Berkeys Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Electrical

Jackie B.

BUYER BEWARE of Berkeys Air Conditioning, Plumbing, & Electrical. I received a $3,500 estimate from them for a $10 repair. On May 22nd, I arrived home to find a narrow line of water extending from the hot water heater closet to the garage door. The circulating pump attached to my hot water was dripping. I googled the pump and found that the cost of a brand new identical pump was approximately $200 on a variety of online plumbing supply stores. I searched for a plumber online and found Berkeys. I selected Berkeys because their business address is less than 5 miles from my house. A Berkey's plumber arrived the following morning. I showed him the leaky pump he went out to his truck to calculate the estimate. He returned with a $3,500 estimate for an anti-scale device and a new pump. He reported that scale build-up was the cause of the pump failure. I told him that I did not need the $2,300 anti scale device as my glass showers and fixtures are 10 years old and show no signs of scale. He began a high pressure sell tactic. I told him that I wasn't interested and my purpose in calling Berkeys was for a plumber not a salesman. My need was simple... the recirculating pump needed repair or replacement. The remaining $1,200 of the estimate was for the pump. I asked for a breakdown of parts and labor. I explained to him that I thought the estimate was high given that an identical pump is available online for $200 and labor should not exceed two hours. From a distance he flashed the official Berkeys price list which he claimed validated his estimate. I began to feel like a dupe. I was unclear why he needed 20 minutes in his truck to calculate the estimate if he had a fixed price list. I told him that if $1,200 was his price then we had no further business as I was confident that my out-of-town husband fix the pump in less than an hour. He told me that I owed him for the service call. I paid him the $69. After he left, I googled the pump again this time for repairs. According to the internet, it is common for the seal to fail and the pump to leak after 8+ years of circulating hot water. I called the 100-year old pump manufacturer and spoke with a technician. He proceeded to troubleshoot the pump over the phone i.e. no cracks in housing, pump runs. He confidently stated that a new O-ring would solve my problem. He provided me the part number. I fixed the pump for $10.15 which is the cost of the new O-ring. It took about 10 minutes to remove 4 screws, install the new O-ring, and replace the 4 screws. I am happy to report that the pump works and does not leak. I am also happy to report that I took pictures of the inside of the pump and there was no scale in or on the pump. Bottom line- either this plumber knew less about pumps than an accountant or he was scamming me. I am posting this review so that someone else might not have to pay the $69 to learn the same lesson.

Amy Y.

So I have been a client of Berkeys for over 3 years...I have gotten my AC fixed, a new tankless hot water heater and also electrical inspections. Earlier this week I asked to renew my membership for electrical and have them come out and check for some issues. I gladly paid the $99 dollars and scheduled an appointment from 12-4pm. So I take off the afternoon of Wednesday the 24th from 12-5:30pm giving myself amble time. I called at 3pm and they indicated I was the next to receive a technician but they probably not be here until around 4pm. I asked them how long it would take and they informed me it would be 45 minutes once they got here. I had a client meeting at 5:30 so that gave me plenty of time. I explained I had a meeting at 5:30 and I might have to reschedule if they could not get here by 4pm. I called back at 4:30 because I still did not receive a call. They indicated they they where overbooked...not my problem...and then explained they told me they where running late...I said I knew that because I called you an hour and half ago. I explained I can not take off work to wait for them and they said we call you 30 minutes before we come...what work allows someone to just leave when they get a phone call...not mine! I said I really needed this done so can we move to Friday...they are overbooked so I asked for a refund and now looking for a new company. I was also so impressed with Berkey's but they really let me down and will not use them again.

Mike C.

I had a leak from my water meter. I had called the city and they said the leak was on my side of the meter. When the gentleman from Berkeys got here he pumped the water out with a little hand pump. Then we could see where it was coming from and water was leaking from the fitting that attached to the meter where my pipe connected to the meter. I feel that the charge to correct the problem was very excessive. He replaced about one foot of pipe with some brass connections and a piece of another kind of pipe. It took less than an hour to do it including him going to get parts. He told me they could not warrant the work because of the type of pipe that ran from my home . The charge was over $1300.00 for this. When I asked how much it would cost to replace the line from the house to the meter, he guessed it was about 50 feet and that would be over $8000.00. I wish now I would have got a second bid but on Friday night going into the weekend with a water leak I just went it. The service tech was very nice and cleaned up well when he finished. But I can't beleive I paid $1377.12 to have a foot of pipe replaced in an hour and no warranty.

After checking Yelp I find they do this all the time. And I see that Berkeys always replies on yelp that the customer signed the piece of paper before the work starts.

Guess I got taken this time but it won't happen again, at least not by Berkeys! Please beware and don't you get taken by them!

Karen O.

