Abt — Local services in Northfield Township

I’ve been a loyal longtime ABT customer for over 30 years. They’ve been a good company until last few years where we’ve had multiple issues related to a reliance brand water heater with aluminum anode which causes a blue aluminum hydroxide issue that has caused 3 visits to clean out this blue substance that was clogging our shower head. After paying almost $1000 in repair costs to fix a shower balancer valve that got clogged and damaged when technician was troubleshooting the issue, replacing a main water line shutoff which was damaged when it was turned off to service the showered head [note repair costs exceeded the price of the water heater itself!] I discovered that the humidifier water shutoff valve that was also installed by ABT was faulty since the beginning.

I wouldn’t have known this except I noticed when I replaced my aprilaire humidifier water pad that was running, had a heavy flow of water instead of a slower “drip” — I tried to turn the shutoff valve to off position but it wouldn’t change the water flow.

I had an ABT extended warranty on both the furnace and water heater shown in the picture as both were installed in mid 2020 — I made a call to the service manager DanR who has been friendly in the past and was told they can handle this. I thought it was under warranty. After the techs fixed the valve by replacing the one valve which I kept I got a surprise bill with charges for two valves and another valve charge — basically 3 valves charge when only 1 valve was replaced.

Note the techs never had me sign or review any charges when they left which they normally do which is why I thought it was covered under ABT labor and parts warranty. And turns out the original valve was bad even tho I was told by the tech that it was just sediment clog and the old valve is “good” but we will replace it with a new one anyways — they didn’t ask me to keep the old one if it truly was “good”.

Since I kept the supposedly “good” shutoff valve I tested it myself — The valve was free of sediment yet it just won’t shut off. Clearly it’s defective and not working.

I got a call saying that we owed the service fee and threatened that they wouldn’t come out to us anymore even after 30+ years of service. Dan even got hostile which I had to end the call. I escalated this to a GM named Randy who called me back today and told me they would waive the fee however they didn’t want to do business with me anymore — shocking to hear this but that’s fine I respect that and won’t be doing business with them.

First time ever that I’ve been told by a reputable family owned business they don’t want my business. I can go on and on the prior installation issues where tech had to come back and fix things and so if they want to take this out on a longtime customer that just wants the issues taken care of, well so be it… just not professional way to take care of their customers 🙁

Randy thank you for the call today and waiving the improperly 3 valve billed invoice when only 1 valve was changed — but the shock was being told you don’t want our business and when I tried to explain “the history” of issues with this water heater I was told “I don’t want to hear it… our decision is final…”

I will give him credit that at least ABT will still honor my extended warranty but no issue I won’t be doing business with ABT. This appears to be a new trend with other customers having issues with their service department not taking accountability for their mistakes, getting angry at the customer or just ignoring them… I don’t normally write reviews like this but hopefully it will help someone else out to get the proper and fair resolution instead of getting a “threatening phone call that we won’t come to your house anymore!”

UPDATE: Their response is false. I never was asked to pay upon the valve replacement. Second, I was never told valve they installed wasn’t warranted. Third, clogging is due to the water heater and not the park ridge water main break. Fourth, I paid for their tech that broke the valve balancer & main...

