Schwalbach Hardware Inc

The adjacent negative review was not posted by the customer, but by an excited relative of the customer.



My wife and I are the customer in reference. Regretfully we were divulging a little too much information, venting right after finding out we owed money to someone we never met or knew about for a furnace job we thought was over. While we were very unhappy about certain aspects of what transpired, it is a single event and there were mitigating circumstances for much of it.



Since yp will not remove this posting, my wife and I want it noted for proper perspective that Ken at Schwalbach's responded to our urgent request cheerfully and promptly when other contractors would not. He fit us into a hectic autumn furnace schedule, even with men down with the flu, in a way that we would not be without a safe furnace, and without neglecting his other clients who also had urgent needs.



He helped us make a good choice of furnace that we are very happy with. It's working wonderfully.



While this relative meant well, by pretending to be us he casts *us* in a negative light. Though this was our first time working with Schwalbach Plumbing and Heating, we are long-time loyal customers of the associated Schwalbach ACE hardware. Their friendly and helpful staff and the good reputation of the store are what made us confident in choosing the plumbing & heating business by the Schwalbach name.



It's a good company. They were trying to meet all their customers' needs well, with quality work in a timely manner. And once ours was functioning, though not completely installed, we were asked if we minded them going to other jobs where customers were without heat. And we told them we understood completely.



Don't judge it them by the unfortunate posting here.

Don't do it. Furnace out, needed replacement. Told it would take a day to day and a half. After start, repeated interruptions. First couple, understood. Next half dozen, I felt brushed aside. Kept making arrangements for them to come, no show. Work left unfinished. Day-long job took more than three weeks. Quote didn't include subcontracted electrical work. Never even told about the subcontracted work. Couple months later, a subcontractor I didn't know about, let alone ever met, is chasing me for money on a $4500 furnace job I thought I had already completely paid for. Workers left three boxes of duct pieces (elbows, long joints, etc) and a gigantic box of garbage. Never returned. Not only did they not take out the stove-sized box of garbage but they charged me for disposal of the furnace, which I had removed and disposed of myself -- after agreeing if I did it myself I wouldn't be charge.



When the electrician complained to them he hadn't gotten paid, I got a phone call from *them* asking when was I going to get around to taking care of my bill with him. THAT's how I found out they'd had a contractor in my house on the job. WTF? He'd asked *them* to make sure *they* got me to pay *him*. After this, I'll be sending a letter to the BBB. What kind of contracting practice is that?



I do have a nice, new furnace and did get the rebates and tax credits for it. Installation isn't pretty but will work. I'll give credit for that. But they didn't make the furnace, and they didn't create the rebates or the tax credit. Customer relations started good to get the job, then started to go downhill. I had to take off work to make arrangements to have them in. Then I'd have to call to ask why they were an hour late to hear "Oh, I was just about to call you. We're not coming today."



It ended absolutely terribly and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. In fact, when I was asked recently I did tell my friend to make sure, whatever you do, don't call Schwalbach's.



Oh, and get this -- it's attached to the ACE hardware store. Every part they use comes from that store. I didn't even get my ACE reward points for all that merchandize. I'd called ACE hq twice to get my card associated with that store. That's a separate issue. But I'm in there all the time. I use my card every time. Do you think maybe they could have at least asked, "Do you want your reward card used for this massive purchase?"



When *I* asked about it, the clerk told me, "You'll have to call the main company to get that purchase put on your card."



Nice. I liked the ACE back home so much that I guess maybe I expected too much from this one.