I have two pellet stoves that I typically maintain myself. My local dealer usually sends me an annual flyer advertising their annual cleaning/maintenance.
This year, I decided to splurge on the $340 they were asking for two stoves. I have a one and two year old in the house and thought it would be good to get an "expert" to look at them.
They sent two guys. Unfortunately, I was at work and my wife only saw what they did to one stove. Actually, my insert looks very clean and my wife reports that that the tech pulled it out and seemed to meticulously go through the unit.
My second stove is a free standing unit on the ground floor. It is my only heat source for that level of the house. When I got home, I noticed that it had been turned in an odd direction to face the wall. As I got closer, I saw that the aluminum tape on the chimney pieces were the same old pieces. The hopper still had the half dozen pellet chunks left over from the last burn. The clean outs on the side were left unscrewed. There was still considerable ash in the outside vent. The back was full of dust from sitting dormant over the summer.
At this point, I was feeling foolish for paying for a cleaning that was far less than what I would have done during the burning season. Then I noticed that the stove was still unplugged. I decided to test fire it. To my horror, the auger motor was completely inoperable. The light that signaled the auger interval remained on, while the auger sat motionless at any setting.
I called the next day. They took my number and assured me that they would come back and get it working. After another half day out of work, I headed to the office and my wife remained home. Just before 5p, I called my wife who reported that they had not arrived. I called and explained my situation to a gentleman that seemed very agitated with me. He told me that they had been to my house and diagnosed a bad thermostat and that everything was running fine. When I disputed that he had been to my house, he grew angry and insisted again that it was fixed before basically hanging up.
I'm now out $340, a working pellet stove, and any heat on my lower level to keep my toddlers warm. I can't even imagine that anyone would run a business like this. Anyway, I'm frustrated and needed to rant...
This year, I decided to splurge on the $340 they were asking for two stoves. I have a one and two year old in the house and thought it would be good to get an "expert" to look at them.
They sent two guys. Unfortunately, I was at work and my wife only saw what they did to one stove. Actually, my insert looks very clean and my wife reports that that the tech pulled it out and seemed to meticulously go through the unit.
My second stove is a free standing unit on the ground floor. It is my only heat source for that level of the house. When I got home, I noticed that it had been turned in an odd direction to face the wall. As I got closer, I saw that the aluminum tape on the chimney pieces were the same old pieces. The hopper still had the half dozen pellet chunks left over from the last burn. The clean outs on the side were left unscrewed. There was still considerable ash in the outside vent. The back was full of dust from sitting dormant over the summer.
At this point, I was feeling foolish for paying for a cleaning that was far less than what I would have done during the burning season. Then I noticed that the stove was still unplugged. I decided to test fire it. To my horror, the auger motor was completely inoperable. The light that signaled the auger interval remained on, while the auger sat motionless at any setting.
I called the next day. They took my number and assured me that they would come back and get it working. After another half day out of work, I headed to the office and my wife remained home. Just before 5p, I called my wife who reported that they had not arrived. I called and explained my situation to a gentleman that seemed very agitated with me. He told me that they had been to my house and diagnosed a bad thermostat and that everything was running fine. When I disputed that he had been to my house, he grew angry and insisted again that it was fixed before basically hanging up.
I'm now out $340, a working pellet stove, and any heat on my lower level to keep my toddlers warm. I can't even imagine that anyone would run a business like this. Anyway, I'm frustrated and needed to rant...