Campbell & Company

Unfair/deceptive billing

They did a good job.

Our contact with Campbell & Bruce (as the company was then called) began in December 2002 when I heard a minor but unnerving noise in our oil heater. Campbell sent out a tech, who advised us that we had other, much greater issues with the HVAC equipment's blower, and performed services. After he left, the blower sounded okay at first, then got worse. Over the next few months, we saw a periodic pattern: the HVAC noise would get worse, we would call, they'd send someone, usually we'd pay some more, it would sound okay for a short time, then soon get much worse. Eventually a blower that was once functional was audibly failing. At that phase, Campbell's solution was that we should buy a new heater from them. They magnanimously offered to credit us $300 for the new heater (just over half of what we had paid them to make our blower sound a little worse each time). They also proposed that we replace our (then-functional) air conditioner by buying one of those from them as well (they would credit us $600) I didn't think that this was a reasonable outcome; if we reward vendors for making our situations worse each time, by letting that lead us to buying a whole new one (from them, naturally), this business model gives a vendor no incentive to repair and every incentive to make sure the item gets worse. Whether that was the cause of our specific situation, or whether the techs simply didn't know what they were doing and wouldn't admit it, or whatever the cause, after several 'repairs' from Campbell's techs, in the end we did need a new blower. That meant a new heater, which Campbell proposed to sell us. We wouldn't have accepted new equipment from Campbell for free at that point, much less at the supposedly discounted price they offered. We went with a different vendor, returned Campbell's parts to them, and requested a full refund. The company refused, with a letter from one of the owners that twisted and mischaracterized nearly the whole transaction. I found the entire method of handling the situation unbelievable. If an auto mechanic made your vehicle worse every time he touched it, and his eventual answer was to sell you a new car, you would probably decide that something was up. I still have no idea what the company was even thinking, handling it this way, but it is all vivid in my memory. We did not do further business there after that. That they would even think this was a realistic result to allow, to me, says volumes about the passivity of Tri-Cities customers. Far as I'm concerned, they still owe us $594.70, which is the full sum we paid them to contribute to our having to spend an unplanned $4000 on new equipment. I'm not holding my breath.

The Campbel foreman did a very professional job of planning the work and explaining to us what needed to be done. They worked very quickly and the unit has performed wihtout problems for several months.

The serviceman was very informative in explaining each procedure he was going to do which was appreciated.

Great, I made the right choice dealing with Campbell.

I was not aware that the technicians had a Thursday morning meeting and that caused the technician to be about 40 minutes later than I had anticipated. I should have been told he would be at my residence between 8 and 9 a.m. which he was.

I took the time and effort to submit a detailed service request using the company's online service request form on a Sunday and received a confirmation that the form was successfully submitted. Normally, I would expect a call back within one business day to schedule an appointment. Two days is somewhat unresponsive. It's been over a week since I submitted my request. Given that it's winter in the Northwest and my request indicated my heater was not working, more two days strikes me as poor customer service and there's not much to say for a week. Against all odds, I was able to fix the immediate concern with my bedroom furnace. For my home's main furnace, I found another company that won't leave a customer in the cold without communication for 1+week.

We have used Campbell & CO for servicing our HVAC unit for 7 years now. We have always been extremely pleased with the service we receive. All the staff is friendly and courteous - the techs arrive at the time they are scheduled and perform their duties in a professional and timely manner. We reccomend the service partner plan-- this plan has kept our 20+ year old system running smoothly and when the time comes to replace that system, you can be sure we will be using Campbell & Co to guide us as to what we need as a replacement and to install that system for us.

In less than 1/2 hour, the technician arrived. He quickly diagnosed the problem. and replaced the blower motor. By 10:00pm, the air conditioning was operating.

They were the best priced when compared to the other companies I looked at. They were more thorough about how they were going to tackle the situation as I did not have any existing duct work since I have an older house and the job seemed little tricky. They however figured it out and provided me with the price as well as the statement of the price range. Their workers came in and did the job which was quite a job.

There services are very reliable, but they do cost a bit. The service is worth it, they always get permits and have inspections. Overall they are a great company. They are totally trustworthy. They always clean up after themselves. They set the bar very high.

The electrician showed up on time to do the estimate. I accepted the estimate and the job was completed in a day and half which included acceptance inspection by the appropriate city inspector. The job was handled professionally and I was kept informed of where they were at on a frequent basis.

Both times we have called the company we were very impressed with the way our questions and service requests were handled by the telephone staff. We were very pleased with the service calls both times. Since we were new to the home the service tech for the furnace and fireplace took the time to explain the operation and his inspection process. He was very thorough, professional and nice to deal with. When we had the second service call with one of their electricians he was also very informative, professional and nice to deal with. Both service people did excellent work and we will definitely be doing business with them in the future.

