To: bovik@k.gp.cs.cmu.edu
cc: jackson@mathcs.duq.edu
Subject: furnace repair disrec., rec.
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 13:51:34 -0500
Message-ID: <10003.821299894@maddison>
From: Jeff Jackson <jackson@mathcs.duq.edu>


Hi Harry,

I had trouble recently with Sauer Brothers, who were recommended
earlier in your files, so I thought I'd tell you my story.

We were having an intermittent problem with our furnace and asked
Sauer Brothers to fix it.  Well, their "fix" lasted about three weeks,
then the same symptoms returned.  To make a long story short, I
finally called the furnace manufacturer (Trane), explained the
problem, and learned that Sauer Bros. apparently don't know what
they're doing when it comes to working on newer Trane equipment.
According to Trane, mine is a common problem, and the usual fix is to
clean the flame sensor (which is what my furnace's internal
diagnostics pointed to when the problem recurred), not to replace the
limit switch as Sauer Bros. did (and charged me three times retail
cost for the part to boot).

We also had some problems with Sauer Bros. on an interpersonal level.
I'm not sure how much of the problem was my fault (I can be a bit of a
pain when I'm unhappy about something, as some of you know :-), but I
do know that they were belligerent with my wife with no provocation on
her part.  Suffice it to say that they were not pleasant to deal with
when a problem arose.  They did--after some "discussion" with me--come
out a second time without charge, but they still apparently didn't get the
diagnosis right.  Instead, they wanted to come out a third time, this
time with a charge, and replace another (wrong) part.  It's at this
point I got wise and called Trane.

Anyway, my rec. is: don't use Sauer Bros.  I should note that we
called their Penn Hills number.  I don't know whether all their phone
numbers route to the same office or whether they have different
offices, so it may be just the Penn Hills folks we're unhappy with.

By the way: If you live on this end of town, Trane recommends Arendosh
or Schulteis Bros (they do not recommend Sauer Bros., surprise
surprise).  We're going with Arendosh, who was giving me free advice
over the phone (that meshed exactly with what Trane later said) before
we asked him to come out.  He also charges a very competitive
clean-and-check fee of $35.  Would have used him in the beginning, but
he was busy and Sauer Bros. were available.  Maybe that should have
been a clue!

Jeff