Izzy's Lawn Services Inc.

April 3,2014
 
Dear [redacted]
 
This letter is a rebuttal to Cowles Contracting (complaint ID [redacted].)  Do they seriously expect anyone to believe all of the excuses they came up with in their response back to my allegations?  They admit that they received a service call at the end of December but say they thought my call was about my natural gas stove and they were confused because they don't work on cooking appliances.  If that were truly the case, they would have called me and told me that they don't service cooking appliances rather than send a technician.  They knew the call was about my furnace, especially since I gave them the model number...There was no real confusion from their company.
 
Which leads me to my second point, when Cowles came to my house on January 2, I  was asked to sign a work order for the service to my furnace (please note the work order that Cowles wrote up is for the furnace not the kitchen stove) after the tech allegedly "cleaned, serviced, and thoroughly tested the [redacted] furnace." As I stated, there was no confusion on what they were being called to service.  However, at this point I want to mention that my husband and I were never asked to sign a work order on February 28, 2014.  Isn't that standard protocol?  In my original letter to the Revdex.com I listed the date as March 3, I didn't have a service order to look back on for the actual date, I apologize for that confusion even though Cowles should have provided me with some kind of documentation of their visit on that day.
 
 Cowles stated that I never mentioned the gas smell over the phone but they did acknowledge that I mentioned that there was a gas smell to the technician upon his arrival on January 2nd, thereby indicating that I wanted him to find out why my furnace was giving off such a smell.  Cowles states that "he checked the gas pressure at the gas valve and  found that the pressure measured 3.5 inches of water column which is in accordance with [redacted] manufactures specifications."  Cowles went on to complain that I did not call them back after the January 2 service call...Of course I did not call Cowles about the smell because  the Service Tech told me the gas smell was  the result of a hiccup upon ignition, and the smell was being created from a delay of the burner lighting.  I had been reassured by their tech that everything was fine.  It was my neighbor who phoned it in to NYSEG.  
 
The NYSEG employees,  [redacted], and his supervisor, [redacted],  both told Cowles that the furnace did not look as if it had been cleaned.  But Cowles refutes their comments saying that they are "untrained employees from NYSEG" and that "they had  misinformed our customer causing her stress."  Cowles also blames the camera flash for the dust showing.  Cowles states that the filter should be changed every 3 months or every month if there are pets in the home.  We have no pets, and we do not smoke...We had not reached the 3 month mark when they were called back and they acknowledge that it was dusty. I also want to throw in that Cowles had an excuse for the cover sticking when NYSEG had difficulty removing it, they stated that the gasket around the door is designed to create a seal...How convenient, another excuse.  It may not seem significant in itself, but as the excuses are tallied up it becomes note worthy (We thought she called about her kitchen stove, a signed work order for the first call but not the second, well she didn't say there was a problem on the phone,  the NYSEG employees are untrained,  there is dust because of the flash and the filter needs changing every 1-3 months, the gasket made it stick, and so on.)
 
The excuse that bothers me the most is in regards to Cowles not returning my calls.  They stated "The reason we were not able to return her call until later was because our phone system, run by computer, was out of service. The person who kept our telephone system in good working order committed suicide just the day our phone system went on the fritz. We were in shock as he was also a dear friend. As soon as humanly possible we installed another phone service, ported the same phone number, which took four days. By this time we had already gotten an email from [redacted] with her complaint. The very day our phone service was working we called [redacted]."  While I am sorry for the loss of a life, I find it really hard to believe that there was no way for them to contact me.  In an age of cell phones?  There answering service was able to receive my calls but they couldn't return a call?  They couldn't mail a letter?  Four days?
 
Now back to the smell which was a "hiccup" and "nothing to worry about" according to Cowles' tech.  Cowles states in regards to the guns that "One of the four was not firing." They went on to say "I spoke to [redacted] from NYSEG, he told me that the furnace had five guns and two were not firing. This supports my opinion that NYSEG employees are not trained to be an expert on furnaces as he was mistaken about the furnace itself. But I digress."  Really? Cowles is going to argue the number of guns?  It was a lack of firing, whether it be one or more that resulted in the gas smell.  The fix according to Cowles is to dismantle the entire gun including gas valve, burner, and burner manifold and burner box.  Why wasn't this done on January 2nd?  I had told the tech then that there was a gas smell but his response was to check the gas pressure at the gas valve (see above.)  I noticed Cowles had nothing to say about their tech not having the proper tools for the job (he borrowed tools from my husband.)
 
