Duke City Heating & Cooling

We installed a new HVAC system two years ago and neglected to do routine maintenance since then (except cleaning the washable air handler filter infrequently). The two technicians showed up on time yesterday (promised 9-10 AM) after sending an "on our way" text). They recommended using the pleated filters instead of the blue fiberglass variety. He had a 20"x25" pleated filter in the truck that was a little long for our space. So, he took a pair of shears, chopped off just enough, and used the cardboard form cleared of material to put a border back on! Voila! Another service was cleaning the fins (?) on the outdoor compressor. After turning off the power outside, he used a hose to flush out the accumulated detritus in the unit. Our system is back to working great again! I had a chance to speak with one of the brother/owners, Paul, this evening, to share my feedback on the service call. Sounds like a very nice guy. I thanked him for their well-trained techs.

Our furnace stopped working. We called Duke City, and they were able to come out same day (on a Thursday). Great. They diagnosed the issue within 30 minutes and were gone within the hour. Excellent. Unfortunately, they had to order the part, which wouldn't be in until Monday. Originally, the technician stated we'd pay expedited shipping on the part but they'd be out first thing Monday morning to get the part installed. I asked the tech before he left what was the price for everything. He verbally estimated $350-$375. He said the part was cheap and the labor would be the expensive part. I wasn't given the price in writing, showing the breakdown of the costs (this was my error, I should know better. They called us Friday evening to let us know they couldn't make it Monday as they were short on technicians. So after being quoted a price WITH expedited shipping, and to the fault of the company, we waited for install- we expected that original price to go down. They came that following Wednesday, and it was fixed within 30 minutes. (This is a total of roughly 2 hours of service, generously.) Total cost $374.06, after they were nice enough to give a 5% military discount. Again, an invoice wasn't provided. However, I paid, and they were on their way. My wife immediately pointed out the math didn't add up, 2 hours of service ($85 x 2 + $55 for a part = $225 plus tax). She called after the tech left to follow up regarding the charges. I received my invoice the next morning around 8:30, as follows: $195.00 for the part (hot surface igniter)$170.00 for labor (2 hours worth)Plus taxI began to do research, as the original quoted price for the part was roughly $55. (Companies in the area won't release parts prices or sell to the public, only contractors, so when I called myself, prices could not be provided. However, I found the price for the part online, ranging $49 to $58, which is not the wholesale price that contractors get.) My friend, who works for a local HVAC company, did a little research for me today. Here were the costs of the parts, as quoted by the 4 parts companies that they called -1) $17 (the company Duke City got the part from - Johnstone Supply)2) $13.763) $16.574) Same price as above, but plus shipping.Duke City charged me $195 for a $14-$17 part through their company. That is flat out robbery. I understand wanting to make a little extra profit. Business has to make money. But, even giving them the benefit of the doubt, and saying they spent $20 on the part, that's almost 10x the price of the actual part!My wife called Duke City and questioned Gloria, regarding the markup. She told my wife, "Well, that's the price that was quoted by the first technician that did the diagnostic. I don't know where the miscommunication happened." Upon further request of resolution (as an "oh well" is not sufficient, she was told one of the business owners would follow up by tomorrow morning).We will never do business with this company again. I will spread the word. Through social media, word of mouth, etc.UDPATEThey sent me the invoice that they claim came from the parts company (Johnstone) and they broke it down as $88.60 for the part, and $99.55 for the freight/handling. Remember though, up above my friend clearly got a quote of $17 from the same company, for the same part. So something is up. Also, $99.55 for freight/handling?! They paid for what? Expedited shipping? Even though they knew they couldn't make it out until 3 days following their original promise of installation (Monday)? Give me a break. Not buying any of it. Regardless, if they gave me that price breakdown on the initial day of diagnoses, I would have turned it down. But, they didn't. They just verbally gave me the estimated cost of the whole project. Their verbal breakdown nowhere near matches the black and white invoice. Which, again, was 4 hours of service and a $55 part. At the end of the end of the day, yes- the original price matched. But Duke City changed their breakdown- now, our invoice shows TWO hours of service and FOUR times the original quoted price on the part (when, really the part is only $17, as verified by another local HVAC contractor). Now, my own opinion is that Duke City works with this company to inflate the prices of the parts that they sell. (We were also told by our friend, Johnstone will match a company's original quote to a client in an effort to support small businesses, regardless of what the actual price is.) This leads to return business for the parts company, and increased profits on behalf of Duke City for parts. (No wonder these parts companies won't release the price of the parts to the general public.) No matter the reasoning though, it's clear there is really something morally questionable about this company. Do business with them at the risk of your wallet. Imagine how many people they did this to before us?

