Burton A/C, Heating, Plumbing And More

I called Burton when I thought I had a recurring problem with my thermostat that they had put in with my heat pump. The tech, Eric F., got to the bottom of the problem and found it was actually the furnace, which had been put in by another company years ago. Eric hunted down the information and found it was still under manufacturer’s warrant and would be honored. After presenting me with at least 5 different options, he had it fixed in short order. He was extremely polite and courteous, very efficient and thorough. He was quite pleasant, which is unusual to find anymore. Excellent experience.

I had an appointment for an annual check under my Service Partner Plan for my AC/​Heat Pump unit. I received a phone call from the office to reconfirm the time I could expect to see the technician at my house this morning, as well as an email confirmation. And, as always, the technician called a few minutes prior to arriving. The technician was timely and professional in providing the service. The technician also provided a Customer Solution Sheet with different options to maintain and provide additional protection and integrity of the unit outside. It was also explained to me verbally. I chose not to make a decision right at this time and asked if there was an expiration date for the additional services. I was informed that it was good for 90 days, but also that their pricing would probably extend beyond the 90 days. I do understand the company wanting to provide me with services that will extend the life of my system, but know that it is always the choice by the customer to make that decision. Burton has always treated me fairly, which in this day and age is sometimes not the objective of too many other companies, no matter what industry.

My tub wasn’t draining. I called the office to schedule an afternoon appointment the next business day. Both the office and the plumber called before coming over to our house. I appreciated the notice since they were available early. The plumber checked out the drain and the pipes in the basement. We went over fees and he tried putting a snake down the overflow drain. I was happy to see that this worked because I thought we would need new pipes since it took all night to drain water from the tub and a drain cleaner did nothing. The plumber was courteous and he like our dogs, which made it easy for me.

Craig S. is the sweetest tech on the planet. I have had a service plan with Burton for 3 years and I have had Craig perform the yearly maintenance check twice. He is so thorough and explains what you need to do to prevent issues down the road (i.e. wash the outside a/​c units to keep them free of pollen and mold, vacuum furnace etc.). Craig even installed the germicidal bulb in my furnace because I couldn’t figure it out even after reading the installation manual. If you are looking for a «deal», Burton may not be for you, but I really value customer service, quality and respect. Burton follows up with customer service phone calls and is always there in an emergency. Somehow my furnace broke and my drain backed up on two separate holidays and Burton sent a tech out asap. Sure there was an added «holiday» fee, but that is to be expected. They do try to sell a gold package worry-​free package, but they don’t push you when you decline. Overall, I highly recommend Burton.

Their $ 99 any drain anytime TV ad is miss leading advertising at best.
When I called to make the appointment I said $ 99 and she said plus a $ 40 trip fee. OK. She was up front about the dispatch fee
The plumber gets on site and after evaluating the situation says he will go write up my options of what we can do and what it’s gonna cost. I said Its gonna cost me $ 99 because that’s what the woman at the office said it would be when I called. While he was out in his truck I call their office and s different woman at the office said «well you know there might be a $ 99 option» and danced around how their advertising was misleading that they would do any drain for $ 99.
The plumber came back in and I asked for my options and he said $ 99. So the office must have called him. I feel bad for the guy because I know he’s just trying to make a buck playing his company’s game.
They should be a little more honest in their advertising and say «any drain STARTING at $ 99.»
The plumber gets a 5 out of 5 rating. Patrick at Burton plumbing is a respectable guy and did a good job of snaking the drain.
The company gets 3 stars and that’s being generous because of their questionable advertising.
Overall because the plumber did an outstanding job I’ll give them a 4 star average.

Mark Bostic came to service a broken valve at a moments notice. He explained the repair and costs. He reviewed the rest of our pluming in the house and advised us on what is needed and what to expect. Before he started, he shoveled our drive and walk to prevent snow from being tracked into the house. He is a professional and we are very satisfied with the job he did.

Joe the service tech was awesome! He came out on an emergency call and located the problem and gave us some pricing. We decided to go with a full clean out of the main line in the basement and a three year protection plan. That included taking off the toilet to clean out the line and replacing it! Yes it cost money but it was one in the morning! I wish he could have come out sooner but apparently everyone in town was having the same problem! I would still recommend Joe and Burton to anyone who needs service! Thanks

Stephen was really personable. Found out all information needed and got job done right the first time.

