Friday, November 21, 2008

Egan and Hinson - Indoor Comfort Specialists - Houston, TX

I recently had a poor customer service experience with Indoor Comfort Specialists Inc located in Houston, TX

Egan and Hinson
Indoor Comfort Specialists Inc
http://www.indoorcomfortspecialist.com/index.html
Indoor Comfort Specialists, Inc.
5303 Glenmont Suite F
Houston, Texas 77081


In summary, the issues with Egan and Hinson were:

1) the responses provided were untimely and unprofessional at all levels of their organization, including Jerry Egan
2) they quoted me one price for inspection, but charged me another price after I specifically asked for confirmation of the cost
3) they implied that I did not represent my A/C system accurately despite the original email request for quote including a link to the manufacturer's website which includes pictures of the unit I requested be inspected
4) the report provided to me was a hand written report which cannot be read due to poor hand writing; I requested an interpretation of the report or a new type written report to which they have not provided
5) My credit card was charged immediately for their services, but the report was not provided to me for over a week and only then after several email requests and a phone to them from Dubai (I live overseas)
6) To date despite having paid the price quoted to me and repeatably asking for assistance, I have no understanding as to whether or not the A/C system they agreed to inspect was installed properly or functioning properly and therefore I will have to pay another vendor to perform the work that Egan and Hinson agreed to do.


Below is a complete transcript of all emails exchanged between me and Indoor Comfort Specialists Inc:

A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Fri 10/10/08 8:31 AM

To:

service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Hi,

Fox Inspection Group referred me to your services.

We are finalizing a new construction home in the (Houston) at Address X and would like to request an inspection of our A/C system. Fox stated that you charge $89 for this inspection, can you confirm?

Our system is is a water cooled tower from Thermal Flow (http://www.thermalflow.net/residential.htm).

Please confirm the price and availability to perform the inspection. Also, please confirm the time needed to complete the inspection so that I can notify the renters who occupy the property.

thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


Re: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Frank Whitehurst (Service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Sent:

Fri 10/10/08 11:51 AM

To:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

thank you for your inquiry. the fee would be $89.00 to inspect one system. i can have someone there by 9:00am next tuesday---friday. just let me know which day.

Frank Whitehurst

Service Manager
Indoor Comfort Specialist, Inc.
5303 Glenmont Dr. - Suite F
Houston, TX 77081
Ph-713.666.1101
Fax-713-666.2476
E-Mail Address:
Service@IndoorComfortSpecialist.Com


RE: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Fri 10/10/08 5:19 PM

To:

Frank Whitehurst (service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Hi Frank,

Thanks for the email.

I'd like to request 9:00 AM on Tuesday of next week if you still have availability. I will inform the renter to let them know that you are coming and if there is a problem with Tuesday at 9:00 AM I'll notify you.

How would you like to handle payment? thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


Re: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Frank Whitehurst (Service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Sent:

Fri 10/10/08 5:42 PM

To:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

SET UP FOR TUESDAY AT 9:00AM AND YOU CAN PAY WITH CREDIT CARD OR CHECK.

Frank Whitehurst

Service Manager
Indoor Comfort Specialist, Inc.
5303 Glenmont Dr. - Suite F
Houston, TX 77081
Ph-713.666.1101
Fax-713-666.2476
E-Mail Address:
Service@IndoorComfortSpecialist.Com


RE: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Tue 10/14/08 3:50 PM

To:

Frank Whitehurst (service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Hi,

I would like to pay by credit card:

(Credit Card Number provided)

Customer X

(Address provided)


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com



RE: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Tue 10/14/08 3:51 PM

To:

Frank Whitehurst (service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Credit Card Expiration: 06/11

Three digit security code: (security code provided)



Please confirm when I can expect the report. thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


Re: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Frank Whitehurst (Service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Sent:

Tue 10/14/08 4:01 PM

To:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

I WILL LET MY SERVICE TECH KNOW

Frank Whitehurst

Service Manager
Indoor Comfort Specialist, Inc.
5303 Glenmont Dr. - Suite F
Houston, TX 77081
Ph-713.666.1101
Fax-713-666.2476
E-Mail Address:
Service@IndoorComfortSpecialist.Com


Re: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Frank Whitehurst (Service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Sent:

Tue 10/14/08 7:28 PM

To:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

A COPY OF OUR SERVICE TICKET ALONG WITH THE INSPECTION REPORT WILL BE MAILED TO THE ADRESS YOU HAVE PROVIDED BELOW

Frank Whitehurst

Service Manager
Indoor Comfort Specialist, Inc.
5303 Glenmont Dr. - Suite F
Houston, TX 77081
Ph-713.666.1101
Fax-713-666.2476
E-Mail Address:
Service@IndoorComfortSpecialist.Com


RE: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Wed 10/15/08 3:16 AM

To:

Frank Whitehurst (service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Hi,

Is it possible a copy of the report can be scanned / emailed to me?

