Stan's Heating, Air, Plumbing & Electrical

4/9/24 Matt Santos gets a 5 star rating from me for the maintenance check he did on my HVAC system. He arrived on time and was efficient and pleasant and professional. He summarized what he did and what he found. The prices are competitive at Stan's HVAC. They are my only company for HVAC A/C and heating services. I've been using them for approximately four years. I recommend Matt Santos as a knowledgeable technician. I recommend Stan's for. HVAC maintenance and HVAC problems.

In short: We experienced a stressful repair with a junior technician. I was led to believe the only option was to dive into an expensive repair with drywall, tile, and other next steps until I asked for a senior plumber who fixed the issue in minutes.

If you go with this company for plumbing, I recommend thinking critically about the solutions you're provided, especially if you have an older home.

After some persistence I was able to speak with the plumbing GM and he was nice enough to chat with me about my experience. I appreciate him taking the time to hear me out and I hope the plumbers I saw have learned a valuable lesson not to make things up when they're unsure of what to do next.

Called in on their emergency line last night for a burst pipe, they called me back after almost 2 hours letting me know there wasn't anything they could do that night. That's fine, I get it, I had a big job ahead. They promised a callback the next morning, early, to schedule me in for the day. Well, they never called. Simple as that, if you don't want my business, no worries.

We have had maintenance contracts on our A/C & Heating for 4 years in this house. Service techs polite and seemed competent. This year the young man said we had a "freon" problem and needed a new A/C. This bothered us as no prior mention had been made of any problems. We called a second company and their report listed many failing components. The young Stan's man was right but it bothered us that none of these failing components were mentioned in prior inspections and do not normally degrade in one season. Very significant rust issues, leaking oil, holes in plenum, uneven foundation slab etc. have been around for some time. Ask your tech to show you their "readings" on a yearly basic and compare to "normal" We wished we had done that. It is a shame we pay for only what we want to hear.

We will be seeking bids from other companies for a new system and checking work under warranty.

One of their Vans #258 tag #RXT 1455 tried to run me off the road. Filled a police report for reckless driving along with dash cam footage of the incident. Hopefully they will receive the appropriate citation.

The homeowner purchased a house which had gone through inspection etc, and shortly after, new tenants moved in. Inspection report from the purchase showed a 3 year old working tankless water heater without issues. The tenants complained that while they had hot water, it was not hot enough. The winter storm was coming soon so I as the property manager called Stan for a checkup. Stan's plumber verbally convinced my tenants that the 3 year old water heater had been incorrectly and dangerously installed, emitting enough carbon monoxide that poses immediate harm. The plumber suggested a full replacement because it was not worth the money to fix/reinstall. Stan's plumber did not flush the system, nor run diagnostics on the unit, because he conveyed that the unit was so dangerous they would not touch it. This scared my tenants. Upon hearing this, the fearful tenants and landlord at this point fearing the storm coming, we collectively agreed to replacement on the spot even though I found the replacement price tag to be exorbitant at over $4000. After replacement I looked up the exact model, it was a traditional, not tankless, GE RealMax Platinum 40 gallon water heater and it would only retail at less than $800 at Sears. I was charged $3,722.00 for this $800 unit, and the labor cost was $616. After installation was completed and tenants settled, I reached out to Stan. They had all the proof of my "agreements" on the phone recorded, and would not address why the water heater itself was priced at almost 5 times that of retail. The VP Brian Cardwell exchanged emails with me stating that since I had agreed for the replacement there is nothing they can do, and the dispute went in circles. I refused to pay the invoice until dispute was settled, yet Stan took the liberty to charge my card the entire amount. I contacted BBB, and the credit card company to request Stan to split the cost for a $2000 refund. For installing a new $800 heater plus $616 labor, totaling less than $1500, I believe splitting the cost even at $2000 would be more than fair. Stan turned in all call logsto BBB and my credit card showing that I had agreed to everything, therefore case is closed.  As a property manager of many units around Austin, I do not have the desire to relentlessly chase after a refund, but I do not want atx homeowners to be coerced into replace a unit when it can easily be repaired. Stan claims that the "reinstallation" cost of my working water heater would come in at a few thousand dollars as well. Yet this was unfounded since a diagnostics on the original tankless was never ran. I have never seen such deceptive price hike. I will never use Stan again for their unscrupulous pricing structure. Side story, the employee that came to install also told my tenant that the closet is out of code which will not pass inspection when the inspector would come, and called his friend to come out for an extra $600 to patch up the closet and demanded I venmo him right away. I would stay away from Stan.

Service and instillation good, but beware of the large rebate promise. When buying the unit, the rebate was taken into consideration for final price. I never received the rebate. After numerous calls and emails and no one ever getting back to me, had to call the rebate a loss.

AVOID STAN'S AT ALL COSTS

They have installed 4 systems for me, but when something goes wrong? Management and owners STICK THEIR HEAD IN THE SAND, NO care for their customers, no contact, while liability and bills pile up... do NOT do business with these uncaring people.

HOUSE FLOODED -- electrical blown out including water heater because they switched a circuit to 220v unwisely -- but it's the MOLD, THE FLOODED system that they installed, and no matter who I talk to a the tech or dispatch level, NOBODY upstairs will call me. EIGHT messages left. These owners and management, despite great folks, care NOTHING about their customers or the disasters they are causing. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE UNCARING PEOPLE. They have made my house unlivable and I can't even get a call from management. Stan's owners & management should be *ashamed.* P.S. There is still all sorts of water in my house and the latest person who cares is trying... WHERE ARE YOU OWNERSHIP??? *This* is how you respond to customer catastrophes of your own making??? This picture, if this is what you want... call Stan's.

Stan's installed a new HVAC for me 5+ weeks ago and it has had a smell ever since. There was an error in the installation that had to be resolved on day 3 as well, and they brought the wrong size return air grille which I was told I will now have to wait months for. I've called multiple times a week since the unit has been smelling, had 3 different technicians out, and there is zero sense of any interest from Stan's to resolve the issue. I've left unreturned messages for multiple individuals over the last several weeks. Someone was supposed to come out today and they no-showed the appointment. I called the office and spoke to someone, the technician then called with no apology. Stan's is perfect for you if you like abysmal customer service and like having to call multiple times a week to resolve issues on a unit you paid over $10k for.

While I appreciate the need to have every component of my system replaced to prevent problems, the line item pricing in the quote I was provided from Stans was just not reasonable. The honeywell zone board I was quoted was over $1800. The company I went with to replace my system ended up recommending the same honeywell zone board but charged $460. I got the same Carrier system that Stans quoted me, a new zone board, an additional air duct in one of the bedrooms, an ApcoX pollen filter with a 2 year labor warranty for $7k cheaper. I know Stans does a lot of good work in the Capital area but the mark ups are just too much.