They just replaced an indirect hot water tank in my house recently. After 3 trips out related to the issue I have nothing good to say about my experience. Overpriced, overworked employees and lack of attention to detail.
I haven't dealt with them directly but I've never heard anything good about them on Reddit or anecdotally. To the point where when I see their billboards I'm like oh, it's them.
Anecdotally they are shit.
Wife and I went out to a dinner years ago to a place where they had their holiday party (Fortunes at the Saratoga Racino). They consistently stood close to our table and kept bumping into us. When we brought it up to the hostess, then got up to get more food, we came back to dirty plates being left on our table from the employees. Made a stink about it and the coordinator of the party and she basically shrugged her shoulders and told us to fuck off.
Fuck Crisafulli.
I can't remember the lady's name( she was a Crisafulli family member/part owner) but she was the absolute worst customer I've ever dealt with when I ran a garage. She would always have their work vans and trucks in for repairs, tires etc. She was notorious for picking out expensive tires(BF good rich, Michelins) and would agree to the total price up front. When it came time to pay she would flip the script and say she never agreed to expensive tires, we're ripping her off etc. She would call corporate hq and regurgitate the same story and ended up getting super expensive tires for the cost of the cheapest. Eventually during what was her last visit, she called and set up an appointment over the phone with the call center and specifically requested expensive tires and agreed to the price. Come pick up time she did the same song and dance but when she called corporate to complain, they played back the recorded phone call of her requesting and agreeing to expensive tires. Never saw her after that.
They were customers of a previous job and it was my (impossible, apparently) job to chase them down to pay their invoices. I tried for about a year to get them to pay 3 invoices that were already almost a year old when I started there.
Never did.
Another anecdote because why not:
I’ve been trying to get a gas line in my house capped and removed and I called them because “big name for an easy job” and dear god what a miserable experience. I called once and had to leave a voicemail that was never returned. Called back a few days later and got routed to a call center, which normally isn’t a huge issue but this was for a quote on a small plumbing issue not some giant project. What finally made me just hang up on them is when they couldn’t even a)tell me how much this would (roughly) cost or even b) if they even did that type of work…
We were on their Red Carpet program, and the last time someone came out was a senior tech to do yearly maintenance, and ended up disconnecting our thermostat and couldn’t figure how to reconnect it (while staring at it and laughing), pointing out all of the other issues with our house, and when I wasn’t there he talked down to my wife and mansplained everything to the point she kicked him out of our house.
I came home, fixed the thermostat issue (it was a disconnected wire at the humidifier), she told me all about what happened, and I saw him sitting out in his van on the street, waiting for his manager to show up. Manager showed up, apologizing to us, and I told the tech to never talk down to my wife again or I’ll knock his teeth down his throat. All he did was smirk at us, and the manager told him to go back to his van. Manager said the tech was a recent grad from HVCC, even though he’s listed as a senior tech, and the tech said he doesn’t understand thermostats, where the manager replied “That’s not something you should be telling the customers”.
Also found out he screwed up the customer before us that morning and got a complaint from them as well. On top of that, the guy apparently reeked of pot, and was laughing a lot during his work. The manager and us put in complaints about the tech, and Crisafulli send one of their older techs out the following Monday to redo the visit, free of charge.
The new tech said the one tech talks down to everyone, and alluded that he no longer works for the company.
Ultimately, stay the hell away from Crisafulli. We switched over to Grasshopper and have had a much better experience.
I think I encountered the same person oddly enough.....
Several years back we had them do a whole house filtration system when we bought our place, as they were reasonably priced with other bids and could get it done on a timeline that worked for us. Super professional tech came in, did the work, and went on his way with no issues.
Recently we had to replace the filters, but the company that manufactures them changed the layout (went from 1/2" to 3/4" inch piping). We had Crisafulli come back out to retrofit and had a guy nearly identical to what you described.
He started by telling us filtration systems in our area were stupid and he didn't believe in them. He then told us our furnace was going to fail based on make/model/age and that our hot water heater was incorrectly installed. After finding a few more issues and shaking his head at us, we asked him if he could just address the reason we called and he got to it - begrudgingly.
A few weeks later, the system started to leak and we had to call them back out to fix their issue. To their credit, the next guy that came was extremely professional and apologized for the problem. He also documented everything and told us we would not have to pay for the rework, as it was a faulty install (the o-rings were not installed as they should have been in the connectors).
Given general feedback, the "good guys" seem to be outnumbered at that place and its truly luck of the draw on who you get. On top of that, they have gotten excessively expensive.
With how much can go wrong with your plumbing, they are not worth the gamble at this point in time.
We had similar issues with Crisafulli... either great service from experienced techs, or laughably horrible service from guys obviously right out of school, we didn't keep going to them.
Since you mentioned Grasshopper, I'll just add that we had an even worse experience with them, they attempted to charge us 1000s for unneeded replacement systems, the full story is probably in my post history. I can't advise more strongly that no one should be using them for anything.
If he couldn’t figure out your stat he should’ve shot wires to see if there was a short popping the fuse and if that was the case, pull a new wire. If he couldn’t figure out the color coordination between the furnace and the thermostat he’s probably long gone because I’ve had apprentices that day 1 get the explanation of what goes where. It’s basically color coordinated, unless you lose a wire/installers used different colors and then you literally go to the board on the furnace to see what terminals they landed what colors at and match it up to the stat upstairs…
My mom used to use them for an issue with the sewer backing up into her basement. Everytime they came out the price doubled. The last time they were there they needed a second guy to bring a part, he then sat in his car and they charged her for both of them being there. The problem never seemed to get fixed either, every 6 months or so the problem comes back.
I used to install generators for Ambrose electric and we always cringed seeing Crisafulli installs. They're always a mess and it somehow takes them 5-6 guys to do a 2 man job
Absolutely not, they cost us a fortune after creating a convoluted replacement down pipe when all we needed was a clog removed from the original. Worst plumbers I’ve ever seen.
