A Homeowner

I've been an Enbridge customer for many years. I've never experienced an interruption in service. Their billing has been accurate and the bills are clear and easy to read. I find the additional pamphlets included with their bills to be very informative. They replaced our gas meter recently as part of a proactive maintenance program they have. I like that they do that, but unfortunately the new piping comes uncomfortably close to our back yard gate.

We hired Jay to advise us on some renovations we plan to do in the future. He also did some research on zoning laws and building costs for us. He was punctual for site visits and his followup emails and calls were always timely. Having someone knowledgeable in the industry to bounce questions and ideas off of definitely helped us feel more comfortable with the process and less uncertain about our next steps.

I called Tropical to arrange a service call for my mid-efficiency furnace's flame sensor. I also asked to have the a/c coil above the furnace cleaned at the same time. It took a few calls to set the appointment date and get a quote. The service tech. arrived on time, but he thought he was supposed to service the flame sensor and clean some sort of condenser coil that is part of high efficiency furnaces. Cleaning the a/c coil would have taken more time, which he didn't have in his schedule that day, and would have cost more than I was originally quoted. Apart from this minor misunderstanding the rest of the job went well. The tech did a good job with the flame sensor. He was able to clean it instead of replace it, which saved me money. He also performed a comprehensive furnace maintenance. Afterwards he cut an inspection hole for the a/c coil, did a visual inspection, and showed me that it didn't need cleaning after all. Overall I'm happy with their service and will consider them again in the future.

My initial call to Pestokill was answered promptly and I received an accurate quote over the phone. It was a little hard to hear the person I was talking too, perhaps due to a poor quality headset or bad wireless connection on their end. Vance arrived on time. He was good natured and easy to talk to. He first confirmed the location of the nest and type of ant. He then checked around the house and in the garage for signs I may have missed. Afterwards he treated the nest area and then took the time to treat the entire perimeter of the house twice, once along the eaves and once along the foundation. When he noticed we had earwigs on our patio he treated for those as well for no extra charge. While doing the job he asked to borrow a ladder and an extension cord. It has been a couple of months since the work was done and I haven't noticed any carpenter ants in the nest area or earwigs on the patio. Good job Pestokill!

My first call to Open Sesame was answered right away by the owner. I explained by problem and he provided an accurate diagnosis and quote over the phone. I was surprised to hear he was available to do the work the next day, a Saturday, at no extra charge. He arrived on time, explained what needed to be done, and then completed the job in a couple of hours. During the job I noticed they were actively testing and tuning things. Steve even called the door manufacturer directly to confirm what size spring to use. It turned out the manufacturer recommended a size that was actually too small for the door. Steve took it in stride and spent extra time replacing the first springs he installed with bigger ones. No grumbling, no extra cost, no short cuts. After the job I called with a followup question. Steve responded within 2-3 business days. Well done Open Sesame.

Pros: They answered the first time I called. The tech. arrived on time. He didn't leave much of a mess and wore shoe covers. Cons: The receptionist initially said there would be a $99.95 diagnostic fee, but when I explained the furnace was still under warranty she said the diagnostic fee would not be charged. After the tech. arrived he said he had to charge the $99.95 diagnostic fee. We called the office, I spoke with the manager, she went on and on about how I wasn't in their annual maintenance club, how I "didn't even have an account with them other than the initial purchase" (funny how spending thousands of dollars on the initial purchase doesn't warrant any respect), and other illogical, off topic arguments. I eventually accepted their offer of a lower diagnostic fee just to get them out of my house. As far as the technician's work goes, at one point he decided to call his manager to ask "how do you want me to handle this call." Immediately after the call he proceeded to put on a song and dance about how it would now take up to two hours to replace this one little part and the labour costs were going to be more than what he first quoted me after the initial diagnosis. When I challenged him on this he backed down. In the end it really only took 60 minutes. It could have only taken 30 minutes if he didn't put the wrong part in during his first attempt. I also wasn't impressed when, before even testing one of the gas couplings to see if it would come off easily or not, the tech. gave three big whacks to my gas pipes with a huge pipe wrench. When he reassembled everything later he didn't do a soap test on any of the joints to ensure there were no leaks. Throughout it all there was constant pressure to join their maintenance club. I still get marketing calls and letters from them.

Whenever I see the tradespeople on home improvement shows I wonder "where do they get these smart, courteous, skilled, and trustworthy trades?" Many of the ones I've encountered just do a quick and dirty job and then hope the homeowner doesn't notice or complain. Well, I lucked out and found one of the first type when I hired Jim from CHR [Now Reach Restoration] to do some masonry repair and caulking for my mom's home and my own. The jobs were done right, on time, and on budget. He even took care of some small areas that he noticed needed repair but were not part of the original work order, no charge. The next time I need any masonry work done, Jim's my guy.