Scarberia

This is the second time I've used Pambis Appliance Service. I had a fridge door that wasn't closing properly, and Peter diagnosed a faulty hinge. Peter gave me the option of a staged approach since the parts were expensive. One part of the hinge was replaced, which improved the door closing but ultimately the second part of the hinge also needed to be replaced. However, that was fine, because I knew this was a possibility up front, and Peter was quite reasonable about the labour costs, especially for the second visit. Pambis will continue to be my go-to company for general appliance repair.

I went through an extensive basement renovation with John-Luc and Sandra, and the end result is excellent. Up front before the work started, John-Luc and Sandra described the work they would do and some of the materials they would use. They only specified good building practices and good quality materials. The pricing was appropriate for what they described but less costly than some other contractors I spoke with. I did find a contractor who was willing to do things for less, but to achieve that lower price, that other contractor wanted to cut some corners. To put it another way, John-Luc and Sandra charged a very reasonable price for good work, not a low price for poor work. The renovation involved not only demolition of the existing finished basement's interior but also removal of several support walls and replacement with new metal and wood (LVL) support beams. They found a good and reasonably priced architect for me and worked closely with both the architect and the engineering firm to ensure all was done correctly. John-Luc and Sandra did much of the work themselves, and were obviously quite meticulous, taking the time to make sure things were done right. However, the other trades they brought in for the job also impressed me, and in fact, I have since hired the electrician they used for another electrical job in my house. John-Luc and Sandra were always quick to answer any questions. During the day they were always reachable by phone, but if I thought of any questions in the evening or on the weekend I would email them, and by the next business day I would have an answer. All in all, I am very satisfied with John-Luc's and Sandra's work. I would definitely recommend them.

I didn't deal with Peter, but with someone else from ThermTech (possibly Steve?). I have to give kudos to ThermTech, because their rep came to my home in the middle of a snowstorm to check out my Lennox G26 furnace. My furnace was no longer automatically turning on consistently and so my house was 14 degrees. Sometimes if I turned off the power and turned it back again it would work, but unfortunately it wasn't reliable. Eventually it would just stay off and not come back on, until I flipped the power switch off and on again several times. ThermTech's tech came over in the peak of the snowstorm. He was polite and checked out the furnace. He cleaned out the hoses and checked the connections. He wasn't entirely sure what was wrong, but luckily the furnace worked after that. He charged me the usual diagnosis fee (which was less than $100), but nothing extra. However, the next morning the furnace didn't come on. ThermTech came back to rediagnose it for no charge. I asked about the ignition control module because I had read online that it was a known problem with these Lennox units, but the ThermTech tech assured me it was working fine. Again the unit worked after he replaced one part but again it stopped working the next morning. I believe it was after another visit he essentially gave up on the unit. His advice was just to turn up the heat on the thermostat, which of course didn't solve the problem. I called another company, and basically over the phone, he diagnosed the likely problem to be the ignition control unit, which the ThermTech tech had assured me was fine. The rep from the other company came over, confirmed the Johnson Controls Intermittent Pilot Ignition Control unit to be the problem, and replaced the unit. My furnace has worked perfectly since then. I have given ThermTech a 6 because they tried hard and although came to visit several times (including once in the middle of a big snowstorm) and even did some work changing one part (and changing it back to the old one after it was clear it didn't solve the problem), but they only charged me the initial diagnosis fee which was less than $100. However, they lost 4 points from me because they were unable to diagnose the problem, even after I asked specifically about the problem part. I also note that the other reviews here are universally positive, about Peter. I did not deal with Peter and that may be the problem. Peter was away when I called ThermTech, so I got somebody else. Overall ThermTech gets a 6 out of 10 for me for trying hard and not charging me much, but ultimately failing to solve the problem.

I went with these guys because of HomeStars. The reviews were right: Very good service and friendly. Prices for parts seemed quite reasonabe. I would use them again and recommend them to anyone looking to get their appliance fixed.