Jacobs Heating & Air Conditioning

Unethical and incompetent
I had Jacobs out for a maintenance and the guy claimed we need a new blower motor at a cost of $ 1600! Had a guy from another company out to confirm and the motor didn’t even have a problem, but there was a different problem (on a $ 3 part) that they didn’t catch. And he said he would replace the motor for $ 350 if it had needed replacement. Their company website notes that they pay «spiffs» for selling jobs. The other furnace guy described it as highway robbery. I have actually used them before, but now I wonder how much I overpaid.

We hired Jacobs to replace our furnace with a heat pump and new furnace, including an electrostatic air cleaner and UV lamps, along with an on-​demand hot water heater. We were told it would take two men two days. We scheduled the work well in advance. When the day came, we were given an experienced retrofit installer, and a «new guy» who told me «I’m not even in this division». He stayed only part of the day. The second day, only the first guy showed up. He struggled, until 7 PM, to get the heat working on the new furnace, but the heat pump was not connected. Neither were the UV lamps. The ducting wasn’t insulated, and the penetrations they made in my exterior walls were un-​sealed, with rain falling heavily that night and the following week. As he left, he told me it would probably be a few weeks before anybody would return to finish the job. Although they mounted and ran the vent and gas line for the water heater, it was left to me to plumb and configure the water heater.
After a lot of complaining, which was met with excuses and open resentment by Jacobs, I got us scheduled to have the job finished 10 days later. Two new guys showed up and finished the job. The work, once finally done, was fine, except that the register dampers we were promised by the salesman weren’t done, because the installers said what we were sold couldn’t be done. There was no price adjustment to the bill. My email to the salesman in the middle of all this went unanswered. I guess he got his commission, and just doesn’t care about having misrepresented what could be done. The alternative, that he didn’t know what could be done, is no better.
Shortly afterward, we received a letter. I thought maybe it was a thank-​you for the business. Or, could it be, an apology for all the problems and extra time I had to spend waiting at home for them to finish? No, it was a letter telling me to call for an inspection. They actually expect me to call in their inspection, wait all day for the inspector, and stand there while he picks apart their work! It’s not going to happen. I’m not giving them another minute of my time. They can explain to the City of Portland why they never got their work passed.
Ironically, when I mentioned all the bad Unilocal reviews to an employee, he said that those were from service calls. He actually blamed «the other» division! Actually, we have had no problems with the service division over five years. After spending over $ 20k, three very long days, and additional time on the phone and email trying to get helped, I have to say I would not recommend using these guys.
Now, I know the service manager is going to rebut this post with her usual lines about how much they value their customers and try to provide excellent service, but really, they don’t. Although the equipment is fine, and the job was finished more or less to my satisfaction, we didn’t get everything we bargained for, and the installation process was painful. The attitude I got when I complained was the last straw, and that’s why they are getting one star. I don’t know if Carrier gives a damn about who sells and installs their equipment, but I’m going to find out.

Jacobs service would be better reviewed if its service technicians had better people skills. For 2 years and with 2 different service people, there has been a negativity of approach that feels accusatory. Today the service person literally verbally whiplashed me for not meeting the standards of upkeep. But the capper was that he did not come prepared with the proper filters for my furnace although my furnace must be «of record» with the company. He suggested that I should have extras at the ready myself. I chose to run and shop while he ran the checks on the system. I will not be a return customer for a third year.

We have been a long standing client of Jacobs under service contracts. Furnace was not staying on so we placed a service call. Were told it would be 2 – 3 days because they were busy. When we told them we were on a service contract and expected more prompt service, they were able to get us in. The service guy came out and said it was fixed but it started doing the same thing an hour after he left. He came 3 straight days and did the same think without really diagnosing what was causing the issue. The last time he charged us for the service call. He always seemed in a hurry to get on to the next job and was complaining about how busy he was and how many calls he had to make every day.
We then requested a supervisor or someone else come out to diagnose the issue. That took 2 – 3 more days. That guy told us the obvious, that it was shutting off before reaching desired temp and water was not draining. He told us it was probably the secondary heat exchanger about to go bad and we would need a new furnace. We asked for a bid on a new furnace and that we needed to get this resolved since we had been without heat for a week already. They scheduled someone for the next day. Before he was due to arrive he called and canceled and said he could just email me the quote if I would give him some info on our breakers and take a picture of our existing furnace and email it to him. He emailed me the bid in PDF with no comments as to «call with questions», «hope to earn your business», etc. Just a price and technical description of the equipment. No info on incentives, discounts, tax credits, etc. From a customer standpoint, it seems like the people at Jacobs really do not like their jobs nor are they very committed to delivering excellent (or even mediocre) client service (from receptionist to scheduler, to repairmen to sales people). Jacobs needs to realize that there are lots of options for quality HVAC providers in Portland. Customers like to feel like their service provider is concerned with the problems and committed to delivering high quality service in a friendly and PROFESSIONAL manner.