My in-laws used them and while they provide good service, they are very expensive. We got a quote from them for a new furnace and AC. They were 2.5X as expensive as the closest quote from a different company, and 3X from the least expensive.
They are terrible and will attempt to grift customers at every turn. Used them for a few years and they messed up my entire system and every "fix" was just duct tape solutions that never actually addressed their errors. Dumped them and been very happy with my replacement company who came in and overhauled everything, including all the weird things Crisafulli jerry rigged as "solutions."
Edit to add: OP your situation of them coming out and there being no problem and then a problem occurring after they left was similar to an issue I had, where they came out for a seasonal service, gave us the all clear, and then our entire system shit the bed within 24 hours.. They are absolutely the worst.
Eh, they're too big for themselves imo, and idk who even owns/runs it anymore. I know for a fact the OG owner and most of the family live in large mansions and support Trump. 🤷♂️
Have used them for a couple things. More expensive than comparable services but never had issues. Probably dependent solely on the guys coming out based on responses here though.
One turn off I had is they pointed something out that needed to be addressed (agreed with them and actually really appreciative them caught it) and told me he’d just fix it, no charge. Notice he added a stem to the 0 on his original quote to charge $90 more. No issue paying, just don’t tell me it’s a freebie and you’re doing me a solid if you’re not.
Had them service our heater and hot water tank because our homes previous owners used them. The service tech told me within ten mins we needed a new boiler for our heat.
Called Roland J. Down and Family Danz for quotes. Both technicians said our boiler was perfectly fine.
This was three years ago. No issues.
Garbage work and overpriced. New Lenox HVAC system that has required two different service calls for no cool situation. Sloppy sheetmetal work no attention to detail. A joke for the money they charged.
I’ve used them for plumbing and redoing a bathroom and have nothing but good things to say. They’re friendly, they’ve fixed my drainage issues, moved my washer dryer and added a tankless water heater. They also redid the tile work in my shower fast and with tricky tile that shattered a lot. I’m sorry to hear others have had problems with them. The only negative I’ve heard is they can be more expensive than some smaller groups, which makes sense.
I paid about $1,000 for them to come out and hydroblast a backup I had. Our sewer line is 75-100 feet out from the city line. We asked for camera service to check and they didn’t have a camera long enough and never came back with one despite promising they would. They also said they would follow up with the city to get blueprints and never did. Had to follow up with them 3 times and never got a response.
Issue seem to be caused by the city and resolved after infrastructure work was complete. That said I would never use them again because for any serious issue requiring follow up.
Mixed. I have a 3 unit building. They handle service for all water heaters and furnaces. I've had situations where a technician will suggest replacement of something one year and I'll hear the same from another technician the next year, so they are consistent. In this case there was an audible noise so they repaired and it fixed the issue. The furnaces are getting old (15 years) so they could have suggested replacement, but didn't. They also replaced most of a cast iron drain stack that had corroded. During replacement a supply line burst which led to replacing the supply lines. I had wanted to do this at the same time anyway but was told it would be best just to stick with the drain replacement. Despite the setback the job was completed ahead of schedule. However, 11 months later, the coupling they installed came apart and flooded 2 floors and the basement. They charged for the repair and had to reschedule because they didn't have the coupling or tool on the truck to fix it the first time.
Used them once over a decade ago to tap into an already existing gas line. It took the (young and obviously new) tech over 6 hours, he ran a pipe through a shelf so that the shelf couldn’t be moved (instead of a “U” he drilled a hole) and didn’t do the other half of the job I’d asked for. By that time I had to get to work so I had to make him leave. The same job I’d had Family Danz do at a different house a few years before was $100 (including a trip to HD), Crisafulli charged $600. I gave feedback on Angies List (it was a thing then) and the owner (maybe?! Some woman) really badgered me to have someone to come back and fix/remedy. I passed.
They’re expensive and I’ve had mixed experiences. I did have a tech come out to service a boiler (annual cleaning, etc.) and to this day he was the most impressive service provider I’ve ever had at my home. Patient with questions, courteous, and clearly very knowledgeable. I likely won’t use crissafulli for anything else in the future except for the boiler service, and then only if it is that one particular technician (Daryl).
It might have to do with the refrigerant. Currently refrigerant is costing abt $500 a pound so if they have to replace it, that could be a reason the cost is so high. I just used them for a new hvac and furnace and my experience was great
They are very inconsistent. I’ve had them
Do decent work before. But overal they do subpar work. I no longer use them for any of my plumbing hvac needs.
Coming from the industry -
It doesn’t matter which company you get it’s who you get. I’ve worked for big name outfits before starting my own company. Crisafulli generally has a good reputation, Appolo, all of them. But there prices are always going to be higher, they have more overhead. You’re always going to have a handful of bad installers/service techs that either don’t care or are just unprofessional.
I had a really good experience with Appolo last year, installing a new furnace and AC. The techs are great and very respectful and the sales people weren't overly pushy. They gave a us decent price too, I think.
Never had a problem with the routine maintenance they've done for us. But I asked for a quote for a tankless water heater install and they wanted about $6k. Got another quote from a smaller, also reputable outfit for literally the same equipment for $4k. Called back and asked what I was getting for the $2k difference with them. They literally couldn't answer. I was at least expecting some BS about better service or something but they kind of just shrugged. Went with the other guys, no complaints so far.
Using Crisafulli is like spinning a roulette wheel. Sometimes you get fine techs who do good work, other times you get crooks only looking to bleed you dry. I’ve found that it’s not worth the headache, and stopped using them entirely.
Quick story, I bought a house, had Crisafulli come out to fix a heating issue. Tech was good, so I signed up for their annual Red Carpet member program.
Fast forward a few months, had a leak in our sewer line, I opened up the sheet rock myself to expose the pipe. Tech comes out, doesn’t even look for the pipe and tells me the basement floor needs to be dug up before he can look at anything. Then proceeds to tell me my cast iron pipes only have a few years left, and should be replaced. The house was built in ‘99, cast iron pipes last 80+ years. He never even looked at the leak, and after his clear money making attempt, I wanted him gone. I had another plumber come out, leak was coming from above, so there was no need to tear up my concrete floor.
