Shafer Services Plus

Amy W.

We learned today that Shafer Services in San Antonio, Texas has been scamming us on our A/C system for 5 years. Claiming to need to replace parts under warranty so they could charge us expensive labor. We caught them in a lie when our A/C certified contractor took a look and saw the leak in the coil they were claiming to need to fix at a cost of $1200 was perfectly fine. By the way the same coil was replaced one year earlier. They claim it's bad from the manufacturer. There was no leak at all. Then they went to the trouble to try to cover it up. We recorded everything and have proof of the fraud. However, sadly we also learned that most A/C companies do the same. They will confidently tell you to get a second opinion because they are all in on it. my contractor fixed what they broke in trying to cover their tracks for $125

My advice if you've also been having lots of trouble with your A/C according to Shafer or any of these scam companies, is to ask for proof of what is broken and then when they try to show that proof, hire a contractor who is A/C certified to verify it. Our contractor told us exactly what they would do, word for word and that is exactly what they tried to pull on us. Do not trust them. We originally trusted them and gave them five stars all over the internet. We fell for this little scam where they pretend to save you from everyone else and then they just start scamming you with their "regular maintenance" and fixes when issues come up. And I promise, there will be issues.

Me A.

I contacted them for an estimate. Technician was professional, explained everything, courteous. Bid was given, I applied for financing and was approved because my initial research had given me an estimated budget of 10k and estimate was much higher than anticipated. I had already scheduled 2 other estimates and figured they would all be very close but I liked the technician from Shafer and fully intended to use them. Other bids were 9400.00 and 11.000. I contacted the Tech. to get a break down of the bid so I could see why Shafer was so much higher ( 16000.00 ). I didn't get a breakdown, had to ask specifics and was given them without issue. Nothing wrong with Shafer that I know of. Just much more expensive than competitors. The bid I took for 11000 added cosmetic covers for the wiring and hoses, surge protectors and extended warranty.

Bradley O.

The company is outstanding.
We purchased a service plan with our new a/c heater install.
The last man at our house had said in order to replace a wire from the heat pump to the attic a special Higher Boss would need to come see the proposed work.
I took off Wednesday from work only to learn from Rio the scheduler that the requested inspection had never been scheduled. Which was odd because I recall the servicing tech/install man calling to get me scheduled the week prior when he was here.
Inititally the dispatch lady said they'd have someone come out next week which meant another Wed day off. But she called around and the team came that VERY DAY to do the wiring upgrade.
I was very impressed by the entire crew: the install manager and the technicians who installed the new wiring.

Randy R.

I originally hired Shafer services to upgrade some ductwork in my home. After sending 2 different design techs to evaluate the project we agreed to pricing and work began. It was initially determined that the plenums needed to be replaced and increased in size along with 2 ducts in 2 separate bedrooms. After removing the existing plenum it was brought to my attention that there wasn't enough space to make (size)the plenum as it was proposed. Shouldn't this have been determined prior to the work starting since 2 separate techs/consultants physically went into my attic to design/price out the project? Had I known this prior I probably would not have moved forward with the project. In addition one of the duct runs for the bedrooms was over 30' long and a proper coupling wasn't used to tie the two together. Only after I brought it to their attention was it corrected. Also, since 2 of the ducts were increased from a smaller size to a larger size to increase airflow it would be best to increase the register as well. This was not presented to me as an option or a recommendation at the time of consult. When I called to inquire about it I was told it was not necessary since it was a retrofit, but if it was a new installation then yes the duct and register would be matched to same size. I don't follow that logic. I will state that the 2 bedrooms have better airflow than before the work was done, but I feel that this work was not designed nor ultimately done correctly.

Lou H.

We had a water leak in our front yard and could not be home when they came out. In desperation we had to get someone out quickly. Long story short it took them less than an hour to do the repair. We were charged over $735 dollars. The invoice did not break down the costs. When we asked for clarification, we were told by the manager that this is the standard cost and I quote, "We have overhead." We never got a breakdown of the charges. Feel totally taken advantage of and very regretful that we didn't have more time to find someone else to help us. Neighbors, please do not use this company.

William P.

**************UPDATE*************

Some time after the initial review was written, I received an apology from Chase Anderson, the CEO of Shafer Services. He said they had made a mistake, and offered to pay for the labor himself. After an email or two, I received a check for more than $1500, and am satisfied with the deal. Thank you Shafer Services.

Robbo L.

I had a known issue with my AC and was calling schaefer services for a competitive bid on a repair.

I called them because they had installed the original unit several years ago.

When I called I asked about a free estimate as was offered by several other companies.

Their office Indicated they could do that.

Once the technician arrived he proceeded to go examine the unit, but when he came back to confirm the original diagnosis, then informed me of a $60 dispatch fee and a $115 labor charge, " as he doesn't give a quote without doing the work needed to determine the failure cause ."

I informed him that this was supposed to be a free call.

You then check his records and agreed that the dispatch fee had been waived.

But that he still had to charge me labor.

I foolishly paid him anyway but subsequent calls to his office said that they could do nothing without the manager's approval who was out of town.

Multiple calls later had no results and the manager never returned the calls.

I never would have called them if I knew there was a charge and he should have told me before he did any work that would require a charge.

Totally untrustworthy.

chad h.

Horrible first impression!!!! I called on a Monday and made an appointment for Wednesday between 3-5 pm. During the scheduling of the call all they said was that I would receive a message when someone was on the way. On Wednesday I took off work early to be at my house by 3 pm as I had agreed to. At 4:30 pm, I called and asked if someone would be coming. They then explained they had a policy that if nobody answered the phone, they would not come which was not explained on the day that I called to make the appointment. My phone had died during the day and i didn't receive their call or their message. I understand why they would be hesitant to show up without speaking to someone because they have probably been burned before. That is the cost of doing business and they gave me a window of time but did not explain their policy or show up when they said they would. Apparently they have no regard for the value of my time. Hopefully their technicians do better work than their administrative staff!

Robert F.

Had Shafer come in to add sediment traps on gas lines to my two water heaters and two furnaces. He did the water heaters, but said he had no idea how to do the furnace. I had to call in another company, who did a great job on the furnaces. I had to stay home two days instead of one. Totally disappointed.

To top it all off, he only lit the pilot for one of the two water heaters. The cold shower did not make my wife happy. I also had to spend time in the hot attic to light it.

Complained via their email and they never ever contacted me back.

Jodie M.

I heard about this company from KTSA. We had several bids and decided to go with Shafer Services due to their expertise. I like the fact that a apprentice isn't doing a major install. They are professionals, with integrity. We are now life long customer's.