Grassi Review
We asked Grassi Refrigeration to give us a bid on a new A/C after they informed us that our old one needed to be replaced. When we bought our home, six years earlier, we decided to keep them on because they had been the company recommended by the previous owners. In those six years we felt that they had done a good job with the maintenance of both our A/C and our gas furnace. The owner of Grassi came out, took a good look, and then sent us two bids. Both bids included "modifying the ducting to fit the new furnace," which we assumed, in our case, meant the A/C. We assumed incorrectly. After the installation last September, the noise coming through our eight ceiling vents was loud to the point of being invasive. We immediately told the installer that the noise was unacceptable. His first response was that it seemed in the normal range to him. He then suggested that we should give it a month or so and most people get used to it. When we persisted, their projects manager came out. At first, he repeated the words of his installer, that most people get used to it. I took him to three different vents, the dining room and two in the living room, and explained that listening to someone in normal conversation, trying to have music at a normal level, calling to someone in the kitchen, were all now impossible. He conceded my point, suggested some things that might quiet it, but made no offer to actually do the work. Finally, I told him that, "if we have to, we'll pay for it." They sent us a bid that included two "options." The first was to enlarge the return air duct to proper size with new flex duct. The second was to enlarge and replace ALL supply runs with flex duct. When the technician did the work, the noise level didn't drop after option one. He then performed option two on the three vents that I had shown the project manager. They quieted down significantly, and we told him that they were acceptable. He explained that our new unit, the Carrier Performance Efficient 3 ton 16 SEER, required a certain air flow from the A/C through to the vents, "or it won't work properly." Then, it being late in the day, he turned off the system and left. When it became apparent that they had considered the job complete, I went back and took another look at the original installation bid and the subsequent duct work bid. My wife and I were both of the opinion that a bid should mean that the A/C should have worked properly after the work of the original bid. Clearly, that didn't happen. We decided to send a letter objecting to the extra costs of vent work but put it with the check that would pay for it. In the letter, I pointed out what the technician had told us, that the unit wasn't going to work properly without the increased air flow. The check was cashed, and they made no attempt to contact us. This year, when the weather warmed in late spring and we turned on the A/C, we decided that we didn't want to live with the noise level still coming from the remaining five vents that Grassi had not done. We also decided that we were finished trying to do business with them. So, we contacted another company in the area and explained the situation. They came out, put in the five flexible ducts in two and a half hours, and charged us half of what we had paid Grassi for their partial duct work. As they were leaving the job, loading up to go, we realized that what we were hearing, a very light fan, was the actual air conditioner operating the way it was meant to. We laughed and laughed. Justification! We were not being unreasonable. We were thrilled! We still are.
Christopher
-
August 28, 2024