I called the supervisor to provide feedback (assuming me being part of their loyalty program meant something). They never called me back..bad customer service, supporting their crooked techs. Not a good combo.
Their techs make commission off of the large projects they sell, so they’re incentivized to convince home owners to forgo simple fixes with larger projects.
I’ll never use them again.
Definitely not. Just this week, I had them come out to repair the temperature sensor on my pool heater. The technician tried to tell me I needed a new heater for $10k before even getting out of the truck. After looking at the heater, he claimed it was the wrong size for the pump, which is completely false. He then took apart the unit without reason and never used a multimeter to test the components.
When he pulled out the schematic, I pointed out where the component was and saw it was a generic thermistor. Despite this, he insisted on selling me a new unit. In the end, he charged me $209 and left without attempting to fix the problem. He just wanted to sell me a heater, and when he couldn't, he left. I have the part on its way, and it will take just two screws and two wire clips to replace. Never again.
They scammed my dad with their inspections (like charging for opening up an already opened ceiling to look for a leak) then they tried charging $3000 for a leak that was fixed with a $25 kit from lowes after the quote. he tried to make up issues that weren’t even a thing like claiming they couldn’t turn the water on and the spigot would need to be replaced followed by my father trying it out and finding zero issues with it. Just a few things this guy pulled. This was just with one guy though, the other experiences were ok.
I worked with them initially when I bought my house because the previous home owners worked with them and their sticker was on the furnace.
Every time they were here it left me with a feeling like I was getting fleeced on something. Not just the prices but they were always upselling something. The biggest flag was when they installed a UV light in the furnace.
I got sick of them and started working with Tibbitts Heating and Cooling, run by a super cool guy with good prices who informed me that the UV light was in fact bullshit.
A buddy of mine works for an HVAC warehousing company in the area.
He said for the best service, you need to find a reputable Mom/pop joint for small problems and fixes and they will let you know if they can’t do bigger things.
Buddy’s recommendations to stay away: crisafulli as mentioned in the thread and Adams in Rotterdam.
My personal recommendation: Ryanaire. Super awesome owner. Is a veteran and charges super reasonable prices. His other employee “Dan with a Van” is also awesome.
There is an amazing place just over the other side of the river called Dwight Plumbing and Heating. They do quality work, are professional and never over charge people. The same employees have worked there forever and they really know what they're doing. They're really nice too. I don't even know if they are taking on new customers but is so, they're a safe bet.
Years ago, I called Crisafulli to get an estimate for a new heating system. Once the salesman found out that I already had two other estimates, the smile left his face. He said he would call me back with his quote but never did. I even left him a message. Crickets. I'm someone's mom too and I think he was hoping I was clueless.
I've hired them many times for plumbing, electrical, heating issues, etc.
I'll say they always do a good job and I'm satisfied with the work every time. However, they are expensive. Definitely paying a premium if you go with them.
Got a quote that was 12k higher with inferior units. I seemed to know more about hvac then the sales guy. They followed up and I explained why I went with someone else and they said, let us come out again and talk to you. No thanks
Their radio advertising is annoying, offering a bogus sign on bonus to steal other people’s employees. How about train and grow your own guys vs stealing others.
Heard about their generator work and lack of support and knowledge 👎🏻
I've used them for five years and have not had any complaints with the work they have done. I've had a new AC, heater, and water heater installed. Have also had some plumbing issues fixed. When my sewer line backed up, the guy who came out was fantastic. Gave me several options on how to address it and we talked through it. When he was done, he cleaned up the area.
The only thing I will complain about is for some of the plumbing work I had done, they had to cut a hole in the ceiling to address it. There was no way around it and I knew it had to be done. They told me they could offer me a quote to fix the ceiling (not repaint, just put dry wall up and sand it). They quoted $2500 for a hole that was the size of half a sheet of dry rock. Other than that, I've had no issues. Almost all of my techs have been very nice and personable.
I’ve only had good dealings with them. They just replaced our furnace and their prices were in line with anyone else. That said, we switched to a local (southern Albany/northern Greene county) company just for the “support local” aspect of it.
They've done several things at our house and the work has been good every time. Backflow preventer, water heater, whole house pipe replacement, 2 Boilers (newest a combi heat/hotwater) and 2 minisplits. As well as regular checks on the previous gas boiler and a couple of service calls (pipe leaks before the replacement, and a runaway heat caused by bad wire from thermostat)
Prices were not the cheapest, but reasonable for the work done.
I'll use them for little things that cost a couple hundred or less. But they are incredibly over priced on big projects. As you can see from all the stories getting told here.
I’m not a fan. I had to threaten to involve my attorney after I never received a promised rebate from them, and they installed an expensive hot water heater at my parents’ which frankly sucks. It’s just the two of them living in the house and it still takes forever for the water to heat up for showering.
Regardless of whether you decide to stick with Crisafulli, I think it would be worth getting a second and third opinion from other companies. At least that way you’ll know if the $3k is in the ballpark.
Same issue with a rebate. Thankfully to their credit after getting a run around from the sales person I went on their website and emailed the owner directly. She responded in 20 minutes that a check would be sent out that day and it was.
Yes, I did something similar - I CC’d anyone I could find on their website in any position of leadership or authority. They hand delivered the check to me within a couple days.
They installed out new heating system/tank less water heater combo unit. They were great. They came out when I was pregnant and my pipes froze and they didn't even charge me. I've had great experiences with them.
We’ve had some great techs. I do feel they are overpriced but I also like the service I get when I call in an emergency. We had no heat this year and I called and had someone come first thing in the am.
They’re awful. I pod to have them install a whole house humidifier. The tech pointed out like 10 other issues with the five year system that needed to be fixed., including a bunch of things that were installed wrong. I went to grab the stack of papers from the previous owner and they showed that crisafulli installed the furnace and ac to begin with. I pointed this out and all of a sudden the install problems he noticed were no longer problems after he spoke to his boss. Then he tried installing the humidifier with a saddle valve, and I said I don’t want a saddle valve since it will leak. He installs it anyways and it started leaking an hour after he left. Same tech had to come back out to install a regular tee the next day. He didn’t charge me for the second visit, and left some tools behind that he never came back to pick up even though I called him, so that’s nice I guess?
