Hamstra Heating & Cooling

We've used Hamstra in the past for AC tune up and it feels like they're always trying to sell you something, if not some part you "need" it's their maintenance packages. We've seen good reviews other than the high prices so we keep calling them.Glad we didn't purchase a service package because they are not actually a 24 hour company. Our air conditioning went out after a midnight. Gave them a call and after being stuck on hold with a pre-recorded message for a while, finally gave up on trying to schedule.

I have had nothing but good experiences with hamstra they intalled my AC unit 8 years ago. I have a service plan with them. The techs who come out are friendly, helpful and professional. They answer all my questions and are very clear about what services are performed and recommendations. I am also currently in the process of having a couple mini splits installed by them. Living in the desert my AC units are appliances that i think are worth their weight in gold. You may be able to find someone who will give you a lower quote but I think you pay a little more for quality of service, consistency, and the ease of mind that you are getting a fair price for installation, maintenance, and fast and reliable customer service. I will continue to use them and would highly recommend them.

A tech was able to come out the day I called and diagnosed a dead compressor. He said someone from the office would be contacting me shortly with an estimate and a time frame for doing the service. The estimate was $3800 and I was told it would be 8-9 business days to get the part because it came from the factory. That seemed long to me but I doubt they have an incentive to pad that time. The part came in and was installed. The tech said it would take 4-6 hours. It took 4 and a half hours. When I paid I was told an invoice would be emailed to me. I was surprised it was just one lump sum-not broken down into parts and labor. I finally did a parts breakdown but no separate billing for labor. When I questioned that, I was told they do lump sum billing and don't break out parts and labor. I don't like that. If a job takes less time than was estimated (as here), the customer should be a break on the bill. Thus, four stars instead of 5. But other than that, they were fine. The tech was nice and professional, arrived on time, and worked hard.

Let me just say if you have any heating and cooling needs they are the one's for it in Tucson. They maybe a little more pricey but I promise you these people are worth every penny. They are on top of everything from staff who does appointments down to technicians and they work together which most places miss.The service was ah-mazing! Technicians knew what they were doing shows us past mistakes that other companies have done and what they did to correct it. (backstory we used a horrible company before them to first install our brand new unit. We didn't know better and went with cheaper option. That ended up costing us so much more in long run, and also finding out that company did some sketchy things). I was extremely impressed with Hamstra and would recommend any day to anyone in Tucson! They also have yearly maintenance plans that are affordable and we will definitely be signing up! they've gained a life long customer from this experience.

We had a HVAC fan go out in August of 2021. I found Hamstra here on Yelp with favorable reviews. Setting up the appointment and having the service technician come out was an easy process. The fan motor was replaced and everything seemed fine. I have to note I thought the pricing was rather high, maybe the "Tucson in August price", not sure. I'd shop around if the situation had allowed more time.The reason for this review is not this service but rather the follow up. In late December the fan started to act up and noticeably something was wrong. I called back to have a check up. Technician came out and diagnosed the fan was bad. They stood by their service and replaced at no cost.That is important and is appreciated.

Well "Big John" is one heck of a great guy, whom I have only met on the phone. I am in the process of rescuing a family home built in the 50's. Time to say good bye to the ancient gas furnace and swamp box cooler. Negotiating over the phone is tricky - but through conversations and clear estimates via email that have been so refreshing and reassuring that I gladly have given the "go ahead" for the purchase and installation of a new heat pump. I look forward to feeling it in action.

We have been Hamstra customers since 2013 and in fact, Hamstra installed all 3 of our HVAC units when we built our house in 2011.Since then they have serviced our equipment with knowledge and professionalism without fail. Very early on we were introduced to Dave Thompson as our service technician and we were so pleased, we have requested him ever since, and he is not only an amazing technician, but he's become our trusted HVAC advisor. However, Hamstra isn't a one technician company. Dave's colleagues have jumped in to assist whenever necessary. Hamstra has deep bench strength. The office staff members are also outstanding!!There are quite a number of heating and cooling contractors here in Tucson. Many seem to spend quite a bit on advertising...tv and radio. We don't see a lot of Hamstra adds, and we assume that happy customers like us are their best form of advertising.

