R A Dobson

I have used R A Dobson twice now, and both times I was very satisfied with the work. This last instance, I was especially happy with the results. The technician, Sim, was clearly focused on not only fixing the problem with my AC, but also with educating and communicating with me as a customer. He pointed out flaws or inefficiencies with the original HVAC design of my house and helped me come up with little fixes here and there that I could do on my own. Between his topping off and professionally balancing my system and the little fixes here and there I was able to make, my system is working the best it has since I bought my house back in 2002. The best part was that, for once, I felt that my money was well spent AND that I had learned something in the process. I would highly recommend this company for residential HVAC needs.

As always this company and its employees are courteous, knowledgeable ,
I have used them for small and very large projects always excellent

Last year my water heater went. It was only 31 years old. Ra Dobson came out and replaced it for a reasonable price. This year my air condition was not keeping up on a Sunday, I called them first thing Monday morning, A tech was out in less than an hour. He showed me that all the Freon leaked out. That made so much sense because I had smelled a strange odor on Saturday. No Freon, 23 yo heat pump that was not keeping up with the heat last winter, I signed the contract by 9 AM Monday. Wednesday I was all set with heat and air. The price was reasonable and they did a better job with the installation than the previous installation. Steven

This is a family owned and operated business. They care about the service. We’ve used them to replace our builder installed units and have had nothing but a great experience. They have installers that have been with them for many years and are professional, courteous, and efficient. They come to your house, follow your parameters, work within them, do the job, clean up after themselves, and follow up with you to make sure you’re satisfied. They are price competitive, offer rebates from manufacturers, and have financing.

Great customer service, staff and the owner.
Sim is their superb technician who will always go out of his way to fix things. He is just amazing and so helpful. I have been using RA Dobson for many years and cannot say enough great things about them. I definitely recommend them.

Travis Dobson and his team at R A Dobson have been nothing but professional for the past 2 years that I have interacted with them and used their services in Virginia. I work in the real estate industry and rely on my «contractors» to keep my clients happy, both from a listing and selling representation standpoint. R A Dobson is not only courteous and responsive when I contact them to perform a service, they also go above and beyond to troubleshoot whatever HVAC conundrum appears in front of us.
I’ve had a few HVAC experiences from a layman’s perspective that could have been VERY costly. I look at HVAC the same way that I look at auto mechanics. There is a lot of functionality within expensive equipment where the consumer can be taken advantage of. I’ve had negative experiences with other HVAC companies for this exact reason, mostly coming through «home warranty» programs. When I was introduced to RA Dobson through a neighborhood town hall that was replacing archaic propane units with gas from the street for the local residents, I was very comfortable that I had found my long-​term solution to any HVAC issues.
Why was that? The R A Dobson folks have made it clear that my long-​term business is more important than squeezing as many dollars out of me for a single job. Oftentimes, my career choice puts me in the line of fire to pay for repairs as a favor in my clients’ homes so I really appreciate the consideration that I get from such a reputable bunch of folks. Travis and Terry are especially knowledgeable (ask for them by name if you have an especially large project to discuss) but I’ve been impressed that their support staff (George, Andy, Kris, etc) all whom have a strong acumen for the business and can diagnose and clearly explain the root causes of any HVAC work order. They will order parts from out of state when not in stock locally and follow up with you over email and phone to clearly explain the job scope and receive authorization for the cost to perform the work. I really appreciate understanding what I am paying for in advance!
I don’t Unilocal many reviews outside of restaurant experiences, but these guys are worth applauding. I have a large project on the horizon that requires full-​scale HVAC design and creative ductwork up to building code for a residential detached home. The only contractor I have locked in is HVAC w/​R A Dobson while I bid out the other portions of the job. It should tell you something about a company when the primary business owner chooses the HVAC subcontractor without bothering with getting additional proposals. Some may call this careless, but I know it would be a waste of energy to have anybody try and compete with R A Dobson for the job. I’ve already given other HVAC companies an opportunity in the past. Now that I’ve found my HVAC partner that understands customer service and caters to my needs, I am sticking with them.
My advice would be to give R A Dobson a call for your Virginia heating and cooling needs, you won’t be disappointed.