Read my review if you like stories. I’ve been shopping at Abt for years. It’s to the point I can’t even count the number of accounts I accidentally created with them with different email addresses and phone numbers from the different stages of my life. The reason why I feel so loyal to this company is because the standard of care and feeling of responsibility the owners seem to have for their customers. This is where the story turns. I had my first, I’ll call it “unfavorable” experience earlier this week when a product I had purchased 3 of, was not working the way I had expected. I went back to the store to sort it out and because the issue with the product made a pretty big impact, I came in frustrated and devastated. I was literally crying speaking with a tone of frustration, that most people would probably have been deterred by me. Not Louie Igyarto. He let me get all my frustration and concerns out and then he told me how bad he felt and that he didn’t want me to cry. I actually felt so seen by him in a way only my therapist usually makes me feel, haha! He then offered a solution to me right away with his managers approval and I left feeling incredibly grateful. Then my second “unfavorable” experience happened but this time my issue was with a service employee. My dad had a dash cam installed yesterday but did not receive the amazing customer service my husband and mom received when they had theirs installed. When my mom and husband had theirs installed, they raved about how patient and kind their technicians were and how they were educated on their purchase. Not my dad. My mom and dad came to me today and asked me to install the app and explain the process to my dad because it was not done for him, even when he asked. Apparently that tech was also rude when speaking to my parents. I didn’t really know how to use the app either, so we went back to the store and I asked for help but used my moms car since hers got disconnected (we think from lack of use). I unfortunately ended up with the same technician my dad had, and he was so mean and unwilling to help. I have no idea what his deal was. I didn’t even know he was the same person that my dad interacted with until he told me himself in a rude way. I felt fed up and thought maybe this was it for me and Abt. I was so sad thinking my family and I may no longer feel comfortable shopping here anymore. Abt has helped furnish many homes and cars in our family, so it felt like losing a trusted friend. I then remembered amazing Louie. I knew I couldn’t just move on to a cold hardened big box store when sweet amazing Louie is whom I can purchase from. So I decided to go back to the store to give some feedback. I just felt so wronged that I had to share my feelings and experience in order to move forward. I spoke with the manager James Senne who immediately apologized for the experience and asked if he could help me resolve anything. He seemed so genuine and authentic in wanting to make me feel better and that he cared about my feedback. It’s a reminder that Abt is different than other stores and the reason why I will keep coming back and why I will recommend the store to anyone. Moral of the story is that Louie is who you want to make all your purchases with. He actually cares and it shows in the most empathetic and authentic way. I think he is only in the mobile or car accessory department but I don’t care; buy it all from him. James as well, he has an amazing ability to make someone feel appreciated even though I started my conversation with him with so much anger. Shoutout to Jake at the service desk as well for being so kind, patient, and eager to help. Those 3 are the perfect representation of commitment to great customer service. I hope the company truly recognizes them as the perfect representation of why Abt is...

Let me begin by saying that ABT Appliances has a life long customer with me and my family and furthermore they are the only appliance store that I would ever recommend.

Here is my story, after just short of 8 years my $2500 refrigerator just decided to stop working causing me to lose hundreds of dollars worth of food. After contacting the manufacturer I was passed off to their authorized service technicians to address the issue.

I was informed by the techs that my issue was in the sealed system which was under a 10 year warranty. 6 weeks, 5 visits, $575 dollars later I was still without a refrigerator. Not to mention that I was forced to buy a garage unit as using an ice cooler was getting old.

Finally after 5 weeks of throwing parts into my unit the technician ran out of ideas and on the 6th visit the service company sent a hatchet man out to pronounce my refrigerator “unrepairable”.

After complaining to the manufacturer they finally offered to replace my broken refrigerator with a new one. In haste, and with very little time to research their offerings I chose one over the phone with one of their “resolution team” associates. However after about 25 minutes of placing the order I contacted them back to try and put a hold on finalizing a decision until I had a chance to actually look at the units and gather some reviews.

I was told that it was too late to change the order and that unfortunately I would have to live with my decision.

At this point I decided to throw in the towel and just buy another refrigerator. I took a drive up to ABT where I purchased the fridge almost 8 years before to begin the search.

I was so angry and offended by the way I was treated by the manufacturer and the service company, not to mention how the whole fiasco played out that I thought I would at the very least vent to a store manager not expecting much in the way of satisfaction.

Here is where I was surprised. The appliance manager Randy Goldman patiently listened to my tale of woe. He offered some suggestions and then took his time to show me some replacement options and offer his opinions on various models. He then connected me with one of his salespeople John Babana who also helped me to understand today’s refrigerators and what to expect moving forward.

I was able to carefully and confidently select a replacement thanks to the both of them. Randy also went out of his way to extend a phenomenal price on the unit and offer an extended warranty at a reduced cost as a goodwill gesture for everything I had been through. They even had the unit delivered and installed the next day and hauled away the old unit without cost. They treated me with respect and kindness, something rarely seen in today’s world.

My hats off to Daniel and Modesto in truck #2029 for a flawless delivery and installation.

As far as the replacement refrigerator, I chose a GE Side by Side model # GSS25IYNFSS and couldn’t be happier. Fingers crossed it lasts at least 8 years. But one thing is for sure, if ever I need another appliance I will only shop ABT. Thanks to everyone...