I recently hired this plumbing company, and unfortunately, my experience was extremely…read moredisappointing. Amanda quoted me $100/hour for labor, along with a travel fee since my home is 31 minutes from their office. She also mentioned that the plumber might bring an apprentice, but assured me there would be no additional charge for that--only to later deny this claim. If the owner (Greg?) records phone calls, I highly recommend he reviews them.
On the day of the service, the lead plumber, Gary, and his apprentice, Jeff, arrived at 9:37 am and finished the work by 11:20 am--under two hours. Afterward, they spent 20 minutes preparing the bill, which totaled a staggering $814. The breakdown was confusing and did not align with the original quote. It included a $150 travel fee, $200 for Gary's labor, inflated charges for materials ($133 + $25), and a surprise $125 fee for the apprentice, directly contradicting Amanda's assurance that there would be no extra charge.
Even with the unexpected apprentice fee, the total should have been about $687, including tax. I pointed out the discrepancies to Gary, especially regarding the apprentice charge and the inflated total. However, Gary refused to listen and became increasingly aggressive. When I contacted Amanda for clarification, she denied her previous statements and insisted the apprentice rate was $50/hour (which also contradicts the $125 charge on the bill).
In an attempt to resolve the situation, I offered to pay $100 extra just to settle the matter, but Gary insisted he had undercharged me and claimed he should bill me for 2.5 hours instead (including his time spent preparing the bill, and rounding up!). He threatened to undo the work unless I paid on the spot. When I called Amanda again, the situation escalated, and I had to contact 911. Gary then threatened to put a lien on my property, at which point I told him I was prepared to take the matter to court. Only after this confrontation did Gary agree to settle the bill for $645--still about $100 more than what I should have paid.
I suspect the issue stemmed from Amanda's rough estimate of $1,245 for the job, which may have been passed on to Gary despite our agreement on an hourly rate. It appeared as though Gary was fixated on meeting that higher estimate (I suspect he might be working on commission).
As a minority, I also sensed there might have been some bias involved. Gary seemed to think the threat of legal action would pressure me into submission. (To be clear, most people in this community have been welcoming and kind, so this was an isolated experience.)
A final comment.. the "head plumber" Gary had a consistently negative attitude throughout the entire job. He wore a sour expression, as though I was inconveniencing him by simply being a customer. His demeanor was unprofessional, and he appeared to fix the problems begrudgingly as I pointed them out. I have seen reviews describing him as helpful, so it is possible he was having a bad day, but that is no excuse to bring such negativity into a customer interaction.
