Milani Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning

Milani may have tons of great reviews of their work, but when things go wrong, does it ever go wrong! I purchased a new furnace through Costco, with ease that Milani was their trusted installer. I met “Comfort Advisor” Greg for initial consultation on Jul. 19. Greg’s professionalism and thoroughness were the deciding factors in proceeding with the purchase and installation. 2 Milani technicians commenced the work on Jul. 24, which was done quickly and seamlessly (or so I thought). We were pleased with the new furnace and the efficiency with which the technicians carried out the work. Then the whole experience turn south. “Comfort Advisor” Greg told us to apply for Fortis BC Furnace Rebate Program for the new furnace. I downloaded and filled out all forms, and texted Greg on Jul. 31 because the forms require technical data from Milani’s technicians. My text to Greg was never answered. I called Milani Head Office multiple times for documents follow-up in subsequent days and weeks. I waited another 3 weeks because they told me they were busy. Finally, extremely frustrated, I went to a Costco warehouse, where Varinder was staffing the promotional booth for Milani. Varinder called his colleagues for me and promised that someone would be in touch, or he would personally follow up for me. Another week went by, I finally received the filled Rebate forms on Aug. 29, but one page with the critical data is missing. After multiple phone calls (again) to Milani, I finally received the completed documents via email on Sep. 6, 33 business days after installation. On the same day, the same set of documents (filled out by another person) were mailed to me. The City of Vancouver (CoV) Inspector came to evaluate the work on Sep. 7, and told me that the installation was in violation of City by-law, which requires the pipes to point towards front, back, or towards sky, but Milani installed them at the side of the house, towards the neighbors. The inspector informed me that Milani technicians knew about the by-law, but probably took a shortcut in an attempt for an easier job. As a result, the installation failed CoV inspection. On Sep. 8, I saw Varinder again at the Costco warehouse and told him about the failed inspection. He promised to bring this case up with the owners and to help me rectify the problem. On Sep. 12, Lawrence called to promise that someone would call next week regarding re-installation. After submitting the Fortis rebate forms, I noticed on Sep.19 that the technical data on the mailed forms is different than the ones emailed. I sent follow-up email to Milani for explanation on discrepant data. I dropped by the Costco Warehouse again on Sep. 22 to see Varinder, who has always been supportive and caring, and told him that no one has contacted me regarding the re-installation, ever since Lawrence called on Sep. 12 promising a follow-up. Bob finally called on Sep. 24 telling me that he would drop by the house to investigate the discrepant data on the Fortis forms, and to look at the pipes in preparation for the re-installation. Since I work full-time and could not be at the house to supervise, my parents told me that the Milani staff came by the house, spent ~2 hours extending the pipes to point at the roof. Nikita from Milani called me on Sep. 25 to schedule another City of Vancouver inspection for the re-installation. I told her that I was not aware that Bob would do the actual re-installation. I was planning on waiting for this case to resolve before releasing this review. Unfortunately, at the rate Milani operates, I am afraid more people would suffer the same fate. Moral of the story: do your research and due diligence; get all the facts; don’t trust that the job is done right just because the company has good reputation. If you don’t have a lot of vacation days to spare to supervise Milani’s work, look elsewhere! If you do plan on hiring Milani, always ask for an “experienced technician”, or you might get sent an apprentice to do the work. UPDATE: Case still ongoing, but Business Manager has personally taken on to oversee the case resolution.