Zenner & Ritter

Diana G.

I called Zenner and Ritter to make an appointment to fix my furnace. I had to pay for the estimate. However, when I asked for the actual estimate, I was referred to a website, which did not have specific information related to my furnace, just a list of services they could provide to me. When I called again to ask for the estimate I had paid for, they said they had to refer it to another team member who would get back to me. Finally, I did get the estimate and it was over 1K more than the estimate I received from another company. I went with the other company.

Gerry M.

They are awful. Our furnace and A/C unit was installed by them awhile ago (by previous homeowner). The furnace stopped working earlier this year (April) and we called to have it looked at. They came out and although we had let them know that we receive HEAP, the guy wound up charging us nearly $100 just to look at it and tell us what we already knew. In fact, the guy placed paper clips into the heat sensors and actually left them in and never even put the screws back in. He then told us we needed a new furnace for another $2500 or so. After talking with Reps from HEAP, we were informed that we should NOT have been charged for the service call as HEAP recipients get this covered through the HEAP program. They told us to call Zenner & Ritter and let them know they needed to refund our money. We talked with numerous people at Zenner & Ritter about this and they said they would NOT give us our money back (And they never did!). Also, the guy who did show up on the service call was very condescending and a total ""know-it-all"" or so he thought. Very unprofessional and nasty to say the least. I did let Zenner & Ritter know that I was going to post about our horrible experience online to help others avoid making a huge mistake and they're response was....go ahead....we don't care!!! So, our advice....DO NOT USE ZENNER & RITTER....They are crooks. They only care about taking your hard-earned money. Your satisfaction is NOT guaranteed with them. This company is garbage......Don't get sucked in.....you'll regret it!!!

David B.

Serviceman arrived promptly as scheduled and did a great job of servicing furnace. Will contact next Spring for service on ac.

lance m.

Hi YELP: I am attaching an updated email that we forwarded to Zenner and Ritter about our tank less water heater that broke down and is unrepairable due to bankruptcy of the manufacturer. We are still waiting for a response from Zenner and Ritter after the supervisor spoke to us 2 weeks ago and told me that he would get back to me...This was the 2nd time with no response.

Thank you, Lance

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Mr. Ritter,
brian.ritter@zennerandritter.com

We purchased the Eternal 120 Advanced Hybrid hot water unit from Zenner and Ritter in Feb 2015 for our home in law quarters. We replaced a 40 gallon power vent tank. The manufacturer went bankrupt about 3 years later in 2018. The cost of the unit was approximately $2550.00 with a 15 year heat exchanger and 5 year parts warranty.

In 2018 after 3 years of ownership and good working order the unit stopped supplying hot water. As a result, parts were difficult to obtain and there was no warranty. Zenner and Ritter was able to obtain parts from a Canadian supplier in 2018 and the unit was repaired. This took approx. 2 weeks to find the parts.

The unit again broke down on 27 May 2020 (2nd time in 5 years). The Zenner and Ritter technician gave us 2 options: buy a new Navien 240S unit at $3700.00 or repair for approx. $640.00 (service call, parts, labor). We chose the less expensive route due to budget restrictions, age and frustrations with the unit.

The 2nd technician that installed the new parts found other parts that needed replacement.... He told us that the unit could not be repaired based on unavailability of parts. We paid $640.00 for new parts and service, yet still had no hot water and a junk Eternal unit.

Additionally, all 3 Zenner and Ritter service technicians (2018 and 2020) that worked to repair the Eternal had never seen the unit before. As a result, they were not as familiar with the unit. We found this disheartening.

We purchased the tank less unit for the first time based on a strong Zenner and Ritter recommendation. The decision process started at the Buffalo Home Show a few years prior where the salesmen talked up the system as being highly efficient and reliable. Zenner and Ritter has been a very well-known company with a great reputation. Technicians did a good job too.

Lastly, the 3rd service technician who tried to repair the unit told us that annual maintenance to descale the unit was required. Yet, Zenner and Ritter does not provide the service for some reason?

Speaking with several Zenner and Ritter employees to include the service technicians, administrative and supervisor (Earle) we expressed our concerns on the cost of a new Navien unit. We needed hot water and were looking for a reasonable credit based on the poor quality of the Eternal unit that was sold to us. With the cost of service, repairs and a new unit the total would have been $4,314.00

After trying to connect with Earle on several times we finally spoke with him to express our concerns along with a requesting much lower price on a new unit. What we received electronically was basically the same email with the same price of $3,671.00.

Since we have not received a follow up call or email, we found another contractor to install a new Navien 240S at a lower price. Customer service is critical to keeping customers satisfied.

We are requesting that you review the situation and open dialog with us on the high costs we incurred that did not result in Zenner and Ritter getting us hot water to our home.

