They also repaired some ducting free of charge. After the job was done, they didn't just leave us hanging. After about a month, the system would turn off by itself, by popping the breaker switch. They have a number so you can call at any time and they send someone out to see what's wrong. At first, they couldn't figure out why the new system was popping the breaker switch, so they sent out an electrical specialist. He couldn't complete the work, but a week later, they sent out an electrician who did some rewiring and got the system up and running. Since neither the AC system nor the installation was at fault, it wasn't covered under warranty, so I had to pay extra for the electrician's work. I didn't have a problem with this, but I was disappointed that they also wanted me to cover the $79 fee for the diagnostic check-up. The office explained that it was because I had called after-hours and that the problem was not the fault of the new system nor installation. I still wasn't satisfied, since at the time, I didn't know I would be incurring said fee, I was just trying to get the AC fixed so we could beat the heat. So I called the office back and spoke to Darah, who promised she would talk with the owner and try to get a refund of this fee. Days turned into weeks turned into a month and I have to say I had my doubts whether she would follow through on her promise. But she followed up with me periodically, calling to let me know that she was on it, and true to her word, we eventually got a check in the mail for the $79 refund. Good customer service is hard to come by these days, but I have to say that Darah, for one, sure understands how important it is to go the extra mile, because it was her diligence and tact that got me the refund. With so many air conditioning contractors in the Hampton Roads area, it was hard to know who to go with. I am glad that I finally went with AC Specialists for their professionalism, hard work, good service, standing behind their product/installation and follow-up efforts to make sure the customer is satisfied from start to finish. This company comes with my highest recommendation.

We were very pleased with the promptness and professionalism of the sales staff and the installation staff. The price was better than what we were quoted for lower quality systems. The salesman pointed out that the intake vent size from the house was inappropriately small, which shortens the life of the A/C. Our prior service provider confirmed this when we asked about it, but had never brought it up...probably because they did the initial installation 20 years ago and the replacement 12 years ago. The only problem we had was water pooling under the A/C initially. My husband went out to check on the brand new A/C after arriving home from work and noted that water was collecting under the unit. He called the company and a service technician got back to us immediately, even though it was 8pm and offered to come right out. The issue was minor and fixed promptly.

Had the unit serviced. Because of the age of the system and what was wrong, they recommended replacement. Rep was out next day and gave us an estimate. That was Thursday. We were leaving for vacation on Sunday. They were able to come out and get the system installed Saturday morning. They were there by 8 and out by 330-4. The left no mess and explained everything they did. We just had some outside landscaping done the week before and it looked untouched after they installed the outside condenser.

They did an excellent job! They did everything they said they would do and packed some stuff in the vents under the house. It was top knotch. THey also installed an in home generator probabaly close to a year ago and they did an excellent job on that as well. We hired them from their good work from the previous job. We would definately use them again.

Called and scheduled with their office. Installer Supervisor Arrik called me the day of letting me know when he'd arrive as requested. Arrik arrived and discussed his intentions and evaluation process then when to work. Upon evaluating my system he came back with a very reasonable quote . Upon accepting Arrik performed the installation. During the process he discovered and informed me of some issues with my system which he corrected on the spot. At completion he walked me through the setup and operation of the thermostat system and gave me his card stating "to call him anytime" if I have any issues. I did reach out a little after hours expecting voicemail and Arrik, being the professional and man of his word, answered my call and questions. Over the weekend I experienced elevated humidity levels and after contacting Arrik via email, he came by and adjusted my system no charge. He even fixed a vibration in my outside unit that had been there since it was installed 5 years ago. Arrik was a pleasure to work with providing a professional service top to bottom. I would highly recommend Air Conditioning Specialist!