In 2006 … Had them install a $ 7600 Furnace & A/​C. The city inspector said failed the inspection. They installed the ventilation PVC incorrectly. They re-​did the pipe to inspectors directions.
1 month later the furnace in January (20 degree weather) stopped working. I called them on a Friday morning, they said they would be out Monday. I Told them… unacceptable. They acted like I was being unreasonable.
Here we are in 2015, furnace failed, different furnace company came out said the original install was poorly executed.
There are many HVAC Companies in PDX. Pick one that doesn’t have reviews like mine.

I recently had air conditioning installed. Prior to installation, Jacob’s came out to do a preliminary inspection of the furnace. The inspector noticed that rust had built up owing to a damaged clamp — and charged $ 100 dollars. When I pointed out in a subsequent call to the office that 8 months earlier the furnace had been inspected ($ 100 and a $ 260 maintenance contract) and that it seemed to me that the damage should have been spotted then (the clamp held a rubber tubing in place), the answer was that that wasn’t part of the inspection. Very odd, because the loose clamp was in plain view. Buyer beware!!!

My heat pump went out last weekend in the middle of the heat wave. I called first thing Monday and Eric was out here by 3 PM… Not only fixed the problem and got things up and running again within an hour, he was one of the most pleasant customer service reps ever. Thanks Jacobs. Appreciate your help.

Incompetent, lazy and immoral. Jacob’s business plan is to pillage as many customers as possible, taking advantage at every turn, and cutting comers. I see they have 4 complaints reported to the Better Business Bureau.
Next day I had another company come out and look at my HVAC. There is no leak at all as Jacob’s had been leading me on to believe. No. The issue was that the air filter was so dirty it had plugged up the air flow.
Yes that’s right… Jacob’s had done a «maintenance check» a few months ago and failed to check the air filter, nor did they check the air filter at any time during their multiple visits. He simply added more refrigerant and some dye to find a ‘leak’ and call it good. Because there was twice the amount of refrigerant the system was waaaay overcharged and the cooling system had broken down. Jacobs did more damage. Crooks.
How could they have failed to check the air filter??? Unbelievable.

Called for a big commercial quote. A young gentleman showed up who was clearly out of his element. He only half paid attention to what i was saying. We quickly went up on the roof. He measured my two units and was gone within a few minutes. The quote came a couple weeks later at over $ 40,000.
Blairco got it handled for under $ 20K. Call Joe and the guys over there. They are very personable, and exceptionally inventive at custom setups.

Bought my house in late 2013, and in April 2014 the furnace wouldn’t start. Jacobs came out and replaced the Carrier 3 wire pilot ($ 324), a service fee ($ 99), and a maintenance fee ($ 240).
Exactly one year later, the same problem is happening. I also found a receipt from April 2013, from the previous home owner, who had the Carrier 3 wire pilot replaced by Jacobs.
Fishy? You bet your ass. I am fairly certain that a 10 minute cleaning would fix my furnace and I will never use Jacobs again.

Not one part of this job has gone well. Everyone is friendly enough but no one follows through with what they say they are going to do. Very disappointing. Please save your self the trouble and go with some one else. What a headache dealing with Jacobs Heating and Air Conditioning
Jesse Morton

Just like a bad movie, my heater went out the day before Christmas… and I had house guests. So, I called Jacobs and they promptly responded and had their service technician (Jay) stop by the day after Christmas. He inspected the heater and determined that the motor was dying and needed to be repaired/​replaced.
So far, so good…
Then, he presented the options for replacing it, starting at over $ 5000! I asked him to skip all of the options which included service contracts and just fix it for the least amount of money possible. He then determined it couldn’t be fixed so it had to be replaced and he didn’t have a motor with him.
At that point I went to Fry’s and bought a couple of space heaters to take the pressure off making a decision during the holidays. Once Christmas was over I called Jacobs back and asked to have the motor replaced. They gave me a quote of $ 830 and scheduled it for Friday.
So far, so good…
Then, I got a call on Friday saying the truck didn’t arrive so they would need to reschedule me the following week. I wasn’t thrilled that they waited until Friday afternoon to tell me it was being rescheduled so I called Able Heating and Cooling to see what they could do. They had the motor in stock and could replace it the same day, for over $ 200 less!
Bottom line — Able Heating and Cooling is the one I’ll use next time.

