I am an advocate for using local businesses and avoiding large chains and corporations. That was a big part of the reason, the main reason, that I went with Christianson Plumbing & Heating to fix our gas fireplace. They were also recommended to my wife in a Facebook group when she asked for a recommendation. They also said that they charged no dispatch fee which was excellent news since we live out in the country. The pilot light wasn't working and I am less than qualified to work on a gas-anything. Their man came out on time with no problems. Nice guy. He determined that the issue was the pilot light fixture and they would order a replacement. After they received the pilot light fixture, our issues with Christianson Plumbing & Heating began. Our original appointment for install was placed on November 4th for November 10th between 12:30pm and 1:00pm. We felt this was perfectly reasonable since they were waiting on a part and of course that takes time. The day came and at 8:15 they rescheduled us for November 12th between 2:00pm and 2:30pm. Missing work for a last minute change like that is very frustrating. On the 11th they changed it again with no explanation. This wasn't a big deal as it was just an hour earlier. Then on the 12th, 9 minutes before our scheduled appointment time, they rescheduled us again for the 18th, again no explanation. They proceeded to reschedule us three more times at different times on the 18th. In between these appointments we called, usually with no answer and no calls back, many times. I'll attach the rescheduling texts I received. Their man installed the pilot light fixture on the 18th and both the pilot light and fireplace as a whole worked. Until he left. After he left the fire stopped working but the pilot light was working fine. When we called about it not working again, the reason for failure changed. Now it was two things. The first was that our thermostat couldn't handle our older fireplace. We needed to install a more basic thermostat that isn't programmed but is only tuned to a specific adjustable temperature and is American made. Second was that our fireplace is over 30 years old (it isn't) and is past its life cycle. We decided we did not want to work with them and risk the rescheduling issues again and so we stopped and received our bill. It was over $600. For a still non-working fireplace. Lo and behold they do charge a dispatch fee, one that was especially expensive since we lived in the country. Obviously we were charged for the part and obviously professional labor isn't cheap, but that was too much to pay for what we received. On top of that he left a part off the fireplace that I needed to reinstall myself. It was an easy fix, but still another thing. I went in person and we agreed to reduce the bill by half. I was thankful for that. They also explained that the reason they were rescheduling me without notice was because others heated their houses solely by fireplace and I was less of a priority...my house is also heated solely by fireplace. The reason for the confusion with the dispatching fee was: "I am the dispatcher and I don't get paid a dispatching fee." I ended up installing a thermostat like they recommended by myself. It did not work so I tried one last thing that I was nervous about trying myself out of fear of making things worse. I looked up the wiring diagram and that was when I saw that every-single-wire was in the wrong place. It took me ten minutes to fix and now the fireplace works perfectly fine. I have a hard time constituting a 1-star review but I don't see how I can post a review 2-stars or more. E. read more

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Fantastic people and service. Highly recommend them for any plumbing or HVAC services.

I would like to update my review! Christiansen brothers had contacted me in reference to the review I left . Which I was extremely surprised as companies don't usually go out of their way. Nate and Bruce went out of their way to apologize for the situation and asked if I would give them another chance. Being a local business, I definitely love supporting my community and the businesses that are in it.. I kindly accepted what they had offered was to come over to a full inspection and cleaning of our furnace. They had somebody here the next day they were very kind and pleasant. I just wanted to say that it really takes a good company to recognize areas. They are struggling with reach out to the consumer that they are dealing with. Admit those wrongs and ask for second chances they did a great job cleaning our furnace and I just want to say thank you again and definitely I will be giving them a second chance if I have plumbing issues come up. read more

I called them up for an estimate on several plumbing projects. The guy came out & spent an hour or so looking at the projects. A portion of the visit he spent on the phone taking calls. Afterwards he stated he was going to send me an estimate on how much the job will cost. Several days later I get an invoice from them thinking it was an estimate but instead it was a bill for $160 & in the comments it stated "We can't give you free advice from a master plumber for free! If you hire us within 30 days the amount will be applied to the work completed!" I called them up & spoke with the owner & told him I'm not paying you a penny! The Bill didn't include an estimate so I would know how much the project will cost in the first place! Second this is the first time in 21 years have I ever heard a plumbers who charges for an estimate & ontop of that never sent an estimate of how much it will cost to do the job in the first place. I had 4 other plumbers come out 2 before this & NONE of them charged to LOOK at the job. I gotten an estimate from all 4 of them as well. The plumber that came out seemed to be knowledgeable & friendly but if the owner did not send me a bill with the rude remark & then continued with the unprofessional & rude behavior when I called I might have went with them on this & future projects. It wasn't the plumber but the OWNER who fumbled. read more

My husband & I changed over to Christianson plumbing & heating 2013, The Best company we found in Albert Lea, MN They are right there when you call, they come in & get right to work, no down time or screwing around, Give 100% accurate estimates of jobs you want done & no waiting around to do any job we've ever needed. Tim the boss man, his wife "Kim" there 3 sons & their employees are the nicest people ever. I highly recommend you calling Christianson plumbing & heating when you need plumbing, heating or your AC done right. read more

Called about a slow draining mail sewage line. Was told they would call before coming out. Tow days later they showed up without a call. Didn't even come in the house. Ran a short snake through the exterior flapper pipe. When I called back to let them know it wasn't fixed they referred me to another plumber. The plumber they referred me to said he might be able to come out in two weeks. The problem turned out to be a root ball at the end of the pipe that they didn't push through. Charged me almost $400. Very poor customer service. Very expensive for less than an hour. read more