We have a house with 3 systems. RA Dobson installed them in early 2000. We have remained on contract with them which means you have the systems examined and cleaned 2 a year. Fall & spring. This works very well for us. We have developed over time a good relationship with their staff and find the owner Travis very available to help when needed. We have tried a few companies over the years. We find Dobson on average the best service company we’ve had.
This past weekend on a cold Sunday night we lost the use of 2 of our condensate pumps. Cool weather. Sunday night. Why not! We called their emergency #. Josh a very professional, hard working young man came to our rescue. Unfortunately the weather was terrible. Ice and snow on the roads. He had a fairly long way to travel to get to our home but he came. He did not have pumps on his truck nor did another co-​worker he tried. We wound up using Home Depot product. Because it wasn’t Dobson’s warrantied product «Little Giant» Jose gave us a one year warranty on labor. We have a one year warranty through the company who make’s the Depot brand of pump. Josh worked nonstop replacing both the pumps. We were so grateful to have our systems back on providing heat. Temps in the 20’s can be very cold.
I feel Dobson can always handle our needs with our HVAC. They have good staff who I feel comfortable dealing with. Sim too is quite the technician. He instinctively knows how to handle the problems that he faces. I like to watch what the techs are doing and ask for an explanation on what is wrong and how they plan to resolve the issue. Never, ever have I felt I was bothering the repairmen. If it makes sense to me I feel the solution will work. Yes, I am a fan.

After reviewing a few bids, I chose R.A. Dobson to install my Carrier Infinity heat pump and had a great experience… but that was eight years ago. How would they do on a heat pump check-​up today?
I’m happy to say the answer is «great»! On the phone they clearly explained the scheduling process, and on appointment day I was given a time which they met. The technician Trevor was very polite and thorough, and didn’t mind me asking questions. He pointed out an issue and gave me options to fix it.
Afterward I wanted to take Advantage of Dominion Power’s $ 90 rebate — and didn’t realize the company had to complete part of the form. So I dropped it off at their office and without my asking they called me to let me know they had put it in the mail! Because of this they continue to earn my trust.
I certify that I am not an employee, or relative or friend of an R.A. Dobson employee, nor was asked or given any incentive to give a positive review.

About a year ago, R.A. Dobson handled our gas conversion process and replaced and modified our entire HVAC system and water heater.
I admit that I am not the easiest person to work with because I am a perfectionist but, Travis Dobson was a joy to work with and figuratively held my hand throughout the entire process. It’s a long and tedious process dealing with Washington Gas but he worked with them to have the line pulled to our house from the street and made sure to communicate with me about each step so that I was always aware of what was happening even when we were just waiting for our turn with the gas company. At the beginning of the project, he gave me a detailed timeline and made sure that all the steps happened on or before the estimated timeline.
It has taken me a year to write this review because I wanted to make sure the system he recommended lived up to their promise. Let me tell you, I love my heating and AC! Prior to the new system, we had a heat pump and electric heater. I was always freezing in the winter and had to use another electric heater in the bedroom; in the summer, it never cooled below 75 and we were miserable.
Last winter was one of the harshest winters I’ve ever experienced in the area. However, our heater worked beautifully. Even through all the snow storms and sub zero temperatures, we were very comfortable inside in shorts. Additionally, with the recommended whole home humidifier the air in the house was not dry at all and it was the first year that we did not get the occasional dry throat or nose bleeds.
Last summer after installation and so far this summer, we have been very comfortable with the temperature at home. At times we have to use a blanket or wear pants because it gets so cold in the house… It’s great! I actually had to turn the AC temperature UP today because the humidity control made it too cold!
Also, we divided the house into two zones bases on their recommendation. And now we haven’t had the AC on in the basement so far this summer and it’s maintained at 70 and goes up to 72 when all the TV’s are on…
On top of all this, we are saving money on utility bills! Awesome!!!
So, changing the system to two zones meant that the had to redo some of the ductwork. Let me tell you about the new ductwork… it looks so sexy that I wish I could have kept the basement ceiling open to show off the ducts. Yes, I said SEXY! I know that might seem a bit odd, but having to divide the duct into two separate ducts in a very tight space meant that they had to make them curve around each other and fit together… It’s like a work of art! I recommend anyone who has a loft space or a commercial space that requires exposed ductwork to call R.A. Dobson and ask for Rick the specialist in sexy ductwork.
The added uv light air cleaner also means that everyone in the house is allergy free during the worst allergy season in years. And the temperature panel that has a iPhone app means that we can save more energy while we aren’t home and if we are coming home early, we can just turn the system on while we are on our way and we have a very comfortable home waiting for us.
Did I also mention that they outbid all the other bigger named companies and we saved money on the install? AND they helped us get refunds from carrier that we weren’t expecting?
So, if you are in the market for HVAC work, call Travis at R.A. Dobson and ask for Rick for the sexy ductwork!

