Air Control LLC

If there was a 10 star option I would give Fred and his crew 10 stars. I called on Friday morning, got a response in the afternoon for a service call on Monday at 7:30am, Fred arrived on time and quoted me a fair price to get the job done the same day as the inspector returned on Tuesday.
I had a different hvac contractor that failed inspection due to a taped up flue vent, for a replacement hvac system they were hired to install. That company said the vent was «pre-​existing» and wanted to charge an absurd amount something that should have been included. Fairfax county requires contractors to sign off on a «vent certification form,» indicating the whole system, flue vent included is up to code, as the vent was pre-​existing the contractor had just signed the form! *Be aware a contractor only needs to sign and submit this form and unless something blatantly wrong like tape on the vent the county inspector will pass the inspection!
Fred was there to pick up the pieces, he not only took care of the vent, he quoted me a reasonable price to make small repairs to other duct areas to ensure my system would run at max efficiency and run for years.
His tech had initially completed only part of the job, I called Fred up to confirm what we had discussed in the morning and within minutes his tech returned and quickly finished the job.
Not only that today is Tuesday (inspection day) and I got a follow up call from Fred to make sure my hvac passed inspection for a system that was installed by another contractor!!! I let him know the system AND vent passed and thanked him for the follow up call.
I cant say enough about Fred and his folks! Responsive! Fair Pricing! Honest! Reliable! And Professional! thank you! THANK YOU!

called Air Control with an air-​conditioning non-​emergency problem. A technician was available to come out the next day. Jason called 20 minutes before he arrived ON TIME. He was quick to diagnose the issues and explain what needed to be done. He showed me where the problems were — one easy and one difficult to fix. He explained the cost and completed the repair quickly. I can not compliment Jason and Air Control LLC enough

I called Air Control because they had a decent review on Unilocal.
When I called, the receptionist said that they were super busy and asked if she could call me back. I said OK. Two hours later, she hadn’t called me back…
So I called again.
On the call I told her that I needed new ‘tubing’ and that the air was no longer cold. I have since learned that the ‘tubing’ is called ‘supply line’.
The technician showed up on time. One star for that…
He was a very nice guy. I showed him the busted supply lines and where the A/​C unit was.
A little bit later he came down with the paper work filled out and said that everything was fixed. I was surprised at how fast it all got fixed, but whatevers.
When I was paying, I asked about the supply lines. He said, «oh right, you are going to need about four feet of ‘supply line’».
What??? I’m thinking to myself, why do I have to fix this myself? I don’t know the first thing about it?
But clearly he was not going to fix it. So I asked a few follow up questions on exactly what I needed to buy. He literally watched me type the specs into Amazon. ugh.
So after he leaves, I go upstairs to test the system. It’s a joke. Yes the AC is running again, but no I’m not getting any flow into my bedroom. This was one of the reasons I called in the first place.
I call the main number and explain my situation. «Fred» hears me out and then says that he will call the technician and then call me back.
– when Fred calls me back, he’s useless. I explained to him EXACTLY what happened, and he basically called me a liar. I offered to do a three-​way call with the technician whom I knew wouldn’t deny what happened, but Fred said that he didn’t want to bother the technician and that they would call me later.
So an hour later, I get a call from the technician. Fred is not on the call. Coward.
The technician didn’t deny the situation. He says that the receptionist didn’t tell him about the tubing… he tried to fix what was wrong, but didn’t have any spare tubing and that I should buy it… he clearly realizes now that he should have fixed it.
He apologized and offered to come and repair it.
I accepted his apology but decided to decline the offer. I don’t want to work with this company any more. Any company that calls their customers a liar is not for me.
Do yourself a favor and don’t give your business to Mr. Fred.

This is a company I’m happy to put on my yearly maintenance schedule. (look through my 300+ reviews — I don’t write that often)
Fred rescheduled twice to make sure his folks came when the temp was right for doing a diagnostic. He didn’t want to come when it was too cold to do the right job. His honesty earned a lifelong customer.
Also, they could have charged me twice as much for the diagnostic and upcharged me. They didn’t. They gave me an honest assessment of what I need and don’t need. They pushed back on a condo requirement, telling me it would be a waste of my money.
Jon did the servicing. That dude really knows his stuff, and is personable too.

