ARS / Rescue Rooter Austin

The repairmen who came to our home were very nice. The quality of the work was pretty bad. We had numerous problems with the installation and we paid for the top of the line units. Working with the customer service rep was a nightmare. What ever happened to the customer is right and standing behind your work. Things as simple as returning phone calls and fixing mistakes did not happen. We bought the system believing ARS stood behind its work. The sales man was really good at convincing us we would be satisfied but we are not. I will never use this company again and would never refer anyone else to ARS. more

The only thing ARS appears to have going for it is being on time. The workers even admit they do not know what they are doing at times and appear to have difficulty interpreting the service manuals. Customer service is really awful. Calls are unreturned for problems and we still have problems. I would really recommend finding another organization with more experienced workmen and a responsive customer service department. Pros: workmen showed up on time Cons: workmen not experienced to do work and terrible customer relations with clients more

My experience with ARS has been very negative. I spent a large amount to have air conditioning and heating units installed. Numerous mistakes were made by the work people and ARS's customer service is unresponsive to the matter. I am having to take additional steps to deal with this issue. I would not recommend this company to anyone in the area. Pros: On time Cons: Inexperienced work persons and poor customer service more

My experience with ARS has been very negative. I spent a large amount to have air conditioning and heating units installed. Numerous mistakes were made by the work people and ARS's customer service is unresponsive to the matter. I am having to take additional steps to deal with this issue. I would not recommend this company to anyone in the area. Pros: On time Cons: Inexperienced work persons and poor customer service more

Last spring ARS installed my air and heat equipment. The installers were on time and polite, however they made several observable mistakes at the time. These problems were eventually resolved. This year when the service person came out for the initial annual spring inspection more serious mistakes were found concerning the initial installation which has caused the system to not run properly. Contact with customer service in both Austin and the corporate office has been very frustrating. No solutions with regard to the warrenty or the increased energy costs has been settled. At this point I would not recommend ARS. I will follow up with a review if the problems are resolved in the future. Pros: timely Cons: Installation problems and unreturned phone calls more

I can't about to the actual repair guys yet becuase I haven't gotten to that stage yet. However, the scheduling person at ARS is terrible. She was supposed to call to schedule an appointment this morning but didn't call me. I called and left two voice mail messages and she didn't call me. I *finally* got a hold of her (by calling a 3rd time) and she was rushed, rude and hung up on me as I was trying to confirm that an appointment had been made. She hung up!! I would use someone else, but I'm stuck with ARS because of the home warrenty that I have. My advice: don't use ARS!!! more

I can't about to the actual repair guys yet becuase I haven't gotten to that stage yet. However, the scheduling person at ARS is terrible. She was supposed to call to schedule an appointment this morning but didn't call me. I called and left two voice mail messages and she didn't call me. I *finally* got a hold of her (by calling a 3rd time) and she was rushed, rude and hung up on me as I was trying to confirm that an appointment had been made. She hung up!! I would use someone else, but I'm stuck with ARS because of the home warrenty that I have. My advice: don't use ARS!!! more

Three days after Christmas my heating unit went out. I was impressed that I was able to get a tech dispatched within 2 hours of my call. The service call cost $60. The tech arrived in a timely manner and was very professional. He quickly diagnosed the problem. I needed a new circuit board. I was charged $560. I was disappointed to learn later on that the mark up on the circuit board was nearly 110 percent of on-line retail cost. Now my house is warm and it is cold outside. However, I doubt that I will do business with ARS again. I got what I paid for (and then some). I figure that I was in need and they took advantage of that need fair and square. Likewise, I figure that by posting this critique that I will save other Austinites money and in the long run ARS might want to rethink their pricing scheme. I think in the long run their existing policy will cost them considerably more than the profit they made off of me and my family. Pros: Professional Cons: The mark up on parts is off the chart! more

Three days after Christmas my heating unit went out. I was impressed that I was able to get a tech dispatched within 2 hours of my call. The service call cost $60. The tech arrived in a timely manner and was very professional. He quickly diagnosed the problem. I needed a new circuit board. I was charged $560. I was disappointed to learn later on that the mark up on the circuit board was nearly 110 percent of on-line retail cost. Now my house is warm and it is cold outside. However, I doubt that I will do business with ARS again. I got what I paid for (and then some). I figure that I was in need and they took advantage of that need fair and square. Likewise, I figure that by posting this critique that I will save other Austinites money and in the long run ARS might want to rethink their pricing scheme. I think in the long run their existing policy will cost them considerably more than the profit they made off of me and my family. Pros: Professional Cons: The mark up on parts is off the chart! more

I had my A/C repaired and the technician poked a hole in the unit and that was how he visually checked my system. When asked how he knew my coils were clean, he claimed they were clean because I told him my brother told me so! Yeah, my brother who is not a tech said they looked clean the month prior. Then the fee was 150 extra for 1/4 pound of FREON.. I was told my unit needed the extra freon to work properly. . I think they need to rethink that poke the hole unit inspection and the bill that I thought would be 79.95 with a 15% discount cost over 210. If the coils were dirty or there was a leak I was told it would cost hundreds to clean or repair. They did not check for any leaks either!?. more

I had my A/C repaired and the technician poked a hole in the unit and that was how he visually checked my system. When asked how he knew my coils were clean, he claimed they were clean because I told him my brother told me so! Yeah, my brother who is not a tech said they looked clean the month prior. Then the fee was 150 extra for 1/4 pound of FREON.. I was told my unit needed the extra freon to work properly. . I think they need to rethink that poke the hole unit inspection and the bill that I thought would be 79.95 with a 15% discount cost over 210. If the coils were dirty or there was a leak I was told it would cost hundreds to clean or repair. They did not check for any leaks either!?. more

After recieving a bid for a job on a new A/C unit from ARS I was excited about getting the new unit, I was told he would get it from his distributor and it could be installed that week but after a week went by I called them to see when it would get here and was told the model I was looking at was still unavailable. I called again about another week and was told they did not make that unit anymore. Everything else of course was much more expensive, I told him I didn't want to pay more than the original bid, which is a contract once it is singed... and he told me he would look into what he could get for me. I was never called back and even when I call them I get transfered to the guys voicemail and he won't call me back. I know he underbid the job and is now just avoiding me... very unprofessional. I recomend going elsewhere. more

After recieving a bid for a job on a new A/C unit from ARS I was excited about getting the new unit, I was told he would get it from his distributor and it could be installed that week but after a week went by I called them to see when it would get here and was told the model I was looking at was still unavailable. I called again about another week and was told they did not make that unit anymore. Everything else of course was much more expensive, I told him I didn't want to pay more than the original bid, which is a contract once it is singed... and he told me he would look into what he could get for me. I was never called back and even when I call them I get transfered to the guys voicemail and he won't call me back. I know he underbid the job and is now just avoiding me... very unprofessional. I recomend going elsewhere. more