Bell Brothers Plumbing Heating & Air

Kerman C.

I can sum it up in one word, Ben.

I don't know what I was thinking when I called a H&AC company that was NOT from Angie's List. Angie's List ROCKS! The technician that came out quoted me $804 dollars to clean out all the blockages in the coil, replace the filters and bring the system back to ""factory fresh."" I thought that was steep and told him I would get back to him. That visit was $119.00.

I remembered I had joined Angie's list so I logged in and found ABC Cooling and Heating. They had all positive reviews so I figured I would give them a try. Ben came out the very next day. It was a Saturday! The visit was $59.00 to assess what could be wrong. He went through the unit with a fine tooth comb and could not substantiate what I had been previously told by the other company. The problem was simply a flip of a switch. The unit had been turned off and I didn't even know there was a switch there. I just knew about the breaker.

Ben was very knowledgeable about the unit and took the time to explain in detail how everything worked and what to look for should it stop working again. I swear I wanted to hug him when he left and I am a dude. Not only did he save me money but he educated me. I will NEVER go to anyone else for my H&A needs again. ABC is it for me.

Carolina M.

ABC Cooling & Heating recently replaced our heating system with new heating ducts and a new furnace. Their service and follow-up were excellent and we're extremely happy with our new system. In one month we've saved $150 in our PG&E bill, and because ABC is certified by PG&E, we received a rebate from PG&E of $3,500!!

Dave W.

Had a living social deal to have my heater inspected and a tune up. The person answering the phone was very helpful in scheduling a time and date. On the day of the tune up I was called and notified that a technician would be by in an hour. The technician (Bruce) showed up on time and immediately went to work. When he was done, he gave me a run down of what he did and that I all I needed was a new filter. He didn't have a filter on hand, but told me exactly what I needed. He even showed me an alternate location to install a filter so I wouldn't have to crawl under the house for me to DIY. Bruce was very knowledgable and answered all my questions. He even fixed the fan function on the thermostat when I told him it wasn't working. Would use them again in the future.

Natalie M.

The furnace went out on Christmas eve. We called ABC at 10am on Christmas Day: Craig was over at noon and had everything working before 1pm. He even showed us the secret extra breaker box that we had inadvertently tripped trying to put space heaters in the living room. ABC and Craig saved Christmas!

Richard N.

Ben Is The Man ( maybe the only one? But he is good ).....

Pros: Seemingly thorough examination. Efficient. Good value.
Cons: None yet!

Suggestions: Be sure to have a disposable filter on hand in case it's needed. ABC doesn't carry spares. The one year ""Maintenance Plan"" is worth the price of $169.

Stars:
- Overall: 5
- Scheduling: 5
- Promptness: 5
- Efficiency: 4
- Helpfulness: 4
- Cost: 5
- Value: 5
- Trustworthiness: 5

We've tried a number of companies in the San Jose area to periodically check on the health of our heating and cooling systems. A quick review of the Yellow Pages and Yelp will show many firms vying for your business. But after sampling some of their competitors, we brought ABC back in November 2010 to inspect the central heating system in our 3 story townhouse.

The guy from ABC, Ben, got up into the attic between the 3rd floor of rooms and the roof which is not an easy task because I've done the same thing myself. Let's just say you'd think KB Homes would have devised a better way to view the heating and duct system...including the simple job of changing filters...instead of forcing a regular size human to morph into an alien who can fit through a keyhole.

Since Ben seemed to cover all the bases in a prompt and helpful manner and the cost for this service ( parts and liquids are extra ) was quite reasonable, we agreed to sign up for their ""Guardian Maintenance Plan"" which provides for 2 visits a year...one for cooling and one for heating...at a price of $169.

Last April, we called ABC to arrange for the 2nd half of their annual visit to check our central air conditioning system. Again, it was Ben who arrived and conducted a thorough examination, including cooling power, accuracy of the thermostat and output from the various vents.

With winter approaching, we recently arranged for a return visit by ABC to again focus on the heating system. Ben performed the same thorough job he did in November 2010 ( I'm sure they have other employees ) and completed an inspection form with statistics and a written description of what he saw. Essentially, he again determined no need for extra services, equipment or work. Impressive! So we signed up for another 1 year plan at $169.

From their most recent 4 visits ( there was 1 several years ago ), we can say ABC:
- Arrived on time
- Conducted through inspections of the heating and cooling systems
- Did not manufacture a recommendation for extra work
- Answered questions with sensible answers
- Caused no harm to the house
- Charged a reasonable price

It would be worthwhile to try ABC Cooling and Heating..and if you like the experience...sign up for the annual $169 ""Maintenance Plan"".

Bob W.

Their pricing strategy is unfortunate, so I will not use the firm in the future.

On a call where they discovered our heater's ignitor was out, the company would not provide their service on a parts and labor basis - or disclose parts prices. This is the owner's choice. So for a service call to get a heater element replaced (basically plugging in a new ignitor), we were quoted $330. The technician could not say what the part price is. What troubled me was searching the price for the ignitor shows this to be a $20 part. The consequence of the visit is I will be warmer, but also feel betrayed by the pricing strategy.

If you want to avoid the event of hyperventilation that I am enduring, you might settle on a different approach for repair of your heater. This is the first time I have experienced a repair that was not parts and labor, so I had not thought to consider this when I made this morning's call. Obviously, if the part price were not so low, I would not be bemoaning the usurious pricing that I have just endured.

Tarun B.

This is by far the best service experience I had in long time. I can't remember the name of technician, since this was done few weeks back, but the person showed up on time. Very polite, courteous and explained everything in detail about A/C mainetance service. Without losing time, he started his work. During the maintenance, he pointed that A/C is marginally low on FREON and might need couple of shots. I told I'd wait for an year or so and observe it is leaking. At the end, he ended up giving the shot FREE as he could not leave the A/C running in such marginally low state. What else could you expect from professional.

I hope all the technicians are equally good in this company. They have my 5 stars. I am also planning to schedule Heating maintenance service with them.

Grainne C.

I recently purchased a check up through livingsocial. I was very impressed with Angela who first answered the phone and set up the appointment. She was very professional and friendly and made sure to repeat everything back to make sure it was ok.

They showed up within the time frame as promised. I had thought I was going to get a phone call before arrival but that didn't happen. I work from home so that wasn't an issue.

Sal, the technician, was extremely polite and professional. He checked everything out, tuned things up and explained that I was a little low on refrigerant. He did say my unit was about 30 years old and I shouldn't be too concerned about the refrigerant loss and explained where he thought the leak was coming from. He did do a touch up which cost $175. He also explained about their regular maintenance contracts which seem reasonable to me. I will consider adding that.

All in all a great experience. I would recommend them.

Elis J.

They give honest opinion, very reasonable price on the first check up ($60). We have used them for several times for repairs.

I get several bids for a new AC and their price is the lowest.

Arthur K.

After reading my first review on Yelp, after my furnace installation, the manager responded immediately. Paperwork appeared. Jeff, the sales person, graciously helped me fill it out, and I submitted by certified mail. Two weeks ago I received my PG&E rebate, and today I received notice that my Cash for Appliances rebate for $300 was approved, and I will receive it in 4 weeks. ABC deserves 4.5 stars, because of the paperwork delay. Installation, however, went extremely smooth. The furnace works great.