We would like to thank your expert technicians at Air Conditioning Specialists for performing such a great job of removing the old ductwork and installing new ductwork at our home at 1330 Roosevelt Drive, Portsmouth, VA 23701. They also hooked up our gas cooktop and redid the electrical and gaslines to the unit. The job went smoothly from start to finish. The crew was professional and courteous, and diligently worked until the late hours of the evening to get our air conditioning system working. They not only crawled into the small space under the house to remove the old dilapidated ductwork, but they also removed the entire gaspack unit and reinstalled it properly, including the electrical and gas lines. When the electrical wiring did not work, they troubleshot the problem and found out that there had been a split system previously installed with an extra exterior fuse box. Once they found this and flipped the switch, the unit purred like a kitten: crisis diverted. They installed a new rain shroud and ensured everything was properly working before they left. The supervisor came by a couple of times to check on the job and make sure everything was progressing as intended. Even though the gas company did not come to cut on the gas until 2 days after they finished, we called to let them know, and they came back to the house to ensure the gas heat was working as well as other gas appliances. We were extremely impressed with the way they got the job done quickly so that we could have AC during some of the hottest days of the month. Please extend our deepest appreciation and thanks to Rocky and the rest of the crew.

Absolutely Professional - Absolutely Excellent.. Air Conditioning Specialists replaced a 14 year old builder installed 2 1/2 ton AC unit and gas furnace. From my initial inquiry through installation, AC Specialists exceeded my expectations for follow up, communication and execution. Kris and Scott were great to deal with to promptly get a proposal in place. DJ and Nate did an AWESOME job of installing the unit and making sure that any questions on my part were addressed. I came away from the experience knowing that I was dealing with people that are serious about doing excellent work at a fair price. They were not the lowest price, but they were the best value. A+++.

I had air conditioning specialists install a Trane heat pump last summer, and it has performed so well we decided to replace the downstairs unit, which was 20 years old, and grossly undersized. It was a 1.5 ton unit, and never cut off in the summertime, and never completely cooled the house. Rob recommended a 3 ton for the 2700SF space. We also wanted to continue to have natural gas as a backup, so we included the furnace, which was about another $1500. So far it has performed like a champ - its an icebox in the house! I really want to see what it is like in the winter. Overall, installation went well, Nate does a great job (he's been on both installs) and leaves the place clean as a button.

Overall went good ran into some issues with electric panel but the electrician was excellent at addressing issue in a timely manner . Even came out after hours to make sure we where satisfied.

The estimator came out within 2 days of my request and was very professional and thorough. I received the estimate that day with everything covered in detail. I did not choose them because they were $2000 higher than another Angie's List "A Graded" company.

