I originally called Top Hat because my chimney damper was stuck, and they came to clean the chimney. They originally told me that it would cost $75 fix the damper + $155 to clean the chimney. Everyone else just said they would clean the chimney, and so when I asked Top Hat just for a chimney clean, they agreed.
When the technician did come, he had to play around with the damper and ended up charging me the $75 again anyway....fine...
What bothered me was that he pointed out all these extra things I needed to get done.
Later on, another technician, Mike, called to quote on these extra items. He was extremely rude - when I told him I didn't need one of the items, he insisted I did. I told him I had consulted a building inspector as well as a fire & code consultant who told him I didn't need those things, to which he rudely exclaimed, "Well they're WRONG!"
Then, when I asked him to quote me for a chimney cap, he said it would be $350-$450. Two other quotes I got were for $175, half the price! One other company even said they had cleaned the chimney for the previous owner and said it wasn't necessary to have a chimney cap since my chimney was so tall.
I definitely did not appreciate all the up-selling and the rudeness. I would not recommend using them.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $230.00
- Company Response
Hi Grace. I'm sorry that your experience with our company was less than expected.
A Basic Visual Inspection is part of our regular chimney sweeping appointment. Aside from the actual cleaning, informing the homeowner of any potential issues with their wood-burning system is an important part of our service, and most homeowners are welcoming of this information.As far as our pricing on additional work, we find that we are always competitive with the other couple of ESTABLISHED companies in the GTA. In general the only companies that can offer a lower price do not have our level of experience or expertise, and can't offer a meaningful warranty.
In defense of Mike, he is has been with Top Hat Chimney for over 20 years and I can honestly not remember the last time that I received anything but positive feedback about him or his work... I really think this may have been an unfortunate case of miscommunications.
In any case I am happy for your feedback as we are always trying to offer the best service possible.
Thank you,
Steve Spring
OwnerPS. All chimneys should have a rain-cap on the top regardless of height.