I have been working with this company for 15 years and they have never let me down! This past summer, I decided to give another company (who I will not mention) a chance as they are a customer of mine. I will never make that mistake again, I was charged almost double what I had expected and ended up having to get the same issue fixed 3 months later by Dobson. In my experience, they are fair, honest people and their technicians are top notch!

We inherited a service contract with RA Dobson when we bought our house and have extended it at least once. Overall, I’m pretty satisfied. However, I admit I’ve had to use my ‘disappointed customer voice’ on them once or twice so far.
Our AC went out on a Thursday night during a heatwave. (Of course.) I was originally told they’d have someone out the following Monday. I did have to forcefully explain why that was unacceptable, but they did eventually get me a tech out to the house on Friday afternoon. It’s annoying as hell that they can’t tell you ’til that morning what time a tech will be at your house, but it’s not like they’re the only ones that do that.
When it comes to the actual services done by RA Dobson, we haven’t had much done beyond that AC fix (our system froze up, I think?) and seasonal maintenance. The techs have been polite, on schedule, and done exactly what they are contracted to do.
Overall, I’m satisfied with Dobson. I don’t have any real horror stories, but neither do I have an above average experience to share with Unilocal

I was a contract customer of Dobson for over 10 years. I dropped them this year, and will never deal with them again.
Last fall, they did a routine check of my gas heating system. When I came home that evening, my whole house smelled of gas. I called Dobson to tell them that there was a gas leak from the equipment they had been working on that morning. Much to my surprise, they simply told me «try not to use too much gas» and they’d be there the next morning. Only after I threatened to call the gas company, did they come out that evening and repair the leak that they had pretty obviously caused.
Later in the summer, during a sweltering heat wave, my air conditioning unit went out on a Saturday morning. They arrived that morning, and informed me that they had to replace the unit. However, their scheduling people don’t work on the weekend, so they had no idea when they could come out and do the replacement. They said I needed to wait until Monday to call them and schedule an appointment, and that it could be as late as Thursday or Friday before they could come out and replace the air conditioner. As a loyal 10-​year contract customer, I was charged $ 250 for this nearly-​useless service call.
Later on Saturday, at the recommendation of a neighbor, I called another company (Richards Heating and Air Conditioning) who immediately scheduled a replacement for first thing Monday morning, at a cost that was $ 500 less than Dobson had quoted.
Given that it was a record-​breaking heat wave, I was expecting Dobson to call me on Monday to make sure everything was okay, and I was prepared to share this feedback with them. But they never called, and apparently didn’t care that one of their long-​term contract customers was without air conditioning during a very hot summer weekend. However, since my service contract has expired, they have called and written several times to try to get me to renew my contract for another year. Apparently, their need for profit means more to them than my need for comfort.