I live overseas and it may take up to 2 weeks to receive it by mail.

thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


Re: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Frank Whitehurst (Service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Sent:

Wed 10/15/08 11:35 AM

To:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

will do

Frank Whitehurst

Service Manager
Indoor Comfort Specialist, Inc.
5303 Glenmont Dr. - Suite F
Houston, TX 77081
Ph-713.666.1101
Fax-713-666.2476
E-Mail Address:
Service@IndoorComfortSpecialist.Com


RE: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Thu 10/16/08 6:03 AM

To:

Frank Whitehurst (service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Hi,

Can you confirm when I will receive the report by email? thanks,

Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


RE: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Fri 10/17/08 3:04 AM

To:

Frank Whitehurst (service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Please confirm when I will receive the report by email. Please provide a copy of the invoice.

thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


RE: A/C system inspection - Address X‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Mon 10/20/08 2:47 PM

To:

Frank Whitehurst (service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Hi,

As a follow up, please send the report and invoice to this email address. thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com



Indoor Comfort Specialists, Inc.‏

From:

Monica Ybarra (admin@indoorac.com)

Sent:

Tue 10/21/08 3:33 PM

To:

Customer X@hotmail.com

Please see attached

Monica Ybarra
Office Manager - Authorized Agent
Indoor Comfort Specialists, Inc.
5303 Glenmont Ste. F
Houston,TX 77081
Ph - 713.666.1101
Fax - 713.666.2476
Please Note My New E-Mail Address - admin@indoorac.com


RE: Indoor Comfort Specialists, Inc.‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Tue 10/21/08 4:13 PM

To:

Monica Ybarra (admin@indoorac.com); service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Hi,

Thank you for the email.

I'm not able to read the report handwriting.

Can you consult the technician that inspected the system and assist me in answering two questions:

1) Is the system installed and working properly to cool the house below 75 degrees
2) If the system was not installed properly and is not working properly to cool the house below 75 degrees, what items need to be corrected?

thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


RENT HOUSE‏

From:

Frank Whitehurst (Service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Sent:

Thu 10/23/08 2:11 PM

To:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS..........WHOEVER INSTALLED YOUR SYSTEM, SHOULD HAVE RAN A" MANUEL J". WHICH SHOULD HAVE LOAD CALCULATIONS, TONNAGE OF SYSTEM, AND SQUARE FOOTAGE. IF THIS HAS NOT BEEN DONE WE CHARGE $1650.00. TO DO THIS.

Frank Whitehurst

Service Manager
Indoor Comfort Specialist, Inc.
5303 Glenmont Dr. - Suite F
Houston, TX 77081
Ph-713.666.1101
Fax-713-666.2476
E-Mail Address:
Service@IndoorComfortSpecialist.Com


RE: RENT HOUSE‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Fri 10/24/08 3:50 AM

To:

Frank Whitehurst (service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com)

Hi,

Thanks for the email.

I'm not familiar with a "Manuel J" - what is it used for and where can I read more about it? Let me know if it is better for me to call and discuss by phone. thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


Indoor Comfort Specialsts, Inc.‏

From:

Monica Ybarra (admin@indoorac.com)

Sent:

Tue 10/28/08 1:51 PM

To:

Customer X@hotmail.com

A “MANUAL J” is an industry wide method used to calculate the exact capacity of air conditioning needed in a home. We measure the walls of the home, the floors, the roof, and use a series of formulas to calculate how many tons of air conditioning a home or building needs. Basically it is a formula that tells us how many tons of air & heat to install in your house.

If a home has too much or not enough air conditioning it can cause problems.

http://www.srpnet.com/energy/powerwise/manualj.aspx

After an air conditioner is installed in a home there is a series of tests we can do to see if the air conditioner is preformaning the way it was designed for. We can tell how much air conditioning it is really putting out.

