I had scheduled my BAM heater check-up and confirmed the day before the technician would arrive between 10-2. At 1:40 I received a call saying staff had called in sick, things were taking longer, and someone should arrive between 3-4. While I appreciated getting the call, I SHOULD have been called much earlier (noon?) to inform me of this so I could have left and run errands or whatever and planned on being back by 3. Anyhow I was not happy and as my first BAM experience it did not inspire confidence or good feeling toward the company. That's why the "total experience" got docked a star. It would have been at least 2 lost stars if not for below.

Barry Williams, the technician who arrived a little after 3 (I think), saved Bonney's reputation for this customer. He apologized for the delay (as had the nice ladies on the phone), was pleasant and courteous and made sure to show and describe to me what was up with my system. He was very knowledgeable and thorough. When he discovered the condition of the insides of my 22 year old unit -- I purchased the home just 18 months ago -- was "not good" and showed me why, it was obvious that what I had expected I would have to do, I would have to do -- i.e. replace it.

To expedite the replacement, Barry was able to explain the processes and made some calls to allow him to go through the process with me rather than my having to wait to schedule a sales call etc. He got on the horn to the installer set-up folks and was able to get a time on Wed (this was on Sat) and a pre-consult on Tuesday morning at a time convenient for me (I expect it will occur on-time!). Not having to wait a week or more and the fact that he took care of it himself rather than saying "Here's the sales number, give them a call on Monday" was much appreciated.

When we sat down to go over the unit options Barry was able to explain the differences, along with the numerous regulatory requirements etc., and said that Bonney takes care of all the permitting and regulatory compliance as part of the install. He didn't pressure me to get the most expensive unit and was objective in response to my questions.

Yes, it's not fun to have to shell out enough dough for a car, but that's home ownership and, as noted above, I knew the HVAC unit was old when I bought the place. After the scheduling snafu, thought, Barry made me feel confident in Bonney's capabilities and service culture, especially where it matters -- with regard to the technical side of things (I had a similarly good experience with a plumbing technician when I had a leak that needed to be fixed about 6 months ago).

Anyhow, yes, as you know, you pay a little more overall probably for the service, but confidence in it is worth it.