I called Fred at 7PM on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. He answered the phone. (1 point to the good with that.) I understand HVAC systems though I am by no means a technician. I described the problem and my elementary diagnosis. He talked though it and agreed. As there was just one day before the holiday he arranged to get the part from a warehouse in Baltimore (+1) the next morning and sent one of his techs to get it (+1). Wow. The tech showed up the next afternoon and installed the new control unit on the blower motor in about ten minutes.
Fred worked WITH me, took some risks to get me heat before a long holiday weekend and did not charge me an arm and a leg. Great, professional service.

Had a great experience with this company. I spoke to the owner Fred, we needed to get our Nest installed – he was able to send someone out 2 days later. John was the technician, he was on-​time (a few minutes early actually!), we was quick – explained everything, we got to use a Unilocal coupon and it was done in less than an hour. We will definitely be calling them again!

My heater decided to quit on Saturday morning, beginning of three days cold spell. Frantically started calling, and Air Control LLC said they can have someone out by Noon (3 hours later). John arrived, and quickly found the problem. Unfortunately, my heater is an old unit and he didn’t have the right part. But John found a way to get the heater back on temporarily, and told me he wlll be back to make the permanent fix when the part arrives. Today, John came out and make the final fix. The whole process was painless (or as pleasant as heater problem can be), and John was very competent and polite throughout. I certainly was very thankful that I had heat during the 20 degree weather.

My AC started squealing during the hottest week of August this year. After reading the positive reviews on Unilocal,I gave Air Control LLC a call. They came out the next available day to diagnose the problem. The guy that came out was a young guy, who had been with the company about 6 months. He turned the AC on and waited for the squealing to start. Instead of just waiting around, he did a complete diagnostic on my system, even going outside and checking my Freon. I figured he was going to pull the typical AC guy scam and say I needed a whole system overhaul, so I was pleasantly surprised when he told me everything was in great working order. I thanked him for checking everything and he said something along the lines of, «You’ve gotta pay $ 90 for us to come out and check out the problem, least I can do is make it worth your money.»
The squeal finally started and he diagnosed the problem as a bearing problem. I had already done my research and knew I needed a new motor, and that most of these motors run about $ 80. So I was very surprised with the $ 480 price tag that Air Control had on this service. I told him I’d think it over and started looking into getting a motor and replacing it myself. Turns out, the price was high because I have a variable speed motor, and even getting a contractor pricing on this thing I’m still out of pocket $ 335. So I called Air control back to get them to replace my motor, as they have a 1 year warranty on their service.
The same guy came out again, with a 2^nd guy that seemed like he was learning. Took them less than 2 hours to replace the motor, and in that time they also cleaned out the housing unit. They were polite, to the point, and expedient.
They only get 4 stars because it seems like the front office still has a lot of improvements needed. It took 3 separate phone calls to confirm my appointment, and they couldn’t figure out how much it was going to cost. Every time I called, they weren’t at a computer where they could look up if they had ordered the motor, if they were coming, or how much it was going to cost me. That was very frustrating. Aside from that, I would recommend Air Control LLC to my neighbors and friends.

