The Stove Guy

I’d love to leave a review on the craftsmanship of the “Stove Guy” but I cannot because I am not worthy of their time. Their customer service is abysmal and I would be embarrassed if I was the business owner. Any time you call the woman answering the phone complains at length about how many calls she’s had to answer “40 calls this morning, it’s a Monday, so I didn’t have time to really listen to your message but I got the gist”. She makes it very clear that my business isn’t needed but they’ll do me a favor by running their business. After trying three times to make an appointment for a quote and not getting a call back I eventually got a hold of them and scheduled something out several months. I made an appointment for 10am. The receptionist calls at 8:24 to confirm my appointment between 9:30-10 I told her my appointment was for 10 and I had a phone meeting at 9:00. She tells me that it’s my fault and I should have known that 10 was just an approximation. She calls back at 8:45 and tells me “actually he’s already on his way out there. I told him you had a meeting at 9 and he said he would be there already”. So my meeting is cancelled and I head over to the property by 9. I wait 2 hours and he never shows up. I call the office multiple times and eventually the receptionist calls back and tells me I’m not allowed to be upset. The guy will get there when he gets there and that she’s “not going to deal with” me because I’m lucky I got an appointment with them because they are so busy. I asked her to have him call me when he gets to the property and I will meet him there. News flash. He didn’t show.

We called over a month ago to make today's appointment. We were disappointed that we would have to wait so long, but put in on our calendar and waited. My husband has Mondays off so today was the day. We tried for a day last week that I had off but there wasn't any availability. We eagerly awaited our repair and when they weren't here by 10:00, my husband called and their scheduler said we weren't on the books. She said at the original booking to cancel our appointment if we found someone else. But we didn't check around and she gave us a date and time. Today, she tried saying that it was on us that we didn't actually book appointment. We are organized and competent people and would know whether or not a scheduler gave us a time and date for our repair. She said now they are a month out again. Like we would wait another month for them to no show. Even though my husband was very polite, I guess she was done talking to him because she just hung up.

Great. He fixed it.

unknown

Overall, I was content with the service provided at the time he left. He was very punctual, arriving very close to if not early based on the agreed upon time. The biggest problem I had is not uncommon among contractors - namely, needing to be present to ensure it was done appropriately. I had to prompt to ensure the agreed upon size of gas piping was used and had to prompt two separate holes be sealed to prevent weather and insects going inside the chimney. In addition, some of the "finish work" needed prompting to ensure done properly. When a warranty repair (unrelated to original installation) was performed, a damper was found still in place that should have been removed per factory guidelines. He was a nice guy and seemed competent and left the house clean when he left.

.

Contacted initially on 12/30/13 on the recommendation of the local business (under different ownership) who put in the gas fireplace 3 years ago due to an inability to light the pilot (no spark). Woman who identified herself as Cheryl answered the phone. When told the type of fireplace, I hear a man's voice saying in the background that he was not familiar with the type of fireplace and would have to do some research. I said fine, and that they could call me after the New Year. I then called on 1/3/14, and receiving the voicemail (although the recording said the business was open), left a message. No return call Monday. Called again Tuesday 1/7/14, again receiving voicemail. Again left a message. No call Wednesday. Thursday I called the business that recommended The Stove Guy, primarily for affirmation that this was a responsible business and did good work. I told them I couldn't get the business to return my call and one of the owners said he'd call them for me an set up an appointment. I heard back from no one. Friday I called the referring business and I was told by the owner that he did call, and was told by Cheryl that she was "just getting ready to call her." Therefore the fireplace business owner didn't call me back, assuming Cheryl would follow through. When I told them she didn't ever call, I asked for another recommendation. I called Flame Out on Friday, received an appointment for the following Tuesday, and the problem was solved. This business is unprofessional, and clearly dishonest. I would urge others to begin elsewhere.

He came to my home in October of 2011 to install my stove but did not obtain the necessary permits of the town I live in or Spokane County Washington Building and Planning Department. I had to purchase a permit 2 1/2 months later when I became aware of how dangerous the stove was. I payed 100 for the permit and the building and planning department wrote the following violations: 1. need 16 inches to combustibles to front of stove (had 11 inches) 2. need double wall pipe of the inside (had single walled pipe) 3. Seal hole through wall to stop the whistling wind from coming through 4. Exterior pipe needs 2 inches to combustibles (outside pipe rested against the wood shingles of my house) 5. Electrical cord and outlet to close to stove (couldn't pull the plug out of the wall) 6. Back corners to close to combustibles (3/4 of an inch to the wall, needed 13 inches) 7. there was no support to exterior pipe (no support pipe) 8. when the stove was pulled out, the violations became visible. Overall, I would say it went absolutely horribly. The stove could not get any air, so the wood would not burn, it smoldered, causing the glass to be perpetually brown. Every time I opened the door of the stove, a hot blast of air and ash hit me in the face. The creosote buildup that you see accumulated in just two and a half months that I used the stove, from October 7, 2011 until December 27, 2011, which was the date I was told by the Inspector at Spokane County to stop using the stove immediately. Note in that same photo where the electrical cord rested against the hot single-wall pipe. At the suggestion of both the BBB and the Attorney General's Office, I pursued legal action against James Galiano, DBA The Stove Guy (I have never been involved in a law suit before in my life), I had to go through a seemingly unending deposition over 8 hours long and worry for a year and a half about the outcome of this litigation. I also endured 2 winters with a dinner plate size hole in the front of my house stuffed with towels to keep the wind, rain and snow out of my livingroom. At least settling out of court for $18,500 made me whole again so that I can finally repair my home before this next winter settles in..

Everything was fine. My only complaint was being charged $25.00 for a light switch--that was just for the switch--labor was on top of that.

Serviceman arrived in the agreed hour, spread out a white sheet, took off his shoes and simply went to work. Job completed in 45 minutes. Good cleanup. Ryan (serviceman) was courteous and efficient. Office receptionist explained carefully what the charges would be and under what conditions. We agreed and the agreement was fulfilled as agreed.

They showed up on time. They were careful to not leave a mess. They did a thorough job.