Called them out to clean a furnace and change the filter. They could not have been more professional and quick. The price was very fair. I realized afterwards how easily they could have cheated me. I had told them before they started that the furnace had not had any attention for three years and the house had been very dirty (long story). If they had suggested some expensive work I would not have been surprised. But they reported that the top-quality filter I had installed three years ago had saved the day. These guys are quick, professional and most of all HONEST.

Amazing service! Technicians are knowledgeable, efficient, polite and friendly. They went above and beyond for us and we are grateful. Gloria in the office is amazing and we appreciate her a lot. Would recommend Duke City to anyone!

Big thanks to Paul for coming out to our new home and installing ceiling fans and swapping one of the light fixtures. It's always a stressful thing working on a brand new home, in a brand new area, but Paul and Duke City Heating made things easy. We also plan on using them for all of the yearly maintenance and any other projects that may pop up.

Duke city came out to in May 2020 to turn off my heater and turn on my AC. I made the mistake of not being there and instead left my 20 year old daughter to handle paying the bill. They told her that they needed to fix the hoses in the unit even though it was brand new (house was purchased in 2019 and unit was installed earlier that year brand new.) Bill was paid in full even though they broke one of our gutters (they did send someone out to fix it weeks later after I had to call and remind them) and a week later we had to call them back out because the AC unit was leaking water and even came through our roof and damaged a light fixture in our bathroom and warped the ceiling as well. When they came to fix it they said that a hose had broke off and damaged the motor and they would replace it. The team that replaced the motor left without letting my daughter know and didn't come back in to turn on the water for the AC unit so it only blew hot air until we had TLC come out and turn it on. Although they fixed the problem that they themselves caused they had the audacity to charge me still for their own negligence. The hoses didn't need to be replaced - they were still new! I also had to go through another HVAC company and pay them to fix the fact nobody ever came back in to turn on the water. Now they have someone harassing me at my work and my cell phone threatening legal action because of an unpaid bill. They damaged my house and didn't even care and now they're trying to charge me for something they did. Avoid at all costs!!!

We have been really pleased with this company. The previous business that handled matters related to our room HVAC were not dependable so we searched on YELP and read all the good reviews about Duke City Heating & Cooling. We called and received an appointment fairly quickly since our new HVAC system had sprung a leak! HVAC professionals arrived at the appointed date and time and texted about a half hour before arrival to confirm. They are skilled and efficient and completed then work and then provided us with photos (since the system is on the roof). About a month or so later we had a plumbing issue and they were equally as professional about scheduling the visit, letting us know they were on the way, arriving at the appointed time and fixing the problem. We highly recommend them. And Gloria is very empathetic and helpful when you call and explain the problems to her!

I called Duke City to help me out after another company left me hanging. I am very pleased with the quick response and the quality of work was very good as was the price. Communication was excellent and the touch back with estimates for further work was quick and reasonable. Thanks Duke City Heating and Cooling.

We had a great experience with Duke City. From the beginning process to the end, we are thrilled with the service received. The scheduling, the estimate, the installation of product and the final bill processing all went smoothly. Their prices are reasonable, offer quality products and efficient in the install.A big shout out to Gloria, Mike, Estevon, Adam, Josh & Tom! Everyone was professional, knowledgeable, kind and considerate in each of their respective qualifications. We absolutely recommend them and will continue to do future business with them.

Beware of their "free" estimates! I asked for an estimate in June and just received a bill for $95.01!!! I had called them because they have some good reviews and because their estimates were said to be free. I requested an estimate only and did not authorize any type of work. No one bothered to tell me afterwards that I would be receiving a bill. I would not recommend this company.