I would give 3.5 if I could. I had 5 local HVAC companies come in and quote a furnace replacement. Not only did I want to replace my furnace, but I wanted to try to re-​route all of the ducting in my basement to open up some more useable space. Of all 5 companies, Jacobs happened to be significantly less expensive. As far as the Carrier brand, Consumer reports says basically all brands are equivalent in quality, it all comes down to installation, so I decided to go with Jacobs.
Everyone I dealt with was professional and seemed like a nice person. They do not manage their phones very well. If you are transferred to someone else and get an answering machine, hang up and call back. They wont return your message.
The guy who came for the installation was nice and the work looked good, but on the second day I got the impression he was rushing to finish, so some of the installation is a little DIY looking. For example, the exhaust routes in front of the access for the AC coil, so when we replace the AC well need to remove the exhaust. They also were a little cavalier with the sheet metal screws… they screwed the condensate pump line to a plastic utility sink… which seemed a little jenky.
All in all, I would have gone with them again given my experience and the result. I would definitely get multiple quotes when you shop for a furnace. They all kinda make numbers up and the mark up on parts is extreme. The quotes I got were all over the map. They wanted $ 300 to replace a breaker… A 15 amp breaker is $ 3.00 and takes 5 min to install. Luckily my electrical and gas were already in place.
But if these guys come out with a competitive quote, I’d go with them.
I can’t comment on their service yet.

SCAM! Avoid these people at all cost. Had them out yesterday for furnace tune up. Silly me didn’t ask for price in advance, $ 150 for 15 minutes to clean my filter. But then the tech spent 25 minutes in his truck talking to the office to come up with a list of stuff they said I needed, cost $ 1,000. All kinds of slick discounts to try and make you feel good. But when I said no and asked for a copy of what they said I needed, they wouldn’t give it to me. Obviously they don’t want anyone to be able to show that they are making up the need for repairs. More issues then just this, but avoid them at all cost. They are only interested in screwing you out of as much of your money as possible regardless of what your real needs are.

This is a few months after a repair/​service but I wanted to make sure that I put in a review since our A/​C repair has now been in place for two months.
I called first thing Friday July 11^th, last minute, ahead of a heat wave that was to hit Portland (like most every other Portlander in town). In all honesty, Jacobs was the fourth company down the list that I had contacted as the prior three companies stated the earliest they could get to our home was that next Wednesday. When I called Jacobs, they said Monday. so I took it. Not even an hour later we got the call that they actually could arrive at our home to look at our unit in the next hour or so. We were ecstatic!
The receptionist that we spoke with was very helpful & understanding. The technician who came out, explained what was wrong to my husband and had the part in his truck. He was able to get our A/​C unit back up & running the very same day.
I am giving Jacobs 5 stars based on the customer service received over the phone given to me and the in-​person customer care given to my husband by the technician. We appreciated that they were able to come to the rescue in our time of need & our A/​C unit has been happy since!

This company cannot be trusted to do what they say! My furnace would have been installed BEFORE the freezing weather IF my salesman had actually notified NW Natural that I purchased a furnace. Checking up on them after A WEEK I found that no paperwork had been filed as promised. My home and I are enduring sub freezing weather BECAUSE the JACOBS salesman CANNOT BE TRUSTED. Go elsewhere… anywhere else.
Okay, an edit after installation of new furnace. A VERY professional job by a hardworking installer. Good work ethic, professional mannerism, thorough job, excellent communication. I am very happy with the job. Still very unhappy with their salesman. The actual Carrier furnace and its installation are wonderful. Don’t believe anything you are told by the jerk looking for a commission though…

We had Jacobs come out and replace our old giant central air unit at our shop in January.
They did the job in 2 days.
They were quick, clean, worked the whole time they were here, and they were polite about not interrupting us while we worked.
We had a «brown out» a month later and they came out the next day, got the part that was fried ordered, and had it fixed that same week.
Thanks for taking care of us Jacobs! ^_^

Jacob’s was great. They were on time, their tech was very nice and knowledgeable. The sales person Doug is an expert with many years experience and a true professional. The office staff was great to work with and they were very helpful with getting me paper work I needed for my bank. Thank you Jacob’s for an awesome experience!

Can’t say enough bad things about this company. They don’t show up for scheduled service appointments, can’t seem to keep their records straight, go back on their promises, and in our case failed to remove a lien placed on our property even though we promptly paid their bill once the installation had been completed.
Something seriously wrong with management at Jacobs.
We made the mistake of using them once (they weren’t even the lowest bidder). We will NOT make that mistake again.
We have no idea what keeps these people in business. You would think that word would get around about how unreliable they are. In these tough economic times, the last thing any company would want is a poor reputation. We’ve done the best we can to warn you.

Should have checked here before I called Jacobs. Long story short. They try to sell you service you don’t need, the service contract is a joke, 250 for a service contract and you still have to pay for a 90 service call and repairs if you call them? They charged 469 for a thermostat that sells for 100. I’m not sure how much the mark up on the other parts were but after checking on the thermostat I’m sure I got raped on the parts.
I was told that there were some parts making noises that indicated they were getting ready to fail and needed replaced, after they were installed the tech said now can you hear the difference? ummm no not at all. Later that evening my furnace started making some noises that we didn’t hear before it was «fixed»
I won’t be calling Jacobs back to fix it if we have another problem
ps checked on the parts that were replaced I was charged 828.86 to replace parts that cost 232.00 and it took about 20 minutes for the work. plus there was a 90 paf charge and 90 service call charge… most companies take the service call off the repairs if you have them do the service. Wow