Bud Matthews Service, Inc.

Bud Matthews installed a new heat pump and air handler in our home in Nov 2011. He worked with us in finding a model suitable to our needs, solved a long standing issue in air flow in the house by relocating the air return, allowed us to do some of the work, and did a quality job. We have used his services for years, and this kind of service is typical in our experience. He is honest and hired good, polite technicians. Highly recommended!! more

We have used this company for various services for nearly 20 years. This includes heating, air conditioning, water heater, washer, dryer, refrigerator, and some home repair/construction. They are consistently timely and courteous and spend the time to explain the problem and their recommendation. If there is a problem, they are quick to follow-up. Yes, there is a trip charge for initial assessments. In my experience, if they are contracted to do the work, that charge is included in the work total, and you are not charged for repeat trips. Sometimes, I have explained the problem over the phone and received advice about what to try first, or an opinion about whether the problem was worth fixing versus replacing. more

Bud Matthews Services Inc. delivers professional installation and repair of common and major household appliances, their work teams are on-time, reliable, thorough, and polite. In over 15 years of reliance on their service they have installed a new electric water heater, repaired a sump-pump motor, installed a new oven and stove hood, replaced my home?s HVAC and ductwork, repaired my mother?s gas water heater and, most recently replaced the HVAC at my mother?s home. I highly recommend their service without hesitation for any project you want done right the first time. more

I was very happy with the service until I got the bill. My gas dryer stopped heating, and after reading up on google about the likely causes, I didn't fancy messing around with a gas appliance. The service guy came early, was courteous and professional. He found the blown fuse within a few minutes, and swapped it out. I was surprised to be billed $76 for 1/2 hour labour + $75 callout charge (plus the part cost of $12). My wife had made the appointment, so I didn't feel like I had room to argue over the cost, so I just paid it. However, I don't really feel like going back to them because $165 to swap out a fuse seems a little high. more

Well, I page the man, twice.......... more

We had a reference for Bud Matthews from a real estate agent. Bud would not come out and evaluate the problem before sending a home repairman, but assured us that the person would be able to do our job. The repairman (an independent contractor) came and said he did not have much experience with that type of work, but spent hours trying, unsuccessfully. Bud would still not come out to look at the problem or the work and said that he trusted his repair person to tell him whether it had been done properly. Huge hourly bill and job not done properly. Bud spent 40 minutes on the phone trying to convince me that they were the best, wanted my business, but still refused to drive ten minutes to check out the job! His speech was very pressured and inappropriate--very worrisome. more

I had these guy`s out to repair my viking stove, the tech knew what the problem was within around 15 mins, he seemed like a nice guy - very polite. He had to order the parts, but came back 3 days later with the parts and fixed it. I liked the fact they give a 1 hour window and show up when they say they will !!! more

""Second Response to Mike W more

I've been a client of Bud Matthews' Service for several years and when my heat went out on Christmas Eve, I called them. A technician arrived late in the afternoon and diagnosed the problem but didn't have the part on his truck to repair it because it is expensive and unusual. I had 12 people coming for dinner on Christmas and no heat! The technician gave me names of other companies to call to see if they had the part and worked on the part to see if he could get it going one more time. He did but warned me that it could go out anytime. It lasted about 8 hours before it stopped again around 11:00 Christmas Eve but that was enough for us to maintain a bearable temperature in the living spaces with space heaters and the fireplace over the holidays. First thing, Monday morning,they arrived with the part and by 10:00 a.m., we were toasty warm. It was exceptional service in every way. more

With reference to Mr. Walden?s second posting: My first response is both accurate and competent. The town of Carrboro and the Heating Contractors Board of Raleigh have been notified concerning Mr. Walden?s illegal installation, the facts are clearly documented both at my office and at the town of CarRboro?s inspections department. For the record, Mr. Walden is mistaken, I?ve only had the misfortune to meet him once, in 2009, not 2010 ? since then I have dealt with his wife, I?m curious to know what her take is? I will not be responding to any more of Mr. Walden?s posts, but if he chooses to continue with his misguided campaign of lies and slander I will seek legal advice from my Attorney. Sincerely, Bud Matthews (owner) NC # 15754. more