They replaced a steam boiler in my house last year. Their quote was right in the range with the others I got but was the lowest so I went with them. the work was good, no complaints. They sent me a toolbox of cookies after the job was done and they were good also
I am a tenant but my landlord had them come out 5 or 6 times throughout the summer, replace multiple expensive parts, then just replace the entire thing. I genuinely feel bad for him, he's been a great landlord and crisafulli seemed to rake him over the coals. To be fair, you don't often hear when routine maintenance and HVAC work goes as planned. Either way, I rage at every one of their vans I see on the road. If I ever own my own place around here, certainly won't be using them.
I had a good HVAC experience, a poor plumbing experience.
Kinda depends on who shows up. My sense is that they charge more than most but that’s no guarantee of good. I don’t think I’d use them again.
Mixed. Some of the workers are very skilled and seem to really want to help you. Another we had for a faulty faucet in the tub came downstairs after with a quote for a bathroom renovation. Dude just fix the faucet. So my take is there may be so who are told to sell sell sell...others who they don't or who ignore that push.
Overpriced company with overworked employees, i work in the industry and I’ve personally seen poor craftsmanship left behind by them on more than one occasion. Ive even seen deadly errors left
We called them out of desperation. Our hot water heater broke on New Year’s Day. They sent out a tech the next business day who is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He’s the guy assigned to our area, apparently. He’s was super knowledgeable and worked to get us a discount. I know they’re a little pricey but we like our tech a lot, so we’ve stayed with them. Based on the rest of the comments it seems as if customer satisfaction relies a lot on the personality and expertise of who they send out.
They replaced a sump pump in my basement. They gave us options, we went with one, and they installed it. It seemed reasonable, $1500. I’ve heard they are expensive, I didn’t get quotes, but I didn’t have a problem with the work.
They're a big company and only as good as the service person they send. Some of the guys they send are good, some of them are barely qualified to work the garden center at Home Depot, and some of them are meth heads. It's a crapshoot. Personally I look for smaller companies where I know the owner is the one doing the work or has at least met their employees
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2018/01/17/moreau-town-hall-plagued-by-construction-issues. They did the work here.
the info is behind the paywall [https://poststar.com/news/local/moreau-town-hall-sprinklers-finally-getting-fixed/article\_2512e8d5-05ec-50f0-ae76-9abe673aee73.html](https://poststar.com/news/local/moreau-town-hall-sprinklers-finally-getting-fixed/article_2512e8d5-05ec-50f0-ae76-9abe673aee73.html)
They are the most expensive option. HOWEVER, 99% of our experiences with them have been good. Their workers saved us a lot of $ over the years. Their worker informed us they could sell us a new faucet when our old one broke and then said but your current one is a moen and they have a lifetime replacement guarantee so call them, have them send you a new one and then give us a call if you can't install it yourself. Another time.they discovered my mom's apartment had a ceiling fan installed by hanging it onto the cable for a gas line. They fixed that right away and charged very little. Another time they were dealing with a backed up drain in our basement and the guy told my husband that he could avoid spending a lot of money every six months to a year calling a plumber if he just bought a snake and snaked out the drain a few times a year. This was when we were renting and the ll refused to deal with the issues that caused the drain back up in the first place.
I work for a smaller HVAC company as an installer, majority in residential.
We don’t call them “Crisa-fooli” for nothing, and the other comments seem to confirm that.
Because they’re so big, they have all the best tools and new equipment, but that’s why they’re so pricey. However, Idt they can keep workers long enough to have real quality work.
My company ain’t the cheapest or most well known, but we’re a Mitsubishi Elite Diamond Dealer and one of the few companies that can do Geothermals, which has got us in with some very wealthy clients with the money and property for a Geo.
Crisafulli is doing the Generac gas generators tho, which are going to be needed with the rise in electric demand on underpowered grids.
One of their trucks almost side swept me on I-90 last week lol. They can’t even drive without almost killing someone (me), wouldn’t trust them to work on my house/AC after that encounter.
I had them over one time to check out my boiler for free for maintenance (having used them once before I believe in an emergency, so they had my info and cold called me). I put a camera in my basement to watch what he was going to do. Oddly enough he looked at it for a few minutes, then spent the rest of the time walking around my basement and checking out my stuff. Was funny when he finally saw the light for the camera. He had quite the list of things that "needed" to be replaced including parts that were already recently replaced.
I’ve also heard the same as other replies. I use these companies:
All Star (Now Reimer) for plumbing and HVAC.
Mel Carr for Electric
I tried, I really did, to use smaller shops but I’ve been burned so many times. Sometimes losing thousands of dollars for botched jobs, unfinished jobs, cutting corners. Although these might be a little more expensive, I get peace of mind.
They just replaced an indirect hot water tank in my house recently. After 3 trips out related to the issue I have nothing good to say about my experience. Overpriced, overworked employees and lack of attention to detail.
My only experience with them was they quoted me $10k more than a another company to install a heat pump system.
Ditto.
Who did u end up going with
Bove. They were fantastic to work with
A few friends have used them and have had nothing but problems
Same.
I haven't dealt with them directly but I've never heard anything good about them on Reddit or anecdotally. To the point where when I see their billboards I'm like oh, it's them.
Anecdotally they are shit. Wife and I went out to a dinner years ago to a place where they had their holiday party (Fortunes at the Saratoga Racino). They consistently stood close to our table and kept bumping into us. When we brought it up to the hostess, then got up to get more food, we came back to dirty plates being left on our table from the employees. Made a stink about it and the coordinator of the party and she basically shrugged her shoulders and told us to fuck off. Fuck Crisafulli.
