TLC Services

Jim W.

Should get ZERO stars. Three weeks ago, they quoted me an electrical and plumbing job for $4,790. They never followed up from the estimate which was sent via e-mail (no salutation) meaning there was no explanation for services to be performed, just a quote. The outrageous prices they asked for would be kind. Example: they wanted $370 to replace a $10 surface light for my deck. They quoted 6 units, which they said I had to buy - I picked up a single unit at Home Depot for $10. I got ALL the work done; plumbing and electrical for less than $700 which included replacing 6 smoke detectors, not added from the original estimate. THEY ARE THE ULTIMATE RIPPOFF! No warrantee offered and never followed up from the estimate. They probably knew that the prices were ridiculous. My advice? Go to your local hardware store and ask them who they use for home repair - most likely they know the right people - worked for me as I saved over $4,000 and I'm completely satisfied with the work - warrantee too! Again DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE! You'll be sorry you did!

John N.

I've used TLC for about 8 to 10 years. (I had ARS prior to TLC but didn't like ARS.) In general I've been pretty happy with the TLC heat pump service (3.5 ton). They show up when they say they will, the people are polite, clean, friendly, and professional. (They will take their shoes off before coming into your house if you ask.) They are EXTREMELY thorough (rabid?) about their preventive maintenance check - they pretty much disassemble the entire indoor system down to the last nut/bolt. They clean and lubricate everything, and then put it all back together and check the whole system. The whole process takes about 2 hours, which seems a bit too long for me - I stay with the guy the whole time and watch everything he does. As you might expect, if they find anything that could be considered a current of future problem, they recommend a replacement part/unit right on the spot. The sales pitch is more ""low key"" than ""hard sell"" but you still know (and maybe expect) that they are looking for an opportunity to upgrade or replace something. I believe that they are honest in that they are NOT trying to replace or fix anything that is in good working order. My home is 27 years old and many of the component parts have been replace in past 20 years (blower motor, compressor, electric coils, freon coils.) One minor issue: sometimes the service guy doesn't have a tool on his truck or didn't bring it into the house, so if I have the tool/vacuum cleaner/whatever, I'll offer up my stuff to speed up the whole process. I also clean my own air filters ahead of time so that I don't have to wait 15 minutes while the guy cleans my filters. Yes, my system is getting older ($20K replacement). Yes, my blower motor bearings are probably starting to wear out. Yes, I should have my duct work cleaned and sealed - ($2K). Yes, I would love to go geothermal ($30K). However, I'm not ready to spend a bunch of money right now and I'm willing to take some risks by waiting until the unit(s) start to fail. On occasion, I've declined to have TLC replace a simple component (e.g., humidifier relay), and then I'd go up to the local appliance parts dealer, purchase the item and install it myself, thus saving about 50%. If you're not 100% sure about doing something like that, let the professionals do the work. It will cost a lot less if you don't have to call them back after you screw up something and maybe get hurt in the process. (Turn off all of the circuit breakers before doing anything!)

N S.

I would also give NO stars if possible. My neighbor had his front plumbing line fixed. He hired TLC Services for the job. For a company that carries the initials TLC, they were not kind to the townhouse neighbors, nor the neighborhood. The list is as follows:

1) lack of respect for neighbor's properties: instead of advising us to relocate our cars because they would be drilling a piece of concrete and that it would cause dust to infiltrate our cars, they just drilled. 5 neighbors had to take their cars to the carwash that afternoon. The least they could of done was cover our cars with moving blankets. Same thing went to our gardens. We understand that as a townhouse community we share air space, but the company could have at least covered our little pieces of land with covers so that our plants wouldn't die from the thick dust. Instead, one of the neighbors had to come out and cover her garden with paint splash plastic, it was only then that the young men (who were kind) assisted her in covering her plants.

2) lack of respect for neighborhood: the company used a bobcat to dig. understandable since it saves time and labor cost. unfortunately, they ruined the patch of beautiful green grass behind the tree in front of the house being worked on. when the lawn service co. came, they were asked to please fix the mess that the wheels of the bobcat had left behind. they said they were not hired to do so and that they would lay seeds instead. to add injury to insult, the concrete company THREW 4 full bags of concrete into our neighborhood woods right in front of the site of work--as if our neighborhood was their personal dump.

Complete disregard for a community. Thank you for the awful experience.

Katy C.

I've used TLC for both plumbing and HVAC needs. They've always been prompt in getting a technician out (even on weekend/holiday emergencies!) and the techs are all courteous, thorough, and good at explaining the problem they found and the proposed solution. On one occasion, I wasn't completely satisfied with the work that was done, but they really do stand by their customer satisfaction guarantee! The situation was remedied quickly and I have continued to be a loyal customer since then. I would recommend calling TLC either for repairs or their preventative maintenance program.

Gene M.

Can I give them NO stars.
These folks are not so good. The $89 ""tune up"", tunes up nothing. The ""tune up"" is basically just an inspection of the HVAC system.

They come out, do the ""tune up"" and tell me I need lots of ""repairs"" to my working HVAC system. Upon further review by another contractor. NO repairs were needed. The tech was incorrect. What the TLC tech said needed to be done DID NOT.
These folks, TLC also have serious communication issues.
Also, after two months and numerous, numerous request, I still do not have the written documents I requested.

