A#1 Air

Cory W.

I bought a new A/C for my condo last summer (2012). They offered a one-year-later free check-up. I took them up on their offer recently.
Long story short, I missed three days of work for an appointment that should have taken no more than an hour of one day.
Their dispatch department and communication between dispatch and the techs is pathetic and non-existent and needs immediate attention.
The first time, the tech showed up without a sufficient ladder to access my unit. She called their dispatch department who did in fact have in their notes that my condo would require the big ladder, so dispatch failed to find a tech with a sufficient ladder. No one could come that day with the ladder, so I rescheduled for the following Friday between noon-4pm.
The day before the second appointment, I phoned dispatch to ask if they could switch me to the 10-2 window. They did so and confirmed it with me. A few hours later, I got an automated call to confirm a noon-4pm window. I called their dispatch back, and Terry confirmed that I was in fact 10-2 and to ignore the automated call. When the day came, I finally got a call at 4:30pm that it would be at least another hour. When I inquired about my 10-2 window, the dispatcher said he showed I was a noon-2pm. So, TWO live people I spoke to the day prior confirmed it was 10-2, and the work order was never changed. By 6pm, I called them back and canceled the appointment. I had missed another day of work and wasted the entire day waiting around.
We rescheduled for today between 10-2. Around 1pm today, the tech showed up WITHOUT A SUFFICIENT LADDER. The tech even remarked that dispatch asked him if he had the tall ladder, and he said NO, and they let him proceed to the appointment anyway. This was the 3rd attempt just to get a check-up and the third day I took off work. I was offered nothing but an apology, and I had to wait around another 90 minutes for another tech to show up with a sufficient ladder.
This is the height of bad customer service, and I will see to it that no one I know uses this monkey-operation. I'm in the customer service industry, and if my company jerked people around this way, we would have to compensate them somehow. I got three days of lost wages and an apology.

Kimberly S.

Similar experience as Rowlett review from today. Contacted this weekend to set appointment. Scheduled for Wednesday (thought, "Wow, that was quick!"). Received a call Tuesday requesting a call back to confirm Wednesday appointment (between 12 & 4). Called back and confirmed. Received another call this morning, again requesting a call back to confirm. Called back and confirmed (again). Received a call around 1:00 telling me the technician had one stop to make and then on to us. After 4:00 - no call/no show. Called and was told "Oh, he just left about 10 minutes ago...let me call and see if he needs a break or anything." Then told me he was stopping in Carrollton at the office then headed to me. With traffic, he wouldn't have arrived until 5:30/6:00. We ended up calling back and canceling. Felt we were being lied to and have no need to work with a company that claims to be so much better than the others but can't hold up to their commitments. Stay away!

James B.

Please do not use A #1 Air. They might be friendly but I am seriously doubting their competence with regards to proper AC repair that doesn't end up costing you way more than needed.

I have had them out twice in the last 6 months. During the winter they replaced a panel board for $750 to get my furnace up and running. They also informed me that my damper unit was broken and would cost $1,300 to repair. I passed on the damper unit at the time.

This past Monday they came out to look at my malfunctioning AC. They diagnosed a faulty capacitor (cost $300 to repair) and that my condenser was not "triangulating" properly. They said they could do a quick fix and just replace the capacitor but were confident the compressor would fail this summer. Their solution was to replace the entire condenser unit. And highly suggested replacing the entire HVAC system. Including the repair of the "broken" damper, total cost would run anywhere from $5,500 to $9,800.

Deciding to get a second opinion, the other service company instantly spotted a freon leak on the condenser unit (the freon cap was not on but rather sitting to the side of the unit). Something A#1 Air either didn't notice, didn't think to alert me of, or caused themselves. The 2nd opinion also diagnosed an issue with the capacitor but said the compressor was running close to the manufacturer range. He also took a look at the "broken" damper and noticed that the dampers were working fine and there was just a massive hole in my duct work that was fairly obvious to anyone looking. His fix was a booster for the capacitor ($90), some new freon ($40), and some tape for the duct work. Total cost with labor: $227.

A#1 Air might do great actual work when it comes to repairing AC units. Everybody I dealt with was friendly and professional. They showed up on time and even had availability on the day I called. But when they send out their "closer" for the high dollar items, it just feels like a pressure job to go with the most expensive solution. Their replacement cost for the condenser was easily way over $1,000 alone based on my 2nd opinion quote.

