Chicago Chimney Experts

Worst customer service ever. I had to constantly call to follow up in order for Rick Ochoa to show up. Most of the time, he would just forget and we’d have to reschedule, only to not show up again and again. Of course in the beginning they were on it and we spent over $ 10,000 fixing up our chimney and two fireplaces and still can’t make a fire! After they do the initial work and things aren’t totally done or working, that’s when they start blowing you off. I should have read the other Unilocal reviews first before ever having them do any work on our house. Do yourselves a favor and call anyone else but them. They are (Chicago Chimney) Experts on blowing people off.

I called on Saturday and setup an appointment for someone to come out Wednesday. They gave me a 2 hour window and said I would get a call 30 minutes prior to someone coming. No one called, no one came. I called later in the day and told them to forget about it.

I was very disappointed. Our condo association recommended this place. I called to set up an appointment to get a routine service check. It took three tries for someone to pick up the phone during regular business hours. Once I reached someone, we set up an appointment for the next afternoon. I had to work remotely to accommodate their schedule. During the hour time slot provided– no one showed up. I called right at the end of the hour. The person on the phone said that several trucks were called back due to weather but he would check into it and call me back. A half hour later, I called again as I had not heard from them. They told me only then we’d need to reschedule until the next day.
The next day, same thing. No one showed during the hour long window. When I called AGAIN at the end of the hour time slot, they said they were at least an hour out. I was upset as two days in a row I had to change my work schedule to get an appointment, and twice they cancelled. I ONLY found out they weren’t coming when I called to follow up with THEM. When I explained this to the man on the phone, he said this was their busiest time of year. While that is understandable, perhaps as they’ve been in business for several years, they should understand how many appointments is appropriate to set up each day. They offered me no discount and a limited apology. I will not be rescheduling my appointment.

I had work done on my home in 2011. They opened up and unblocked my fireplace which had been sealed shut decades prior. They also rebuilt the top half of brick chimney, repaired fire box, and installed a energy efficient oak top damper system. Within the first week the chain which controlled the damper system broke and I notified them to have this repaired. I made many attempts via email and phone over the following year to have this addressed and it never was. This company displays zero integrity or concern in regards to follow up and customer satisfaction. You won’t hear from them once payment has been made regardless of outcome.

They were tasked with removing an old fireplace that was an eye sore. That part of the job was fine. Their patched our drywall without taping… work had to be redone. They were dropping metal chunks from the roof through our attic onto our wood floors. They did minor damage on the interior closet wall. The three appointments I had with them, they were late by 3 hours on two occasions. They had to borrow my drill and left black smudge marks on white doors and walls and did not make an effort to clean it up. Overall, unprofessional and would not give a strong recommendation.
Positives: Henry was a cool guy and knew what he was talking about. The price was very reasonable. They were able to start the job the week I called.

CROOKS!!! Beware DO NOT use this company for any chimney repairs. They stole my money, damaged my property, and repeatedly lied to me. They are totally unprofessional and I will be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau.

Update 12÷26÷13: I requested a service receipt in November and again on Dec. 6 and have yet to receive anything in the mail.

So, Rick and Michael are the main people that I speak to for any chimney repair work. They are VERY nice, prompt, and show great customer service. They give the most accurate estimates and do very efficient work. I called to set up an appointment this morning and they were at the property within 2 hours! I would recommend this company to anyone looking for chimney repair services. Michael and Rick are amazing.

No Show! My appointment today was between the hours of 8 – 10 a.m. and they did not show up. I called them and left a voice mail to inforn them they did not show up and they did not call back to give an explantion of their unprofessional behavior.
They might have experts in their name, but they need to learn the word respect! Respect of my time.
Call this company at your own risk!

Beware of working with this company. After three months of trying to get them to fix a relatively trivial chimney problem (downdraft in one chimney requiring an extension to another chimney), I’ve had to move on to another company. In the meantime, they’ve sent me quotes that varied by a factor of two in cost, sent several technicians, who show up at the wrong time, and did not respond to calls and emails to make arrangements to do the job after quotes were sent. It was easily the most frustrating experience I’ve had with a local service business.
Having switched to another chimney repair business, I was able to get a quote that was a fourth of the cost of Chicago Chimney Expert’s original quote, on the same day that someone came to inspect the chimney. The work is scheduled to be done in a week.