Rick Wisecup from Burton has serviced our furnace the past two years. He is professional, knowledgable, courteous, and a great communicator. We have been very happy with Burton and feel their pricing is competitive in regards to AC & Heating. Thanks Rick for doing a great job!

Horrible customer service by repair person their prices are way more than other companies! They give you several options from expensive to outrageous. I would never recommend them the best part of the company are the office personnel that schedules appointments very nice and efficient. The repair personnel needs training in customer service the tech was obnoxious and arrogant

Craig with Burton did a great job fixing a broken air pump on my air conditioner and helped trouble shoot my in-​line humidifier which I suspected was not working last winter. He very patiently explained various parts and gave me instructions so that I can run checks on my own to make sure everything is functioning properly. Craig was recommended by a friend of mine who has several properties in town and has been very happy with his service. I thought Burton was very cost competitive with other service companies in town.

Called at least 5 other companies and independent contractors who gave me the run around on prices, preached the «what ifs» and couldn’t schedule me professionally. Not with Burton.
On the day of my service, I received a courtesy call letting me know that someone will be out. I received another call 2 hours later that my tech would be Bart. Bart called when he was about 20 minutes away, surveyed the problem (clogged basement drain), and wrote out and explained 4 – 5 different pricing options for service. He didn’t push me to spend more, even agreeing to start with the typical snaking of the drain followed up with a camera (Shawn, another tech came to assist – both awesome guys!) to inspect the pipes. All this with their $ 99 drain special (yes, there is a call out service fee of $ 36, but every other company I spoke with came in at that price or above and wouldn’t have brought a camera for inspection!).
VERY pleased with the professional, personal and friendly service.

Very putzy, messed around with the hose bib when he was supposed to be doing an adjustment on the toilet tank. Maybe looking for more things to try to upsell or «fix.» Questionable.
Asked to see the main shut off valve in the basement, so showed him it was behind the washer.
Way too many trips outside to his truck, for what? Didn’t seem him with any tools nor a toolbox. He did put some blue dye in the tank and I watched and nothing was leaking into the bowl (no blue dye).
Tried to sell repairs and charge over $ 300 for replacing parts in the tank, but I said just adjust it and replace the seal if you needed. He «rejuvenated» whatever that means. I looked in there and it all looks exactly the same to me. I can see nothing any different. The bill had no parts written on it, so I know nothing was replaced. The so-​called rejuvenation must have been him adjusting the twist cap which I could have done in a minute. He didn’t say he cleaned out anything either!
Tried to sell a $ 19.95/mo. service contract and I’m not sure what it covered; poor communication.
Discussed kitchen sink replacement and he said I’d probably want to also go ahead and replace the garbage disposal with a better one with stainless steel blades. I said well I’m selling in 5 yrs so why bother with that. He agreed and said I don’t need a $ 1,000 disposal, that I could get by with a $ 500 one. wtf??? Go price disposals at Lowe’s they are not in that price range.
The sink replacement: he suggested a farmhouse sink. I have a contemporary home and really don’t want the farmhouse sink. I priced them and they are over $ 800 just for the sink alone (without faucet or labor). Don’t think so. Again, major upselling.
Bill ended up to be over $ 120 for that visit.
I have a feeling we should have tried the simple fixes/​adj using the Youtube videos first. Also, will update with results in the next month or two to see if his «rejuvenation» worked.
In any event, I wouldn’t recommend this company.

Craig was prompt, knowledgable, courteous, and fixed our furnace without any problems. Highly recommended!