 
It is excuse after excuse with Cowles, and I feel that I can't trust this company.  I do not feel I should have to pay for the service call on February 28th because the tech should have taken the time to find the gas smell on the first visit.  I had told him about it and he dismissed it.  If Cowles would have responded quickly to my concerns and not billed me for the second visit since it should have been resolved the first time they came to my home, I would have continued to do business with them.  However, there response and lame excuses have me questioning whether they really know what they are doing.  What kind of business points a finger at another business and says they are untrained?  I wonder how NYSEG would respond back to Cowles comments?
 
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]
 
[redacted] 
[redacted]

Cowles & Company Contracting
523 New York Ave
Watertown, NY 13601
Revdex.com
100 Bryant Wood South
Amherst, NY 14228
March 17,2014
Dear [redacted]
This letter is in response to complaint ID [redacted],...

from [redacted] who resides at [redacted] has a long complaint which I will respond to line by line.
In her letter, [redacted] said that she called for a service call the end of December because they smelled gas from "the powervent on our natural gas stove. " This statement is confusing because our company does not work on cooking appliances.  Attached is a copy ofthe message [redacted] left with our answering service in regards to a request for a service call. In the message, she states "there are no problems, she just wants a maintenance check " Also, in the same message she stated she wanted the service to be done on her "furnace" and gave the model number.
Cowles returned her call and scheduled the service for January 2,2014. [redacted] said nothing to the person who scheduled her service call about a gas smell. Please see a copy ofthe work order attached.
When the technician arrived he was met and let in by [redacted] She signed the work order for the requested service on her furnace. Per our technician, [redacted] did mention that she occasionally smelled gas, so the technician checked the gas pressure at the gas valve. He found that the pressure measured 3.5 inches ofwater column which is in accordance with [redacted] manufactures specifications. Our technician cleaned and serviced the [redacted] furnace. As always, the technician thoroughly tested the furnace before he left and found it running correctly.
In the complaint by [redacted], she stated that she continued to smell gas. However, she never called us to let us know this. We did not hear from her again until two months later on February 28,2014. In the complaint, [redacted] stated that "on March 3, I found two men standing next to my house.". Actually, it was February 28,2014 that we returned  to the [redacted] home because ofa call by the homeowner, [redacted] said that two NYSEG employees were at her residence. She writes in her complaint that the two NYSEG employees told her she was in danger and that her house "would have literally exploded."
In her complaint she stated that these two men told her that they would have to shut her gas off.
As it turns out, the two NYSEG employees whose names are [redacted], and his supervisor, [redacted], were the two that she spoke to at her home. The reason I know this is because I have interviewed them in response to [redacted] allegations. What these two men said to me was that there was NEVER any danger that the [redacted] house was going to blow up. I asked them why the gas was not shut off and they both said that there was no reason to do so. I asked them if they told [redacted], per her statement, ifshe had had a chimney instead of powervent her house would have exploded. They both told me no, they never told [redacted] any such thing. Just to set the record straight, [redacted] has a "direct vent". [redacted] and [redacted] both claimed to me that the furnace did not look as if it had been cleaned. They say they had found the cover stuck when they took it off. The unit has a gasket around the door which would have caused the door to stick as it is designed to create a seal. Fortunately for my Company, the homeowner had taken pictures the day the two NYSEG employees were there on February 28, 2014. I have enclosed the pictures as well, and one can plainly see that the furnace is a bit dusty, but clean. Remember that these pictures were taken two months after the furnace had been cleaned. [redacted], the manufacture of their furnace, recommends that filters be changed ever three months, and if there is a pet in the house, filters should be changed once a month. So in two months time dust would show, especially in a flash from a camera situation. It can plainly be seen that the furnace had been cleaned. It is very unfortunate that these two untrained employees from NYSEG misinformed our customer causing her stress.
As far as [redacted] accusing Cowles of not being concerned and servicing another customer first before coming to her house and implying that we did not respond until after the NYSEG employee stopped to speak with my technician. What actually happened was that we had two calls in that neighborhood, [redacted], and one other. I sent two technicians with one truck. One technician dropped the other technician off at the first call before he went on to the [redacted] house. This is when the NYSEG employees saw our truck and stopped. Per my technician, at no time did [redacted] and [redacted] ever use the words emergency, or immediate danger, or any danger to either the [redacted] home or the neighborhood. I do not know how long it was between the times [redacted] called and we arrived at her home. Since there was no danger involved we arrived as soon as we
