John G. Webster

Will A.

Shortly after moving into an old rowhome in DC in the winter, we realized the existing HVAC system was terribly designed and unable to heat our home comfortably. After talking to a dozen HVAC companies about how to improve the house's comfort and energy efficiency, I came to the realization that there was no salvaging the HVAC system--it needed to be completely redone.

I really enjoyed talking to Zach from John G Webster; he was my sales contact, and he ultimately did most of the work himself, usually with another technician. He was very knowledgeable, and always answered my questions patiently. Zach's knowledge, as well as the fact that Webster's quote was more favorable than another companies, led me to choose Webster for this large job. Zach gave us quotes for four different options for redesigning the system. We ultimately settled on a multi-zone system with both ducted and ductless mini-splits running off of a single rooftop outdoor unit.

The job took several weeks. There were a few snags, as there always will be in a big job like this, but Zach always kept me posted, got me involved when a decision need to be made, and texted me regularly about when the crew would be coming the next day.

Everything was done with a high degree of care, and we are very happy with the results. Previously we had an energy-inefficient system heating and cooling three floors in one gigantic, inconsistent climate zone. Now we have a multi-zone system that is quiet, energy-efficient, and quickly gets to the desired temperature. Mini-splits are a great way to improve your home's HVAC system, and John G Webster is a great company to install the system for you.

Tess L.

They have the worst customer service! I just spoke to a woman about exchanging my hot water heater and her question to me was ""the whole hot water heater?"" When I told her ""yes,"" she stated they didn't do that type of work, although according to the manufacturer's website, they do. When I asked to speak to the manager, she hung up on me. I would never give them my business!

Michael K.

I have hired two different plumbers from JG Webster to fix a simple defective gasket in the toilet tank. The first plumber took parts out of the tank in order to find a gasket that would fit. He never returned. Repeated calls to the plumber and to management were fruitless; the parts were never returned. The second plumber wanted to replace the entire toilet instead of replacing parts. But he never returned.

JG Webster has done excellent work in regards to air conditioning and hot water heaters. I recommend them for any job except for toilets. The management and plumbers who deal with toilets are unprofessional and incompetent.
Michael Knipe

Jeremy B.

I used JG Webster to install a mini split system in my condo. I know nothing about HVAC, but now, a few months removed from installation, I know enough to realize they took advantage of me.

First and foremost they did a terrible job with installation. They left holes all across my condo - they called them ""exploratory holes"" where they literally just punched holes in the wall and ceiling to see what was behind it. They did NOT reseal these holes and told me it would be an additional contract and charge to have the hopes filled.

They did not make any attempt to hide the lines they ran. My hallway ceiling is now lined with 4 pipes which they drilled to the ceiling. Above my kitchen cabinets where more pipes were laid, they made ZERO effort to conceal. There are literally pipes hanging over the top of my kitchen.

Francois (the president) shmoozed me the whole sales pitch and lied about almost every aspect of the the install. I realize now, he was making recommendations based off of what was cheapest and easiest for the company and had no interest in what was best for my space and the effective use of the machines. Now, my condo is poorly heated and cooled because they cut corners. For example, the noisy condensate pumps were only going to run ""once or twice a night"" but in reality, they turn on about once every two minutes and make sleep or watching a movie extremely difficult.

Speaking of pumps, the installers had to come back twice because of leaks. One of which caused water damage to the walls of my newly purchased condo. Other damage included permanent marker drawings on my bedroom wall because one of the techs left a marker uncapped and it drew all over as it hung out of his pocket while he was installing.

TLDR: these guys are dishonest and do a poor job.

Yali F.

Installation Great. Service Expensive and Useless.

Webster installed my spacepak system about a decade ago. Two years ago the system stopped working, so the sent out a tech, Zach, to fix it. Zach was unable to get to the system in my attic, and kept insisting that they original installers must have used a different way to get into my attic, because the clearance was too tight.

After a few paid hours of arguing with him, and hiring my handyman to go up and confirm that the system was accessible, Zach found an out. He said the system was out of Freon, so he filled it up and charged me handsomely.