An example: A person is going to build a house. They have a MANUAL J done on their home to figure out how many tons of a/c they need. Let’s say it came out to 5 tons.

Now the person builds the home and their a/c contractor puts in a 5 ton unit but the unit has problems cooling their home.

We go out to the home a perform a series of tests to verify the 5 ton air conditioner is really putting out 5 tons of air conditioning.


RE: Indoor Comfort Specialsts, Inc.‏

From:

customer x (customer x@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Tue 10/28/08 5:39 PM

To:

Monica Ybarra (admin@indoorac.com)

Thank you for the information.

Is the recommendation to have this completed due to something lacking in my current A/C system as a result of the inspection?


customer x


RE: Indoor Comfort Specialsts, Inc.‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Tue 11/11/08 5:51 AM

To:

admin@indoorac.com; service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Hi,

Can you provide a response to the email sent to you on the 28th of October? See below:

Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


Your Home‏

From:

Jerry Egan -Indoor Comfort Specialists, Inc. (JerryEgan@IndoorComfortSpecialist.com)

Sent:

Thu 11/13/08 4:59 PM

To:

Customer X@hotmail.com

Mr. (customer X),

You had questioned the capacity your home needs and the unit capacity. We are only telling you that is how to verify what you need & what you have.

If your home is still having problems cooling I would go to the installing contractor and make them prove it is working.

Best Regards,

Jerry Egan


IGSHPA Certified Geothermal Installer
IGSHPA Certified Geothermal Piping Designer
IGSHPA Certified Geothermal Designer
Certified By American Association of Energy Engineers
State
of Texas Class A Contractors License # TACL-A-606C

State of Texas Registered A/C & Refrigeration License # 190

State of Texas Certified A/C & Refrigeration Technician License # 190

Only at

Indoor Comfort Specialist, Inc.
GeothermalXperts, Inc.
5303 Glenmont #F
Houston, Texas 77081
Off -713.666.1101
Fax-713.666.2476
www.IndoorComfortSpecialist.Com
www.GeothermalXperts.com
E-Mail- JerryEgan@IndoorComfortSpecialist.com


RE: Your Home‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Thu 11/13/08 5:57 PM

To:

jerryegan@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Jerry,

This is incorrect; I did not only request the capacity of my home and the unit capacity.

I was referred to your company by Fox inspection for the sole purpose of inspecting my A/C system to verify if it is working properly. The installer / builder insists that it is working properly, but I wanted an impartial third party opinion to prove that it is working properly as I currently live in Dubai and the house is in Houston.

The report provided to me by your company was 1) untimely 2) illegible and 3) unhelpful in determining whether the system is properly functioning.

I am still waiting on a response to the questions that I posed in the October 21st email:

1) Is the system installed and working properly to cool the house below 75 degrees
2) If the system was not installed properly and is not working properly to cool the house below 75 degrees, what items need to be corrected?

The response I eventually received recommended that a Manual J be ran, but there was no indication as to why it should be run or as to what was found / not found in the inspection to warrant this suggestion. I have continued to ask follow up questions to both Frank and Monica and have offered to call to discuss the issue. I have found their answers to be again untimely and incomplete. I also note that Frank insists on writing emails with all "caps" text, which implies yelling in an email. I can provide examples of all emails that I have sent and received if necessary.

I'll also note that I was quoted $89 for an inspection but then charged an additional travel fuel charge to my credit card despite not being told of the travel charge or granting your company permission to charge this additional amount. In my original email request, I asked that the amount of $89 be confirmed and also provided the address to property, so it is unclear to me as to why this was not disclosed when I asked to confirm.

In summary, I would ask the following action be taken. Please draft a type written letter stating the date the inspection was performed and please confirm in that letter the professional opinion of your company regarding the installation and effectiveness of the A/C system. Please state any items to the A/C system that require correction in order for the system to be considered properly installed and working efficiently.

Many thanks,

Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


Your Home‏

From:

Jerry Egan -Indoor Comfort Specialists, Inc. (JerryEgan@IndoorComfortSpecialist.com)

Sent:

Thu 11/13/08 7:28 PM

To:

'Customer X' (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Cc:

A A Dispatcher (Service@IndoorComfortSpecialist.com); A - Office (JerryEgan@IndoorComfortSpecialist.com)

Mr. (customer X),

Let me clarify a couple of things for you so you can tell your next a/c company what you are looking for:

WE did not install your chiller, your zone controller, or your fan coil which you represented to us a geothermal system when you setup a service call.

