Banks Quarles Plumbing Heating Cooling & Electrical

Kathy C.

Brent R. completed our regular service check and as always Banks Quarles was quick, informed and efficient.

Janis F.

I contacted the Banks Quarles number at 7:30 on Monday morning. The person I spoke with advised me that there would be a $49.99 """"dispatch charge"""" to have someone respond to my house at some point to evaluate an electrical issue that I was having (power is out in certain parts of the home but not others). Fast-forward to about noon. I get a call from the dispatcher saying that an electrician is finally available and could come by the house. A short time later, the electrician arrives, and I fill him in on the events of the last few days. Symptoms of the outage. The timeline of issues. Etc. The electrician tells me, at that time, that there would be a $370 service charge to get out his tools and to diagnose the issue. Not $370 for a repair. $370 to GET TOOLS OUT OF THE TRUCK and to DIAGNOSE. Then, any additional repair fees would be addressed after diagnosis. At this point, I was absolutely floored and asked him why on earth the initial people I spoke with would not have told me that there were additional fees just to diagnose the issue on top of the $50 I've already agreed to. The electrician was extremely nice and polite, but after a few seconds of thinking, I realized what an absolute scam this whole thing was going to be. The electrician also told me that the charge to change out ONE breaker would be $300. This would include a $5 part and 10 minutes (at absolute most) of time. I told the electrician that I understood he's just out here trying to make a living and that I wasn't upset with him-- but that he could leave. (I was extremely polite. I didn't blame him.) I paid the """"dispatch fee"""" (begrudgingly) because I'd agreed that morning on the phone to do so before I realized I was being scammed. I also called the Banks Quarles number and spoke with someone in their office about why they would charge such a huge fee after the $50 initial dispatch fee. I was frustrated that the dispatch fee sounds very much like a general service fee, and once the electrician arrived, I realized that I'd essentially just given $50 away for absolutely nothing. The young lady tried very hard to explain, but the explanation made no sense. She said that the initial fee is to come out (obviously, at this point) and that the technician will address further fees once they see what the issue is. I made the point that we couldn't even make it to that point because I'd been scammed 50 bucks to only have him respond and not diagnose a problem to begin with. We went through about 3 rounds of this before I finally asked for an email to send complaints to. So-- here's the synopsis: the electrician (Jeremy), the woman I complained to (Mary), the dispatcher (Lisa), and the person who took the initial call were extremely polite and as professional as they could feasibly be. But as for the Banks Quarles company, in general: I'm stunned at how absolutely unethical their pricing and process is. I also understand that certain diagnostic equipment is expensive, so I can understand a heftier service charge up front (let's say... $100-$150). But to articulate a $50 fee for someone to come out to diagnose an issue, have someone respond requesting that much more money, have them not even diagnose anything, and know that--even if they did-- the repair charge would be equally as unethical....is outrageous. I won't speak for their HVAC folks. But however things are set up on their electrical side of business: I absolutely, unequivocally discourage anyone from ever even contacting them for service. Companies like this are the reason I hate that people hesitate to wonder if someone is going to take advantage of them, and it made my blood boil to know that somewhere that day-- someone probably paid them a mortgage payment to handle something that could be a minor fix. Absolutely unbelievable. And to be clear-- I understand that services aren't free. People spend time learning trades and should be compensated for their expertise as well as parts and labor. But there is a line of ethics that comes with that. And BQ crossed that line within minutes.

Karen M.

Chris and Kevin came out to fix our water problem and got it going in no time. You couldn't ask for better work or workers! I'll be referring them to anyone needing quality work done.

Jane S.

Initially I called them out here to install 4 floodlights on the corners of my house. After them telling me that they're going to have to run the wiring including the lights, they wanted to charge me $4500. So I said no thanks to that. Then they suggested putting a surge protector on my house. I had them install that for $1200 after I saw the same surge protector on Amazon for $93. So I guess they charge me $1100 to install it. The Surge protector better work. I haven't really priced other electricians but it sounds to me that they are very pricey. I'll probably find somebody else to do my work from now on.

N C.

