My wife and I called Precision Tech on Sunday of this week to ask for them to come out to hook up our humidifier. The water line was previously disconnected by a past owner. We received a call back on Monday.
We weren't sure what work needed to be done and if everything worked as intended, so sight unseen we were quoted an estimate by Sal of $135. This was specifically framed as an estimate on the call. We were told a technician would visit on Tuesday.
Tuesday came and we assumed the work had been done. Upon arriving at the residence at 9:00 PM, I found that no work was done. No call, no show. To me, this is one of the key components of hiring someone for a job like this - they show up as promised, and, if something comes up, they have the common decency to let you know that they won't be there.
I reached out to Sal to ask if work had been done, he replied that he wasn't sure and would check the following day. I asked for him to follow up with me and let me know either way.
Wednesday afternoon came and I did not hear from anyone at Precision Tech on whether the work was done or not, so I called Sal and was told that the work was completed. Once again, no consideration to the no show the day before and the request to be kept in the loop.
I visited the residence on Wednesday night and found that everything was installed. The work consisted of piercing a water line off of the top of the hot water heater with a saddle valve and installing the filter that we had previously purchased. The only part required was a saddle valve, which costs a couple dollars. Even for someone who was untrained, this would have taken at most 2 - 3 minutes. I was happy with the work and was relieved to see if was much less involved than expected. At this point, I was confident that the final bill would be much less than the estimate I was provided days ago.
On Thursday, I received the bill at $145. To my surprise this, tax now included, was the same / above the estimate I received on the phone for the sight unseen work.
I reached out to Sal at Precision Tech and inquired what work was done and why the bill was as high as it was. As expected, the only work done was installing the saddle valve and attaching the water line. I was told that regardless of the time or effort on the project, I was billed what was quoted; this time the same person I spoke with on Monday now said that that wasn't an estimate, even though it was explicitly stated as an estimate. To me, this is the equivalent of calling a mechanic and telling them your check engine light is on and they provide an estimate for a seized engine, only to find that the gas cap was slightly unscrewed, and then being charged for the worst case scenario. Regardless of the sight unseen estimate, I feel that a company should provide a reasonable price for the work that was done - respecting their customers, and cultivating repeat business.
I asked numerous times how long the technician was at the residence and the question was avoided and was told "that doesn't matter", even though the company has GPS tracking and can tell how long they were present. I was told repeatedly that because I was provided an estimate, I was being charged for the estimate, regardless of what was involved. I also asked what their hourly rate was, and once again was told "that doesn't matter." At this point, Sal was hostile and dismissed me. I let them know that I would be writing this review and never working with them again. He told me "that's fine" and to expect a response from their company.
While I will be paying my bill, I am warning friends and strangers alike to avoid Precision Tech. They did not arrive when they said they would, they do not understand the value of an estimate, and they do not value their customers enough to provide a fair price for work that is done. read more