R J A.

I'd give no stars if it were possible. Do NOT use TLC Services. This has to be one of the worst-run businesses I have ever dealt with. As I type this, I currently have a major leak in my home. I noticed it this morning when I went to take my dog out before work. Water coming out of an unknown pipe, pouring out of my ceiling on my main floor. I called TLC Services immediately to schedule an appointment and was told they would be at my home any time between 1200 and 1600. I said that was fine and began to clean up. Since I work far away, I had to take the entire day off of work, but the representative assured me someone would be out today. 1200 rolls around... No one shows up. 1300... no one shows up... 1400.... no one shows up... 1500 no one shows up.... 1545, I get a message from Reece at TLC saying they're running behind and that they would like to schedule me for another date and time.

Um... No. I can't take many days off. I stayed home and didn't call any other plumber because YOUR COMPANY, TLC SERVICES, said you could do the job today. You're running behind and your guy is tired? I don't give a #@!. I've got a problem here that is already costing me a day's pay, plus whatever you charge, and is destroying my home. It's not as if I'm having a bathroom remodel done. If your job is running long, suck it up and fulfill your obligations for the day. Don't make me wait all day, then call 15 minutes before you're supposed to arrive to cancel. What a bunch of jerks.

Anyway, I call Reece back and tell him that I can't reschedule and that I need them to take care of this today. He says he'll see what he can do... I hang up the phone and think to myself ""if they're this jacked up, and care this little about a customer with an emergency, then find someone else""... Which is what I did. They'll be here shortly.

Thanks for wasting my time TLC Services.

Kathy H.

I received a coupon in the mail for a discount on basic maintenance. When the technician arrived to service my units he found a problem with one of them. Another technician was out the very next day to replace the broken part and complete the maintenance. I am pleased with the level of service and follow up and also with the knowledge of both technicians. I would recommend this company.

J D.

I was EXTREMELY UNIMPRESSED with all aspects of the service. They did nothing to troubleshoot the problem I had with my furnace/boiler. IN FACT, THEY TRIED TO SELL ME $2500 WORTH OF SERVICES WITHOUT EVEN TURNING MY SYSTEM ON. And I've NEVER been asked by any other contractor to pay for services BEFORE ANY work was done.

I had set up an appointment for them to come between 12:00 and 4:00. That's standard, no problem. They told me they'd call in the morning to give a more specific time. They never called. We called them at 3:30 to try to get an update. They finally showed at 3:55.

I have a boiler system with radiators in the rooms. I knew something was wrong with the plumbing portion of the system (not the combustion part of the system). The pressure relief valve had opened to let water out of the system because the pressure had built up too high. The relief valve was old and wouldn't close again, so I knew it would need to be replaced. What I called TLC for was to swap the relief valve and then find out why the pressure had built up too high in the first place.

I was quoted about $450 to swap the relief valve. I'm not sure how that price was calculated because it's a $50 part, it takes 10 minutes of labor to swap it out, and, at most, 1 hour to bleed air from the system afterwards. (Yes, I understand that businesses exist to earn a profit, but there's no justification for that job being $450.)

In addition to the $450 quote for the relief valve I was quoted another $450 in tune up stuff (clean the fuel nozzle, replace the fuel/oil filter, etc.). This was all done mid-season last year, and likely needs done again, but it is not the cause of the problem I was experiencing. The tech laid out no plan to troubleshoot the plumbing portion of the system, he just wanted to focus on the combustion part of the unit.

Then he tried to sell us over $1500 in additional services which, again, had did nothing to address the actual problem. Part of this sales pitch was CO2 detectors for the house. We already have them.

I was at work and my wife was home when the tech was there. When he presented a $900 invoice to my wife she called me to discuss what method we should use to pay it. I spoke to the tech and asked for a breakdown of the $900, and asked him to tell me how he was going to troubleshoot the excessive pressure issue. He couldn't provide me an answer. He actually didn't even try to answer, he just switched to salesman mode and tried to sell me $2500 worth of parts and services. I suggested to him some specific parts that might have failed and asked if he had looked into them. That's when he notified me that he hadn't turned the system on. At this point he'd been there for an hour and hadn't turned the system on. I told him my wife would pay their $99 diagnostic fee and I asked him leave immediately.

In the end I tracked down the $50 relief valve myself and swapped it out in 10 minutes. I fired up the system and did some troubleshooting of my own. I narrowed the problem down to a pressure reducing valve that supplies water to the boiler. Another trip to the plumbing supply store for another $50 part, and another 10 minutes of swapping out the valve, and my system is working as it should.

Lauren F.

We are now on our 4th attempt at getting a completed frame holder to hold a filter for my humidifier. Each time the employee arrives with 1 piece out of 3 of the puzzle, then takes it back to the office. So when the new employee arrives at my house, he has a piece we needed at the last visit, but the previous piece is still at the office and we still need to order another piece. I am very frustrated at this point. This should have been taken care of in 1 visit. I am missing work for this!

Ross A.

These people are pathetic. They are contracted with a home warranty company, and when they show up refuse to do the work. There are lots of companies that would like work... unthinkable that a provider like this would flat out refuse a job.

Call somebody else.