Campbell and Company has been professional and excellent ever since our initial contact. After 30 years with an evaporative cooler and an oil furnace, we decided it was time for a heat pump. The price estimate gave us some shell shock, but once we recovered, we took the plunge and authorized the work. A group of neat, clean, articulate professionals descended on our house and transformed it into a climate-controlled little piece of heaven. They asked us where we wanted the vents and equipment placed, and made suggestions that were very helpful. (A heat pump and its blowers are louder than what we had before, but superior in every other way.) As part of the contract, we opted to have them do the servicing every 6 months. They call ahead to set an appointment and are always punctual and friendly. It's nice to have a "hands-free" heating and cooling system. We would definitely hire Campbell and Company again. You get what you pay for. We also heard that they treat their employees well, and this is important to us.

Very professional

Personnel were all very nice, prompt and cleaned up exceptionally well following work. I would make sure you get the gas company lined up if you are using LP. They can be difficult to get to deliver without waiting. Will definitely call for any heating, air conditioning or electrical work in the future.

I think they are a good company. They’ve always been very professional. For example, their employees wear booties before entering my home. I’ll continue using their service in the foreseeable future.

Worker obviously knew what he was doing, and did it well and in a timely, efficient manner. What I did not appreciate about him (don't know if it's just him or is company-wide) is that he was a rather repeat and pushy solicitor (recommender) of other services that seem very expensive to me. I know that this company does a lot of commercial work. Perhaps they are just used to charging diabled senior citizens at a very expensive rate like they do commercial customers. For example, he offered to inspect the heat pump's A/C-related piping. The piping from the pump to the in-the-house components is proably less than 20' long and fairly easy to access. I'll probably force my old, fat, ailing body to do that check myself. It would consist of taking some soapy water and a small brush and brushing the water all along the pipe and especially al the fittings and save myself the cost. I can't really remember what the price was, but the offer was within the $250.00 to $325.00 price range. My thought when I was quoted that price: Ridiculous!!!

I've been doing business with them for years. They were great in every respect. They were knowledgeable about what needed to be done. They were good about scheduling. They have a great, reasonable maintenance program so that systems don't break down in the middle of the winter or the middle of the summer.

Work was performed in one day and further inspections performed on time.

everything went well, all was explained. A coil still under warranty was replaced at no cost.

How to lose a good customer in 10 easy steps: 1) Unable to get a maintenance appointment in time. Despite being a member of the maintenance plan, when I tried to get an appointment in late April, was told that "we aren't doing maintenances for three weeks" due to a hot weather streak that had them busy. 2) Of course, my heat pump failed about 10 days after getting the "we can't do your maintenance" e-mail. 3) Called for repairs. They sent two guys who were not my regular service team. 4) I was not given a repair estimate. Repairmen showed up, but did NOT advise me about what they decided to do. They just did their thing and presented me with the bill for $660. Their diagnosis: leaking Shrader core and bad capacitor. 5) The subcontractors replaced parts on a different unit without asking first. On their own, these guys replaced a capacitor in my SECOND, working unit. Again, I wasn't told about this beforehand; had I been, I would have declined the offer until that unit had a maintenance check. They just did it and gave me the bill. 6) No preferred customer discount. Because I was unable to get a maintenance visit in time, I was not given the "preferred customer" discount. Despite a relationship, I had to pay full price. 7) Repairs did not work. Two weeks later, the unit failed again due to refrigerant leaks. A second Campbell repairman came to check, and said that the unit had different leaks. Estimate to repair $1450. 8) Unable to get information to make a repair v. replace decision. As this is a 15-year-old unit, I called Campbell and asked about replacement. Got no information whatsoever; was told I'd have to have a "comfort specialist" aka salesman visit my home. 9) Campbell did not honor repair guarantee. So much for the "guarantee" on the back of the repair invoice. Supposedly, I have a 30-day guarantee on parts and labor. Not sure what that means when the repairmen toss in the wrong parts. Whatever it means, the unit is still non-working, and it's hot. 10) Summary: their maintenance program is a shambles--you can't get appointments promptly. If you call for repairs, be prepared to have subcontractors dash in, dash out, and fail to communicate with you--and you will not be given a repair estimate first. If those repairs fail two weeks later, be prepared to have the guarantee be disregarded. Since I've been abandoned by Campbell, I asked around .... and this story is all-too-familiar. Thankfully, friends in the building trades have pointed me to another firm who will handle my $9000 replacement, promptly and professionally. Way to lose a customer, Campbell.

Heating system failed on winter weekend evening. Called number and sevivce man appeared in less than 2 hours. Completed repair and heating system was operating in less than 1 hour. total time from failure to repair less than 3 hours on weekend night.

Good clean installation. The installers showed up when they said they would and were finished at the time promised. The electrician asked if he could run a line from the breaker panel to the compressor outside the building and I said I preferred an inside, hidden run. He said he would give that first preference if it was possible. It turned out that it was possible and he did an excellent job. The duct cleaning was conducted equally as well.