Our plumber Thomas showed up 15 minutes early which is always awesome. I have a water heater that is only 2 years old, but had an element that already went out. I had diagnosed the issue myself and Thomas confirmed it was in fact that lower element that was bad. I called ahead of the appointment to give Einstein all the information about my water heater, just to be sure they would have the parts needed for the repair. Thomas had the parts necessary and our water heater was up and running in about 1 hour from the time he arrived. It took longer to drain the water heater than it did to diagnose and replace the elements. I would drain the water heater myself if I had to do this again.
The worst part of this entire experience was the horrible tiered pricing system they use. They do not break it down by labor and parts.. They wanted to charge me almost $400 on the initial quote for a job that included: about 5 minutes of diagnosis, 20 minutes to drain water heater, and 10 minutes to unscrew two elements and screw back in the two new elements. About 35 minutes of actual "work" time, plus approximately 15 minutes additional that was discussion between myself and Thomas regarding pricing and diagnosis.
I told Thomas I appreciate his time, but there is no way I'm paying almost $400 for that repair. I could almost get a new water heater for that price. He said he understood and would make a phone call. When Thomas returned he advised me that they could do the job for $257 which is called the "quick fix" plus the $35 trip fee for a total of $282. I had a $25 coupon for first service so the total would be $257.
I'm glad I said "NO" to the first quote.
Because my water heater was under limited warranty by Rheem, I am able to submit a warranty reimbursement for parts only. Since Einstein doesn't normally break down there pricing like that, I had to request that Thomas please provide something that would indicate the price of the parts so I could submit for reimbursement. Thomas was able to accommodate my request. Turns out the parts cost $44.64. So the labor was $212.36 of total cost, which doesn't include the $35 trip fee. One can safely assume that they are charging over $200 an hour for repairs. The national average for a plumber per hour is between $45 to $150 according to homeadvisor.com.
I almost gave this review 3 stars because of the horrible pricing and initial quote, but Thomas was so professional and efficient, I gave it 4 stars. This type of pricing structure is designed to favor the business owner ONLY and not the consumer. It hides the labor cost, which I believe most would be shocked to see. As an informed consumer, I like to see the FULL picture of what I'm paying for. Only because I needed the parts price for reimbursement and would not be able to move forward with the service without it, did they provide anything close to a breakdown.
In the end, it appears Einstein is on the very high end of plumber costs, but does perform quality work with very professional plumbers. I'm not sure I would use Einstein again, unless they change this horrible pricing structure. If I do use Einstein again, it will be because of Thomas and his service and I would be sure to request that he perform the work.
This review is meant to inform others ahead time and to hopefully let Einstein know that this pricing is not a great idea in my opinion. Don't be afraid to show folks what exactly they are paying for. I think most will really appreciate the full breakdown. read more