"I don't feel like I did anything wrong, but I haven't had a chance to defend myself yet," Bruno said. He has a hearing before the BBB's executive committee later this month. There are now five employees working solely on permitting, just for Collier, Bruno said.Ī recent check found no permitting problems in Lee County.Īs far as the BBB goes, Bruno said solving that problem has been tougher. "He took the administrative complaint seriously." "I toured his facility and he's created this permitting section that deals with just Collier County itself," Ossorio said. "Obviously, I guess he grew too big because he started doing some work without permits and he wasn't in control of his permitting," said Mike Ossorio, Collier County's contractor licensing supervisor.Īfter paying $5,500 in fines, Bruno has since resolved all those problems and is in good standing with the county, though he remains on probation until March. The suit has since been settled confidentially.īruno Air has run into problems with Collier County Licensing, installing a few air conditioning systems without permits and a water heater without a permit or plumbing license. He said it was to enforce promises they'd made not to share his trade secrets or confidential information, and not to solicit his customers or employees for two years after leaving his company. In June, he sued them for breach of contract after their sudden exit. "He's had fortunately through hard work and diligence quite a bit of growth, and with any growing business you are constantly having to refine your procedures, so that is what he's been doing," said Bruno's Naples attorney, Patrick Neale.īruno's struggles also have included a legal dispute with four former employees in his commercial division. With growth has come struggles to keep up with customer demands and to stay on top of the people, processes and controls in his business, but Bruno said he continues to make improvements. Recently, it unveiled patent-pending technology that can help detect if air conditioning systems or appliances are failing. The company has developed its own customized A/C systems and expanded into home maintenance services. Started by two people in a garage, it now has about 150 employees, with annual revenues in the millions. His company, doing business from Marco Island to Orlando, has grown by leaps and bounds since opening in December 2012. We're going to make mistakes," said Bruno, 27, who has been spotlighted as an American success story by local and national media.īruno has built his business on customer service, including his "be cool within two hours" promise, or he gives his customers a free one-year maintenance agreement. The BBB has put an alert on the business. Bruno is appealing the decision, arguing there has been no purposeful wrongdoing.Ĭustomers have also complained to the BBB about Bruno Air's quality of service in installing and repairing air conditioning systems. In November, the BBB's board of directors made a rare move, revoking Bruno Air's accreditation based on what it saw as a "pattern of complaints," alleging the company "misdiagnosed or misrepresented issues related to repair or replacement," resulting in higher costs or estimates. But his company hasn't always met its customer satisfaction guarantee, leading to 21 complaints with the Better Business Bureau, mostly about its products and services. There are hundreds of glowing reviews made by happy customers, giving it four and five stars. On most consumer review websites, from Google+ to Angie's List to Yelp, his company, Bruno Air Conditioning, has top ratings and high grades. In part, he blames his mistakes on growing pains. As he's grown his air conditioning business in Bonita Springs, Louis Bruno admits he's made mistakes along the way.
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