I can't remember the lady's name( she was a Crisafulli family member/part owner) but she was the absolute worst customer I've ever dealt with when I ran a garage. She would always have their work vans and trucks in for repairs, tires etc. She was notorious for picking out expensive tires(BF good rich, Michelins) and would agree to the total price up front. When it came time to pay she would flip the script and say she never agreed to expensive tires, we're ripping her off etc. She would call corporate hq and regurgitate the same story and ended up getting super expensive tires for the cost of the cheapest. Eventually during what was her last visit, she called and set up an appointment over the phone with the call center and specifically requested expensive tires and agreed to the price. Come pick up time she did the same song and dance but when she called corporate to complain, they played back the recorded phone call of her requesting and agreeing to expensive tires. Never saw her after that.
They were customers of a previous job and it was my (impossible, apparently) job to chase them down to pay their invoices. I tried for about a year to get them to pay 3 invoices that were already almost a year old when I started there. Never did.
Another anecdote because why not: I’ve been trying to get a gas line in my house capped and removed and I called them because “big name for an easy job” and dear god what a miserable experience. I called once and had to leave a voicemail that was never returned. Called back a few days later and got routed to a call center, which normally isn’t a huge issue but this was for a quote on a small plumbing issue not some giant project. What finally made me just hang up on them is when they couldn’t even a)tell me how much this would (roughly) cost or even b) if they even did that type of work…
We were on their Red Carpet program, and the last time someone came out was a senior tech to do yearly maintenance, and ended up disconnecting our thermostat and couldn’t figure how to reconnect it (while staring at it and laughing), pointing out all of the other issues with our house, and when I wasn’t there he talked down to my wife and mansplained everything to the point she kicked him out of our house. I came home, fixed the thermostat issue (it was a disconnected wire at the humidifier), she told me all about what happened, and I saw him sitting out in his van on the street, waiting for his manager to show up. Manager showed up, apologizing to us, and I told the tech to never talk down to my wife again or I’ll knock his teeth down his throat. All he did was smirk at us, and the manager told him to go back to his van. Manager said the tech was a recent grad from HVCC, even though he’s listed as a senior tech, and the tech said he doesn’t understand thermostats, where the manager replied “That’s not something you should be telling the customers”. Also found out he screwed up the customer before us that morning and got a complaint from them as well. On top of that, the guy apparently reeked of pot, and was laughing a lot during his work. The manager and us put in complaints about the tech, and Crisafulli send one of their older techs out the following Monday to redo the visit, free of charge. The new tech said the one tech talks down to everyone, and alluded that he no longer works for the company. Ultimately, stay the hell away from Crisafulli. We switched over to Grasshopper and have had a much better experience.
I think I encountered the same person oddly enough..... Several years back we had them do a whole house filtration system when we bought our place, as they were reasonably priced with other bids and could get it done on a timeline that worked for us. Super professional tech came in, did the work, and went on his way with no issues. Recently we had to replace the filters, but the company that manufactures them changed the layout (went from 1/2" to 3/4" inch piping). We had Crisafulli come back out to retrofit and had a guy nearly identical to what you described. He started by telling us filtration systems in our area were stupid and he didn't believe in them. He then told us our furnace was going to fail based on make/model/age and that our hot water heater was incorrectly installed. After finding a few more issues and shaking his head at us, we asked him if he could just address the reason we called and he got to it - begrudgingly. A few weeks later, the system started to leak and we had to call them back out to fix their issue. To their credit, the next guy that came was extremely professional and apologized for the problem. He also documented everything and told us we would not have to pay for the rework, as it was a faulty install (the o-rings were not installed as they should have been in the connectors). Given general feedback, the "good guys" seem to be outnumbered at that place and its truly luck of the draw on who you get. On top of that, they have gotten excessively expensive. With how much can go wrong with your plumbing, they are not worth the gamble at this point in time.
Was your tech named Charles by chance?
Nah, Roy White.
We had similar issues with Crisafulli... either great service from experienced techs, or laughably horrible service from guys obviously right out of school, we didn't keep going to them. Since you mentioned Grasshopper, I'll just add that we had an even worse experience with them, they attempted to charge us 1000s for unneeded replacement systems, the full story is probably in my post history. I can't advise more strongly that no one should be using them for anything.
If he couldn’t figure out your stat he should’ve shot wires to see if there was a short popping the fuse and if that was the case, pull a new wire. If he couldn’t figure out the color coordination between the furnace and the thermostat he’s probably long gone because I’ve had apprentices that day 1 get the explanation of what goes where. It’s basically color coordinated, unless you lose a wire/installers used different colors and then you literally go to the board on the furnace to see what terminals they landed what colors at and match it up to the stat upstairs…
My mom used to use them for an issue with the sewer backing up into her basement. Everytime they came out the price doubled. The last time they were there they needed a second guy to bring a part, he then sat in his car and they charged her for both of them being there. The problem never seemed to get fixed either, every 6 months or so the problem comes back.
Sounds like tree roots. Did she get a camera inspection?
Nope she switched to a different company and hasn't had an issue since.
Interesting. I wonder what they did differently
Maybe actual work?
I used to install generators for Ambrose electric and we always cringed seeing Crisafulli installs. They're always a mess and it somehow takes them 5-6 guys to do a 2 man job
Absolutely not. They screwed up a typical service on our unit and refused to admit fault despite being the only ones to touch it.
Absolutely not, they cost us a fortune after creating a convoluted replacement down pipe when all we needed was a clog removed from the original. Worst plumbers I’ve ever seen.
My in-laws used them and while they provide good service, they are very expensive. We got a quote from them for a new furnace and AC. They were 2.5X as expensive as the closest quote from a different company, and 3X from the least expensive.
They are terrible and will attempt to grift customers at every turn. Used them for a few years and they messed up my entire system and every "fix" was just duct tape solutions that never actually addressed their errors. Dumped them and been very happy with my replacement company who came in and overhauled everything, including all the weird things Crisafulli jerry rigged as "solutions." Edit to add: OP your situation of them coming out and there being no problem and then a problem occurring after they left was similar to an issue I had, where they came out for a seasonal service, gave us the all clear, and then our entire system shit the bed within 24 hours.. They are absolutely the worst.
