From A/C Apocalypse to GREATNESS!
The first thing you need to know, is when you hire a contractor, it doesn't really matter how well they've done in the past, all that matters is what they've done in your home. And when you have a company that is doing things right like Summit (based on my research and reading their reviews), the business is bound to grow and will need to hire new people. When a business hires new people, they can call references, train them, and then trust them on their own. Unfortunately; that is where my experience started with Summit. (Bear with me, read to the end! I promise it ends as you would hope.)
The two-man team that was assigned to my project was in their first week out on their own with Summit. Despite over 30 years of combined experienced, they practically destroyed my ceiling over the course of 2 hours of sawing, used shortcuts like shoving cardboard under an A/C foot to keep it from shaking, showed up HOURS late (twice), didn't bring all of the equipment (twice), vanished for hours at a time, didn't listen to requirements concerning the outside of the house and put in a system that in no way could be trusted to have been installed correctly as a result.
Before I chose Summit, I agreed to complete the anticipated ceiling repair myself in order to save myself a couple of bucks. I've done a lot of repairs such as this around the house, so as long as they made clean cuts, I was happy to patch a couple of holes where the refrigerant lines would need to be run in my finished basement. Well, they made ragged cuts through corners, supports and corner bead material and DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE THE PIECES BEHIND for the repair. Based on the hundred+ 5 Star Reviews I've read about this company I just couldn't believe ANY OF THIS could be a true representation of their service!
However, my first experience with an hvac contractor installing an A/C was with ARS / Rescue Rooter Colorado. They had messed it up royally too and I was just starting to think this is how the hvac industry is. The running theory is ARS had found a unit that had been sitting in the back corner of their warehouse for 15 years and installed it in my home (I found out the gas connectors hadn't been the standard in many years, the year after it was installed).
Back to the present. I brought my concerns with this latest AC install to Mr. Kable, my Comfort Advisor at Summit Heating & A/C and I was immediately contacted by one of the owners. They were extremely empathetic to my situation, were sickened by the experience I had to that point, and scheduled a day and time to meet with me at my home to review the work that had been completed. Their shock at what I was communicating was very apparent.
One day later the owners showed up to see for themselves what this newly hired install team had done. These gentlemen were true professionals, and I learned they even teach The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to their team on a weekly basis. I also soon learned that the new install team that had completed my installation had already been terminated because of similar situations in their first week. It was explained that this new installation team had been vetted by a previous employer and they had even done an outstanding job during their training period (under direct supervision). Unfortunately, they turned out to be the kind of guys that needed to be constantly supervised.
The owners inspected the system end-to-end, taking pictures that were to be used for a company-wide training session for their installers the following week. What this company's ownership did next was astounding, and to be quite frank, a breath of fresh air.
At my convenience, without any begging or pleading from me, they made the decision to have their top team come to my home, pull every inch of the system out and install all new equipment and materials. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING WAS NEW without any argument whatsoever! The A/C unit, refrigerant lines, indoor coil, the outdoor condenser, I mean everything! This had to cost this company thousands of dollars, and it came directly from the company's pocket just to make it right. The install team even cleaned up the holes in the ceiling so that the HOLES looked better while waiting for the professional drywall repairman that Summit hired at their expense! Their professional drywall repairman was so good you can't even tell there was ever even a cut to my finished basement.
Anyone who has the responsibility of hiring new employees knows that there are a percentage of people that interview great, train well and end up being a colossal mistake. It happens to every company and it always will. What is important is how the company responds when there is a problem. Summit Heating & A/C made it right in a big way, without any argument, and did more than I could have ever expected.
My new air conditioning system now looks perfect, and works perfectly!