My wife and I decided to go with Advanced Basement Solutions (ABS) to deal with our damp basement. There were a number of positive aspects of the company, but overall we had a very negative experience (mainly due to their customer service).
We initially spoke with a salesperson about installing a french drain in our basement. He was very honest and recommended services that were far "less extreme" (and less costly than a competitor). Another company recommended having a french drain installed in the whole basement, but folks at ABS said at max, we needed half the basement. (This was an encouraging sign of honest business practices at least). After signing the contract and scheduling, the work crew showed up on time and were very professional. They minimized the back-and-forth through our house and made quick work of the basement. While in the basement, I noticed some of the crew turning off various switches to pipes, etc. (and thought little of it). When the crew finished they called and completed the job faster than expected (again, my wife and I were very happy with this aspect of ABS). However, we soon returned to our basement in minor disrepair. The sink was disassembled, with our washer and dryer disconnected. We re-read our contract, and we were responsible for this (which was different than the salesperson initially said). More importantly, we soon realized we had no hot water in our house. We aren't the handiest folks, but we went into the basement and went through the various switches and re-opened some valves (but still no luck with hot water).
The next morning, we called ABS and both my wife and I were bullied and belittled by the man answering the phone. My wife initially thought the man who answered might not be taking her seriously, so she handed me the phone. The man on the phone was belligerent and dismissive in a way I have rarely seen for someone tasked with customer service (especially when we were about to hand their company a check for over $4K!). This person said there was no way the crew touched any switches or turned any valves. I then noted that I (literally) watched them turn things off in the basement. He then changed his story, saying they touched one or two valves. I kept trying to pin him down, but his story kept changing. Every time, I would try to get him to say something consistent, he would cut me off, talk over me, and respond aggressively. It was incredibly disrespectful to my wife and I. I told him that I was frustrated and was likely to leave a negative review on different sites (like this one) and he just responded aggressively that he would contest them (again, just consistent belittling and disrespect). A female employee from ABS later called us back and informed us that someone from the crew had reported that valves may have been turned off, etc. My wife and I were however so frustrated we wanted nothing more to do with this company.
Bottom line: They do fine enough work, but their phone and customer service staff is INCREDIBLY disrespectful. With so many other companies in Pittsburgh doing this work, I would look elsewhere in town to repair your basement (unless you want to drop a bunch of money and then get aggressive and incorrect "mansplaining" if you have any issues). read more