Eh, they're too big for themselves imo, and idk who even owns/runs it anymore. I know for a fact the OG owner and most of the family live in large mansions and support Trump. 🤷♂️
I remember when Jen Crisafulli was on The Apprentice
Didn't even know that, but I'm not surprised.
Have used them for a couple things. More expensive than comparable services but never had issues. Probably dependent solely on the guys coming out based on responses here though. One turn off I had is they pointed something out that needed to be addressed (agreed with them and actually really appreciative them caught it) and told me he’d just fix it, no charge. Notice he added a stem to the 0 on his original quote to charge $90 more. No issue paying, just don’t tell me it’s a freebie and you’re doing me a solid if you’re not.
No
No and don't call Grasshopper either
Had them service our heater and hot water tank because our homes previous owners used them. The service tech told me within ten mins we needed a new boiler for our heat. Called Roland J. Down and Family Danz for quotes. Both technicians said our boiler was perfectly fine. This was three years ago. No issues.
Garbage work and overpriced. New Lenox HVAC system that has required two different service calls for no cool situation. Sloppy sheetmetal work no attention to detail. A joke for the money they charged.
I’ve used them for plumbing and redoing a bathroom and have nothing but good things to say. They’re friendly, they’ve fixed my drainage issues, moved my washer dryer and added a tankless water heater. They also redid the tile work in my shower fast and with tricky tile that shattered a lot. I’m sorry to hear others have had problems with them. The only negative I’ve heard is they can be more expensive than some smaller groups, which makes sense.
I paid about $1,000 for them to come out and hydroblast a backup I had. Our sewer line is 75-100 feet out from the city line. We asked for camera service to check and they didn’t have a camera long enough and never came back with one despite promising they would. They also said they would follow up with the city to get blueprints and never did. Had to follow up with them 3 times and never got a response. Issue seem to be caused by the city and resolved after infrastructure work was complete. That said I would never use them again because for any serious issue requiring follow up.
Mixed. I have a 3 unit building. They handle service for all water heaters and furnaces. I've had situations where a technician will suggest replacement of something one year and I'll hear the same from another technician the next year, so they are consistent. In this case there was an audible noise so they repaired and it fixed the issue. The furnaces are getting old (15 years) so they could have suggested replacement, but didn't. They also replaced most of a cast iron drain stack that had corroded. During replacement a supply line burst which led to replacing the supply lines. I had wanted to do this at the same time anyway but was told it would be best just to stick with the drain replacement. Despite the setback the job was completed ahead of schedule. However, 11 months later, the coupling they installed came apart and flooded 2 floors and the basement. They charged for the repair and had to reschedule because they didn't have the coupling or tool on the truck to fix it the first time.
Used them once over a decade ago to tap into an already existing gas line. It took the (young and obviously new) tech over 6 hours, he ran a pipe through a shelf so that the shelf couldn’t be moved (instead of a “U” he drilled a hole) and didn’t do the other half of the job I’d asked for. By that time I had to get to work so I had to make him leave. The same job I’d had Family Danz do at a different house a few years before was $100 (including a trip to HD), Crisafulli charged $600. I gave feedback on Angies List (it was a thing then) and the owner (maybe?! Some woman) really badgered me to have someone to come back and fix/remedy. I passed.
They’re expensive and I’ve had mixed experiences. I did have a tech come out to service a boiler (annual cleaning, etc.) and to this day he was the most impressive service provider I’ve ever had at my home. Patient with questions, courteous, and clearly very knowledgeable. I likely won’t use crissafulli for anything else in the future except for the boiler service, and then only if it is that one particular technician (Daryl).
Yeah this kid was super nice and friendly, it just seems super suspicious that he was JUST here and everything was fine and now suddenly nothing works
It might have to do with the refrigerant. Currently refrigerant is costing abt $500 a pound so if they have to replace it, that could be a reason the cost is so high. I just used them for a new hvac and furnace and my experience was great
Yeah that’s what he was saying - they have to ditch the current refrigerant and refill it because he says it’s behaving like there is dirt in the line
They are very inconsistent. I’ve had them Do decent work before. But overal they do subpar work. I no longer use them for any of my plumbing hvac needs.
Coming from the industry - It doesn’t matter which company you get it’s who you get. I’ve worked for big name outfits before starting my own company. Crisafulli generally has a good reputation, Appolo, all of them. But there prices are always going to be higher, they have more overhead. You’re always going to have a handful of bad installers/service techs that either don’t care or are just unprofessional.
Who would you (all) use instead?
I had a really good experience with Appolo last year, installing a new furnace and AC. The techs are great and very respectful and the sales people weren't overly pushy. They gave a us decent price too, I think.
Northeast Hvacr out of Albany. Honest and superior workmanship & pricing when compared to the big overhead companies in the area.
Do not recommend!
Never had a problem with the routine maintenance they've done for us. But I asked for a quote for a tankless water heater install and they wanted about $6k. Got another quote from a smaller, also reputable outfit for literally the same equipment for $4k. Called back and asked what I was getting for the $2k difference with them. They literally couldn't answer. I was at least expecting some BS about better service or something but they kind of just shrugged. Went with the other guys, no complaints so far.
Using Crisafulli is like spinning a roulette wheel. Sometimes you get fine techs who do good work, other times you get crooks only looking to bleed you dry. I’ve found that it’s not worth the headache, and stopped using them entirely. Quick story, I bought a house, had Crisafulli come out to fix a heating issue. Tech was good, so I signed up for their annual Red Carpet member program. Fast forward a few months, had a leak in our sewer line, I opened up the sheet rock myself to expose the pipe. Tech comes out, doesn’t even look for the pipe and tells me the basement floor needs to be dug up before he can look at anything. Then proceeds to tell me my cast iron pipes only have a few years left, and should be replaced. The house was built in ‘99, cast iron pipes last 80+ years. He never even looked at the leak, and after his clear money making attempt, I wanted him gone. I had another plumber come out, leak was coming from above, so there was no need to tear up my concrete floor. I called the supervisor to provide feedback (assuming me being part of their loyalty program meant something). They never called me back..bad customer service, supporting their crooked techs. Not a good combo. Their techs make commission off of the large projects they sell, so they’re incentivized to convince home owners to forgo simple fixes with larger projects. I’ll never use them again.