I called Burton to fix a bathroom faucet — the plug did not work and to replace a ballcock in the toilet. The plumber arrived and began to chat — a lot. After about 15 or 20 minutes he finally got around to asking what I called about. Now this information was given extensively over the phone but apparently not passed on to him. I showed him the two bathrooms with their respective issues. About 15 minutes later, he came downstairs to present options. He said «What if I told you I could replace the waste disposal units (toilets) in each bathroom, replace the shutoff valves and fix the faucet for $ 8000?» Of course, I thought that amount to be ridiculous. There were a few other things like 2 year warranty but still the $ 8000 was ridiculous. Then he said he was just kidding and the amount would be $ 6500. I still thought he was kidding. But he wasn’t. The second option was around $ 4000, then $ 2000. The final amount was to fix the 2 things I called about and that was for $ 441 plus $ 49. Of course when I saw the $ 441 I said I’d want that option. I signed and then he fixed the two items which took him about 15 minutes. Later I realized I’d been totally taken. A ballcock costs about $ 20 and the plug part of the faucet costs less then $ 10. I called the office to complain but the woman who answered did not want to hear about it. The hustle to «upgrade» the service was just part of their deal. She said «I’d signed» so that was that.
The other bothersome thing was that he was doing an analysis of all the plumbing in the two bathrooms. I’d never asked for that. He had to remove personal items from various places to get to what he wanted to look at so he could tell me how awful everything was. He didn’t ask if that would be ok, he just did it. That felt really creepy.

Prompt reliable professional service. Excellent communication from the office staff, met all expectations, wasn’t pressured to buy any service plans or extras unrelated to the current service call. I’ve used them twice in the last 20 years and they have been some of the best to work with. For those who whine about plumbing service fees, I have two realities for you. 1. You pay for what you get. You want cheap? You’ll get cheap. 2. Plumbers are expensive. It’s a fact of life. Like doctors and lawyers. If we could do the work ourselves, we would. We can’t so we call plumbers. Burton is not the only plumber I recommend, but it is in the top 3 in this area.

I’ve used Burton, on and off, for over 20 years. The off times were when I was living in an apartment or brand new house where no services were needed. The technicians have always been polite and answered all of my questions. Their prices may be a little higher, but I think they are comparable to other reputable businesses. I will continue to use them and will recommend them to anyone looking for A/​C, heating or plumbing companies.

HIGHLY overpriced, to the point that it’s obvious they are trying to screw people! They wanted almost $ 600 to replace a $ 20 thermocouple on my water heater. They then quoted me $ 1,800 for a new water heater which is completely outrageous. This is on top of the service call they charged me when other companies in town were offering free estimates. When I asked the service person what kind of water heater they were putting in he couldn’t tell me. In informed him they were more than twice as high as any other company in town. What irritated me the most is that if someone less informed had been put on the spot Burton HVAC wouldn’t have thought twice about completely ripping them off. Burton will never be trusted in my home again.
I want to support local businesses but not when they try to screw over the people in their own community. I ended up going with one of the big box local home improvement stores, paid half the price, got a better warranty and they contracted out a local company who did a fantastic job and they had the job done in a couple of hours.
AVOID BURTON!

As others have noted and as I was later told by my Realtor, Burton has to pay for all those nice trucks and billboards somehow. They do so by charging a ridiculous amount to do simple work. I needed a gas stub put into our laundry room directly above the mechanical room with the gas main. After calling the utility company and another plumber (neither of whom could come out the next day), I called Burton who said they’d be out in the morning. Long story short, they never showed up that Friday even after multiple calls, the last of which resulted in another appointment on Saturday morning. When the tech showed, it took him 10 minutes to produce an estimate that ranged from $ 2985 to $ 675 with multiple warranties being the difference. After literally laughing in his face and making sure we weren’t being charged weekend rates, I said go ahead since we had little choice (similar to many others and the lynch pin of the plumbing world.) Well, after he left to get something, the tech returned and spent an hour or so drilling a hole in the floor then threading an 8 foot flexible pipe from my dryer to an available fitting (i.e., didn’t have to do anything complicated).
So, everything works, but that’s about $ 25 in parts which equals $ 650/​hour in labor after leaving my family hanging for a day without keeping an appointment. Hence the rating…

Micki J. Omaha Né… We had a big job done by Burton today. They removed our old hot water heater and put in a new 50 gallon heater with a bladder system. James who came today was so nice and did a wonderful job and went way above and beyond. He reverted and rerouted everything to make sure everything worked not only efficiently but safely too. He put a screw in our front door handle that was missing. We have had a garbage disposal put in and a new toilet. We’ve had some help with some lighting and a fuse box and they rerouted and put in a new gas line to our new dryer and all of the young men who came were very nice and very knowledgable about what they were doing. Every one of them was very personable. I certainly can’t forget the young women who control the dispatch desk so efficently they are very kind and try to get you a service person as quickly as possible .From now on Burton will be our go to guys! Thanks Burton!

