Barker's Cooling Heating & Plumbing

Jaclyn M.

I had a very poor experience with Barker's. Our air-conditioning unit was not cooling properly (it would maintain at 80, but not go cooler), so I called Barker's and they were quick to come out. For the quote and diagnostics it was $300+. They technician told me that the air conditioning unit had a leak in the evaporator coil and it would cost $4100 to replace the coil. He then told me that we could not use our air conditioning until the coil is replace because it might overheat and destroy the outside unit. He did say that they hopefully could rush the part and be out here in a few days. I said "ok" and then did some research online and felt like the price was a bit high, so I called another company for them to come out and give a quote. They quoted me HALF THE COST of Barker's, and even threw in leveling my outside until for free (Barker's was going to charge me $175 to level the unit). I called Barker's because I was confused as to why their price was so high, and was told that it was their flat rate for a coil change and that "yes, our prices are quite a lot higher. It is because of our guarantee." That did not add up, because the other place I chose to go with has a wonderful warranty, for HALF THE PRICE!

So in short, I do not recommend Barker's. I felt like the technician was trying to take advantage of me and my ignorance of air conditioning units. ALSO, the place I went with did a temporary fix so we could use our air conditioning unit (which I am thankful for since it is July in Texas) until they were able to come out and replace the evaporator coil.

C M.

We needed refrigerant added to our older system.Barkers came out and said they added 3 lbs of refrigerant but in a day and a half the AC was not cooling anymore. We called someone we trust who was not available at the time and he added 2 lbs and so far it has lasted us a week. So I am thinking Barkers' tech said he put that much in but either lied or did it wrong. Companies are just so untrustworthy.

John O.

Phillip did a good job following up with me on an issue I was having and honored their part of the service agreement. This company is well known in town for servicing a large number of units, and I think they do a very good job at making sure customers are treated properly. They are very thorough and I would recommend you give them a try if you're looking for A/C service! Thanks Barker's and Phillip!

Cosmin P.

We asked Barker's to come and check out an AC unit that was not working properly. The technician came and stated that the system is using NU22 refrigerant and they do not work on systems that use NU22. We still do have a diagnostic but Barker's charged us $85 for informing us that they do not work with NU22. We called and politely asked for a refund since they did not provide a diagnostic and that was NO work done. They declined. We feel they should not charge us considering they stated they are not able to diagnose the system.

Robert C.

We purchased a house in Bryan, TX in August. During the purchase we had the house inspected in May. The inspector stated the AC unit was not cooling properly. We asked for the unit to be serviced. The previous owners gave us the service report Barker's Heating & cooling. In their own report they state the inspector was wrong and the house was cooling properly, they also state the filters were fine. Also in the same report they state they unit is 5 lbs low on freon. Note that Barker installed the unit in Dec 2012. It is an extremely high end Lennox unit. How can a $22,000 AC unit be low on freon in less than 4 years if it was installed properly? When we moved in the unit ran constantly and would barely cool to 75F. The type of unit and size for this house we literally should be able to cool it to 60. Note this is after Barker just serviced the unit. I called another HVAC tech and they inspected the unit and immediately noted the high efficiency air purifier filter was completely clogged. I looked at it and to the naked eye you could see the loads of dirt in the filter. I find it unprofessional and sad that Barker's not only missed an obviously clogged filter but added 5 lbs of freon without ensuring the unit really needed it and it if it did need it, where did it leak from? No where in their report did they say they did a leak check. For those that do not know, Barker's is no longer a family owned business but was sold some time ago to an investor. The type of service that I have observed mirrors my bad impression of investors who simply want money and don't really care how they get it.

Niamh F.

I have a property 5 years old in College Station, my property manger called to tell me Barkers were out to look at my AC as it was broken, I got a quote for $1500, I had him get a second opinion as the house was new and not abused. Second opinion, a loose plug and cost FREE! Barkers tried to rip us off. We will never use them again.

Droptable S.

I moved into a new home. The AC system was about 2 years old, and was supposed to be under Barker's warranty. The AC wasn't cooling well, and it would take it many hours to go down just a few degrees. I asked Barkers to come out and see what is wrong. I wasn't home myself - my girlfriend was.

