Boonstra Heating and Air Conditioning

I would not recommend Boonstra. I give them credit for always being available and showing up on time; maybe because rarely are they called twice by the same customer. I called to have a/c repaired. It was obviously a freon issue and the leak has to be found otherwise they can't recharge the freon. After a 20 minutes diagnostic and one very long cell phone conversation to "Bob" regarding cell phone apps...long story short, apparently the valves outside were leaking. "We will try to get the valves but it's an old unit so we probably won't be able to find them - here's your bill for $450". Incidentally, during the phone call to "Bob", valves were found!!! Oddly, 12 hours later repair person calls..."the valves we found were gone". Huh? "Sorry, there's nothing we can do except replace the unit but, if you do go with a new unit, they will credit you the $450 repair bill."

Same day I call for someone to give me an estimate for a new unit and he shows up exactly on time. Very nice young man that spent longer than the repair man...hemmmed and hawwwed took vague measurements. Started at $4800 and eventually got down to $3200 all in. (By the way, none of the rebates in their full-page ads applied of course.) I told him I would think about it since I've sold my house and don't really want to spend money for a unit I'm only going to have for another 65 days. He calls me back the next day and leaves a message about a "fix" he might have that I would be very happy with and won't cost nearly as much. He doesn't say what it is however. Yesterday, the unit couldn't be fixed...now it can? Again, huh?

So to shorten the story even more, as of yesterday after contacting a friend of a friend who has been in HVAC for 32 years, I have a working a/c unit with a fixed leak, NOT AT THE VALVES, but behind the condenser which required a 1/4 turn of a wrench, a fully-charged unit and only paid $120!!!

Maybe because I'm female or maybe because they knew I had to have a functioning unit for the new buyer of my home but, they basically robbed me of $450 to give me an incorrect diagnostic AND tell me there was nothing they could do except replace it. Nice business practises.

Wow, these guys are great!

I used their website to set up an email appointment first thing this morning. Received a confirmation email, several phone calls and a technician who arrived as promised. ALL IN THE SAME DAY!!

Exceeded my expectations.
P.S. Ron the service tech recommended a service plan and I am going for it!

The initial visit from the salesman (Mr. Errington) was very informative. He took a look at all the existing equipment and asked me if I had been having trouble with my furnace as he pointed out a poblem and told me what to expect as future problems. I had actually been have those very problems which is why I was looking into replacing the furnace not to mention the very inefficient and energy hunger A/C. I was very impressed as I had other people in for quotes and they didn't even look at my existing equipment or where it was installed.
The gentlemen who did the installation worked very hard and were very professional and when they ran into a problem explained all my options so I could make an informed decission.
I was even more impressed when the Sales Manager called me and thanked me for my business and ensured me that I was getting the best installation crew as I had a few concerns around the fact that I had a finished basement. The expression 'You get what you pay for' definitely fits in here with this company.

I've used boonstra for a long time now...it is not easy finding a contractor you can trust and once you find one you should hold onto them...I've had boonstra do annual maintenance on my system for a while and when I needed a new system I didn't even look elsewhere...full hvac system with some upgraded filtration and duct cleaning...topped off with what I believe to be the best warranties and guarantees in the industry...they truly have the best people working for them...we've never had a disappointing encounter...thanks for years of great service boonstra!!!

I’m glad that Boonstra’s has so many happy customers and so many glowing reviews! My experience with this business has been somewhat less wonderful.

I had a complete HVAC system installed by Boonstra's in June, 2004. Every year since then, I have paid them for an annual service contract. One of the provisions of the contract is annual furnace and A/C inspections by the above-noted company. I called Boonstra's customer service on Feb. 29, 2012 to find out why they had not called to arrange my winter heating system inspection yet. They informed me that I had cancelled my service contract in June, 2011. I replied that I had RENEWED my contract in June, 2011; NOTHING had been cancelled. I then provided them with the dollar amount and date of the June, 2011 service contract renewal payment from my records. After transferring me to 3 different people within their organization, they finally informed me that they could not honour the terms of the service contract until I could prove that I had renewed it last June.

This is very unprofessional in my opinion; I had been under the mistaken impression that I was covered by a service agreement; what would have happened if I had an unforeseen heating emergency on a cold winter night? If their records had erroneously not been updated to show my service contract renewal, they should have at least sent me a note or email telling me that my contract would be expiring shortly unless they heard from me. The matter could have been sorted out then! A reputable company would have followed up at the time, not have just ignored it until the customer called for service. Remember, I had been renewing the contract every year since 2004. And no, I did NOT inadvertently forget to renew my contract last June; I sent the renewal payment back to their office with their technician, who had inspected our A/C on June 21, 2011.(Canada Post was on strike at the time, so I avoided any potential payment delays by doing this.) One of the 3 customer service people I spoke to on Feb. 29/12 admitted that Boonstra's had been having some major problems with their record-keeping since they moved to Burlington from Waterdown a few months ago. In any case, when asked to prove that I had in fact renewed my contract, I responded that I would much rather just look for another HVAC service provider.

Prior to the above customer service disaster, I had been contemplating ending my involvement with Boonstra’s, because the reliability of service had deteriorated significantly over the past few years. Service appointment no-shows and last-minute re-scheduling of service calls booked weeks in advance had become Standard Procedure for this outfit. According to several of their service technicians, ownership/management changes in this business around four or five years ago led to their downward spiral.

Steer clear; there are plenty of more reputable heating & A/C companies out there.

Boonstra is wonderful! The quote they gave was what it cost. They also were true to their offer of don't pay for a year. And they were fast and efficient when they took out our old furnace and put in the new one! Great service, wonderful people! We are very very happy. I'm a Realtor so I am very picky about whom we choose to service our own home.

my furance was not working. i was recommend by my father to call them. marcel was able to fix my furnance in one hour and the guy that fix the furnance was very pleasant and should me the problem. I would have no problem reccomending them.

The sales guy was very professional and they stood by what they said for installation, time of installation, and was a very positive experience overall. I got about 4000 in rebates out of it too.

Very personable and helpful maintenace employees. Have had this company several times in the past. Always come when they say and are dependable and we feel trustworthy. Would have them again.

My hustand and I were leaving for Hawaii on the early morning February 10, 2012. Our furnace stopped working on the evening of February 7th! We had an emergencey on hour hands! (We had people scheduled to stay at our home to 'house sit' while we were away)
We called Boonstra's One Hour, and expained our problem, and the urgency.
They had a technician our to our home the following morning.
The technician (Mark) did a repair/tune up, and had the furnace 'purring' within short order.
He put us on a one year maintenace program (we're covred now for a year), and the pricing was extremely fair ... actually less than the cost of a normal service call.
We were extremely pleased with the office, the technican, and the cost ... and we were able to get away to Hawaii with piece of mind.
We would (and now DO) highly recommend Boonstra ! They do what they say they'll do!