Thank you,

Lance Mauro

Laurie H.

Zenner & Ritter replaced our furnace and AC about 3 years ago. After only 2 years, the AC stopped working. They told us the coil would have to be replaced. The part was covered by warranty, but the labor was not. They brought us a replacement coil which was the wrong size. After many attempts of leaving messages for their managers to return our calls, we had enough and went to another company. The new company didn't think there was any issue with the coil, however, they did correct some settings. I would definitely not recommend Zenner & Ritter due to very poor customer service from their management.

K R.

Very poor heating repair. We paid handsomely for a part, only to find three weeks later the repairman did not tell us of and additional furnace problem. We had to replace the entire furnace and received only a partial refund on the original part. Got ripped off.. Will use Adema from now on.

Marieke J.

No insurance?

Mistakes happen, what determines if you are a reliable company is how you deal with rectifying those mistakes! And Zenner & Ritter is a nightmare, and we are likely heading to court. I'll try to keep it short, but succinct!

Z&R serviced my faithful generator in August of 2018. In late February 2019, we had that awful windstorm in the Buffalo area. We lost power at night, and the generator started as it always has. I woke up in the morning, and the generator was no longer running while the power was still out. I went to the basement to check up on the sump pump, which was not running, but the water had not gone out of the sump pit (yet). I immediately called the 24-hour service line of Z&R, which is a complete joke with no prompt return call. By the time the service technician arrived, there was 1+ foot of water in the basement.

The reason the generator stopped working? The service tech in August forgot to put the cap back on the oil reservoir after servicing the generator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The result was my recently finished basement flooded with $15,000 in damages. That's a problem!

Generac (manufacturer of the generator) confirmed it was a technician error. As soon as Brian Ritter realized the extent of the damage and the cause of the loss, he ghosted me. I had to hire a lawyer to get any response from Z&R, and their lawyer is making me jump through all sorts of ridiculous hoops. Presumably, in the hopes that I will drop this and they don't have to payout.

This situation could have been quickly resolved if they had just filed a claim with their insurance company. Still, they seem to be unwilling to share who is their insurance company or policy. It makes me doubt whether they are insured.

Next step? I'm preparing to file in court in January. Pictures of the generator available to anyone who would like to see them.

Update: My lawyer informed me that there will be no offer as long as this post remains and if this proceeds to litigation, they intend to file a countersuit for defamation. (I'm not worried about that, as for defamation to hold ground my review would need to be false and I'm sticking to the facts)

Steve N.

Had a meeting scheduled with a ""comfort care specialist"" he called before the meeting and didn't know why we were meeting. After I explained he still didn't want to meet. He finally tendered a verbal quote (crazy high) and when I asked if he could break down the price between labor /parts / equipment he said "" we don't do that"", clearly code for we don't want your business and don't want you to know how much we mark stuff up. Kind of a weird business model to have comfort care specialists on commission. Long story- shop around I bought direct and paid an electrician and saved $2000. I hope they are ""comfortable"" with my decision.

J V.

I had a new boiler replaced. Although the work looked great, I had numerous problems. The very first winter my home would not come up to the temperature that I set my thermostat at. The boiler turned on and off very frequently (like every five minutes!) when the company sent someone out, I was told I needed additional baseboard units installed. This was not discussed during the estimate time, and I did not opt to do so and used additional portable heaters. The following year, the unit made a horrific noise, so I called a different company and they replaced a part to the tune of $350.00, but I still lacked enough heat. (yes my radiators had been bled). Later, I had someone come out and they adjusted the unit's setting and it seemed to be working much better, until this summer of 2019. Although I had the temp. all the way to 50 on my thermostat, the heat kept kicking on. So, again someone came out (not from Z&R) and knew exactly what the issue was, it was a simple adjustment. I forgot to mention that the other folks that came out disagreed with the need for more baseboard heat. So, we will see what winter brings. I do not recommend this company.

Sarah C.

My grandmother had her Air Conditioning unit put it in by zenner and Ritter in 2013. It stopped working the same year. She called this company to come out to check it and they gave her the run around stating it wasn't their problem. She had to have her freyon filled twice for two consecutive years. Long story short she has called this company every year to figure out what was wrong with it they always stated it wasn't their problem and she hasn't had a working air conditioner for longer than a month at a time. She was told the issue was related to her furnace. She called the furnace company and they discovered an issue with a pipe leak in her AC unit. Zenner and Ritter stayed that her warranty was voided because she called the furnace company and they had checked her AC. They other company told her it was also her condenser. They waited till her warranty expired after 5 years and now they tell her she needs a $600 test and a $1600 test done.

Do take advantage of every elderly person? How pathetic!