I had a pretty disappointing experience with McKinnon this week. On Tuesday I called to ask for a repair visit because my 8 yr old HE gas furnace had stopped working (during an especially cold week). I called them because they are one of a few distributors of parts for the type of furnace I have. Based on my conversation with another HVAC company/the internet/my eyeballs I was quite sure the venter motor needed to be replaced, however they said they weren't willing to order the part and still needed to diagnose, which makes sense I guess.
A nice staff member (Phil) came and within literally 5 minutes agreed the venter motor needed replacing. He said he'd come back the following day at 2pm with the new part and lent me a space heater. He said he'd let me know how much the part would be beforehand, but agreed that the cost would be 'closer to $200 than $800' (which was the way I asked it).
Then came time for the bill - I was shocked: $55 for a 'truck fee', which indeed the receptionist had told me about, but then $85 for labour! This reflected their $125/hr labour fee, minus a $40 coupon from their website. It turns out they don't charge by 15 min or 30 min increments - 5 minutes of labour and you're charged for the full hour!
The next day (after a long cold night), the McKinnon receptionist called me after 2pm to let me know the part would be $680. She assured me she'd called to suppliers and this was the best price. Also, it couldn't be installed until tomorrow, as it was now too late in the day to get the part. Finally, she told me that the labour cost, even though this would take under 30 minutes to install would be $125. The full hour I'd paid for the day before would not factor in. I expressed my dissatisfaction and a manager offered to charge $75 for labour instead.
In the meantime, I called another HVAC company - they quoted me $411 for the same part, installed it the following day and ended up not charging me any labour.
I went with this other company, and won't be using McKinnnon ever again.
The icing on the cake was today when McKinnon left a message saying my card had been declined and threatening to send the bill to collections! I'd been trying out the new Visa Debit card I'd just gotten (not very smart, I admit) and it turns out it can't be used as a Visa. I called and gave them my regular card number.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $158.00
- Company Response
Hello Else,
I was well aware of your situation as it unfolded and I know we tried our best to accomodate you. Although we try to provide competitive pricing, we cannot provide a high level of service that our clients expect and make little or no profit. On the positive side, I am glad that you were taken care of by another HVAC contractor and that your heating in your home has been restored.