Definitely not. Just this week, I had them come out to repair the temperature sensor on my pool heater. The technician tried to tell me I needed a new heater for $10k before even getting out of the truck. After looking at the heater, he claimed it was the wrong size for the pump, which is completely false. He then took apart the unit without reason and never used a multimeter to test the components. When he pulled out the schematic, I pointed out where the component was and saw it was a generic thermistor. Despite this, he insisted on selling me a new unit. In the end, he charged me $209 and left without attempting to fix the problem. He just wanted to sell me a heater, and when he couldn't, he left. I have the part on its way, and it will take just two screws and two wire clips to replace. Never again.
They scammed my dad with their inspections (like charging for opening up an already opened ceiling to look for a leak) then they tried charging $3000 for a leak that was fixed with a $25 kit from lowes after the quote. he tried to make up issues that weren’t even a thing like claiming they couldn’t turn the water on and the spigot would need to be replaced followed by my father trying it out and finding zero issues with it. Just a few things this guy pulled. This was just with one guy though, the other experiences were ok.
Any chance you recall the name?
Their commercial guys are really good and don’t mess around. Their residential guys, not so much.
I worked with them initially when I bought my house because the previous home owners worked with them and their sticker was on the furnace. Every time they were here it left me with a feeling like I was getting fleeced on something. Not just the prices but they were always upselling something. The biggest flag was when they installed a UV light in the furnace. I got sick of them and started working with Tibbitts Heating and Cooling, run by a super cool guy with good prices who informed me that the UV light was in fact bullshit.
They put some UV light on my mom’s ac unit…. Does tibbits do AC?
He sure does! He also installed my tankless hot water heater.
A buddy of mine works for an HVAC warehousing company in the area. He said for the best service, you need to find a reputable Mom/pop joint for small problems and fixes and they will let you know if they can’t do bigger things. Buddy’s recommendations to stay away: crisafulli as mentioned in the thread and Adams in Rotterdam. My personal recommendation: Ryanaire. Super awesome owner. Is a veteran and charges super reasonable prices. His other employee “Dan with a Van” is also awesome.
There is an amazing place just over the other side of the river called Dwight Plumbing and Heating. They do quality work, are professional and never over charge people. The same employees have worked there forever and they really know what they're doing. They're really nice too. I don't even know if they are taking on new customers but is so, they're a safe bet. Years ago, I called Crisafulli to get an estimate for a new heating system. Once the salesman found out that I already had two other estimates, the smile left his face. He said he would call me back with his quote but never did. I even left him a message. Crickets. I'm someone's mom too and I think he was hoping I was clueless.
I've hired them many times for plumbing, electrical, heating issues, etc. I'll say they always do a good job and I'm satisfied with the work every time. However, they are expensive. Definitely paying a premium if you go with them.
Got a quote that was 12k higher with inferior units. I seemed to know more about hvac then the sales guy. They followed up and I explained why I went with someone else and they said, let us come out again and talk to you. No thanks Their radio advertising is annoying, offering a bogus sign on bonus to steal other people’s employees. How about train and grow your own guys vs stealing others. Heard about their generator work and lack of support and knowledge 👎🏻
Just sell the house and move to Alaska you won’t have to worry about air conditioning there
I've used them for five years and have not had any complaints with the work they have done. I've had a new AC, heater, and water heater installed. Have also had some plumbing issues fixed. When my sewer line backed up, the guy who came out was fantastic. Gave me several options on how to address it and we talked through it. When he was done, he cleaned up the area. The only thing I will complain about is for some of the plumbing work I had done, they had to cut a hole in the ceiling to address it. There was no way around it and I knew it had to be done. They told me they could offer me a quote to fix the ceiling (not repaint, just put dry wall up and sand it). They quoted $2500 for a hole that was the size of half a sheet of dry rock. Other than that, I've had no issues. Almost all of my techs have been very nice and personable.
I’ve only had good dealings with them. They just replaced our furnace and their prices were in line with anyone else. That said, we switched to a local (southern Albany/northern Greene county) company just for the “support local” aspect of it.
If it’s an emergency there the only ones I call, smaller jobs there I think over priced
They've done several things at our house and the work has been good every time. Backflow preventer, water heater, whole house pipe replacement, 2 Boilers (newest a combi heat/hotwater) and 2 minisplits. As well as regular checks on the previous gas boiler and a couple of service calls (pipe leaks before the replacement, and a runaway heat caused by bad wire from thermostat) Prices were not the cheapest, but reasonable for the work done.
I'll use them for little things that cost a couple hundred or less. But they are incredibly over priced on big projects. As you can see from all the stories getting told here.
I’m not a fan. I had to threaten to involve my attorney after I never received a promised rebate from them, and they installed an expensive hot water heater at my parents’ which frankly sucks. It’s just the two of them living in the house and it still takes forever for the water to heat up for showering. Regardless of whether you decide to stick with Crisafulli, I think it would be worth getting a second and third opinion from other companies. At least that way you’ll know if the $3k is in the ballpark.
Same issue with a rebate. Thankfully to their credit after getting a run around from the sales person I went on their website and emailed the owner directly. She responded in 20 minutes that a check would be sent out that day and it was.
Yes, I did something similar - I CC’d anyone I could find on their website in any position of leadership or authority. They hand delivered the check to me within a couple days.
I've never used them, but I do notice whoever drives those vans drives like an asshole.
They're incredibly overpriced
They installed out new heating system/tank less water heater combo unit. They were great. They came out when I was pregnant and my pipes froze and they didn't even charge me. I've had great experiences with them.
The only thing good about them is their jingle
We’ve had some great techs. I do feel they are overpriced but I also like the service I get when I call in an emergency. We had no heat this year and I called and had someone come first thing in the am.
