Kalka Plumbing Air Conditioning and Heating

Crystal T.

Appointment times were readily available, and Sara M. and Lawrence A. were committed to getting the job finished, even when unforeseen problems that couldn't have been anticipated made the job run longer than expected. They worked with us and with our schedule, and got everything done safely, cleanly, and efficiently for a reasonable cost. As before when we've worked with Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, we are completely satisfied. Very happy that we added a long-term maintenance and warranty package and look forward do working with Benjamin Franklin Plumbing in the decade to come! Thank you!

Kathy S.

8/29/17, the AC stopped working (frozen) and was rattling in the middle of a heat wave. It was hard to find a company to come out the same day, but Kalka had someone available. I paid $89 for the visit and got an estimate of $1,029 to replace the blower motor (less if it was still under warranty). The tech. was very clear that he had diagnosed the problem with the unit and the estimate was provided based on his professional assessment. Luckily, I did have another company come out the next day for a 2nd opinion and the actual problem was completely unrelated to the tech's assessment.

Turns out, there was a painters bootie/shoe cover that had been sucked up into the blower causing vibration and reduced airflow. The foreign object was removed and the unit is working great, no longer vibrating or making rattling noise. I wasted $89 with Kalka and I have to say, I will not use them again. I did reach out via email twice to discuss the missed diagnosis with Brandon or Kevin Kalka and received no response. Buyer beware and get a 2nd opinion for any major work.

Ralph M.

This was the 2nd time Sara has fixed the piping in our home. She was professional, efficient and a hard worker. Highly recommend Benjamin Franklin Plumbing And Heating.

Pamela G.

Very disappointed, felt like price gouging! They wanted 3 times as much as equally qualified reputable company that we ended up using. Yes, Triple! B.F.wanted $6300 to replace our power vent water heater and wouldn't give us a breakdown of the individual costs. Tech that came out was pleasant and polite however took almost 1/2 hour just to 'explain' process, finally gave us the ridulous price. (Couldn't help but laugh.) Please be sure you call around!

Adel A.

After making an appointment two days in advance, waiting from 11:00 till 13:55, they called to inform that they cannot make it!!

Their office further requested that I reschedule but again without any GUARANTEE it will be fulfilled the second time!!

Are they serious? Do they value customers and truly seek to serve as best as they can? Definitely, NOT!!

I've never come across such organization!
Keep clear of them folks...

They eventually showed up and tried to solve a tap that rotates 360^. Three trials later and a number of non confirming parts, they admitted that they couldn't fix it and left behind some parts that they neither can return or use elsewhere! They however fixed a problem with the dishwasher sink vent successfully at a very high cost to me!

In all, better to avoid them and go to a more tried organization than those misfits.

Suzanne G.

About a month ago, I had an A/C check up. During that process, a light cover was broken and the technician, Brandon, immediately reported it to the office. It took a few weeks as the cover had to be ordered. Yesterday, Luciano came to replace the fixture. Unfortunately, it was not the right type. Instead of just saying 'sorry doesn't work', Luciano took the time to go to Home Depot to try and find the right cover. He was unsuccessful and said he would call his boss to put me at priority for having this fixed and he left. 15 minutes later, Luciano called me and said he decided to stop at Ace Hardware and he thought he found the correct fixture. He came back, got the cover, took it back to Ace, and had the correct cover when we came back! Luciano didn't have to do this - he could've simply left and had the office take care of it. He is fantastic! Great customer service, good attitude! I'm a member of Ben Franklin/Kalka's preventive maintenance plan and now I know why! Technicians like Brandon and Luciano!

Gail N.

Wish could write separate reviews and separate rating for Kalka Heating plus service rep. Brandon Bowen.

Kalka: Called Kalka as no cold air out of ac, only fan blowing. Will have a service guy out between 2 & 5 same day. Rec. no call until 5:15 from Brandon. Told me he was running late but would be out in about 30 minutes. Asked if someone from office called to tell me he was running late, NO. He indicated he would have talk with the office about it. My experience with pricing of the capacitor same as someone else. Charged $345 for it w/$59 credit for service call. List price on these normally $50 or less so is gouging.

Brandon Bowen: He was a superstar. Friendly, helpful, professional & solved problem. Arrived as promised, checked air cond. associated systems & diagnosed issue. Had part in truck. We thought we were going to have to replace our 20 year old unit Kalka has a 30 day warranty I think on service, plus some other kind of ""customer ""promos"". He took as much time as needed to answer our questions, never hurried or rude although he had another appt. after us.
I give Brandon a 5 for his visit. Kalka only deserves a 3 (or less), because of no late notice call and price gouging on part. Don't like their pricing system, it is devious.

I will call Kalka again but try to ensure I know the pricing scenario before they come out again.

Daniel M.

Had these guys demo a fiberglass bathtub and install an acrylic bathtub. That part went fine, no problems or anything and everything looked good. Now it was time for tiling the bathroom walls around the tub so they referred me to a tile guy who finished the job after about a week and a half. Called benjamin franklin back on a friday to schedule the bathtub trimming and finishing touches, earliest they said they could do it was monday so that was fine. Get a call on monday saying now they're too busy and will push finishing the job to that following wednesday. It seems odd that my appointment would be pushed back when I had already set the appointment 2 days earlier, was confirmed. Perhaps it was cause I had already paid for the full job that my appointment was not as important as those they still had to collect money from? Hard to recommend a company that doesn't seem to value you as a customer once they receive your money. Just my 2 cents as a recent customer of benjamin franklin plumbing.

Kraig E.

Made an appointment only for them to call me back the next day to say that person was not authorized to make appointments; we rescheduled. Been here waiting on the 2nd appointment from 2-5pm and no one has shown up. Called the office which goes to an answering service and they can only take messages. Complete waste of my day. Kevin eventually called me at 6:30pm and he showed up at 9pm for the service. He was very professional and apologetic for being late (tied up with other customer project).
Been over a week now with no follow-up from Kalka on recommended project to recharge the AC system. Also no return phone calls from the Kalka office apologizing for the 4+ hour late arrival.

Agnes J.

Kalka Heating and Air's service would have received a better rating from us if only the service were considered, but their pricing was detrimental to the overall experience.
The service was promised for a Monday around noon. After 2 pm we were notified that the service technician is running late, and we would be called when with ETA. We called after 4 pm, and the technician was here within 30 minutes. He worked efficiently, identified the problem (broken capacitor on the condenser) replaced the part, tested the unit. He had a printed price list for the capacitor, which was $345, forwent the charge for the service call which would have been $59, and he even gave a discount for us being first time customers.
The price charged for the capacitor sounded high, therefore after the service call we did talk to other service providers and checked comparable prices (now knowing what the problem was and what it took to fix it). We would have been better off at least by $100 paying for the service call, not having any discount, and paying a fair price (with customary markup) for the capacitor.