Should be Mckinnon Heating and Terrorists.
I have been a Mckinnon customer for 15 years. Two days ago I called them because the heat exchanger in my boiler was blocked. I needed it repaired ASAP so I could turn the heat back on. The temperature outside was -15C and my house has 100 year old "insulation".
Upon arrival, they immediately red tagged it and disconnected it from the gas supply. I asked if they could please repair it for the short term and they said it was not worth repairing. I asked that they please keep the gas water heater running and they said they could only do that if I agreed to buy a new boiler from them. I said I was not looking to shop around and they left it running.
They then sent their salesman over to sell me a new $9000 system. They also said before they would work on a replacement I would need to remove some asbestos, install a newer chimney liner, build a small furnace room in the basement etc. Then they lent me some small electric heaters from Canadian Tire.
I contacted another company for a second opinion. They said that although the unit was quite old, what it really needed was a good cleaning. I asked Mckinnon to do this and they again refused saying it was not worth it.
I had the heat exchanger cleaned and restarted the heating system. This was just in time as the water pipes to our top floor had already frozen. If the pipes had burst it would have done substantial damage to our property.
The next morning I woke to find Mckinnon trucks in front of my house disconnecting my gas at the meter. They not only turned off my heat, but also shut down my 3 gas fireplaces and water heater. It seems that if I am not going to buy a new system from them that I am not allowed to have any heat in the house at all.
I then contacted another company - Laird and Son - who was able to send someone over immediately. Their technician inspected the whole installation and found no problems. Then then turned the gas meter back on and ran several computerized tests before certifying it as safe.
The moral of this story is buyer beware. Seek a second opinion. While Mckinnon focused on finding problems and holding me hostage, Laird and Son found immediate solutions and worked through the problem. In future, I will be giving my business to Laird and Son.
I gave Mckinnon a "1" only because the salesman left the small electric heaters as he bolted out the door. I would give "Laird and Son" an "11" if the web site would let me go that high.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $9,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Get out of the heating business and consider selling time share condos.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Do your home work. Get at least two opinions. If at any point the company makes you feel uncomfortable, ask them to leave.
- Company Response
On January 4, 2010 at 3:13 AM, we received an email from this client that reads verbatim "The fire department was just here and shut off our furnace for a CO2 alarm. It's -15 and the heat in the house won't last long. Can you please call me back first thing in the morning to arrange an emeregency repair?"
At approximately 9 AM on January 5th our technician arrived at the client's home to find a 20+ year old boiler that was unsafe and as such was "red tagged" and disconnected. At 10 AM our salesperson was at the home with 5 portable space heaters and quoted the client some replacement options. In the interim, the client chose to "clean" the boiler himself and due to this, we would assume no responsibility for his work and thus would not re-attend to turn the boiler on. However, to protect the client's safety, we did re-attend on Wednesday, January 6th and turned off the gas meter (This was advised to us after consultation with Enbridge Gas Distribution).
At Mckinnon, we always do our best to place our client's safety before anything else, even profit.