They did a good job and the plumber that did the work was nice and polite but they are extremely expensive. Around $ 600 to fix two leaky faucets.

Great Service — Great Employees — Great Attitude.
Services Provided: Full Main Drain Replacement, Full Replacement Upgraded to Heat Pump and Cooling System (You Cant Stop A Trane), Routine Check — Ups and Maintenance.
MAIN DRAIN
Review: From the beginning we have always had a problem with out main drain and had to get the drain de-​rooted about 3 – 4 times a year. After so many times they asked up if we would like to just talk to someone about main drain replacement. At any point my partner and I did not feel forced or over sold. With the outstanding performance, low cost and employees with great attitudes it was a pleasure to have out main drain replaced.
Issues/​Concerns: To give the good with the bad, we did have one issue when they took out retaining wall to the flower bed on the incorrect side. But they fixed it and brought in a landscaper. Not only did they rectify the issue but when the work was done they put the wall back into place and blended it into the flower bed into the wall and made a little area for our recycle and trash bins.
HEAT PUMP
Review: After the main drain replacement we had Burton offer us a free inspection of our heating and cool system. Come to find out, one of our exhaust pipes had a huge hole in it and could have one day suffocated us. We crunched the numbers and Burton’s was happy to let us shop around. A day later we made the decision to go with Burton’s. There were so many perks and they were the most cost effective. We not only received a free upgrade but as well part of a program that gives us discounts on routine replacement items, 10 year warranty, and a lot more. With the replacement they did everything perfect and were able to move out water heater and fit all of the new items without taking up any other space. Not to mention we now have a humidifier built in. That would be my favorite item. I am a man of simple taste.
FINAL: If you are a shopper and want the best bang to your buck Burton’s is it. If you are money conscious talk to them and let them know what you are looking for in a price range. If you get multiple service they can work on price as we did. AND MOST OF ALL IF YOU WANT TO SHOP AROUND TELL THEM AND THEY WILL NOT BE OFFENDED OR GIVE YOU FALSE HOPE FROM DOING SO. They know they are the best and you will find out. If anything always spend that little extra and you will never regret as their service is top notch. They will address any problem and DO NOT tack on any hidden fees if something happens. Ex: When we had a main drain clean, they stated they needed a person to come out to scope the drain to see where the issues were at. Other companies I only call and asked about them cleaning the old drain were outrageous, THEN they wanted to charge $ 100+ to scope it.
Give them a chance to come out and inspect out house. Who knows they may save you like they did us from a possible catastrophe!
(And just an FYI for people reading, I am a VERY critical person and if I feel a company has done wrong you better believe that I will blast it all over review sites. But this is one of the first full positive reviews I have done)

Please do not use this company. About a year ago, my air conditioning unit broke down and a Burton technician repaired it. This year, it broke down again. Another Burton technician came out and he explained that the unit had been incorrectly repaired by the previous technician… for a whole year. While Burton did not charge me for the second repair, my unit was incorrectly sealed for an entire year.
I wanted my money back from the original repair, which was done incorrectly and it’s taken Burton two months to «get back with me.» I’ve called and left countless messages for their service manager, who seems incapable of returning a phone call.
Bottom line: there are a lot of great companies who will do a proper job and who will have the decency to communicate with you if you should have any issues. Burton is not one of them.

The bill they gave breaks down to $ 300 per hour for a standard, non-​emergency call. Do NOT call them for small jobs, you will pay out the nose. Spoke to the service manager and he didn’t care that we got ripped off, he was just glad to have his money and would not do anything to adjust the invoice. Guess I’ll have to join the ranks of people complaining to the BBB.

If you’re looking at this review, and thinking about hiring Burton, do yourself a favor and read the filtered reviews as well. The general theme of a tech coming in and quoting a mind-​boggling amount of money for very little work is entirely in line with my experience. No one else has mentioned the service plan they try to sell you; pay a hundred or so bucks for the service plan, they’ll give you the «discounted rate,» which is only 50% higher than most everyone else rather than at least double.
Don’t bother with Burton. There are lots of good plumbers around that won’t charge you 300 bucks to snake a drain.