The next year the system failed again. So, I called Webster and asked for someone other than Zach. They said he was their most senior tech, so they sent him back. After a shorter period of arguing over whether or not the attic had sufficient clearance, he found another out. He claimed the system had too much freon, so he vented it. Then he charged me because -- in his own words -- he didn't want to have to admit that he had made a mistake.

This year, the system failed again. I asked Webster to come fix it properly, and I haven't heard back. But, I did find a bunch of other qualified techs on Yelp..

J B.

I had an outdoor a/c unit which wasn't running. The technician, who was polite and professional discovered it was just an outdoor fuse. He told me that he had the fuses, but even though I needed only one I had to buy the pack of two.
I happened to ask the price of the fuses. He said they were $187.50 for two (this didn't include the service call fee).
I looked up the fuse on my phone. It is a Bussman FRN-r 30a.
The fuses were available for $3.10 each! They were not only charging me
a ridiculous price, but they were going to make me purchase two.
I went to the local hardware store and the two pack was about $15 which is a high price. And, I installed it in 4 seconds.
I called J Webster to ask if this was possible and the guy couldn't explain why the fuse cost so much.
I'm shocked because had my wife taken the service call she wouldn't have thought twice and would have been taken.
I'm amazed because my wife used this company for years and they have a great reputation. How this happened I can't imagine.

Benjamin F.

I used John G Webster for a repair during the recent heat wave here in DC. I'm giving 2 stars because he technician was competent and complete the repair.

But the company itself is a ripoff. I was charged over $400 dollars to replace the run capacitor on my compressor. It's basically replacing a big fuse and is a $30 part and a 10 minute repair.

The bill for this included a $95 service call and $300 flat rate for replacing the capacitor. I was not provided with up front pricing, as their website claims. The technician had limited English fluency and told me he had the part in his van and would replace it.

After replacing it, he told me he part cost $295 and he wouldn't charge me extra to install it. Apparently, what he really meant was that he was charging a flat fee. It literally took less than 5 minutes to install (it took the technician 30+minutes to walk to his van and back to get the part which should have been in his job bag to begin with). The technician added a $29 up charge for extra time.

When I called the company to get an explanation for the charges, one of the owners, Silas, gave a song and dance about being a 5-star company that has certified technicians and higher overhead. He also said a majority of the flat fee (which he acknowledged was high) covers a 1-year parts and labor guarantee.

When I requested a receipt, they removed the $29 up charge but there was no mention of the ""very valuable"" guarantee. I asked for the warranty in writing, twice, and still have not heard anything back.

Checking around, I found that $250 is the high end of the price range for a capacitor replacement and $400 is highway robbery.

Not a five-star company. Won't use them again.

Bill S.

So far, John G. Webster has done two big jobs for me, and both times they were excellent. They showed up on time, got the job done on time, and did the job well. Even more importantly for me, on both occasions, I had asked another company for a second quote, and the other company's quote was outrageous and included all kinds of nonsense, made-up stuff that they thought they could get away with charging me for. The John G. Webster quote was thousands of dollars cheaper to both fix my boiler and fix the water heater.

Jim L.

After owning my condo at the Gallery @ White Flint since 2005, the dreaded water heater replacement day arrived. My tenant said that he had to keep reigniting the burner constantly, to the point where he was smelling gas. Called the preferred plumber for the building and Jeff was already in the building and met me within the hour after calling. The gas valve on the water heater was shot and due to the unique placement of the water heater in the tiny one bedroom condo, a certain type of heater had to be used. A forced-air unit where the water heater also generates heat in the winter time.....ugh....

This was a Friday. The tenant was going to be without hot water for the weekend. Jeff was able to secure a replacement unit and they would be there on Monday and promised a completion before the tenants come home from work by 5pm!

Monday arrives, Eric started work around ~10am and worked through lunch. He was by himself. As he has already replaced a few units in the building, he was able to get it done as promised by 3pm.

Tenant's happy....and that's what matters to me.

Good job guys!

Rob N.

My house was at 38 degrees when we came back from vacation. Called their emergency service and they said the on-call person would call me back. They never did.