Like other Unilocalers, I made the mistake of trying this company because of some of the positive reviews I read on Unilocal.
The reviews that I read referenced Fred the owner of the company and how excellent he was and because I have had the misfortune of choosing terribly incompetent and dishonest HVAC companies in the past I decided that if I was going to try this company that I was going to ask for Fred to come out.
When I called to set up my appointment, I asked if I could request that Fred be the one to come to the appointment because I had read excellent reviews on Unilocal about him and the company. The man who answered the phone was not friendly at all, to the extent that I became a little uncomfortable just talking on the phone with this person. I was told that yes, I could request that Fred be at the appointment and I was actually very surprised when the unfriendly sounding man on the phone said that HE was Fred. I would have thought there would be a little change in his telephone demeanor after hearing me reference the fact that I was choosing to go through their company after reading excellent reviews on Unilocal and after specifically requesting him, but no.
He was able to set up an appointment for me within a few days and I asked again if HE would be the one coming out for the appointment just to make sure. In the same flat unfriendly tone he verified that yes he would be coming to the appointment. I was a little discouraged by his unfriendliness but I was looking forward to the prospect of discovering a competent new HVAC company so that I wouldn’t have to continue searching.
The morning of the appointment I had a huge presentation at work and had to leave very early but my husband stayed home to be available when Fred arrived for our scheduled appointment. Within minutes of leaving my house I began receiving a flurry of phone calls from my husband because the HVAC man had arrived and wanted to know what was wrong. This threw me back a bit because I was very specific on the phone with Fred about what the problem was and even if I hadn’t been I would think being a professional and owner of his own company that he would be able to figure out what the problem was just by looking at and listening to the unit.
I soon discovered that Fred was not the one who showed up, it was some other tech. I continued to receive a flurry of phone calls from my husband asking me what the problem was over and over again because the tech kept asking him. Given the fact that I was the one who originally purchased this unit and it’s in a room that is primarily used by me, my husband wasn’t able to be as helpful in explaining the details of the problems that I was having with it. Trying to prepare for my presentation I finally had to say «I’ve told you everything I can tell you, he’s the professional, isn’t it his job to find the source of the problem and fix it?!» Keep in mind that the unit was making a tremendous amount of noise, it was absolutely filthy and had very little air coming from it. Also, the piddly amount of air that was coming from the unit was not very cold at all.
I explained all this to Fred on the phone when I set up the appointment and told Fred that at the very least I would need it to be cleaned thoroughly. Not only did Fred not show up he did not tell me he would not be able to make it and he did not relay any of that information to the tech that he did send.
When I arrived home I was excited at the thought of my AC being in excellent working condition, only to discover that the tech that was sent to my home didn’t think there was anything wrong, charged us $ 70, and left. Almost immediately I began to receive a lot of phone calls & voicemails from a woman at the company who said that the tech who had been at my home misplaced some of his tools and she was requesting that I call her back to let her know if I found them.
At this point I was absolutely livid! Not only did Fred never call to try to reschedule or mention that he would not be able to show up after I specifically requested him (which he agreed to), but the tech he sent in his place didn’t have a clue what he was doing and did nothing more than show up to my home and collect a free $ 70 fee. It did not even take an expert to hear the loud noises coming from my unit or to feel the low pressured warm air coming from my unit! My husband told me that he didn’t even take the outer casing off of my unit to check the inside! Yet for the next several months I continued to receive numerous phone calls and voicemails from the company asking about this man’s tools that he thought he left over here! Never a phone call to follow up on the appointment, nothing! I don’t know why they thought he left his tools over here anyway because he didn’t even use any tools. I was so pissed from the entire experience (where they basically got paid for doing absolutely nothing) that I never called them back to tell them he did not leave his «tools» at my house.

Our A/​C stopped working today (of course it was 90+ degrees outside) and Fred came within an hour to come fix it. He was super nice, professional and his prices were reasonable. We got a service contract from him and he is now my go to guy for HVAC. Very pleased.

Jason from Air Control came out to my place to estimate what it would cost to replace my heat pump system. He was perfectly nice, and I received the estimate about a week later from Fred, the owner. The estimate was competitive, and I was interested. I replied to the e-​mail and asked how much more it would be for a more energy efficient system. I didn’t get an answer from Fred. I called and e-​mailed several times and never heard back from him. I don’t know if he’s just disorganized or if he wasn’t interested in the job. Either way, dealing with these people wasted several hours of my time.

I had a great experience with Air Control. Fred came to my house in SE Capitol Hill from McLean, was as patient and kind as other reviews note, and — most importantly — was as skilled and honest as other reviews note. When we talked about my AC unit’s issues, he said it sounded like a leak, which could run up to $ 800 to fix. However, when we got up to the roof, he quickly saw that it was a busted capacitor. He replaced it and checked to confirm that was the only issue. He easily could have tried to up-​sell me into getting more coolant or other services but never did.
I also spoke with him about some of the negative reviews on Unilocal.He was very straightforward in accepting the blame for most of the late and/​or missed calls, and he explained that his business just grew too fast. With limited staff and a desire to please everyone (particularly on hot days when people were begging for someone to come out) he tried to get everywhere and let some things drop. He stressed that he was trying to make sure it never happened again. I was impressed by how honest he was in admitting the issue.
But mainly I’m just happy that someone came out quickly and fixed my A/​C unit for less than I thought it would cost. I would use them again. Fred clearly knows his way around an air conditioner.

