Williams Stoker & Heating Co

We have an entire heating system for a condo building installed by Williams Stoker, but when there is an issue that requires repair, they are EXTREMELY rude, unaccommodating, inflexible, and unprofessional. They came out and did not fix a thing (but still charged), then were unavailable for any more calls or questions about what they even looked at during their visit. Having to call other heating companies to get the issue fixed.

My husband called Stoker a few weeks ago. The rep asked him if he had used them before when he replied «No» the rep said we aren’t taking any new customers. Wow must be nice if you have that many customers you feel you don’t need to take on any new ones. Well with an attitude like that they may be looking for new customers sooner than they think. Wouldn’t recommend this company to anyone. Wish I could rate «0» stars.

Not a very nice lady who talked to me. She tells me she will talk to her manager then hung up.

«We don’t do new calls this time of year?» It’s Tuesday, mid December. 6 flat — simple radiator pipe repair. Wow. Phone-​in is to a call center in NY. Won’t bother you again.

Our water heater which we bought from William Stoker has been great and lasted almost 10 years. It started having problems and we called out a technician from William Stoker. Mariusz was very professional and put on booties to make sure not to track any dirt into our house. He quickly figured out the problem and realized that I needed a new part. Additionally he re-​educated me on how to troubleshoot problems. Water heater is now good as new. Highly recommend William Stoker for both new water heaters and for repairing old ones

My parents have been using the services of William Stoker for over 30 years on their real estate properties.
They have done services on their past 5 unit building located in east rogers park and I can remember them repairing furnaces/​boilers.
On Dec 2013, they have replaced an old furnace in a 10 unit building located in the suburb of skokie. The cost of the new furnace amounted $ 12,500.00. It was a one day job. They removed and scraped the old furnace. The old furnace had been a big lunk of metal looking almost like parts from an army tank.
Installing the new energy efficient furnace, they showed the operation of the machinery. Besides replacing the furnace, they would even show up on emergency cold days if one of the apartments did not have heat. They would bleed the pipes and the heat starts to come into the apartment unit. Winter of 2013 – 2014 had been a very cold winter and William Stoker efficiently made emergency calls with the utmost professionalism
On Nov 2013, William Stoker replaced a pump that regulates/​triggers the heat into a 16 unit building. The cost had an amount of $ 2,450.00. A mechanical pump had a malfunction causing delay of heat into the apartment units. Heat would come on and off with a strange rattling of the pump. William Stoker diagnosed the problem and made necessary replacement.
In conclusion, this company does very well with commercial properties. The customer staff had been professional, friendly, and hospitable. I didn’t have problems with communication working with this company…

I’ve had some godawful radiator/​boiler problems in my 100+ year old Lakeview house, and Williams Stoker has come to the rescue every time. I see the one star reviews and complaints, but that’s not my experience at all. When I call they are always super-​responsive, the people they send out are absolutely top-​notch, and I unhesitatingly recommend this company above all others I have used (and, over the years, I have used others for a variety of reasons). I am most impressed by how goddam hard their employees work, and how committed they are to figuring out what’s wrong and fixing it. I’m so used to getting the shaft in Chicago: What, a shingle’s out of place, you need a new roof! What, you have a crack in your wall, we need to tear out and rebuild your walls! I get none of that crap from these guys. They’re just great people doing great work, usually when I’m at my most vulnerable, as it was when my boiler died on one of our coldest days this winter, sending my inside house temperatures to near-​freezing in a matter of hours. Everyone was demanding their services, but they came out to my house, they stayed real late, they worked tirelessly, and wouldn’t leave until they’d figured out what went wrong and fixed everything. Honestly, I swear by these guys, and I’m a tough critic (who, probably quite annoyingly, tends to hover near them while they do their work).

This company is awesome. From their friendly customer service reps to the technicians, they could not be more professional. They schedule service quickly, call with a timeframe and actually arrive when they say they will. Furthermore, they are very experienced with older buildings and older furnaces and A/​C units. Just had a tech out for cleaning of condensors on A/​C unit and check-​up of systems. The tech we had is named Miguel and he was great! Cleaned and tested everything, gave instructions on how to operate everything properly and gave helpful hints on how to maximize efficiency!!! I would highly recommend them!

called this company if they can come out to help me with my boiler. the woman on the phone said we are too busy and dont think we can help you out. what the fuck? did she just say this? people like us are what keeps this kind of business in work. DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE!!! AVOID! AVOID!!! AVOID!!!

A repairman could come the day we needed them, for almost double the rate. So we scheduled for the next day. A four hour window was quoted, and they did show up in that time frame, so that was good. However, they never got back to us with a quote to fix the problem, even after follow up calls. Guess what, you aren’t getting our business!