I don't think I've ever worked with a finer company and crew, and I'm no beginner in the area of hosting contractors at my home. We started out with an appointment with Scott Hudson, originally to discuss the possibility of cleaning the duct work in our house, and with a secondary desire to discuss replacing the upstairs A/C unit, which has never...from the first year we moved in...successfully maintained a comfortable temperature during the summer. We suspected that the unit was too small (we had insisted on adding a second A/C for dual-zone climate control prior to purchasing, so it was reluctantly added by the seller), and though it ran constantly during the summer, we generally just avoided the upstairs during the summer as much as possible. Scott did an extremely thorough inspected of the entire system (outside units, returns, vents, duct work, etc.), noted several problems I had been unaware of (and was able to demonstrate or show me them, they were not theoretical), and sat down to do some calculations. He told me point blank that I did not need duct cleaning in a house that was just 11 years old, and proceeded to discuss the various options for fixing the upstairs A/C problem. He gave me a relatively low cost option that would meet my needs, and gave me his card so I could call him if I had any further questions. When my husband came home, I attempted to pass on all that Scott had covered with me, but knew I really needed to get the two men together so they could discuss. I was ready to go with the minimum needed to fix the upstairs cooling, but my husband was interested in the dual-fuel heat pumps that Scott had mentioned during the appointment, which were a bit more. Set up a second appointment that all three of us could make, and ultimately we wound up "up-selling" ourselves (Scott just presented the various options; there was no pressure at all from him). We not only opted to replaced both A/C units and furnaces with Trane dual-fuel heat pumps, we also decided to replace our tanked water heater with a Rinnai tank-less water heater. Hence the big price tag associated with this review. We did have some problems with the upstairs thermostat mis-reading the temperature and overcooling; AC Specialists came out 3 times to work on it (always within 1 day--super responsive), and they ultimately wound up moving the thermostat because it was a house structural problem that was influencing it. Scott stayed involved as well, wanting to ensure our satisfaction. Must mention the installation crew....they were spectacular! We had a swarm of AC Specialists vehicles show up promptly on the first day of install (2 were set aside, just in case, due to the scope of the work). George was in charge, and I saw him run a quick meeting with the very large group of technicians on the street to review the work and make assignments prior to ringing my doorbell. Then he came to the door to introduce myself, and each member of his crew politely introduced themselves as they came in. Every one of them was polite and professional, and put on shoe covers every time they came in the house. I enjoyed chatting with them throughout the day, even as I observed how focused and intent they were to do the install of each thing exactly right...no cutting corners or attempting to rush. Despite the huge job...removing old A/Cs and furnaces, removing the tanked water heater, installing heat pumps, furnaces, replacing an under-code vent, replacing thermostats, sealing duct work, installing tankless water heater...they completed the entire job by 5 p.m. (started at 8:00 a.m.). They were very thorough cleaning up after themselves, and left nothing behind. I was impressed enough to make a phone call the next day to the owners to let them know how pleased I was, which I've never felt compelled to do before. Since I was on the phone with the scheduler, we went ahead and made the QC visit appointment a week and a half later. QC visit was once again professional and thorough, and I was given a folder with all the equipment information. Later I received a call to schedule the city inspector, which went off without a hitch. We are now enjoying our new systems, and look forward to continuing to do business with AC Specialists in the future. Oh, and they also offered the best warranty on everything..10 years parts and labor for the Trane dual-fuel heat pumps, and a respectable warranty on the Rinnai.

They came out on time and very friendly. Explained everything in detail and in language a regular person can understand. Found a problem others had missed and fixed it on the spot. Prices were reasonable and service contract explained and sold in a painless way. They made me feel confident that if I needed them again they will help me and not drain my bank account.

James from Air Conditioning Specialists was very professional and helpful. He spent a good amount of time diagnosing the heat unit in the attic, and told us we need to replace our Heat Valve. He quoted us $500+ on the replacement valve. Unfortunately, I had to shop around for this valve because we found $500 a little steep of a price for a valve. We eventually found the same valve for $360. Overall, I was very satisfied with their services. I would just advise to people to shop around for the same replacement units with other companies before going with the first quote.

It went very well. They had the best quote on the best equipment and the had very good follow up service.

They did a pretty good job. The service turned out pretty well. I was happy with their service overall.

I can't say enough good things about A/C Specialists. This is the second time I've used them (the first was to install a geothermal heating/cooling system in my home before I became an Angie's List member). They called when they were on their way, and arrived exactly at the time they said they would be at my house. The two workers introduced themselves and were polite and friendly. We walked around the basement and kitchen and they explained what they would be doing, and then set to work. They were very professional and worked hard and steadily through lunch until they were done. When done, they walked me around the installation to show me what they had installed and to see if I had any questions or issues for them. As an added bonus, they were very clean. They slipped into shoe covers whenever they were on the main floor of the house to keep from dirtying the floor. And when they were done, they cleaned up after themselves. Many contractors could learn from A/C Specialists.

the Florida water to air heat pump is located in the crawl space under the house. It was very awkward to remove the old equipment and install the new, bigger piece of equipment. It was necessary to cut a septic pipe to gain access. The 3 men were here over 5 hours and throughout their time here they were all very pleasant and good natured about a very awkward job. The clean up was immaculate and the equipment is working perfectly.