The experience I received today from Daniel and Paschal was some of the worst customer service and business practice I have ever seen. At this point, despite being a loyal customer for years with both Larson and now Paschal, I will never use their services again for anything in my home.
A few years ago, Larson replaced my entire HVAC system with a very high end unit. The total was well over $16k, but knowing I was buying quality was important to me and I expected it to be headache free for a long time. I have maintained my relationship with Larson and then Paschal with regular maintenance. It was noticed last night, however, that one of the pipe fittings that was installed by the technicians was leaking propane. I called to have this inspected immediately due to the obvious danger it was putting my family and home in. Paschal, to their smallest possible credit, was able to send out Daniel within a few hours to handle the issue. The scheduling team did inform me that there would be a possible $89 service fee or it could be under a warranty, but this is not something they can tell one way or another before they're actually at the property.
Once at the property, Daniel confirmed that yes, the leak that I identified was indeed present. No additional work or inspection was performed. He then proceeded to quote me almost $300 to actually fix the leak. As it turns out, there is no warranty on the "labor" after a year, and it is impossible for them to simply do only a fix on the leak. The charge consists of a "full inspection" of the entire unit, which I didn't need or want. However, this can't be altered, so I was left with the choice of paying $89 for the service call that served no purpose or value whatsoever, or pay $300 for a full inspection that I didn't need and which would come with the bonus of re-seating the pipe that Larson installed just a few years ago and started leaking propane into my house.
This is nothing less than a pure and simple bait and switch. Charging $89 for the call would have been steep as it was, but I would have paid it for the peace of mind... even if it is ridiculous that they won't warranty their own install work after a year. But to leave me no choice but to be extorted for triple the amount expected and get a service I didn't want (or need), or force me to pay for a service call with no services rendered is completely unacceptable for any business, especially a local one, and Paschal should be ashamed.
I should note that after giving me the real quote, Daniel attempted to sell me a service plan instead, like I would be interested in paying monthly for the privilege of them fixing their shoddy work. I imagine the scam at work here is that they tell you it's an outrageously high number to fix something simple, but for only $35 a month you have the service included!
I did not proceed with the repair. I paid the $89 and called Paschal to talk with their service manager about the incident in hopes of coming to some sort of sane agreement. As of the writing of this review, I am yet to hear back from anyone. I welcome Paschal to reply to this review with their side of the story, and I'll update my review with any additional detail requested or amend positively if there can be a resolution reached.
This is meant as a fair and honest review of my experience, and I want to note that it is not reflective of the service I've received in the past. But this one experience is enough to keep me away from this company indefinitely and I hope to bring awareness of this business practice for any others who might not be expecting it.
I also want to acknowledge that I understand that things break over time. I don't expect the system to work perfectly forever and will pay for repairs when it is warranted. But the previous system didn't have a gas leak for 20 years, and to have one appear after only a few on this new system says something about something. If it wasn't an install problem, it's a parts or quality problem. Either way, this should reflect directly on Paschal.