Had you stated what equipment you really had, the cost would have been almost $100.00 more than you were charged. We were lucky that the tech Frank sent is well experienced in chilled water and figured out what you have installed at your home.

WE did not run a MANUAL J on your home so we have no idea what capacity air conditioner your home should have. You were quoted a price for that but never approved it.

We did not perform a capacity check on your unit. You were quoted a price for it but never approved it.

We did check the units operation which you paid for. The unit was operating ok at the time we were inspecting it.

For you to be complaining about $89.00 + a fuel surcharge I am very confident you will not pay for a MANUAL J or a unit capacity check.

I would recommend that since we cannot solve your problems or spend hours of our employees time for $89.00 + fuel charge that you call whoever installed your unit.

I am very confident that you paid your installing a/c company some serious money, yet for the $89.00 you paid us you want us to answer all the questions your installing contractor was paid for.

It would be best if you call your installing contractor for all your solutions since we cannot solve your problems.

Best Regards,

Jerry Egan


IGSHPA Certified Geothermal Installer
IGSHPA Certified Geothermal Piping Designer
IGSHPA Certified Geothermal Designer
Certified By American Association of Energy Engineers
State
of Texas Class A Contractors License # TACL-A-606C

State of Texas Registered A/C & Refrigeration License # 190

State of Texas Certified A/C & Refrigeration Technician License # 190

Only at

Indoor Comfort Specialist, Inc.
GeothermalXperts, Inc.
5303 Glenmont #F
Houston, Texas 77081
Off -713.666.1101
Fax-713.666.2476
www.IndoorComfortSpecialist.Com
www.GeothermalXperts.com
E-Mail- JerryEgan@IndoorComfortSpecialist.com


RE: Your Home‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Fri 11/14/08 3:48 AM

To:

jerryegan@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Cc:

service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Jerry,

Please let me know when you are available to discuss and the number where I can reach you. thanks,

Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


RE: Your Home‏

From:

Customer X (Customer X@hotmail.com)

Sent:

Fri 11/14/08 6:53 AM

To:

jerryegan@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Cc:

service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Jerry,

As you can see my original email request below (October 10, 2008) indicated a water cooled tower and I provided the website so that you could provide an accurate quote on the system. It is unclear to me how or when I represented my system as being a geothermal system as your email states.

Your email implies that I am "complaining" about the charge of $89. I am not, what I am concerned about is the lack of integrity demonstrated by your service team in the fact that I specifically asked to confirm the amount of $89, to which I agreed, but was later charged $104. Is it common practice in your business / industry to tell people one number, but then charge them another number without their permission?

If I do in fact owe you money for the service you provided, I am happy to pay you for the services. Just let me know where to send the check.

As I mentioned, I have posed these questions to my builder / installer, but wanted a objective third party inspection. Fox recommended you; Fox does excellent work; your company has not extended me that same level of service and professionalism. If the questions I posed are outside of the scope of the inspection that I paid for, would it have served your purposes to tell me that directly?

I do find it interested that you took the time to address some aspects of my email, but failed to address the points that I mentioned concerning the report being 1) untimely (I requested it by email several times and then finally had to call Frank from Dubai, UAE to request the report and that 2) the report it was and still is unreadable as it was presented in hand written format.

If you do not want my business as the statements in your email suggest, just tell me that. There is no need to insult me.


Original email request from October 10 2008:

----- Original Message -----

From: Customer X

To: service@indoorcomfortspecialist.com

Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 3:31 AM

Subject: A/C system inspection - Address X

Hi,

Fox Inspection Group referred me to your services.

We are finalizing a new construction home in the Houston Heights at Address Xand would like to request an inspection of our A/C system. Fox stated that you charge $89 for this inspection, can you confirm?

Our system is is a water cooled tower from Thermal Flow (http://www.thermalflow.net/residential.htm).

Please confirm the price and availability to perform the inspection. Also, please confirm the time needed to complete the inspection so that I can notify the renters who occupy the property.

thanks,


Customer X
Customer X@hotmail.com


No Response provided as of November 20, 2008



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