Our 15-​year oild AC unit failed last month. Some other company examined it and quoted a ridiculously high price for replacing it. Recalling past good experience with Fred, I called him to try my luck — not expecting that the unit could be fixed but just looking for a reasonable price quote for replacing it. And then Fred arrived, repaired our failed AC, and told us that the unit may last for another 5 years. He is absolutely the best! I’ll definitely recommend him to all my friends.

Fred just left me with a fully repaired AC unit and I couldn’t be happier with the service. He came on time and didn’t leave until everything was fixed. Fred was very nice and incredibly professional. I felt like their prices were fair and reasonable and I would definitely not hesitate to call them again.

I should have trusted some of the other reviews of this company and never booked with them!
I scheduled a service call with Air Control LLC yesterday (5÷20÷14) and they never showed up for our 5:00PM appointment. I rushed home from work to make sure that I would be there early. After they were 1 hour late I called and there was no answer. I left a polite voice mail asking for someone to please call me regarding the status of our scheduled appointment. After waiting for 3 hours I realized that they were not coming.
I would have appreciated a courtesy call or something. The dispatcher and wife of the owner, Jackie, did call me earlier in the day (around 12:30PM) to ask i f I would be available earlier than our scheduled time. I told her no, I was at work. She told me that was fine and that they would be there at the scheduled time. Not true. I am very disappointed with this unprofessional experience. I completely wasted my evening. This is very inconsiderate and I am taking my business elsewhere.

They gave me a two hour window, and no showed and never called to tell me about any delay. Two hours of my life wasted. Taking my business elsewhere.

Jason came within the time frame they promised. He also took off his shoes when in the house.
He was efficient and helpful. Will do business with this company again!

Fred saved us. I know not every experience with service and repairs can be satisfying to everyone, but I’m damned glad he was here when the temperature was dropping to 19 and we were using space heaters in a two story house. Our problem was a tricky power issue and he stayed with it until the problem was resolved. Experienced with Nest thermostats also.

Unfortunately, I never got to experience what seems to be 5-​star service.
I was scheduled to have an AC tune up on Friday, ⁶⁄₂₈ (evening) and when I called to confirm the appointment about an hour before he was scheduled to arrive, I was told due to the weather the repairman wouldn’t be coming that evening.
Issue #1: You (the company) should not wait until a client calls to convey this type of information. It’s just ridiculous.
I understood, the weather was definitely wonky that evening. The lady on the phone apologized and said he would be there the next morning (Saturday) by 9am. This was no problem for me, so I accepted the new time and date without hesitation.
Issue #2: 9am Saturday morning came and went, and by 9:30 I called to see if there were any delays. Unfortunately for me, no one answers the phone on the weekend, so I was out of luck — and a repairman!
It is now Wednesday and I haven’t heard a peep from them. No call to apologize for the scheduling mix up, no email, no nothing. I’ve had much better luck from other companies whose customer service is far better than theirs, so I’ll stick with them from now on.

Fred and Tony are AWESOME!
Unilocal– thank you, Unilocal!Helped me find Air Control. A few weeks ago my AC unit decided to attempt to commit suicide on me. It’s almost July, the temperature kept rising… Thankfully, Fred came to the rescue to help us out.
As you can imagine, this is a busy season in the Heating and AC business. However, Fred reasonably assigned an arrival day and time and came within the hour of our scheduled appointment. What I found most impressive was Fred somewhat diagnosed our issue over the phone. When he arrived, he confirmed the issue and provided a fair estimate. (I researched the cost of the fix online and Fred’s price aligned with the average.) Unfortunately, in order to fix my unit a part had to be ordered. However, Fred and Tony made sure to return to my house the day that they received the part. A few weeks later, my AC has been working since fixed without any issues.
Outside of excellent service, Fred and Tony appear to be extremely nice. Meeting nice people who are also able to assist was AWESOME! Thank you, Fred and Tony!!!