Here's the skinny on this outfit. First, my AC wasn't getting it done upstairs, so I picked these folks out of the yellow pages because they were local. After poking around in the attic, they said I needed a new blower. The system was already 15 years old, but I'd only been in the house two years. $750 for the new blower. AFTER they replace the motor, they go out and check the charge and found it low, so they filled that and said it would cost another pile of money to come back another day and check for leaks. I asked over and over why they didn't just check for a leak in the first place, since it seemed to me that the old blower was still blowing; it's just that the air was hot (this was summer). Matthews himself came over and gave me some unintelligible technical song and dance why the motor had to be replaced ANYWAY, despite the charge being low. When Matthews added up the ticket, the writing was illegible. After I paid him and he left, I deciphered it all out and saw that Bud had actually short-changed himself because he had added incorrectly. Several months later, I called to remind them that they hadn't charged my credit card at all! Of course, they were glad I called. The next summer (2010), the whole system stopped working. We called Matthews again to see what the deal was THIS time. He came out and said we needed another expensive part on the outside unit or we could replace the whole system. He charged us $100+ bucks for a ""service charge"" for this bit of advice. When I asked him why this wasn't brought up as an option the previous year, when he was replacing the blower motor, he said that he would give me a ""deal"" on a new system, given the amount I had spent on the blower. By his own admission, he had told the previous owner of our house four years earlier that the system needed replacing then. HIS ESTIMATE FOR THE NEW SYSTEM WAS $2000 DOLLARS ABOVE WHAT WE GOT FROM A COUPLE OF OTHER COMPANIES, AND THIS FOR A SYSTEM THAT EVENTUALLY COST US AROUND 5K. Needless to say, we had the system replaced by someone else. They did a great job and a reasonable price. more

i have seen the bud matthews trucks all over carrboro area and decided to call for help with an appliance problem. the person that answered the phone was polite and very knowledgable. i was also told of all of the services that the company provides. the repair was done that day, by a jolly bald fellow,and the price was not out of line. i feel comfortable with a company that responds to your needs, and backs up what they say they will provide. i feel good about telling my neighbors to use the company because i have had such great service. more

Had a plumber from this company today. His name was Jason. Very polite and efficient. Quickly diagnosed my problem (ceiling showed evidence of leak). Got it fixed. Also did some leaky faucets and checked my washer hoses. I asked him to explain what he was doing and he did. Checked with me at the end of the service to make sure I was satisfied with his service. Would hire again. more

I have relied on Bud Matthews for nearly two decades and I have always received outstanding work. His company is reliable,honest and respectful. His work crews are courteous and well - trained. This is quite important to me because my house is in one the two historic districts in Chapel Hill and to my way of thinking it takes a person who has sensitivities to appreciate and to understand how important it is to do repair and renovation work with an eye towards doing the work while keeping the integrity of the historic district in mind. more

Another company diagnoised my unit with a bad blower motor, they recommended I replace the blower motor, capcitor, mounting bracket and wheel. I was not confidient in the diagnoisis so I called Bud Matthews who was referred to me by a friend and they came highly recommened. Upon arrival the service tech. wanted to evaluate the system and in fact I only needed to replace the blower motor (whew money saved). Pros: Professional Cons: Wasn't any more

This business is a good business and I would highly recommend them. Pros: Quick response, Courteous people more

I called this company out of the Yellow Pages , Big Mistake. The don't have a professional person answering the telephone, it sounds like they are at home working. If you have to leave a message, no will call you back for days. Then, their workmanship is terrible. They were suppose to fix my HVAC which was under warranty, 3 hours after they left I had to call them back out, and they wanted to charge me a $200 Trip charge. I said, NO, this is covered under warranty. STAY AWAY from this company Cons: You name it, horrible Customer Service more

First off I would like to comment about Bud Matthews himself. Who writes a review about their own company? And gives himself 5 stars? All other ratings are 1 star. He urging clients to pick up the phone and talk to him. Tried that....and wouldn't recommend it to anyone... Here is a brief outline about my service experience with him. Recently purchased new home, shortly after moving in heat stopped working. Have transferable warranty card showing Bud Matthews as contact. Called number and explained that I am requesting him to come out on a warranty claim. Technician showed up and spend approximately 20 minutes in crawl space. Said he had to replace wiring harness. Left saying Bud would call about billing. Less than 24 hours later heat stopped again. Bud called and explained that I owed him $175. This charge involved extremely high trip charges for a route less than 10 minutes away. Additionally I was charged 45 min labor and the cost of a wiring harness.I never agreed to any charges and said that this was on call was on warranty work. He got very rude and unprofessional - I explained that I am not going to pay for services not provided since the heat was not working. Got other Heating Company to come look at problem and they stated that no new wiring harness was installed and that they do not see any work performed. I have this in writing. Called Bud and told him that I would not pay since he did not provide any service and would like to warn other potential clients of this fraud. Now I am dealing with a collection agency. BE AWARE AVOID BUD MATTHEWS SERVICE !!! Pros: None Cons: Lies about Services performed. more

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I had problems with my heater and called them. They sent out a guy who was new to heating and didnt really know what the problem was. He recommended something like $600 in repairs to the duct system. I called them back and said I dont think that is the problem and if they could guarantee those repairs would fix the problem. They said they would come back out again, this time Bud Matthews came too. It took them awhile, but they came up with another problem to be fixed, it would be another $300. Bud Matthews told me there was no charge since this was a training session for the guy. Later on, he began to have an attitude with me and my wife because I had the audacity to ask if they could guarantee that the $1000 in repairs would fix the problem. Bud Matthews said they would call back later with the final, itemized estimate. Pros: Willing to make money Cons: Lack of Knowledge, Owner is Verbally Abusive more