The tech arrived and said he did not know what was wrong as there was enough refrigerant and the system was testing OK. Then, he called his supervisor, who told him to add refrigerant (410A, I believe). He did that, and gave my girlfriend a bill. They charged us $175!!!!!!! For someone to come out, not know what to do, and charge a bit of refrigerant?! I called in to ask for an explanation, and they said only the coils were under warranty. Moreover, they said that it was a $85 service call, and $90 worth of refrigerant. That is complete BS, because a can of 410A costs $90, and contains 30-40 pounds of it. My whole systems can contain 3-4 pounds. They must have put 1-2 pounds at best!

To get the "explanation", I had to call in twice, and every time they said they would call me back, but they didn't. I called in the 3rd time, and I caught one of their supervisors so I could talk to her. Essentially, she was pretty rude, and had the tone of "We screwed you over, and you can do nothing about it".

Needless to say, they will never get mine, my family's, or my friend's business if I have anything to do with it.

Suggestion for improvement: stop robbing people blind. Stop exploiting customers who know nothing about HVAC.

Brandon A.

BUYER BEWARE. I had a $50.00 dollar part replaced on my AC unit which was leaking. The total cost of the repair came out to be 447 dollars which is obviously an extremely high price even with labor (took under 30 mins to replace) and of course their markup. Please keep these things in mind when searching for a trustworthy AC repair.


Update: Still doesn't add up without significant markup on your end which is the fact future service seekers may desire.

Let's do some potential math.

Line filter drier 50 bucks
Solder lets overestimate and say 50 bucks

Let's say a high 200% markup that's 300 bucks

So that would make labor about 150 for 30 mins work. That' 450. Obviously no way to get to that number without markup that would make most people think twice.

Since you continue to attempt to discredit my review I will also add the fact that the leak was discovered after agreement to recharge, (the technicians originally stated they didn't believe there was a leak) which would mean to have someone else come out would have required them to redo all the recharge work I had already agreed to so I would have had to pay for the same job twice. None of that sounds like a company I would want to use or would want anyway searching for service to use. Thus the poor review.

Catherine G.

We've replaced 2 heating and cooling system on 2 different houses and we won't use anyone but Barkers. Yes, they may be a bit pricier than the others but, they show when they say they will, have all the parts needed to do the job, and give real advice.

For example, on our first house, they came out to look at our heater and let us know that, yes, it would need to be replaced, but that we should be OK to keep running it until spring when we could afford to replace it and it would be more comfortable to have no heating or cooling.

Compared to our previous HVAC tech who would repeatedly show up late or "whenever" and have to make multiple trips (on the clock, billed) to go get parts they ought to have had. Basic things like a thermostat. And, when they worked on my MIL's house, they couldn't find an easy to read thermostat online to order. I had to go find it (5 minutes work) order it and then have them install it. They were just lazy and didn't want to take the effort.

Barker's guys are pros and do the best work, we've never been disappointed. i Took off 1 star for cost, because they aren't cheap, but their prices are honest and fair and ultimately worth it.

William S.

This is not a false review. This is from one of my clients, that Barkers tried to screw over. I listened to the voicemail(s) that were left, by Barkers, trying to scare a elder lady, volatile gas leaking into your home, and wanting to get it done asap... Don't try to screw over my friends Barkers! I'll always be watching. Honesty and integrity Barkers. Homeowners beware.

Zero stars would be better for this criminal company.
First off they told us we had a leak in our system, and it would be 1000$ to just pressure the system to check for a leak, and fix it. I declined because the techs seemed like scam artists, not really knowing what they were looking for, and didn't even talk as if they were trained techs... Barkers wanted to charge a 72 year old woman that much money, when her husband just passed away (he was the one that handled all the bills/maint). They completely took advantage of a elderly woman that they had a service contract with for years!!! We didn't fall for the trick, and didn't call them back to leak check it again, since they couldn't find it the first time... I was recommended to call Air Control because they have nothing but 5 star reviews, and were school trained! They came out, the unit was less than a 1/4lb low, which is barely nothing, and the tiny tiny tiny leak was coming out of the access port, simple 75 cents fix... We had a service contract with Barkers for over 5 years, and when Air Control saw our units, and how un-maintained they were, they were even pissed. They took pictures and showed me, years and years of dirt, leaves, spiders and geckos were inside my 2 outside units, never even looked at... DO NOT CALL BARKERS, THEY SHOULDN'T BE IN BUSINESS HERE!!!