Burton Plumbing uses scare tactics to try and sell you equipment you don’t need. I signed up for the $ 9.95 «Partner Program» with them and decided to take advantage of the complimentary A/​C service check before the summer last year. When the guy came out, he went through my entire home and looked at the furnace, water heater and A/​C. I told him I just wanted my A/​C serviced and he said that he had to check on the other things too. He proceeded to tell me that my furnace was «dangerous» and should be «condemned immediately,» my water heater was very old and «on it’s last leg,» and that my A/​C was installed improperly and was a hazard. He even had me sign some paperwork stating that Burton was not liable if my furnace killed anyone. He had me so concerned with my furnace that when winter rolled around again and my new home warranty kicked in, I called them and they sent out a reputable company to check it. Low and behold, my furnace is fine and has lots of years left! In fact, they suggested I install a humidifier to extend the life!
Today, I had that same company come out and look at my air conditioner that wasn’t cooling properly, afraid they would tell me I needed a new unit, and guess what? My A/​C is fine too! The outside unit is perfect but I need a new coil inside… something Burton never checked. Luckily for me, my home warranty covers the new coil!
I will NEVER call Burton again for any kind of service. They will tell you anything to get you to spend money!

I should begin by saying I have used Burton Plumbing in the past without any significant complaint. However, the last time I used them (Dec. ’10) changed that.
I needed to have a gas line capped because we were moving. The people to whom we were renting our house had asked that we have the job done professionally. This particular line went into our dryer. We were under a significant timeline as we were donating the washer and dryer to Habitat for Humanity and they were picking them up the next day. I called one business who said they could do the job for $ 140.00 (I thought) but they couldn’t get out until the following day. Too late — I needed faster. I called Burton. They said they could get someone out that evening. I didn’t get a price over the phone, but was assured I would get up-​front pricing when the service person came to our house.
Man, did I ever get up-​front pricing. When the service person arrived, he told me the job would cost approximately $ 350.00. I was able to say, «You’ve got to be kidding.» but otherwise was speechless. My mind raced as I tried to think how I could get someone else to do the job within my timeline. The service person commiserated with me, but told me the job coding tied his hands. I mumbled something like. «I don’t believe this.» and told the person a competitor had quoted me $ 140.00 over the phone. A long, awkward silence ensued.
Finally, the service person said he thought he could code the job differently and reduce the price to $ 150.00. Would that be acceptable? I said I thought I could live with that price. He started the job, but didn’t have the right sized wrench so went out to his truck to get one. Total time to do the job: 5 minutes. If he had had a wrench that was the correct size with him, I believe the time of the job would have been closer to 30 seconds.
We’re done. Time to write up the bill and pay. The service person fiddled with his little hand held computer and after several minutes said, «It’s not letting me use that one job code. I’m going to have to go back to the other code and charge you the higher price.» I should have refused to pay and told him to leave and if anyone had a problem with it, they could call me. I didn’t do that. Wimpy me.
I got a follow up call from Burton about 5 minutes after the service person left. I expressed my extreme displeasure and used phrases like ‘price gouging’ and ‘bait-​and-​switch’. The poor girl on the other end of the line was at a loss for words. She said she would have a service manager call me — probably by the next day. No one called me the next day. I, however, called that competitor that had quoted me $ 140.00 over the phone. Maybe I hadn’t heard correctly.
I hadn’t. It wasn’t $ 140.00, it was $ 120.00. I verified that $ 120.00 was total cost and not just the cost to send someone out. $ 120.00 — total cost.
I finally heard from Burton about ten days later. They couldn’t run the bank card because the service person hadn’t correctly copied the numbers. I took the opportunity to again complain about how I was treated. I again was told a service manager would call. And again, nothing but crickets from Burton.
Accusations of price gouging and bait-​and-​switch are bad enough, but I believe Burton’s greatest sin here is that they didn’t care enough to follow up with an unhappy customer. They’re apparently big enough that they don’t have to. Shame on them.
P. S. I apparently can’t give 0 stars as a rating. So Burton lucks out and gets 1 star. They don’t deserve it.