My professional background is as an HVAC, plumbing and gas design engineer. I am currently licensed as a Professional Engineer in Arizona and Colorado. In Colorado, I had trusted HVAC companies that I would refer my clients to and that I would use myself, but we recently moved to Tucson so did not have such a company here. Here is my experience with Hamstra.We wanted a new ductless mini-split heat pump system for our guest house even though the existing system was still operational (was old with uninsulated ducts in the attic). I performed the load calculations and communicated with Hamstra what equipment I would like installed. Hamstra sent out one of their "comfort specialists", Ryan. Even though I indicated what type and size of equipment I would like, I expected Ryan to perform a load calculation as they are required for permit. Here's what happened next.Ryan first indicated that there were no TEP rebates available which was not the case. Once I researched the rebates myself, Ryan indicated that he would take care of it which was not the case when the final invoice was issued. I had to complain to get this rectified.The final invoice was issued without a permit being applied for. Permits should be applied for prior to installing equipment. After I asked about the permit, it was applied for that day without the required Manual J load calculation and Manual S equipment selection.The bldg dept had requested a resubmittal on 3/15/2024. Nothing was done by your company. I asked about the permit on 3/21 and received a call from Ryan asking to take additional measurements. Load calculations should be performed prior to bidding the project and installation. The measurements were taken by Ryan on 3/22.On 4/2, Ryan indicated that the load calcs and other requested information were already submitted to the bldg dept. Since Hamstra was proving untrustworthy by this point, I checked with the plans examiner myself and he indicated that nothing was submitted by Hamstra.On 4/3, I wrote an email outlining the multiple failures by Hamstra to this point. I received a call from the sales manager, Mike, apologizing and saying that he would stay on top of it. After my email on 4/3, a blank document was submitted to the building department per City of Tucson permit review detail. On 4/8, a permit was issued for the wrong unit number (after telling Hamstra 3-4 times that this was for unit 2). You would think they would ask which unit number if they weren't sure. Two months after the equipment has been installed, a permit for the correct address still has not been issued. As far as the equipment installation, we are happy with that. The installers did leave 15+ pieces of sharp sheet metal pieces around the backyard from the chases they created for the refrigerant and condensate piping; not great when you have a dog, but we picked them up right away. The installers also weren't sure how to set up the Mitsubishi Kumo Cloud software for system control. The app is set up for the installers to set it up initially, then transfer it over to the owner. So I had to do that myself and it should have been part of the installation.My opinion is that the cost of the installation did not remotely match the quality of service received. I have never had to be so involved and manage my own project after paying a contractor to do so. I could not in good conscience recommend Hamstra to my clients. 2.5/5 stars.

Updated 11/13/2023:I worked with Hamstra Heating & Cooling for several months (yes, it took months from start to where we are now). Dustin (the project manager), Terry (the HVAC engineer) and their team finally determined I needed some new venting in my attic to carry the AC's cooler air across to my front bedroom area so it will cool off during the summer months here in the desert. We'd agreed they would remove the older insulated venting for new insulated venting. However, when I requested and received pictures of the new venting and the work performed prior to payment, it appeared from the photos they shared that they did not use insulated venting but a clear, uninsulated venting. However, fortunately, I now know that was not the case.Mike, a customer service manager, called me after seeing my initial Yelp and Google reviews. He was able to explain to me the error in using the photos they shared to see what work they had completed. After more than 20 minutes on the phone with Mike, I finally felt comfortable that Hamstra did use a quality venting material to complete that part of the job, and the team went above-and-beyond to ensure an additional area was also replaced that had deteriorated beyond it's useful life. I appreciated Mike's follow-up call -- hence my updated review here -- but wish he could have called after my phone conversation with the admin (who said she'd have the project manager call me back to help answer my questions), my subsequent emails to her, and my follow-up letter sent snail mail to his billing office. I was told during a couple of those communications that the project manager would contact me, yet he did not do that follow-up over the course of several weeks until after my Google review and Mike contacted him for a status (apparently there are two of us with the same name in the project manager's phone and he was trying to communicate with the other Brenda).I will use Hamstra again and give them another try when I need HVAC service as I appreciate the follow-up since my initial Google review. I hope the communication is better for future needs and hope the turn-around time in-between our communications is better and faster. I hope I can then improve the star rating to at least a 4-star, if not a 5-star.

TLDR:Hamstra does business with a service mindset instead of a sales one. If you have experience dealing with hvac companies, you understand this is rare. Every interaction we've had has been customer focused, compassionate, and just generally very helpful. This is a company that takes notes and follows up to make sure every detail is taken care of. More Details:We were originally connected to Hamstra by accident - we were trying to get information on an American Standard unit to fully compare quotes we had received from other hvac companies in town. The manufacturer routed our call to Hamstra because they are a preferred vendor. When I explained what I was looking for, Hamstra politely asked if they could help me evaluate the existing quotes. Hamstra honestly communicated that some of the quotes on the lower end were not sustainable from a business perspective and we would be risking the warranty should the company go under. Similarly, they were not afraid to call out excessive quotes - again a rare find for any company!! They offered to provide a quote if we were interested and I am so glad we did. There was no sleazy sales tactics - Ryan was great and fully explained his recommendations and answered our questions every step of the way. Beyond just the specialists, the technicians and customer support team express pride in their work and you can hear that they genuinely care in their voice and the way they conduct themselves.