I have mixed feelings bout Northwest Energy Systems (NES). I used them 3 times, once to install a…read morewater heater (great experience; original review), a second time to repair a gas leak (things went terribly wrong), a third time to investigate this oily burnt foul smell in the kitchen (dissatisfied).
PROS
+ Most of the people at NES are nice. Chris in Sales is professional and easy to work with. Dan, the own, went out of his way to make things right when my gas leak repair went REALLY bad.
CONS
- When I had a gas leak in the garage, this one technician misdiagnosed and replaced a gas pipe that was not leaking. A few hours after the technician left, I called them to ask to send the technician back as I was still smelling gas in the garage. The receptionist REFUSED to send him back because she did not believe I was still smelling gas. As it turned out, the technician had replaced a line that was not leaking. After spending several hours, the technician finally located where it's really leaking. Unfortunately, this is not the end of my ordeal. They put a temporary hookup so that I can at least use the water heater before they can fix the leak on a later day. Then, the temporary hookup leaked! It was after hours, but I called NES and left a message for the on-call person. I ended up having to call the Cascade Natural Gas emergency line as I did not receive a call back, and Cascade Natural Gas shut off my main gas line. Because of the misdiagnosis and the failure to respond to my after-hour request, Dan, the owner, gave me his personal cell number in case I have difficulty reaching them.
- The same technician was sent to my house a couple days ago when I requested to investigate the foul smell I noticed in the kitchen. Ok, the previous time, he was reluctant to investigate the issue any further as he thought he had fixed the leak. This time as well, he was reluctant to do anything. First thing he said was "I don't know what to tell you." So, I asked him to at least check for a gas leak. 10 minutes later he left, and I received a bill for $92.40 ($85 trip charge plus tax). As I requested a service call, I did pay (the entire bill), but I expressed to the office my concerns about this technician's unwillingness to help me TWICE. I am not even calling this technician incompetent, but it's a waste of money at least if he's not willing to help his customers. The office promised me to send someone else in the future. It is my Yelp review policy not to name names to avoid "public shaming." However, if you're considering to hire NES and want to know which technician I'm talking about, please PM me. I can share the information in private.
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