McCarthy Services

Kevin W. just saved a customer for McCarthy Services. I had been extremely dissatisfied with their service until this visit. Kevin took the time during a preventative maintenance call to walk me through every component of my HVAC system, how and why he was servicing it, and very valuable tips that I will use to keep things running smoothly between visits.
If not for the efforts, professionalism, and expertise of this technician, I would never use McCarthy again. Moving forward, I will only use him for service on my systems.

Pro: Friendly and professional technicians
Cons: Horrible and disorganized customer service department, inability to keep appointments, technician’s ability to troubleshoot after initial installation.
Detailed Experience:
Our experience with McCarthy Services has been stressful, to say the least. It’s been almost a year since our water heater starting having issues. McCarthy suggested installing a whole new water heater, which we opted to do because we were soon going to be renting out our apartment, so figured I’d be best to take care of the issue now rather than later. At first the installation was successful, but soon after a loud vibration sound started coming from the heater. We called them back and since the installation was under warranty, they had no issue fixing it for free; however, two main problems arose. First, getting them to call the right phone number was (and remains) a struggle. On almost every occasion, despite our clarifying which number needed to be called before hand (since certain numbers were inaccessible at different times of day), the wrong number was called. This was a huge inconvenience, since we often changed our work schedules to be home during the appointment window. The problem has continued with our tenant, so there must be some really poor organization in their customer service department, which also often seemed annoyed with us when we brought up this problem to them.
Second, when we finally we able to coordinate their visits, the technicians, while very friendly and professional, have not been able to repair the issue. Twice they thought it was fixed, but soon after the visit the vibration and loud sound returned, totally stumping McCarthy’s technicians. Well after almost a year, it’s sad to say that we are still trying to resolve the issue. We feel horrible for my tenants who have to deal with the loud noise and vibration constantly since our water heater closet is in the main living area. We will need to continue to work with McCarthy to resolve this issue, since it’s under warranty, but moving forward we’ll go with another company. We can’t stress it enough that this experience has been absolutely horrible.

I was not able to use them since it took more than normal to ask what I needed. Started off the conversation getting my details (address, phone, name, and where I heard about them) and then about 5 minutes later ask about what I was needing.
Started to explain what I needed. I guess the only thing they heard was fan coil, and not the whole unit needed to be replaced.
I spent over 5 minutes trying to get my information to them.
I did not want to take the chance of continuing with them if my FIRST experience was like this.
Recommend having someone with some proper customer service experience answer phone calls and make people feel good about trying to trust a company to take care of their home issues. Sound happy on the phone!

Robby S. was extremely courteous and did a great job on our maintenance check. Totally have had a great experience with all the service we have received from McCarthy. Definitely recommend them and Robby as well.

Very honest and trustworthy management. Brian S. is also absolutely amazing and helpful. Great customer service as well.

We had to replace a water heater in my fiancé’s condo. The installation was difficult and we weren’t thrilled with the first attempt at installing the water heater. But Timothy T. definitely restored our confidence in McCarthy. He showed up ahead of schedule and got the new water heater working in little time at all. He even stuck around after the water heater’s power was hooked up to make sure that we actually had hot water (which involved him hanging around an extra forty minutes given how water heaters work).
With any large company, technicians can be hit or miss. In Timothy’s case, we were definitely happy with the process. Next time we call McCarthy’s, we’ll try to request him specifically.

Used them for my HVAC and was great service. Used them for Pluming and CRAP service… Left work early and withing 45 mins of window got call to reschedule. Okay no problem. Next week leave early for and AGAIN call to Reschedule. I said no. They said Ok we will send a Plumber. I miss the Plumbers call to see if I’m available. THEN I get a call I have to reschedule AGAIN.
Why didn’t the PLUMBER just SHOW UP since I already had the APPT and CONFIRMED I was Already Here after they Tried to RESCHEDULE AGAIN.
LEFT WORK EARLY 2 DAYS AND STILL NO WORK DONE. LOL plus they offer $ 50 off for the RESCHEDULE but they were already dong a promotion for the $ 50 off.

Excellent plumbing job done by Mr. Randall D. He replaced the hot/​cold water valves beneath the sink and installed a new kitchen sink faucet. He was very knowledgeable, professional, honest, conscientious, and finished a difficult job in an impressively quick turnaround. I found him to be a breath of fresh air with his sincerity and excellent job. I am lucky McCarthy Services chose him to perform the plumbing project and appreciate that he left my sink area clean, often time, when you have plumbing jobs, there is a big mess to clean up, but with Mr. Randall D., I have a beautiful new faucet to enjoy thanks to him.

This summer, the upstairs air conditioner in my townhouse started having trouble. I had to call McCarthy twice, and they did all that they could, but eventually the system just died. I bought my new air conditioner through them and the installation was awesome. The guys not only showed up on time – they were at my house early! They took the old unit away, were careful about not making a mess, and explained everything they had done in terms that I, a non-​mechanical person, could understand. Plus, they gave me a great deal and a credit for the second time they came out to try to save the original system. I hope to not have to see these guys for a while, but if anything else goes wrong, I know who I’m calling.