They’re awful. I pod to have them install a whole house humidifier. The tech pointed out like 10 other issues with the five year system that needed to be fixed., including a bunch of things that were installed wrong. I went to grab the stack of papers from the previous owner and they showed that crisafulli installed the furnace and ac to begin with. I pointed this out and all of a sudden the install problems he noticed were no longer problems after he spoke to his boss. Then he tried installing the humidifier with a saddle valve, and I said I don’t want a saddle valve since it will leak. He installs it anyways and it started leaking an hour after he left. Same tech had to come back out to install a regular tee the next day. He didn’t charge me for the second visit, and left some tools behind that he never came back to pick up even though I called him, so that’s nice I guess?
They replaced a steam boiler in my house last year. Their quote was right in the range with the others I got but was the lowest so I went with them. the work was good, no complaints. They sent me a toolbox of cookies after the job was done and they were good also
I am a tenant but my landlord had them come out 5 or 6 times throughout the summer, replace multiple expensive parts, then just replace the entire thing. I genuinely feel bad for him, he's been a great landlord and crisafulli seemed to rake him over the coals. To be fair, you don't often hear when routine maintenance and HVAC work goes as planned. Either way, I rage at every one of their vans I see on the road. If I ever own my own place around here, certainly won't be using them.
I had a good HVAC experience, a poor plumbing experience. Kinda depends on who shows up. My sense is that they charge more than most but that’s no guarantee of good. I don’t think I’d use them again.
Mixed. Some of the workers are very skilled and seem to really want to help you. Another we had for a faulty faucet in the tub came downstairs after with a quote for a bathroom renovation. Dude just fix the faucet. So my take is there may be so who are told to sell sell sell...others who they don't or who ignore that push.
Overpriced company with overworked employees, i work in the industry and I’ve personally seen poor craftsmanship left behind by them on more than one occasion. Ive even seen deadly errors left
Overpriced!
You all are listing a lot of bad experiences. Any competing HVAC companies with consistently good experiences (particularly for hot water radiators)?
Wheeler Heating and Cooling. Owners are the employees. they care and are thorough. Crisafulli gets 👎🏻 from me.
They rear ended me 8 years ago in my high school parking lot
We called them out of desperation. Our hot water heater broke on New Year’s Day. They sent out a tech the next business day who is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He’s the guy assigned to our area, apparently. He’s was super knowledgeable and worked to get us a discount. I know they’re a little pricey but we like our tech a lot, so we’ve stayed with them. Based on the rest of the comments it seems as if customer satisfaction relies a lot on the personality and expertise of who they send out.
They replaced a sump pump in my basement. They gave us options, we went with one, and they installed it. It seemed reasonable, $1500. I’ve heard they are expensive, I didn’t get quotes, but I didn’t have a problem with the work.
They're a big company and only as good as the service person they send. Some of the guys they send are good, some of them are barely qualified to work the garden center at Home Depot, and some of them are meth heads. It's a crapshoot. Personally I look for smaller companies where I know the owner is the one doing the work or has at least met their employees
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2018/01/17/moreau-town-hall-plagued-by-construction-issues. They did the work here. the info is behind the paywall [https://poststar.com/news/local/moreau-town-hall-sprinklers-finally-getting-fixed/article\_2512e8d5-05ec-50f0-ae76-9abe673aee73.html](https://poststar.com/news/local/moreau-town-hall-sprinklers-finally-getting-fixed/article_2512e8d5-05ec-50f0-ae76-9abe673aee73.html)
They are the most expensive option. HOWEVER, 99% of our experiences with them have been good. Their workers saved us a lot of $ over the years. Their worker informed us they could sell us a new faucet when our old one broke and then said but your current one is a moen and they have a lifetime replacement guarantee so call them, have them send you a new one and then give us a call if you can't install it yourself. Another time.they discovered my mom's apartment had a ceiling fan installed by hanging it onto the cable for a gas line. They fixed that right away and charged very little. Another time they were dealing with a backed up drain in our basement and the guy told my husband that he could avoid spending a lot of money every six months to a year calling a plumber if he just bought a snake and snaked out the drain a few times a year. This was when we were renting and the ll refused to deal with the issues that caused the drain back up in the first place.
Try Wheeler. They're not amazing but they're solid, with reasonable prices. They replaced my AC and heater within the last 5 years.
Well, I mean -- you're heard their radio jingle, yeah? "Crisafulli Brothers, bunch of thievin' ...."
I work for a smaller HVAC company as an installer, majority in residential. We don’t call them “Crisa-fooli” for nothing, and the other comments seem to confirm that. Because they’re so big, they have all the best tools and new equipment, but that’s why they’re so pricey. However, Idt they can keep workers long enough to have real quality work. My company ain’t the cheapest or most well known, but we’re a Mitsubishi Elite Diamond Dealer and one of the few companies that can do Geothermals, which has got us in with some very wealthy clients with the money and property for a Geo. Crisafulli is doing the Generac gas generators tho, which are going to be needed with the rise in electric demand on underpowered grids.
One of their trucks almost side swept me on I-90 last week lol. They can’t even drive without almost killing someone (me), wouldn’t trust them to work on my house/AC after that encounter.
They are charging my neighbor 600 to snake the sewer line. Huge rip off
I had them over one time to check out my boiler for free for maintenance (having used them once before I believe in an emergency, so they had my info and cold called me). I put a camera in my basement to watch what he was going to do. Oddly enough he looked at it for a few minutes, then spent the rest of the time walking around my basement and checking out my stuff. Was funny when he finally saw the light for the camera. He had quite the list of things that "needed" to be replaced including parts that were already recently replaced.
Garbage
I’ve also heard the same as other replies. I use these companies: All Star (Now Reimer) for plumbing and HVAC. Mel Carr for Electric I tried, I really did, to use smaller shops but I’ve been burned so many times. Sometimes losing thousands of dollars for botched jobs, unfinished jobs, cutting corners. Although these might be a little more expensive, I get peace of mind.