Jay J.
08/11/2015 12:00:00 SA
Two weekends ago, one of my three old AC units stopped working. I have two units for my main level and one for my basement. For one week, I moved in to my guest room while I researched multiple AC companies. I had used one small company (not Pro Solutions) for repair a couple of years ago and called them on the day it went out. The owner of that company was the one who came out and evaluated my broken system. He tested and a $200 repair with a capacitor would get it running again, but he looked at my unit, which was old, and already had a "booster" and so this company suggested my AC unit (10 years old) was likely on its last year. So I decided it may be a good time to upgrade to more energy efficient units , and decided to get bids to replace all of my units with the hopes of getting additional discounts for multiple unit purchases. Besides, my electricity bills have been pretty high this summer.
I filled out a form online that assigned me to 4 companies. Within minutes of filling the internet form out on a saturday around 5 pm, Don the owner of Pro Solutions Air called me to discuss my needs. Of note, none of the other 3 companies contacted me until Monday the following week. Over the next 4 days, I got multiple bids-- I got a bid from the original company I had used a couple of years ago and the owner agent who initially came out. When he looked at my units in the ceiling, he said it was going to be a very difficult install. In fact, he said "I don't think we can do this one" but he did price the units out. Don with Pro Solutions then came over and gave me a very competitive bid. I then got another visit/bid from a larger AC company. When I showed these other two companies the bid I received from Pro Solutions, the first company said--"I think you should take that offer if they have good reviews online and with the BBB". There are only two previous yelp reviews which aren't very good but these were not for new units. In looking at other online review sites, Pro Solution has much better reviews then here on Yelp. I then looked up BBB and they have a A+ rating. I then called Lennox to make sure they are a certified dealer, which they are. I then went to Home Depot and got a phone bid, and then one other company. Pro Solutions was about $2500 less than the larger company, and about $1000 less than the original company I had used a couple of years ago. They were about $300 more than the Home Depot bids but the companies used by Home Depot have poor reviews on every single web site I checked out. So Pro Solutions had the best price for the best overall reviews.
The thing that absolutely set Pro Solutions apart is their warranty: 10 years, parts, compressor, $75 labor deductible for 10 years (so if they have to come out for any reason and do any amount of work, whether it is one hour or 10 hours, only $75). No other company had such an option. All the other companies had an "extended labor warranty" which is offered by Lennox (the units I was looking at) , and they were going to charge around $600-$800 for each unit--so for me (looking at purchasing 3 new units), that would have been an additional $1800-$2400 (not even included in the prices above) With Pro Solutions, you basically "pay as you need it" and with these newer AC units, I am hoping the amount of issues will hopefully be few and far between. The other thing that set Pro Solutions apart was they give you 10 year annual maintenance visit for FREE--no trip charge, no $75. So basically, it is in their interest to keep these machines running well because if there is lot of issues, the labor costs would go up and up.
I called Don multiple times while I was doing my research--he personally answered his phone every single time!!! Many of the other companies had voicemail, and often took a while to return my calls. The customer service I received was the best by far.
The main install was done by Job, who has worked with Don for many years. He and his crew worked in my ceiling which has very limited space, and the temp in my house was 97 degrees. I felt bad for such a difficult install in the heat but the whole crew was very professional and didn't mind me checking in on them, and took time to explain things to me.
So for now, I have been completely happy with my decision. All three AC units are working nicely. If I have any problems in the future with my units or Pro Solutions, I will update my review.