I experienced problems with my hot water heater. I called McCarthy and they came the same day to diagnose the problem. No issues with that.
I called the following week to schedule the repair and was given Wednesday as the day they would come to repair. On Wednesday, I was called by them to reschedule to a later time due to the technician being held up. I agreed. However, later, I decided to reschedule to another day because the time shift was no longer working for me.
Thursday, I called several times to check the status and they kept telling me the tech was coming. They said he was held up on an emergency basement flood call, but I was next… he was coming. Then later, they told me well… it might be better to reschedule to the next day.
Friday, I called to check the status and I was told that the technician had the wrong part.
Time-​out.
How was he ever going to repair the HWH with the wrong part???
When I called them out for lying to me about ever making the repair, the woman proceeded to tell me that *she* had not been telling me anything for 3 days because I had not been talking to *her*. That is an unacceptable customer service response. as if I am to believe they don’t have CRM software where they note every conversation.
So, I canceled the whole thing. I am hopeful that FH Furr will do the job much better!

DIsgusting company!
Made an appointment and was very specific what I needed done, they gave a 4 hour window and after that was over I had to call to find out where the tech was, Seriously he didn’t know at some point he wasn’t going to be on time! Arriving an hour and half later he says there is a trip charge as well as the fee for the job? what if your charging a trip charge legally you must tell me in advance! so they doubled the original charge, said I had problems I didn’t! they need to get their act together! shame on them for wasting 6 hours of my life I can never get back!!!

Excellent work by Francisco Vigil! Francisco showed up at the beginning of the advertized time-​frame (on both days), calling us in advance. He did high-​quality work as a reasonable (frankly, excellent) price, and recommended some modest additional plumbing repairs that will be necessary when we sell our 38-​year-​old home in the future.
I would not hesitate to recommend Francisco and McCarthy Services to any friends or neighbors who need reliable plumbing services in the Northern Virginia area.
Sincerely,
Fred B.

Worse company ever. Had a new $ 7000 ac installed 2 weeks ago and it has stopped working twice. The first guy who came to fix it said the installers didn’t drain the line so he drained it and it lasted a few days. The 2^nd guy said it wasn’t grounded and it lasted a day. This is after I waited a few days for them to come out even after explaining I had a newborn that couldn’t take the heat. Now it’s broke again just a day after after he came out to supposedly fix it. I am in calling in the morning and giving them 1 more chance to get it right or I will be calling the BBB and 7 on your side, Then my attorney. Worse company I’ve ever dealt with.
Update — it’s now been a month and it’s broke again!!! 3 times a charm!
Never. Again.

I can not say enough bad things about my experience with McCarthy’s services. Do you like it when your plumber shows up, repeatedly, hours after your given window? Do you appreciate it when you have a plumber install an overflow emergency shutoff valve on your HVAC, costing you hundreds of dollars, only to have the next plumber from the same company come and tell you that the previous guy installed an ineffective one? Do you appreciate it when you have a leak from your washing machine, and the company offers to send the same plumber back out to fix what he diagnosed, so you call that plumber, only to have him tell you that there’s zero chance of him returning to his job site? Do you (this happened to me today) like it when your plumbing company calls you at 8:30 the day of to tell you that they want to re-​schedule your long-​held appointment for between 10 and 2 on a Saturday for a day during the week, as they «don’t have the staff» only to call back to say that they magically do have the staff only to call back again an hour later to say that they never ordered the part you needed for the job in the first place?
The company is a disaster. Their dispatch system is clearly screwed up. My favorite was the tech from FREDERICKSBURG VA (1.5 hours away) telling me that he was dispatched to my place at like 730am for an 8am appointment (1.5 hours is without DC traffic). The people who answer the phone there seem nice and i feel bad for them, but don’t bother going down this path. I cancelled my annual service contract with them less than a year after signing up because quite frankly, i don’t trust them and i’m tired of being late to work or the rest of my life due to their extreme incompetence.

I’m starting to wonder about McCarthy Services. I bought a new carrier system 2 years ago, did my research and they were the highest rated company. Their technicians and staff are always nice but something is wrong when your system gets over charged 2 times and it stops running the hottest day of the year.
My experience today was a bummer, it was routine service check up for my system. Randall and his partner showed up without the key to access my system. An hour later, they came back and Randall didn’t turn the system off at the panel and blew a 25v fuse and something else that started with a «c». Then I was told that the system was suppose to be running off of a 30v fuse. But I was billed for something that they installed incorrectly in the first place.
The positive about this company is that they will make it right and when my new system would stop because of an over charge, they will be right out. Just do things right the first time. I go over all the documentation with each technician every year and it doesn’t seem to help.
I’m looking forward to having my $ 120 refunded for the fuse and the «c» part.

