Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

   
  Complaint: 22277978
  

  I am formally rejecting Superior Mechanicals response due to its inaccuracy and misrepresentation of the events.

  In their response, the statement, "I can only assume the comment that our technician claimed our previous tech did not do the work correctly is fabricated by the customer," is both unfounded and unprofessional. I want to be clear: the customer has not fabricated any part of this statement.

  The facts are as follows:
  The initial reason for contacting Superior Mechanical (early December'23) was due to multiple error messages, including the Code 33 error on my Ecobee Thermostat, which was the primary cause for my service request.I contacted the company specifically to resolve these errors, as I had family visiting and needed the system functioning properly. After the first visit, I was informed that everything had been resolved. However, within two weeksduring which we were out of town for one weekthe same error messages reappeared, and the heating and cooling issues returned. From my perspective, the problem was not properly addressed during the first service visit.

  Its important to note that I have promptly responded to all calls from Superior Mechanical and have even paid the $125 invoice in good faith.

  I have made every effort to resolve this issue equitably. However, I found ******** attitude, behavior, and tone towards me during this process to be unacceptable. His unprofessional demeanor and threatening manner are appalling, especially in the context of a customer service issue.

  I expressed my dissatisfaction directly to him and informed him that I would be filing a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which I have done.

  I strongly suggest that Superior Mechanical consider additional training for their team, particularly in customer service and sensitivity, to ensure that no other customer has to endure such an experience in the future.

  Sincerely,

  RR

  the system has been working correctly since. (Invoice- ******** for $125; Paid by me on Aug 28, 2024 by card)I have had repeated calls from Superior Mechanical about the invoice (Invoice: ******** for $156.24) as I declined to pay for it because of incomplete work. I also mentioned to them that I am OK to pay a portion of the invoice, but declined to pay the entire invoice because they did an incomplete job the first time. The customer should not have to pay for thier shoddy work.Superior mechanical is contending that I pay both the $156.24 and $125 invoice.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/25/2024

  Unfortunately there seems to be some sort of misunderstanding with this customer despite my attempts to explain the situation to the best of my abilities. 

  We received a call to inspect this customers HVAC system, our tech went to the address (12/5/2023) and found that the systems thermostat had a message stating to perform maintenance on the system. Due to this maintenance message the t-stat (ecobee) was not responding to the systems call for cooling/heating. Our technician performed preventative maintenance on the system and cleared the maintenance message. The system was working properly at the time of the appointment. 

  We received a call from the customer again on 12/19/2023 that the system was no longer working again. We returned on 12/22/23 and diagnosed the system, our technician found that the system was now giving a Code 33. Our technician adjusted the gas pressure slightly and confirmed the error was resolved and system was working properly. I can only assume the comment that our technician claimed our previous tech did not do the work correctly is fabricated by the customer. It is an unprofessional and inaccurate comment for an employee to make such a claim, and the technician was not even aware of the details of the previous techs work.  

  From 12/22/23 we never received any calls or indication of a problem from the customer but had not received payment for the work completed on 12/5/23. We attempted to follow up with the customer a few times but did not get in contact with them until 4/9/2024 at which point they contested the invoice due to the reasoning provided to you. I attempted to explain to the customer that the error codes were not in fact the same issue, and that the invoice from 12/5/23 was for the preventative maintenance performed on 12/5/23 and would be due regardless of what the code said on 12/19/23. We do not work for free and payment was due for the work we performed. We did not even charge our typical diagnostic and truck fee, so to us this was already a discounted invoice. 

  The customer asked if we would be willing to void the invoice or discount it, and unfortunately we had to decline due to the amount of time that had passed since the original appointment. Had the customer contacted us earlier and asked about the invoice we may have been able to adjust it and help them. However, it wasn't until we informed the customer that they would be sent to collections for failure to pay that they contested anything with us. When we told them we were unwilling to adjust the invoice they told us they would report us to the BBB. 

  As we see it, we did everything in our power to explain the situation, we spent time, money, gas, and employee labor to fix the system, and we believe we are justified to charge the customer for work performed. I regret that the situation has come to this as *** was a very polite customer and we had hoped to be a source of help if they had any issues with the hvac systems in the future. 

   

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/30/2024

  Hello,
  
  We were called out to perform a service, during which we provided a diagnostic and repair that resolved the issue at the time of the appointment. On 12/5/24, our technicians confirmed that everything was in working order. The customer can verify that the system was functioning properly at that time. However, as is sometimes the case, issues may reoccur, or new ones can arise that werent present before.
  
  While the customer and I may have differing opinions on the cause of the issue (preventative maintenance lockout on 12/5/23 and error code 33 on 12/22/23), regardless of the cause, we performed a full preventative maintenance on the system. It is within our right to charge for the labor and materials used for this service.
  
  Attached are the phone recordings of the correspondence between the customer and myself. At no point in these conversations did I display an attitude, behavior, or tone that could be described as unprofessional, nor did I exhibit a threatening manner as the customer has claimed.
  
  In these recordings, I also clearly explain to the customer that there would be an additional charge for the service unless it was determined that the system error was directly our responsibility from the initial appointment. It was only after I mentioned the charges that the customer stated the issue had reoccurred the day after (12/6/23). However, the customer did not notify us of this until two weeks later. In the BBB correspondence, the customer also mentions they were out of town for one of those two weeks. The information the customer is providing to the ******************** and the information they have provided to us contradicts itself. 
  
  Based on the available information, I cannot confidently trust that the customer isnt misrepresenting the facts to shift the responsibility onto us, in an effort to have the system covered under our warranty. This appears to be an attempt to unfairly damage our companys reputation with the BBB.
  
  Considering the details provided in both our initial and follow-up correspondence, we at Superior Mechanical believe we acted in good faith to ensure the customer was taken care of throughout this process. We performed the necessary work and resolved the issue. It wasnt until we sought payment for services rendered that the customer expressed dissatisfaction.
  
  Best regards,  
  ******* Fuller 
  Superior Mechanical  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 22277978
  
  

  Hello,

  Today, I received a call from **** Fuller, the Owner of Superior Mechanical, who addressed the ongoing issue. He explained that he had personally reviewed the situation and uncovered some miscommunication between the Service Supervisor and the technician, which likely contributed to the confusion surrounding billing and issue resolution. **** was very apologetic for the inconvenience caused. I also took the opportunity to provide him with a detailed account of the events, and I appreciated his willingness to listen attentively.
  **** demonstrated exceptional professionalism and handled the matter with great composure. In addition, he generously offered to completely void the $156.24 invoice, assuring me that I need not worry about paying it.
  In response, I expressed that resolving the issue by actively listening to the customer was the right approach. I also made it clear that I did not expect free service and offered to pay 50% of the second invoice, amounting to $78.25 (half of the original $156.24). This is the resolution I had previously proposed to ******* Fuller during several discussions.
  This interaction between **** and me highlights the fundamental principles of customer service and the importance of fairness when addressing customer concerns.
  Following our conversation, I have paid 50% of the invoice (receipt attached as Proof of Payment). I consider this matter resolved, with the highest regard for **** Fuller's professionalism and thoughtful handling of the situation.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/07/2024

  Hello,

  I have spoken with *** as well as our employees and we have come to a mutual understanding of the  situation and have come to an agreement to resolve this issue. 

  I appreciate the ******** *** has given as we come to a conclusion on this report and giving us the opportunity to resolve this in a peaceful manner. We hope to continue building a lasting and trusting relationship with all our customers and can only hope that *** would give us another chance in the future should the need arise. 

  If there is anything we need to do on our end to close this out with the BBB we would like to do so. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/07/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ***********