There's a reason that the BBB has rated Fireplace Doctor with an "F." They earn it. Avoid dealing…read morewith the Fireplace Doctor at all costs. When our fireplace needed a rain cap, we wanted to go with a local company. We later found out that this operation is based out of Milton, FL with regional contractors. This is not inherently bad in itself, but the main office's organizational skills in managing its appointment book is mind-bogglingly pathetic. My dealings with them almost seemed like they were being intentionally inept, to the degree that I question whether anyone working in the office has ever seen a calendar, much less used one. The Fireplace Doctor's mastery of organizational incompetence has surely left more than one patient dead on the gurney. Honestly, I don't know how they stay in business. You can stop reading if you aren't interested in tales of woe, but just so you don't think I'm going off half-cocked, here's what I went through before I severed ties. I took off work for the first appointment in mid-December to install rain caps. No call came in to tell me that the technician wasn't coming. Instead, he came the next day after work and performed the installation. He mentioned a couple of other things that needed attention and offered to make an appointment. I said I would think about it. Four days later, I got a call from their home office confirming a second appointment. I had to cancel it, but I still got a call from the technician saying that they would be about 30 minutes late since they needed to stop and get supplies. I had to cancel with them directly as well. This should have been a sign to run away from the Fireplace Doctor. I followed up on the needed work a few weeks later in early January and three different technicians came out to the house. They arrived 2 hours before they were supposed to and were preceded by their manager asking how things went and they only quoted work when I had wanted work done, but they were here and seemed to know what they were talking about. They quickly assessed the work of the first technician as poor and offered $200 in credit toward the work that needed to be done to fix some water leaking into the house (~$1000). We put down a $400 deposit for a Saturday appointment in February. Two days before the appointment, I got a call (confirmation call) from the office in Florida saying that they had to reschedule the appointment for next Thursday. I said that this wasn't for next Thursday, but this Saturday. Regardless, they weren't doing Saturday appointments any more. After 7 days of calling, I finally got a hold of a manager who said they actually were making Saturday appointments and that we could set one up for Saturday the 23rd. That would have been great until I got a call on Thursday the 21st from a technician at my house, ready to work. I explained my frustration to the tech and then to the Fireplace Doctor service rep who called, annoyed that I'd missed an appointment. "Well, we have today on the schedule," she explained. I asked to speak to the customer service manager again. He was at lunch but would "call when he gets back." Next day, Manager calls. He backs up the Papal-like infallibility of the Fireplace Doctor's calendar. I explain the multiple mistakes that have taken place with their illustrious calendar. "I don't make a lot of appointments to take off work and be home, so I'm pretty sure I would have remembered it as I was writing it down." I then asked whether Manager remembered why I called 3 weeks ago (to make a Saturday appointment) and why I would agree to a Thursday. He said they deal with "hundreds of appointments every day," so he didn't remember the call. I asked whether that volume might be a bit too much for them to handle since I'd had nothing but mistakes. He offered to make a Saturday appointment two weeks out. I questioned him on why I would trust any date at this point and it went downhill from there, resulting in me asking for my deposit back. Months later, I was still asking for my deposit to be returned. I was told that I was on the bottom of the list because I had not accepted a partial refund 3 months ago and had foolishly asked that I receive all the money that I had essentially loaned them. I finally came to the conclusion that I wasn't ever going to get a refund, so I proposed that they do the work at a discounted rate. The work was finally done in June, though I did have to call back the tech to fix a mistake. He was affable and made the correction without issue. The Fireplace Doctor is disorganized, incompetent and has terrible customer service. I wish I could give 0 stars, but hopefully someone will see this and AVOID The Fireplace Doctor like a rusty nail in their eye.

Avoid at all costs! Had an appointment and took the…read moreafternoon off. They tried to call to reschedule because they lost a technician but they mixed up my phone number so I never received the call to cancel. very poor business practice!

They did a thorough inspection of the chimney, cleaned and gave a green light to use…read more Also had a custom chimney cap made and installed along with other minor repairs. Excellent service.

Warning if anyone does business with this place make sure every little detail is spelled out in…read morecontract, Replaced my insert took tile off wall and never replaced it ,Was told not in contract to replace tile.

I'm not pleased with the quality or the value. I should have thought it through better before I…read moresigned the contract but I was upset about finding and repairing a leak. I can say that they showed up promptly.

From the owner: Call for appointments today 5029394257read more

I contacted Dale, the owner, in early January to have my 77 year old mother's fireplace looked at…read more The worker came and after trouble shooting a number of options said we needed to order two parts to repair. Dale himself called while the worker was there and asked for payment upfront ($600), so we paid for the work that Dale said would be done the following week. That was 3 months ago. I have left message, sent texts over and over and no one will call back. Check was cashed and work is not done. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH HILLSIDE HEARTH!!!

After reading reviews from all social media and learning the hard way, would not recommend Dale or…read morehis business. No shows, no returns texts or calls, no one answers at the office. State of ky lists as Bad business and inactive

The worst ever. Don't use them. They neglected to remove a birds nest at the top of our chimney and…read morethere was smoke everywhere. We used another company since ACE wouldn't return our calls.

Very helpful and professional. The service was too tier. You should definitely use themread more

Great quality and service! Victor was very professional and explained the entire process. I highly…read morerecommend this company and will be a repeat customer for future needs.

what a fantastic job this young man did on my dryer vent cleaning!! Victor is fast and efficient…read moreand didn't hurt the pocketbook. He cleans up real good behind himself and left me with a peace of mind that is invaluable!!! Thank you Victor!!! I highly recommend his services!!

Visited the store 2 weeks ago and dealt with a very helpful and knowledgble Vicki and selected an…read moreinsert. While there is said i was ready to pull the trigger on placing my order as soon as I could compare prices. A company rep came to the house within a day to verify the dimensions, all was good. Waited for 2 days for Vicki to send a quote, but nothing. I called her and she said they were busy but would send a quote that afternoon, been a week and a half and still waiting, received nothing and I gave up, obviously doesn't want or need my business. Placed my order with another stove company three days later and expecting my new stove on Wednesday next week. The rep from Hillside Fireplace in Mt Washington returned my call and came out that same day and we had a quote. Wood stove insert ordered. After reading many other reviews about this company and we all having the same complaint. Not only losing Over $7000 order from us and others and bad reviews.

My fireplace remote would no longer sync with the box. The fireplace also needed cleaning. I…read morecalled and was given an appointment. Truell and Jensen were here exactly on time. They figured out what was wrong and took care of the problem. They cleaned the fireplace pieces and put new embers in. It looks and works great, and the charge was reasonable. Both of these gentlemen were so very nice and told me exactly what they were doing. It was a pleasant experience, and Jensen loved my dog Oliver. Judy Nesbit