were able. 
In response to [redacted]'s complaint about our company not returning her call. The reason we were not able to return her call until later was because our phone system, run by computer, was out of service. The person who kept our telephone system in good working order committed suicide just the day our phone system went on the fritz. We were in shock as he was also a dear friend. As soon as humanly possible we installed another phone service, ported the same phone number, which took four days. By this time we had already gotten an email from [redacted] with her complaint. The very day our phone service was working we called [redacted]. 
I have attached the work order for February 28, 2014. The information we were given was that NYSEG said they thought it was a bad gas valve. Whether this information was  given to [redacted] by the NYSEG employees or something she just told the answering  service IS In question. Because when the NYSEG employees did see my technician, he reports that they told him it was one of the guns not firing. Per our technician statement there was a problem that he found with the [redacted] Furnace, not the gas valve, when he was there February 28, 2014. That particular furnace has four "guns" as they are called in the industry. One of the four was not firing. I must interject here that when I spoke to [redacted] from NYSEG, he told me that the furnace had five guns and two were not firing. This supports my opinion that NYSEG employees are not trained to be an expert on furnaces as he was mistaken about the furnace itself. But I digress. 
My technician found one of the four guns not firing. To fix this, the entire gun including gas valve, burner, and burner manifold and burner box must be dismantled. This is not something that is done for a regular cleaning unless there is a problem with one or more of the guns not firing correctly.
If there had been a problem at the time of the cleaning on January 2, 2014, my technician would have performed this task then and there. 
A regular cleaning includes brushing or vacuuming out the furnace, including the blower motor. Visual inspection of the flame sensor and hot surface igniter, changing the filter (s), and making sure all ports are operational and firing. Again, it bears repeating, that  unless there is an issue of one of the guns, or ports not firing we do not dismantle an entire furnace when we perform a cleaning. This would be an unnecessary expense for a homeowner. Please see the enclosed "Get the most out of your equipment" information from the [redacted] manufacturer. Preventive maintenance information on what to clean is exactly what we do. In the case of [redacted] the air conditioning information does not apply. It appears from the photo's there is rust on the furnace, but we are talking about an 11 year old furnace in a damp basement. Of those years Cowles and Company has only cleaned the furnace three times per the [redacted]'s request. So unless someone else performed the cleaning this unit has not had the regular yearly cleaning required by the manufacturer.
Lastly, I want to reiterate that unless the "guns" are not firing, and this can be seen by a visual inspection, we do not dismantle them and clean them for a cleaning. Again, this is not something recommended by the manufacturer as you can see by the information attached. All the guns were firing at the time the service was done January 2, 2014 or my technician would have fixed it then. This technician has worked for me for the past 18 years and I have never had a complaint like this before. I stand behind my technician and as he is an honest reliable man who would never place a family or my company in jeopardy. Based on these facts, both the charge for the furnace cleaning and service call is valid charges. We feel the [redacted]s still owe us $102.36 for our last visit. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]
President

I am writing to let you know that we will be accepting your payment of $324.04, although we do not necessarily agree with the circumstances. We are unaware of any recommendation made by Frank Cowles to specifically have [redacted] install the pump. Our understanding was that perhaps [redacted] wanted to...

save on labor costs, or had asked [redacted] for another reason. As far as the warranty goes, we have not heard anything back at all stating that the parts should be under warranty. If the pump was installed incorrectly, the company holds the right to not provide coverage for those parts. Our company does not control the warranty, as we are not the ones who produce the parts. In the future, we do believe it would be best for you to contact another company for your plumbing and mechanical needs. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Kathleen [redacted] , President/CEO

Izzy's Lawn Care was excellent. I called them, [redacted] came out and met with us and developed a very affordable plan for landscaping. He gave us a very reasonable quote, a timeline for completion and met all expectations and deadlines. He did a beautiful job and even went beyond by mulching areas around our house. This was not part of the original quote. He and his crew cleaned up and left the outside spotless!! I would highly recommend this business!