Kalka Plumbing Air Conditioning and Heating

Lori K.

Thomas H. Came out to my house today to do a yearly checkup on my A/C unit as well as give me an estimate for my air ducts getting re done to be more efficient. He was super friendly and very courteous about coming into my house and getting his work done. He was very thorough making sure he explained everything to me so I could understand what he was talking about, he never tried to upsell me on any products or replacements, I never felt pressured to do any of his recommendations. He is even going to come back on a Saturday when my husband is home to explain everything to him as well! I was extremely pleased with Thomas and his service visit today! My son even dumped the dogs water bowl all over the floor and he helped right away to clean it all up!! Thank you Thomas!!!

Kevin W.

got a coupon for a discounted maintenance on my heater/AC. Excellent service guy, Thomas H. Wore booties in the house, very clean and explains all he is doing. very thorough checkup, cleaned filter, condenser coils and checked everything.
Good experience all around.

Michael C.

I was called recently by Kalka to offer an annual AC unit check up. The two representatives Shane and Thomas were outstanding. They spent nearly an hour going over every aspect of my unit, explaining in clear detail how to get the best use out of my current unit, which is quite old, as well as sharing what i need to prepare for in the future and the units that most likely will fit my needs and budget. First of all, what company these days ever offers to just come out and provide free work for an hour. I was blown away by their attention to detail, their concern for my well being and the cheerfulness they brought to the job. I know this ... when it comes time to finally replace my unit, Kalka will be my first call and if at all possible I will request Shane and Thomas ... they went well beyond the call of duty. Thanks.

Deric M.

I had another company come out and they said I needed to spend about $6500 for a new coil and furnace. They were doing the hard sale to do it that same day. Anthony at Kalka was very profession and said I absolutely did not need to replace furnace and coil. He said a simply, low cost cleaning of coil is all I needed. I would certainly recommend Kalka to anyone needing heating and air work.

Kim E.

This company engages in deceptive advertising. I received my ""2nd warranty notice"" in the mail threatening that I'm ""neglecting"" my air conditioning maintenance and my ""health and safety"" are at risk. They are misleading, manipulative, and corrupt in their marketing practices. How can anyone even think of hiring this company when they are clearly so dishonest right from the start? People are smart and don't appreciate this insulting approach to soliciting new business.

Lloyd C.

The first two times I was satisfied with their service. I have them come out twice for bi-annual maintenance. However their service has turned into a sales tactic where they try and scare the customer into unneeded repairs. They do fine on the service, but this scare/sales tactic is not acceptable. I have stopped using them.

Mark P.

My feelings for Kalka are mixed. I first had them come over to my house to fix mistakes another company made (that was Ductz), primarily affixing duct work to the underneath of my house, which Ductz kept screwing up (it kept coming loose and falling to the ground - they had to come back three times before I gave up and called Kalka). The Kalka technician not only quickly fixed our duct issues, he was able to fix other shoddy work made by other HVAC companies over the years.

I now have them come over for bi-annual maintenance for my AC, plumbing and furnace, and for that work they are very thorough, and seem to be reasonably priced.

My main gripe with them, is that whenever I get a quote for additional work, it's ridiculously expensive. Like new lining for a sewer pipe (quoted $10k by Kalka, yet $6k and $7k by others), or changing out a thermostat (quoted $600 by Kalka, yet $160 by a well reviewed competitor).

So - I still would highly recommend them for maintenance on HVAC and plumbing, but definitely shop around for individual jobs.

Geoff D.

Thank you for commenting on my experience. As I have mentioned earlier I was contacted multiple times by your team over the phone and every time without fail - I have expressed what I have been through. I was told on a couple of occasions that Mike is no longer with the company- but this is is really weak consolation for the troubles I have gone through.

Will L.

During the cold snap around Thanksgiving my 91 mother-in-law's heating failed, and when service came, Mr. Jose Castro diagnosed the problem as a non working thermostat and also suggested that igniter needed replacing.

On a hunch, my wife earlier went to home depot where she priced the standard thermostat at $79.00. Mr. Castro replaced the old one with a New focus pro digital Tstat, cost $367.00.

The Hot Surface igniter was $364.00. Amazon would send me this part for $75.00.

When I called Mr. Juny Campos, office manager,to complain about these prices, he was the master of obfuscation: ""We gave you a commercial grade thermostat, and a two year warranty.""

When I cited the difference in cost between the two igniter parts, he said: That price is only available to businesses like ours. You cannot purchase the part yourself."" I did not know that Amazon had such restrictions.

Another odd thing about the bill is that there is no listing of service charges. Mr. Campos said that the installation charge was included in the cost of the part. ""We charge the customer the same price if the service is one hour or seven hours.""

I watched Mr. Castro replace the thermostat in about seven minutes.

The drive from Laguna Hills to Newport Beach is probably one hour, and Mr. Castro was in the house and outside talking to the office for a total of one hour. Say, two hours for his work at $100.00 per hour, plus the parts, marked to, say, $100.00 apiece, makes a total of $400.00, far below the $693.00 paid.

Mr. Castro told us that he was the foreman for about twenty other techs, so you know this was no honest mistake. Instead, it reflects the overall business model of BenFranklin/Kalka Heating and Air.

Do not allow Mr. Castro or any other representative of this company on your property. They will gouge you and defend their practices with half-truths, lies, and obfuscations.

Matt K.

Company is fraudulent. I got a card in the mail regarding an annual maintenance being due for no charge. Had them out and was advised I needed a new system, new ductwork. I declined and the service person, think his name was Peter, insisted I pay 200 for the visit. Was told that the card listing no charge was sent to me in error and it was a free visit. Went on line a pulled their coupon for a 29 dollar diagnostic, but was told it can only be applied if I ask for it when I first schedule and he can't take it now. Please look carefully though the other reviews and avoid this place as many others have advised. You can see that the owner always responds as if he is shocked that there was an issue and to reach out to him. Let me make it clear, this is lip service; I made 3 phone calls to talk about this charge for nothing. Each time I call I am told he is either not in or at a meeting, and he never returns my calls.