I have used Chief Bauer/Service Experts for 42 years in my same old (late 1900s) house. They have installed two furnaces and at least one AC system. They installed the gas hot water heater 22 years ago and it's survived 7 years longer than anticipated, but they will be installing a new one next week. I always get immediate service when I have a problem, even one horrible winter when the snow piled up so high it caused ice buildup in the exhaust pipe from the furnace and kept shutting off the heat. It was windy and below zero outside, but Chief Bauer sent someone quickly and together we routed the pipe and got my heat to stay on. I have been told that Chief Bauer charges too much and another neighbor said I was getting ripped off, but I value SERVICE and am willing to pay more for it. I don't have to think about making annual check ups on the AC and furnace, I'm happily part of the monthly payment plan that reminds me (via phone and email) when it's time to do these necessary tasks. I own a business, have two vehicles, and am bipolar with insomnia, so knowing Chief Bauer is watching over the heat, AC and water heater is a blessing to me. read more

A/C broke. Repair person came out pretty quick, diagnosed to simple part, but said would cost near $1000 to fix. Later I found out the part could be obtained on the internet for about $100. Based on the high cost to fix, I went with a new Lennox system from them. (At the time they did not mention it, but it turns out their parent company, Service Experts, is really owned by Lennox, so if they recommend that brand, it is probably because of that and not necessarily objective.) I believe the price was in the OK range. The salesman had assured of a few things, that the installers were experienced, well-trained, and not beginners, that the house would be left cleaner than when they arrived, and that it would be done right. However I think none of those things were true. There was quite a mess that had to be cleaned up of dust, metal scraps, extra sheet metal screws, etc. which showed that they did clean some stuff up, but clearly didn't do any care in vacuuming or checking for objects. They also did not install the A/C correctly, and it needed service within a week of installation, even the tech admitted the installers erred. Finally, the A/C plenum and where it connects to the vents, the top of the furnace, and around the drain pipe leaks air like a sieve. I've read online that part of the hallmark of a professional install is sealing the connections to the ducts well. In this case, it is bad enough that there is a wind in the room and that room gets freezing cold due to how much air leaks out. I'll have to fix that myself with some foil tape and silicone as I don't think we want them back in again if we can help it. The air filter is also held in by a screw and a folded piece of metal and is bending upwards at the sides letting air pass it by and I'll have to figure out a more "professional" way to fix that. I know I'll do a much more careful job, so it really isn't worth having them come do it. read more

Dave, we did complain. It did no good. I still think whomever sold my grandmother the light scammed her. Whatever, I'll find another company from now on. You have lost my respect as well as my business! read more

I purchased an A/C unit from Chief and had it installed by them as well. Big mistake. #1 they had me buy a bigger AC unit than my house needed; then when the AC didn't run enough to take the humidity out of the house they tried to sell me a whole house dehumidifier for $1500 more dollars. # 2 they did not insulate around the pipes and when it is cold out the condensation from the pipes in the attic discolor my ceiling. read more

This company installed my boiler and my AC over five years ago. I am very happy with the service, always seem to go the extra mile and show up when they are scheduled.. The technicains are very friendly and are even nice to my dogs. read more

Please read this carefully. This is NOT the heating & air conditioning service company you're looking for! I have never seen a company treating new customers like this. I made an appointment with them one day before which was scheduled between 8:00am and 10:00am. I postponed all my other work and waited at home. At 9:50am, they first called me saying that they couldn't come. My two hours in the morning are completely wasted! If you don't have time, don't make an appointment at all. Being a service company, please keep your promises to customers. The way you're behaving now is not the correct way of doing business. read more

When our AC stopped working properly yesterday, we called Chief/Bauer to come check it out. After receiving poor customer service and hassle from another area company, we were extremely pleased by the professional nature of the technician who came out to complete the repairs. Even though it was a Sunday evening, the technician was at our door within a half hour of our initial call. He was skilled, efficient, and honest, fixing the problem without pressuring us into extras. Our unit is 25 years old, so we realize we are on borrowed time - he confirmed that yes, we will indeed need a new unit in the near future, but made the necessary repairs so that we could sleep comfortably, as our thermostat was reading 85 degrees and we were all grouchy and warm. :) It was so great to wake up this morning to a working AC. Thank you, Chief/Bauer! Because of your excellent customer service, you have our business. read more

Called in the afternoon when AC went out with temps in mid-90's. Receptionist was very helpful and able to get me in same day. The technician Kurtis was friendly and new his stuff. Got me diagnosed and up in running in less than an hour with only minor issue. Will definitely go back to them for ongoing HVAC. read more

