Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ************ was 5.30. 2024 Paid $475 cash for a $25 discount or they wouldve added an extra $20 so it wouldve been $520 if we were to pay by credit card What a deal UGG They were to come and clean the air ducts and the furnace and the dryer vent When I called to ask questions and set up the appointment, I asked if they needed a truck because we are on seventh floor and if theyre able to do it because most places cant do it without their truck they told me they did not need a truck Also asked if they used chemical they said no way they never use chemical OK so they arrived. They arrived late because they were dealing with parking tickets They did need a place to park their trucks, but we had to call the city to figure out how to get them to park on our deck that took about 45 minutes to help them(guess that was a lie they needed a truck) and tromped through the house without booties, I did move things for them thank goodness said they would take pictures of all the ducks at the end said they had pictures of five of the ducks which we have five and one inlet only gave us the inlet regrets yes Because now I know cleaning vents really doesnt do much(claims on their website for cleaner air, no promises) They never offered to clean the dryer. I came back In and I smelt something and they said that they sprayed sanitizer (chemicals) they sprayed chemical so I called to resolve the issue and all they did was yell at me and offer me maybe another $25 off but basically said that I was belittling them, but it was all about them. Customer who had paid them Just very unprofessional. The workers were pointing the fingers at whoever answered the phone, and when I called the person that answered, the phone was pointing the finger at the workers they both had all of them, including the owner had , excuses as to why everything happened and there was a floor scratch from Dropping The inlet frame on the floor and they are screaming in my ear ?very unprofessional

  Business response

  06/19/2024

  Wellhouse Air Duct Cleaning takes any and all customer complaints seriously and try to address them with solutions or answers to any questions or concerns.From the very beginning we were very transparent with our payment process and discounts for the work provided. We give a 5% discount to any clients paying by cash or check and they are notified by our welcome packet that if they choose to pay with card that there is a 4% surcharge added by the credit card payment provider we use. All customers are notified before the service that they are able to utilize that discount simply by paying cash or check on day of service. There were multiple conversations with the client before the service was provided explaining our service and our processes. Our website where the client had sent in the request for information has a picture presentation of our process and steps for doing can air duct cleaning, as well. Well-House Air Duct Cleaning uses a PTO run Truck mounted vacuum and we do not use a portable system so we would not have told a client nor have we ever told clients we wouldn't need our trucks to do the work we were hired for. We have industrial grade equipment that allows us to access places others may not, but our equipment on our trucks are necessary to do the service we provide.  NO CHEMICALS are used in our air duct cleaning process, however, we offer an additional service called "Sanitizing" where a fog machine is used with an oxide sanitizer to sanitize ductwork in the case of remediation work (ie. basement flooding/mold) however, this service was not provided to this customer nor was the customer charged for said service which would have been an additional $130 on the bill. We also spray the client's filter with a Northwoods product that is 100% eco friendly, non-toxic, non-corrosive that gives the house a refreshing "baby powder" smell that only lasts a few hours and helps the filter collect dust better when the system is running. That is all it does, it does not affect allergies or cause any irritation. Upon speaking with the customer after they booked the service but before it was provided, they called on 2 or 3 separate occasions to speak regarding ways to get our standard rate discounted in some way shape or form, however, it is our policy to treat any and all billing the same across the board in the interest of fairness for all of our customers, despite getting that information the customer kept the appointment. Regarding the time frame of our work, unexpected situations arrive as our trucks do 3-4 jobs per day and clients are given a time frame as to when our technicians will arrive and also are sent text messages when the technicians are on the way. An unexpected situation happened where my trucks, in order to reach the client's apartment on the 7th floor, received a parking ticket from the City of *********, however, the client was told a cleaning can take roughly 2-3 hours ahead of the booking of the appointment. From start to finish, the job lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes. We are as transparent as we can be when providing a service and the customer's scheduled service time was ****** and my technicians arrived at 1:13pm. In response to our process regarding booties, we base it on a customer to customer basis, we usually ask customers if they would like our shoes off or on within the house, if it hasn't been discussed they will continue their work as normal. It is not common for us to wear booties unless weather conditions call for it or upon customer request, however, we have them on all trucks in case the situation requires them. Our work deals in customer's *********************** so typically we are not dragging mud in and around houses. The customer called and left a voicemail roughly a week and a day or two after the service complaining about the chemical smell claiming we had used chemicals in her ductwork, I simply explained our process to them and was on the phone for roughly 36 minutes. The customer was very aggressive and was asked several times if there was something we at well-house could do and they replied with we should know what to do. They were offered by us to come and check out the smell and to take more photos (6 photos had been sent after work was completed which we do not claim to take photos of every piece of ductwork and the apartment too my knowledge had less than 10) to which they replied, "I do not want any of you in my house again". We had offered a 10% discount additionally off the bill in order to rectify any frustrations that might have been caused with the alleged service arrival delay and the customer was very unhappy about that amount and said she wanted 50% for the floor scratch that she claimed we caused and I simply said we cannot do that as it has been a week after the service was provided and our invoice states within 24 hours of the service to call with any issues and to take photos. We did not have any tools that would have scratched across a floor, therefore, I have no evidence showing my technicians causing the alleged issue. We wanted to rectify the issue as best as we could, however, the customer criticized my age claiming I don't know what I am talking about the services we provide, and was very abrasive to any monetary solution outside of 50% off.

