Barker's Cooling, Heating & Plumbing

Mike was knowledgeable, professional, and was able to come to our home almost immediately after we called on a Saturday. He was able to troubleshoot and diagnose our problem quickly and provided a range of options for us to consider regarding our HVAC system. He’s also an animal / pet enthusiast! Highly recommend Mike & Barker’s.

Excellent (5 star) service, quick diagnostic and repair. David went above and beyond what was required for the service call, going on to rinse off the coils and inspect the rest of the system and check/treat the drain before leaving to prevent potential future issues.

Although $224 for a capacitor change is a bit steep, and it would have been closer to $300 if I had not setup the $14.95/mo maintenance plan.

I’m not going to deduct a star from the review based on the price, but I (personally) probably won’t call them out again for something minor like changing a capacitor… (which granted, can be dangerous if you don’t know how to properly discharge the capacitor, so it’s trivial to some but might be trickier for others)

My expectation was that there would be an $89 charge for the visit, and another $89 charge for the diagnostic that was waived with the service plan, then I figured it would be about $50-$100/hr for labor. So with a quick capacitor swap (.25 to .5 hrs labor), I figured maybe $30-$50 labor + the $90 visit fee (for time spent traveling to and from my house), for a total around $150 (assumed).

Ultimately, the part (the $15 capacitor) was covered under warranty. So I was surprised to hear that there was an additional $135 labor fee for changing the capacitor. The entire service call including the quick swap of the capacitor (5 minutes), rinsing off the coils (not technically part of the call but much appreciated), and inspecting the system was all done within 30 minutes, so that’s an effective rate of $270/hr for labor, plus the $90 for showing up (which I figured was to offset a potentially lower labor fee if it was just a capacitor swap, and not something major).

Will I use Barker’s again?

Yes, but probably not for minor issues like a capacitor swap (my unit was staring up, but I didn’t notice the fan wasn’t spinning, so I had overlooked the capacitor by assuming the compressor would have been affected by the cap if it was bad, not realizing I had a 2- in-1, cap and the compressor side of the cap was still working). I agreed to proceed with the service fee this time to ensure I don’t void the warranty that still has two years left before it expires.

To be fair, David could have changed the capacitor and then left within 5 minutes for the same labor cost that was stated and agreed to prior to service, but I am thankful that he took the time to rinse off the dirty coils and add some additional value to that fee. (Hence 5 stars for the service, and not docking a star for the price)

To be clear, the ONLY issue I have was with the labor pricing, I think $100-$150 total for the capacitor swap would have been reasonable (including the visit). But $224-$314 (depending on whether the $89 for diagnostic is waived or not) is more than double of what I would consider reasonable in this particular case of a common and rather trivial repair. So I am slightly disappointed in the overall pricing for this particular issue.

Otherwise, David was very friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient… no complaints on the service side whatsoever.

And perhaps I’m overlooking something like a minimum 1 hr labor charge or something, and perhaps $135 IS the actual hourly rate (which for a more complicated job spanning multiple hours would be more reasonable), but I thought that was the purpose of the $90 visit fee, to offset the cost of showing up for the shorter service calls so they don’t waste the whole day traveling from call to call for free.

The way I see it, I didn’t due my due diligence before making the service call, so I agreed to the price this time but will be more diligent moving forward.

Bottom line: Service was great, I will continue with the maintenance plan, but I will probably reserve service calls for larger issues if and when they arise, and hopefully the maintenance plan will delay the larger issues for the foreseeable future.

I was very pleased with Brandon's service taking care of the heating/ cooling system. It was time for the system to be checked. It needed to have the filter changed after it had been a year. It was very dirty. As he was going into the attic he noticed my water heater had a leak from one of the hoses. He asked if I wanted for him to contact their plumber. I truly appreciated his offer. He arranged for a plumber to come out the same day.
Brandon was very professional and I appreciate the work he provided. I recommend this company for heating/ cooling and plumbing services.

Brandon Schmueckle was Very professional, and communicated very well. Was respectful of my house inside and outside. Answered questions that I had and explained what he was doing each step of the way. Also gave solid advice on how to get more life out of my unit. Definitely glad my wife and I chose Barker’s Heating and Cooling.

I had an outstanding experience with Barker's Cooling, Heating & Plumbing and especially with the technician, Seth. From start to finish, Seth was extremely knowledgeable, respectful, cordial, and punctual. Before beginning any work, he thoroughly explained what needed to be done and took the time to make sure we clearly understood the process, which I truly appreciated.

Seth went above and beyond in both the quality of his work and his professionalism. He not only completed the job with great attention to detail, but also carefully documented and explained several issues where my home builder had done work incorrectly, poorly, or had clearly cut corners. That level of honesty and transparency is rare and invaluable.

I am very pleased with the service provided and feel confident knowing the work was done right. Seth is a tremendous asset to this company, and they are extremely lucky to have such a dedicated and high-quality employee. I would highly recommend both Seth and this company to anyone needing plumbing services.