I had a tune up in July 2017 after purchasing my first home and then the pushy technician (Tommy) talked me into buying a service plan that covers two more tune ups as well. I really didn't think I needed it but that was my fault for not saying "no". After using the second tune up the same pushy technician showed me a picture supposedly of my coil that had some mold and he said that I needed to have a blue UV light to clean that, which keep in mind it's not cheap. I told him no this time. Then in May 2018, I was selling my house and wanted to use my last tune up that I had paid for on the service plan. The technician Matthew Barnes came in for approximately 30 minutes and said everything was good and had asked if I wanted him to turn-off the thermostat since it was pretty cool out that morning, which I had replied "yes". Later that night when I turned on my air, it was blowing out heat, I checked to make sure the thermostat was indeed turned to cool, which it was. I also checked the breaker. I contacted Chief that next day, and they had some young new technician come out to inspect the problem. After two hours, he tells me my thermostat is bad, keep in mind that my Nest thermostat is less than one year old and it had been working perfectly up even after Matthew left the day before after he supposedly did my tuneup. I honestly don't even think he did anything for this tuneup since he knew I was selling my house and was only using up my last tuneup. I was told that the manager of Chief would contact me and guess what he never did. Please Please DO NOT HAVE CHIEF inspect, repair, or do anything with you HVAC needs. They are crooks and some of their techs don't know what the heck they are doing. read more

April 2017: My 82 year old widowed mother called for her furnace being out. They came out and diagnosed the need for $1100 to correct the problem BUT "this furnace will need to be replaced really soon" so she was ultimately given a quote for furnace/condenser of $7100 and implied that it was on its last leg...I suggested she get a 2nd service call and quote/opinion. The other outfit unclogged the Pressure Port and the heat came on. Total of $70 for service call, NO PARTS were needed, "this furnace has a bunch of life left". By the way, it's only 13 years old. 100% confidence that they were trying to sell a single elderly person new equipment for their profit. Needless to say, I/we will never call this group again. read more

Is there anything less than 1 star? The receptionist Maria was rude, the office manager Rhonda was worse, and the general manager Brad Hutchens did not care and I think he was asleep when I phoned. Do not use this service read more

when I needed a new boiler the contractor recommended Weil Mclean and I am pleased with their product and design. the installation however did not go well. the list of deficiencies is extensive and exhaustive. the out of plumb vent and air piping and overall shoddy workmanship triggered looking into whatever else might be wrong. the first thing I noticed was the vent piping was terminated with only a 45 degree fitting and no bird screens were installed in either pipe. their 'fix' was to stuff galvanized chicken wire in each pipe. my fix was to buy stainless steel bird screens made for the purpose. a separate transformer to operate the zone valves was not installed and when it was there was double the voltage on some wiring. this was corrected by the installation of an isolation relay that was also omitted in the original install. testing for the factory provided corrosion inhibitor found none had been used but now it is. the low water cut out was wired in parallel with the other safeties and did not work. no additional safeties were installed except the low water cut out. I have no way to prove it but I doubt they flushed the system, pressure tested the boiler or did any water chemistry as per the manufacturer. a supply side isolation valve was not installed. the in line flue drain was nowhere to be found and had to be ordered. the factory installed gas cock was removed. one of their 'techs' claimed the county code requires the gas cock be removed but the county says they have no such code and no authority in the city. the city also says they have no such requirement and see no reason to remove it. the contractor claims Weil Mclean doesn't always ship the missing items with each unit but I find that hard to believe. lastly the foundation was two 4x8x16 inch solid blocks one at each end instead of a continuous foundation from end to end. with all I have found it makes me wonder about what I missed and how many others they have installed with parts missing removed or omitted. from start to 'finish' if you can call it that was 12 weeks and the cost was grossly over what it should be. the boiler and all the parts could be had for around $3200 but the total bill was 4 times that. I don't think I got a fair deal from chief bauer and will not have them back. read more

wasn't going to write a review about these guys until i came across them again today while searching for someone to look at my gas fireplace. called chief/bauer last summer (summer 2015) because my AC wasn't cooling the house. i'm not an HVAC expert and the service tech tried his best to exploit my ignorance. however, i have common sense and know to get a second opinion. bottom line: the chief/bauer tech tried tried to sell me an entirely new system (cost: over $6k) by saying mine was completely shot as well as inadequate for the size of my home. seemed fishy, so i told him i'd call and let them know what i'd decided. i called mattex instead and they sent out a guy who lives next to me here in mahomet. he looked over my system and explained what he was doing along the way. turns out my coil had rusted and my refrigerant leaked out. he replaced the coil (not cheap, but certainly not $6k) and refilled the refrigerant. my AC works fine and easily cools my house. the guy was totally honest and showed me the rusty coil and all the diagnostic equipment while he was testing for leaks. i would strongly caution against using chief/bauer. my opinion is if they think for one second that you haven't got a clue about what they're doing, they'll try to upsell you (upsell = ripoff) to equipment that you don't need. disclaimer: this was my personal experience based upon one visit from a chief/bauer technician. read more