Don’t waste your time.
I called William Stoker in 2009 to get them to work of the furnace at my condo. It was December, the heat was out, and I was told they were too busy.
I tried again in 2012 when I bought a building. This time I called in September and was told that even though they had worked on the building before I bought it, there was no way they would come out to install a new boiler. That’s an expensive job they passed up.
I tried again in 2013, this time I called them in early June. I wanted some routine maintenance on the new boiler, and a digital thermostat installed to replace the manual one. I was told they would return my call. It’s now August, I’ve called them back five times, each time I’ve been told they’ll call me back to schedule something. Today when I called I was told that there is a long waiting list, and I’m on it, but she couldn’t tell me when I might expect an actual appointment. And I was told to… Wait for a call back.
I just Unilocaled some other HVAC people, and picked a 5 star company near me. They’re sending someone out today to give me a quote. I just can’t wait to see if I will be left hanging again by William Stoker. I have no idea why my neighbors recommended them. The two women who answer the phones are surly, and the technicians are apparently too busy to accept new (or old) clients.
And, I know from my neighbors that they’re expensive. I can tell you is time is money, they truly are.

I really like this business. I have been a customer for about ten years. I have purchased water heaters and a steam boiler from them, and have had them service steam radiators and do other maintenance work They respond promptly to requests for service. The technicians are polite, competent and clean up after themselves. The labor charges are reasonable. I highly recommend Williams Stoker.

These guys are absolutely pathetic! After blowing me off in the fall and rescheduling 3 times this spring they finally came over and then left because they could not find a parking space. They told me we needed to reschedule. I think not! Do not use them.

Called to ask for a commercial quote for HVAC services and received the rudest responsive from the woman on the phone who screamed, «No thank you!» before hanging up on me.
If you want an actual professional, avoid this company at all costs.

I live my life according to Tom Skilling’s weather report. When I came home after a 13-​hour work shift in the expected snowy weather and my furnace was buzzing without releasing heat, Tom popped into my head warning me of the Arctic cold front moving across Chicago the following day. The previous condo owner’s had a sticker for Williams Stoker & Heating Company on the furnace. I dialed the number and they promised to be out the next day at 8:30 am.
While cuddling under a heat blanket in a sweater, pajama bottoms and wool socks, the doorbell rang at 8:29 am. It was the friendly, Eastern European mechanic. He tweaked around with the furnace for literally two minutes and concluded that the inducer died out and needed to be replaced. He explained to me in dummy terms (just like I required) what the inducer does and why the furnace won’t heat without it working. He mentioned that without a working inducer, he is unsure if something else was wrong. While he was unsure of the cost for a new inducer (since there are many different furnace brands with varying costs), he said he would stop at his shop on Belmont and see where in the city they have the part in stock. All within an hour and a half later, he was back, replaced the part which they had in stock at their shop and my condo was toasty once again (not to mention, MUCH quieter without a noisy grating inducer). I appreciated his honesty when he said, «Your furnace is still young being only 12 years old. Most last 20 – 25 years. Some mechanics will say you need a new furnace because they make commission off sales, but I don’t and would rather fix the one part necessary.» Thanks WSHC!

They are still responsive and the ladies working the phones are friendly.
But the techs that they sent to our building in the past year (for routine inspections and various repairs) are just ok, not as good as the techs we’ve had in the past.

I was referred to them after finding that my heat was not working yesterday. It was a Saturday evening, so I was pushed to the emergency service when I called. The first person I spoke with said I would get a call back from a technician. I went out for the evening and called again when I returned at 12:30 a.m. The person I spoke with told me I would receive a call from a technician at 7 a.m. I woke up at 11 a.m., today, Sunday. They never called. When I called Williams Stoker a 3^rd time, I finally was put through to a technician who told me they couldn’t take a new customer during «emergency» hours because they have too many calls from their existing customers to deal with. Wow, if they had told me that the first time I called I might not be still freezing. Unf****** believable. I hope they freeze in hell because that is what is happening to me.

I have used them twice — once for AC services and the other for Heating services. They are a reliable and professional company. Talking to the technician that handled our request; I learned he has been employed with the co. over 10 years and enjoys working there. Having good employees says alot about the company!

I wish I could tell you how professional their work is but I can’t seem to get them to return my calls for a 75 gallon hot water heater replacement project. I guess they don’t need the business because after two calls in to the company and a promise of a call back by a salesman, I have yet to get a reply. So all I can say it, I am looking elsewhere.

Our condo association had gotten an estimate from Stoker a few months ago because we knew our water heater was going to go, but we felt it better to get everything we could out of it.
Well, three nights ago it finally bit the dust. We called Stoker and they installed a new boiler NEXT DAY. Fantastic service and our water was only freezing for about 5 hours. These guys did a great job getting the new one in and are coming back this week to replace some of the other pipes. I will recommend them to all of my friends.