Bottom line: Be very wary about their recommended solutions. Expect their costs to heavily inflated. And take any issue they find with a grain of salt.

Patricia Z.

I called about getting a tuneup for my AC. Person on phone said that they are booked until the middle of June (this is a month away). So she recommends a technician do an emergency call and put freon in. I called at 7 pm (approx). Called back at 8ish pm and was told that the technician was in Allen (I am in Plano) doing a PRESENTATION and cannot come for another 2 hours. That would be 10 pm. My air works (to a fashion) and it is not an emergency. So I cancelled the appt.

Why would a technician be giving a presentation? Why did this have precedence over a service call??? Is the technician a sales person as well? There is something not right about this company. I will move on and I would advise you do the same.

Jim S.

Extremely high pressure sales when they come to your house wanting to sell new systems. Appear dejected when you only want maintenance or repair. I scheduled a repair...waited several days...and they came out with the wrong part and couldn't do the repair. That was last year. This year, don;t ask me why, I scheduled a maintenance of my units, I guess because they had a special deal. Had to schedule 1 month in advance. The day they were supposed to come, they kept calling and delaying when they would come. Finally they called at close to 8:00 pm and asked if I still wanted them to come. I said I've been waiting all afternoon, yes I'd like to get this fixed today since I scheduled a month ago. They called back and said, they will be coming out around 10:00 p.m. I said no, I get up at 4 so don' t bother. I'm done with you guys...FOREVER. Be wise, avoid these guys.

Fjohrs L.

I had a small problem with my AC so I called around. A1 advertises heavily in the DFW area and they answer the phone quickly. They charged the least of anyone to come and give me an estimate.

I can't believe they are only wanting to charge me $13,000.00 dollars to replace my relay switch that sells for ~$300.00 retail. Of course that's not the charge to repair my problem, that's the cost to replace my entire system that "sort of" works now.

I asked for the estimate to do the bare minimum repair and they told me that they don't really repair units, they just install new units. The calls are recorded so if you know a person at A1 that wants to refute my statements please feel free to have them call me.

Sherrie T.

I called A # 1 Air to fix my furnace. I was quoted $700 to replace the gas valve or pay $2830 to replace the unit which he strongly recommended. They also recommended I buy their warranty to save money. This seemed outrageous so I got a second opinion and was told there was nothing wrong with my gas valve but my control board needed to be replaced. The part was $155 for my unit!!!! I'm giving them 1 star because I did not have to pay the $29 service fee.

Kevin M.

I scheduled an appt for 830 pm. Come 1050pm I called and rescheduled for the next day at 530 pm. I made it very clear that their punctuality was important because I am always on the run. He promised the tech would be there at 530. It's now 659 and I'm writing this review. U tell me ur opinion of these guys if they ever show up!!

Howard L.

Question their integrity and honesty. Reasons why I do:
1) 2 Techs arrived promptly on time in mid-afternoon. Noticed their shirts nice, clean and fresh. I would have expected them to be tardy and some wrinkleness, sweat and dirt from working thru the morning. Their hands and nails very clean.
2) When they inspected AC unit, they brought no tools with them to the unit. One look and pronounced compressor to be permanently dead. I ask them to check freon level. They said no need b/c compressor absolutely dead.
3) Quoted $2800 for new compressor with 2-3 weeks delivery time. $3800 for new condenser (outside) unit. Being middle of July, I needed cool air bad and had no extra time to schedule a 2nd opinion from another company.
4) To their credit, they had new condenser installed by day's end.
5) 2 weeks later AC system got warm, no cooling. Their tech came out and said I need a new upstairs (evaporator coil) unit. Quoted another $3500 for an upstairs unit. He added a bit of freon and left after I told him I wanted another opinion.
6) Got 2nd opinion from another AC company. He evaluated whole situation and said root problem was low freon from leak in evap coil. The low freon kept my original compressor shut down as safety for the condenser unit. Original condenser was probably still very good. He fixed the leak and now all is still good 2 months later.

I saw the previous bad comments from other reviews concerning A#1 Air, about their pushy sales tactics and lack of proper diagnosis, on this site and others. My fault for ignoring the comments and for trusting the many radio and TV ad campaigns they have going on.

Julie S.

Certain things they did caused us to question their professional integrity and judgment.