In the past 5 years that we've been very happy with the service we have received from Mountain…read moreHearth & Patio (also known as "Mountain Man Fireplace & Chimney"). However, this last experience was absolutely awful and so unlike any other interaction and service we've received from this company.
We needed our pellet stove fixed and it took SEVERAL appointments for them to send a technician out to fix it. Here are our frustrations/complaints that has left such a bad taste in our mouth.
1. Disorganized. When we would call the office, it was impossible to reach someone and when we eventually would, the same person would say she couldn't help us because she didn't know where our file was. This happened on MULTIPLE occasions and we've been a customer for over 5 years!
2. Contradictory Information. First, we were told that we would have to install a flue ourselves, but then received a call a week or so later, asking when they could book a time to install it. We told them that we were told that WE would have to install it and needed clarification. In the end, they confirmed that it was our responsibility to install the flue.
Here's where the most frustrating part comes. One of the technicians that came to our house to fix the pellet stove told us the length and direction the flue should be, writing down the parts we would need. Then, on a subsequent visit (since the pellet stove was STILL not working), we were told the flue was too horizontal, so we changed it. On another visit and with a 3rd technician, we were told that we couldn't have a T and had to have the flue come straight out. Why would your technician suggest we take the flue the other direction we had planned and to keep it short after we would be putting in the 90 degree turn!? Why didn't he tell me you cannot have a T or 90 degree turn when he wrote down the pieces himself that we needed and then allowed us to order them.
And how ethical is it to allow customers to purchase something through you that is eventually determined to be the cause of the stove not functioning!? As per the receipts, we paid $641.60 (-$47.80) = $593.83 for something your company eventually said we cannot use.
3. Bad Pellets. We assumed that one of the technicians took the pellets from his truck, because instead of using the pellets we had next the the stove (that are dry and new), we found a bag of bad fuel outside in the back of our house. We store our pellets in our basement storage room and in a bucket next to our stove. The pellets that were in my stove were filled by your technician after we had to leave. If the pellets were bad, why did he put them into the stove? And then, in a conversation with you, WE were the ones blamed for putting in bad pellets!
Pocketing $600 and then placing the blame solely on the customer and giving contradictory information is not a great way to run a business.
4. Lastly, we were never given a breakdown of the cost, until we asked for it and it was vaguely written out in an email. We've always received invoices from you in the past! Our final straw, when we decided to get the Better Business Bureau involved was not when we believe you owe us a $600 refund, but when a month after the service debacle, we were told we have an overdue balance!!! It was cleared as a mistake once the BBB reached out to you. But this whole thing has been a stressful nightmare.
I'm not sure WHAT has changed this past year, but it was a completely different service and experience than what we've had in the past. It's been incredibly frustrating and disappointing for our family. We were asked not to write a bad review, but I feel like as a business, it would be helpful for you to know why we are upset. We've been nothing but patient and understanding, even in so many moments of frustration and that amount of times you had to send technicians out to figure out what was wrong with our pellet stove.
