Cronstroms Heating & Air Conditioning

Cronstoms (I know they’ve changed their name but they’re the same people) was hired by us in October 2009 to get our furnace running. Cold season was just starting. They never even dusted it out — banged on the furnace with a tool for a few minutes then came and told us the furnace was broken and not repairable. In desperation we had a family member look at the furnace a few days later — and the ignition was dusty!!! The employee who came to our house had already worked for them for 7 years — they knew what they were doing. We complained to Minnesota Better Business Bureau. They did nothing but forwarded us to some bureau that give out licenses and they never even answered the phone! Cronstroms finally refunded their $ 99 service fee — just to make us go away. Always get a second opinion — maybe even a third!

This is one of those «if I could give zero stars I would» kind of review.
I hired Cronstrom’s to replace my gravity furnace and install central air. When I first called them they were attentive, the sales person seemed knowledgeable and they had good reviews on Angie’s List so they seemed like a good choice. The installation went well, but it was a disaster when the city inspector came and told me all of the things they did wrong and that didn’t meet code. They didn’t line the return air vents (they just used the wall pockets, without lining) and the old wood joists were filled with holes that they didn’t bother to fill, so air was leaking everywhere in the walls and my basement. The air conditioner they sold me was also too small for the size of my house. They did what they needed to in order to satisfy the inspector, but now I’m left with a $ 10,000 furnace/​air conditioner that can’t sufficiently cool my house, and hot/​cold spots in the winter because they didn’t put in enough return air vents. In hindsight I wish I had made them rip everything out and do it over.
I also posted a negative review about them on Angie’s List. My review was reviewed & approved before being posted (as is AL’s regular practice), but 3 days later my review was deleted from their system. When I inquired, they had no explanation for me. But Cronstrom’s was a big advertiser of theirs, so there’s no doubt in my mind that they complained to Angie’s List to get my review taken down. (I had to wonder how many other negative reviews they managed to get removed.) Once that happened I cancelled my Angie’s List membership, too.
Fortunately Unilocal doesn’t cater to those kinds of advertiser influences. Yay Unilocal