After a poor experience with one company, a homeowner is understandably slow to call another, and Donald S. was in that position when his water heater, and with it his home’s heat, stopped working during a January cold spell in Hampton Roads. His account of the week that followed is a study in what follow-through looks like when a household has just gone without it.
Nearly a week without hot water
Donald first called a company he had used before. He was charged for a visit that confirmed what he had already told them, that the water heater was not working, and the company then failed to call him back with a plan as it had promised. That left him without hot water and heat for nearly a week in the middle of a January cold spell.
A neighbor’s recommendation
A neighbor recommended Russell’s American Mechanical. When Donald called and explained what had happened with the other company, the representative was patient and sympathetic, and offered an estimate visit at no charge.
At this point I couldn’t go wrong.
Donald S., Hampton Roads homeowner
The estimate
Russell’s called ahead to confirm who was coming and that they were on the way. Technicians Alex and Mark arrived on time and put on shoe covers before stepping inside, a detail Donald noticed immediately. They tried first to repair the existing unit, and when that was not possible, they wrote up two clearly explained options on the spot, and Donald chose a new installation.
The installation, and a change of setting
Russell’s installed the new unit the next day as promised, so Donald had hot water before the weekend. Technicians Cody and Elijah completed the work without trouble, and Cody recommended setting the new heater to 125 degrees rather than the 140 Donald had used before, explaining that the higher setting was not safe. Donald tried the lower setting and found it gave him plenty of hot water.
I would highly recommend RAM, and they will be my service technicians until they show me they no longer want my business.
Donald S., Hampton Roads homeowner
Why the small things were the story
Nothing in Donald’s account is dramatic, only a call returned, a visit confirmed, shoe covers at the door, a repair attempted before a replacement was proposed, two options written up plainly, an installation the next day, and a technician who took a minute to explain a safer setting. What made him write a review was the contrast with the week before, when none of those things happened. Follow-through is invisible when it is present and expensive when it is not, and a January cold spell in Hampton Roads, when the incoming water is at its coldest and a household reaches for the hot tap most, is when the difference is felt.
The water heater and the temperature setting
Two things in Donald’s story are worth borrowing. The first is the shape of the visit, since a technician who tries the repair before proposing the replacement, and who presents the options in writing, is doing what Russell’s trains its technicians to do, which is to diagnose, explain, and present options rather than to sell. The second is the temperature, because water heaters can be set to 140 degrees, and many older units were, but the Department of Energy recommends 120 for most households, since higher settings raise the risk of scalding and the cost of standby heat loss. Cody’s recommendation of 125 sits close to that guidance, and Donald’s experience that it was plenty is the common one. Our water heater page covers repair and replacement, and our post on signs a water heater is approaching a milestone covers the warnings that come before a January morning like his.
If a previous experience has left you wary
Russell’s American Mechanical has served Hampton Roads since 1977. If your water heater has stopped, or another company’s silence has left you without hot water, call; same-day appointments are available by phone when the day allows, our answering service takes calls after hours, and the technician who arrives will try the repair first, present the options at everyday pricing before any work, and follow through on the date. Members of the Premium Home Care Agreement move to the front of the line when a covered system stops.