I had bought a new A/C. We have had numerous issues with this company. Their MO is to have someone that says they will do a good job, overprice the work, and then send someone that has no idea what they are doing or what the person that quoted said. This has happened with HVAC and plumbing. If you like overpriced work that isn't done properly, then go with this company. Otherwise, find someone else.

Marion K.

Charged $4950 for replacing a tankless hot water heater. Took about 3 hours and about $1500 in parts max and didn't change out entire system. Said it was a fixed rate install. They are paying Yelp as a sponsor because they are below 2 star rating and trying to hide it. People need to know that they are ridiculously overpriced. If you want to pay $1,000+/hr in labor call these guys.

Joe S.

Charged $305 to """"inspect"""" the unit and never even took the ceiling panel off to get to the unit. Technician stated nothing was wrong with the unit, and that it was doing all that it could. I'm not exactly sure why I was charged for an inspection of my unit, without the technician touching or even seeing the actual unit?? He didn't even bring tools in with him, other than a multimeter. I then called the office pretending to be someone else, and asked exactly what it would cost to have someone inspect my unit. They quoted the original price of $49.95 again. I then asked if there was nothing to be found wrong, would it cost any additional fee above the $49.95, and the office manager stated that it wouldn't. I feel completely ripped off, and will definitely be disputing these charges. What is worse is the technician stated that his boss was going to be upset that he had a ticket that was only being charged $305.00. Banks Quarles is obviously only in business to make money, and screw over anyone they can to do so!

Joe C.

My mother and I have been waiting over a month for this terrible company to fix our a/c unit that is still under warranty. They send their """"best men out"""", but these """"best men"""" can't figure out what's wrong. One recommended my mother have some roof repair work done. After spending $1,000 on roof work, it's still hot! We're waiting on a part they say will fix the problem. This is the third time they've had to order a part that didn't work. They will also schedule times to come out and leave you waiting all day without letting you know they won't be coming on the scheduled day. They have no problem taking your money. None.At.All. I wish is could give this horrible company zero stars. ONE AND A HALF MONTHS WITH NO AIR CONDITIONING AND FALSE PROMISES!! Worst customer I have ever experienced in my life. My best friend had similar issues with them. Should have listened to her.

Bradford B.

If negative stars were available, I would choose that. First appointment, never showed and called to reschedule. Time frame made very clear at scheduling of second appointment. They did show up, but left for parts and couldn't get back in time frame, so rescheduled. Third appointment never showed and never called. Fourth appointment, I checked in several times throughout the day to see if they were indeed coming and assured I was next. Called at 450 pm and said did not have correct parts. On two of these three appointments, time was taken off work to accommodate the times they were available. This is poor business.

P H.

There is no way I would recommend Banks Quarles and let me explain why. My elderly mother had a leaking outside faucet, so she contacted Banks Quarles. The first mistake was making this call. When the service rep, Joe, arrived he did fix the leak with a washer that cost less than $2. The total cost for the trip on the Banks Quarles invoice was $351.33 to replace a washer! There is no way the trip, washer and repair should have cost this much. After the leak was fixed Joe said he could check out the water heater. At this point there was not a problem with the water heater, except that it was old. Joe flushed the tank and recommended that she replace it with a 50-gallon Halo System for about $2,000.00. Mom said no, and Joe asked her for $200.00 for the service. He also asked that the check be made out to him and not Banks Quarles. He also left his contact information and advised her to call him directly next time she needed something. At this point mom said that she felt pressured to make the payment and she just wanted him gone. Once the Service Rep was gone, mom called Banks Quarles and notified them of what happened. Their reply was that """"they did not do business that way"""". They also stated that they would cover the cancel check fee. Contrary to what they say, they made no effort to rectify the situation. They had the money and they did not care about the customer. Mom canceled the check to Joe, so she is not out that money, just the cancellation fee that Banks Quarles never covered. The day after Joe flushed the water heater it started leaking. We did not call Banks Quarles, instead we got a 40-Gallon heater from a local store and had it installed for a lot less than $1000.00. I was really disappointed in Banks Quarles because of the way they charged for the simple tasks. I have reached out to them a couple of time and the emails and phone calls are not returned.