This contractor charged me 900 dollars for about 45 mins worth of work. Our Trane air conditioner blower motor and the blower module had to be replaced and the parts were still covered under warranty. The technician told us that the labor, shipping, and paperwork for each of the two parts was 434 dollars each. When asked why the price was so high, he mentioned it was due to the area we lived in.
Because he was already at my house and had the part in hand I decided to go ahead with the work thinking it would take a while. Imagine my surprise when he said he was done 45 mins later. Because he had already done the work, I had no choice but to pay him. Later, I called a number of different hvac contractors in my area and was told I got ripped off for almost double the going rate. I called customer service the next day to see if there was any recourse. The manager offered me $ 100 not to write a negative review here. I decided not to take the deal because I want to warn people that the work they do is overpriced.
I feel like I got robbed in my own house. I strongly advise you to look elsewhere for hvac work if you want a better deal.

I had a great experience with McCarthy Services.
Kevin was very knowledgeable and got the job done! The price was right, too. I will definitely use them again should we have any problems and can only recommend them.

Do you enjoy spending lots of money, and hearing lectures about what could happen in the future of your HVAC system? If so, then call McCarthy Services for any of your HVAC and Plumbing needs.
***I should have researched further as they are linked to super fleecers ARS Rescue of Virgina Company, AND (drum roll please) this company is not owned by the original, conscientious McCarthy gentleman who would probably put a stop to the greedy marketing nonsense.
PROS
As promised the Tech called prior to arrival and within the allotted time frame.
Ease of appointment, You can make an appointment online, but you have to give them A LOT of your personal info. which I did not like, but otherwise they do not allow you to make an appointment.
CONS
Too numerous to list, but suffice to say that the guy spent 15 minutes doing nothing that I ever saw during a check, and then he spent 30 minutes selling me what I did not need nor did not want. Accessories for the unit! Seriously?
Then he spent another 30 minutes using carefully crafted ridiculous scare tactics. Commence eye roll.
He could not give a concrete answer as to how to remedy my situation without the scare/​selling tactic, but he did explain what could happen in order to sell us everything under the sun which was not the intent of this service call. The inspection was a bust because of the weather –he could not do what needed to be done to the unit, and shrugged it off.
I found it odd that when he was on his way out he gave me his card and said to call if I needed anything.
To our dismay, something else which we found out 12 hours after he left was broken which was connected to our unit and was part of what he «looked at». I strongly believe there was no coincidence in this matter.
There is a line between being genuinely helpful and leaving the client with the sense that «you have THIS and we can help with THAT», it should not be YOU HAVE THIS AND THIS WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DO NOT DO THAT!!!
STAY AWAY FROM THESE GUYS!
Unilocalers send me your tips for honest HVAC guys.

2^nd Update — I received my full refund and will give this company another chance. The way they handled my situation was extremely professional and I am very impressed and appreciative. I would recommend anyone using them to get an estimate before any work is done to avoid the problem I encountered.
Update – day after services rendered: I received a call today (next day) from Mr. McCarthy apologizing for what happened. He stated that he researched the information I posted and found it to be accurate and will be fully refunding my money and asked that I give them another chance. I applaud the rapid response, honest assessment and apology from Mr. McCarthy and if I am fully refunded the money I told him I would be happy to provide them with a second chance but will always request a quote before work is performed.
I will update my rating and post once the refund is received. I offered to pay a reasonable rate for the services provided but he declined. It appears that Mr. McCarthy may indeed be more interested in keeping permanent customers than in gouging one offs.
I hope so…
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I called McCarthy as my hot water heater stopped working. I knew the pilot was out but did not want to try to light it myself. I made sure to have them come out during a non emergency (not on the weekend even though it went out on Friday) so that I was not charged for an emergency.
I was told that the service person would be there between 12 and 4 pm Tuesday. I had to call at 3:30 to ensure someone was still indeed coming and was assured they were but that they would be late. I received a call at 4:45pm from the service person and he said he would arrive at 5:15pm, which he did.
And as suspected, my pilot light was out. It took the technician approximately 2 minutes to press the button (s) to relight the pilot. When I asked him how much the charge would be he stated that they did not have a charge listed for that so he had to call in and find out. He called and was told to charge me $ 210 ($ 39 for the service call and $ 171 for the «work»). They did allow me to use my coupon but I still paid $ 160!!!
So, if you don’t have a problem being ripped off and charged $ 210 for a service call and 3 minutes of labor, by all means, use McCarthy! I wish I had told them to give me an estimate before pressing that button! I certainly would have called a different company! I also called the company while the technician was still there to complain and of course the person who told the technician what to charge (Earl) –who the technician called 5 minutes before (Earl) —was already gone. The receptionist (who is lovely) said she would relay my unhappiness as they do «not want to lose customers». She was very nice and pleasant.
I will never use this rip off company again!

After another lengthy discussion, McCarthy’s realized and apologized for having forgotten about our previous discussion. Fortunately, I keep good records! For the second time, I spoke with the manager, Earl, who again agreed to send a check for the difference we agreed upon… check arrived yesterday.
Would have been 5 stars if I didn’t have to start all over and explain everything again.
End result… Satisfied.