Having checked the BBB rating, Angie's List, Google Reviews & then lastly Yelp, I'm glad we stuck with our appointments for 3 of Berkey's technicians to provide a diagnosis and estimates for work we THOUGHT was imminent on 3 major systems of our house, plumbing, A/C and electrical issues were thought to be in need of some major updating but happily all 3 of the inspections to the equipment found them to be in mostly great working order with a few areas needing addressing. Over all about $2000 in work was needed in all 3 areas where we were getting estimates by phone from others (free estimates mind you based on what we "thought" were issues) of work in the neighborhood of possibly $15+K. From scheduling on a Saturday and someone actually answering the phone to a quick turnaround time for all 3 technicians to come out to the property on the following Monday (window of time 1 to 5 PM and ALL showed up in that time frame on time and professional & spent about an hour each on site).

There is a service charge for having their technicians come out to the property. We even opted to pay for an additional service to scope some lines and are very happy we did. As a small business owner, knowing what an investment it is in time and experience just to come out to a home I would rather pay the service fee and get a professional, trustworthy estimate because they've been paid for some time on site than get a "free" estimate only to be handed a huge bill for work I may not have ever needed (remember we thought the work was going to be very extensive and it gratefully wasn't!) Thank you for your professionalism in what was a stressful waiting period. From our 1st time experience with 3 of your technicians for different systems we would be happy to recommend you as well as use you for future work.

Bryan B.

On two occasions I have had the displeasure of having this company to come to my house... the first gentleman was slightly rude and offsetting... the second today was condescending and rude... I requested service on my air condition under my service agreement... I was aware of the state of my unit when I purchased my home 2 years ago... the new owner who is purchasing my home, as is, has had the home inspected and will be purchasing the unit in no less of ware and tare then I did... however, when the Berkeys technician BRANDON wanted to discuss the issues with me... I guess his customer service training included the addition of his vast experience and advice on what he thought with regards to the sale of my house... was I using a real estate agent... um yea, the sign is in the yard... and was I expecting the home warranty to replace the unit... then while my air conditioning is running... he's telling my unit is working... while it's blowing 64 in my house... gtf outta here with that crap.... yes there are issues with the unit... do they need repair today... no.... just like they didn't when I bought the house 2 years ago....the new owner can, when needed, make the repairs themselves...

Listen, there are ways to talk to customers... if you want to be treated with respect... call another company.

Katie C.

They came out to check a clogged shower and bathtub. After looking at it and trying to snake it we were told that the pipes were bad and we needed new pipes put in (a $7,000-$12,000 job) and then billed us $339 for coming out to check the drain and tell us the bad news. We had another business come out,(Mark Ondras) and they fixed the problem in 30 minutes and only charged us $120. I don't trust Berkeys, I think they are trying to sell you on more thank you need.

Tony C.

Had this company come to my house last year and they did a really bad job. They overcharged and I believe actually did not do anything. They threw in a preventive plan that typically costs $100 to make up for some of the really bad service. This year they called and scheduled a PM for my AC units. The guy missed his 4.5 hour window and I had to leave for work. My son was at home and let him in to do the PM. He called me at work later and told me that my downstairs unit did not work and the upstairs was leaking. He said he did not want to try and fix but both should be replaced estimate 15K. I told him thanks and have a nice day. I used my downstairs unit that was supposedly broken that very morning and again when i got home. Obviously, he did not even check or totally incapable. I knew when he called me that he was not speaking truthfully. He was rude and spoke to me like I was an idiot. I called a second company and paid again for the visit. The second company said my downstairs unit is old but working fine with no leaks. He said the upstairs unit had a leak and gave me some options on what to do next. He spoke to me in plain English with no crazy AC techie terms. So, moral of the story, I will never use Berkys again. They cheated me previously on the price and service. In my opinion they gave me a free PM plan last time to simply to come back and cheat me again. I will NEVER use this company again. I would steer all away if I could. Bad, undependable, not to be trusted, cheats, and overpriced.

Rhea C.

If I could give zero stars I would. I called Berkeys to do an inspection of my hvac and furnace because we are putting our house on the market. Mind you, everything works great. Our AC cools the house and the furnace keeps it nice and toasty. The technician started selling the minute he walked in. In the end, he informed me that I had a whole list of issues and it would be $10,000 to repair it or $11,000 to replace the AC. I have a 1500 square foot house and wouldn't need a unit larger than 4 tons. I can purchase a 4 ton unit for anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000. I have no idea where he got the $11,000 amount. That's insane.
I called someone else for a second opinion. This other company was reputable and repaired a few items and charged me $522. He said my units were in good working condition. Afterwards I told him about the other technician and what they tried to pull. He said "Let me guess who it was. Was it Berkeys?" I was shocked he named them right off. He said I wasn't the first person that had a bad experience with them.
I would NOT recommend using Berkeys.

Ryan C.

These guys are great. I had a leak that started coming out of my ceiling late at night. Berkeys were the only 24 hour plumber that I found that actually had somebody answer the phone. They sent a technician out at midnight and he diagnosed and fixed the leak within a couple of hours. The technician was very knowledgeable and professional. I will definitely be using them for any plumbing needs in the future

Deb W.

Use Berkey to replace a garbage disposal and tighten a bolt on a faucet, the job was done fine and in less than one hour. However, they changed $700 for one hour of work including the $70 disposal. I may need to change my profession to plumber. From now on I will stick to the small shops who would have charged at least half that price. It didn't help that the plumber smelled like a very full ashtray too.