Russell’s Heating Cooling Plumbing & Electric

Contacted Russels on Friday afternoon because I have used them for service and paid for their maintenance program.
My combo-boiler/water heater was not working and they promise same day service. I was told no service was available until Saturday evening. Temps were beginning to drop to very low. I trickled water in bathrooms and kitchen to avert pipes freezing.
Russels called and had a tech at my house Sat morning.
My boiler/water heater is in the basement. My house was at 40deg by this point. Basement was cold. Tech looked at the error code and said pipes were frozen. (Mind you it stopped working prior to the temps dropping and water still runs through it just fine, just doesn't get hot) error code displayed indicates low intake air. Tech turned off gas unplugged boiler and said he was turning off the water at the street.
I took temp in basement it was at 34. Unlikely that pipes were frozen.
I spent 4 hours attempting to reach them with no success. Every time you reach next caller in the line you get put in a loop and no human ever answers. Automated call system hung up on me at least twice. Temps are dropping again. And tech didn't actually turn off my water supply so I'll need to run water again soon in the hopes of not losing any pipes. (Bright side I can flush)
I am very disappointed in this service call.
Update: 12/26 had pipe burst Christmas Day.. service returned my calls the next day (2days after I called). Plumber came out to look at burst pipe. It’s shattered badly. Since the combi boiler has not yet been looked at, they refused to do any work in case of liability issues. At this point it appears that I will be better off taking a trip to a hardware store to resolve my burst pipe issues.
Update 12/27 tech came out, fixed boiler, issue was clogged air filter. Also put a cap on burst line at my request. Myself and the units error code were correct.
Update 12/28. While boiler is working house still cold at 57. Should have been nice and toasty after almost 24 hours. Checked heating system pipes for any leaks. None found. Checked boiler. Temp for heating set at 110. Two issues here. 1. In no way is that temp sufficient to run a hot water radiator system. 2. Nasty bacteria things can grow at that temp ie legionares etc etc.
I set to 140 and house is slowly warming up.
Overall, 3rd guy fixed boiler on day 5. Customer Service rep polite. None of this should have happened.
Final UPDATE: 1/3 Combi-boiler still not working correctly. Heat appears to be functional, however hot water is not. When running faucet, boiler fires but is not heating hot water. No error codes displayed. Unit is set for 140, water gets to maybe 80. Service manual explicitly states not to power off unit because that disables freeze protection. Called Russel’s today to have them come back out again. Tech arrived and said they need to charge $500 per hour to diagnose the problem. This unit has been very reliable. I hold Russel’s responsible for my burst pipes, and my still broken hot water. $500 per hour is outrageous. If I could lower the rating to negative stars I would. I highly recommend calling another company as I have now done.

Mandy (scheduler) and Justin (technician) were responsive and considerate to our requests and needs. During initial inspection and service Justin gave updates as he diagnosed and or completed each task.

Justin discussed options for resolutions, short and long terms. Our choice was to replace 10 year old system and installation was able to be scheduled for the next day. Although we may have made different system choices with more information the system we purchased is working very well.

Technicians (Nathan, Cody and Chris) installed new system, prepared areas before starting installation and were finished that day.

Unfortunately, we had to reach out for follow up within a couple of days and that process was not as quick and smooth as it was initially. Russell’s did send another technician, David, as soon as it was convenient for us. David quickly addressed each of the 3 issues/concerns with kind consideration.

Russell's diagnosed the problem after another company failed to do so. Compressor failure while under warranty. They handled the warranty processing and did the install efficiently and on time.

Russell's installed a whole home generator for us a year ago and they came out today for the annual maintenance.

I've been extremely satisfied with the service and their technicians are always very friendly and knowledgeable.

Russell's also has great pricing. Previously I paid almost double for the annual maintenance with the previous generator company I used and my last home.

Highly recommended!

Not happy!! This happened Monday 2/13/23…. The Technician came through the ceiling. It’s 2/16/23 and no one has come by to assess the damages… we called and emailed and we’re told we should hear from contractor. Still haven’t heard a peep. Super POOR customer service.

Will from Virginia Beach,

I want to thank, Lennox and their team for coming out this morning with breakfast, lunch and, for providing Russell's Heating & Cooling with a brand new unit to be installed in my mother's house. 11 years with no heat or a/c is a true blessing.

A Very Special Thanks goes to the guys the spent this BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY morning installing this unit.

SORRY IF I LEAVE ANY NAMES OUT
PRESIDENT / OWNER, BUDDY SMITH
INSTALLER - DUSTIN
INSTALLER - ANDREW
SERVICE TECHNICIAN - BERTO AUTRY
I recommend these guys to come out any night or day of the week. These guys are really Clean, Professional, Hard Working, Respectful, Knowledgeable, Friendly, Neat, and very hard working.
THANKS AGAIN GUYS KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. 5 STAR RATING FROM ME

BERTO AUTRY
Came out diagnose the problem and repaired it within seconds. Thanks for getting the problem resolved. My ac system is working great now. Thanks again

UPDATE: 2 years later and the system was not working. I called yesterday, and was told a technician would call me to set up an appointment. They left a voicemail, so I called the number and was once again told I would get a call. I didn’t. Called today and was told same thing. I didn’t get a call. Called One Hour and had a technician out to my house to fix my system. ONE HOUR HEATING AND COOLING was on point. They did what Russell’s couldn’t, and that was send someone to my house.

I thought when they got my system installed 2 years ago I would stick with them. They let me and my family down this weekend. After telling them I have a 1 year old daughter and needed it fixes asap, I would have gotten a call for appointment. But Russell’s decided my family wasn’t worth the service. Russell’s is garbage, and I will be recommending people not go with them. Which is bad, cause I have been recommending them for 2 years. I am also removing my 5 star and turning it to a 1 star for the reasons above and the slap in the face they did to me.

Got a brand new HVAC system and furnace to replace my 23 year old system after it finally went out. Was hesitant because of the price but because of financing, this was the best decision I have ever made.

All of the tec people in the field are good. Jenny a manager is awesome. Jenny can answer and take care of any issue that you may have. Very efficient and organized

Had an estimate for a water heater installation. Isaiah Young was very helpful. Called later that day to schedule installation and was told I would be called that day or early in morning for scheduling. Did not hear anything so called back and was told I was scheduled for that day between 1-330 but was never told. I asked for someone to call me because I had questions. It is now 2 hours later and I have heard nothing. I am not sure if I am on the schedule still for today or not. The lack of communication is unacceptable and I am thinking of going with a competitor if I don't hear something soon.

I do want to say tha Isaiah is the only reason I have not done so already.