  Customer response

  06/19/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear 

  hello no I am not happy with a response. You do not take your business seriously or complaints Just as you thought I was calling for a discount before the service. I was actually referring you to our next-door neighbor right next-door and told you that she would do her cleaning at the same time if there was some sort of discount involved You chose not to take both jobs so you turned away business 

  Your payment process is not the issue  never was. I totally understood that although I do wish I wouldve paid with a credit card but4% is a little exuberant credit card fee. OK so you are lying in a couple of these statements one non-truth is I did call and you said you did not need trucks. No big deal. We figured it out. Just took a while Chemicals you said you didnt use any chemicals I immediately walked in the door and smelled something and asked, what it was They said it was sanitizer I have a very sensitive nose. I have a family member that has asthma. Isnt that why you came to clean? Eliminate some of the dust? Chemicals are chemicals no matter which way you put it they cannot be nontoxic if it has a smell its toxic , you still use the chemical Im not sure if youre trying to protect your employees by the way employees that pointed fingers at each other so doesnt know what theyre talking aboutwell, so so doesnt know what theyre talking about on two occasions

  you offered to return and take pictures of the ducts Well, we certainly could pull off the vents and look at that ourselves. The pictures that you sent were of one intake vent You did not take pictures of the other vents as we were told or you did not send them And yes, a discount was offered 10% which you said was $25 that I dont understand *****% $500 times 10% is not $25 ..and also the $50 tip that was left Maybe you could at least return that but not sure its the workers fault not sure whos fault it is. I know the owner is not very professional. You do not scream and yell in somebodys ear Who is the one who is the one yelling not the issue I guess

  in regards to wearing booties or putting things down anybody that does work in somebodys home offers to do that or just automatically does that i dirt is dirt. It doesnt matter if its snowing or if its raining or if its dry I dont know if you know whats on the outside besides people spitting and dogs peeing and pooping and whatever just kind of trapped through here and I think it was very unprofessional just like your response very unprofessional As I think you are religious people, I will pray for you because thats all I can do at this point. Hopefully you learn from it and your employees will learn. and the scratch on the floor was from your ladder.  I will have to pay for it so in addition to there still being dust everywhere maybe even more smell that wont go away and scratch on the floor I guess who has the money I paid you and I hope that again, I pray that something good will come out of it 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  06/20/2024

  Hello, 

  
  Although, we are at a stalemate in how the service occurred and how to be rectified, we are a company that wants to operate in good faith and show an effort of fairness to all of our customers. We will continue to extend the 10% total discount off of the service (an additional $25 off of service) for the unfortunate inconvenience and hope that we can move forward. The discount will be mailed out upon notification of this reply via a check in the mail.

  
  Sincerely,

  Well-House Air Duct Cleaning

  Customer response

  06/20/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Hello, yes an inconvenience to say the least First of all when somebody calls you and asked you questions and your employees dont know the answer .. well, they knew an answer. It just wasnt the correct one Yes, is chemicals. Yes, you need to use your truck. then after service I guess my biggest beef would be that we actually didnt even have this done because theyre collecting money for a cleaning service that is more or less a scam But with that being said, I would like to know what you actually use and have used not just the ones you used (chemicals)..Secondly, I would like pictures of the The other ducts that they said that they took pictures of Fairness OK thats where we say 10% is that fair? Im not really sure 10% in my mind is $50 .. Service cost was $500 the original $25 you gave off was for us paying you cash even so 10% is quite low, but would 10% off $475, which I believe is $47.50 and maybe an additional hundred dollars for the repairs that would cost to fix the floor I dont know what you do about somebody getting yelled at on the phone by an owner a man yelling at me, calling me, yelling at me, (I didnt say a word, although you asked me questions during that whole phone conversation) screaming at the top of his lungs and hanging up and not to  mention it was the owner of a company just very unprofessional. I dont know that you can never  rectify this but $147.50 would suffice if you find that That thats not FAIR .. I would just like people to know out there that it really is not a business doing good business

  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

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