I took the time to research Model M53 of the Zoeller sump pump that Sherman Plumbing installed on a project in 2017. I was surprised to learn that I could have purchased the same pump on Amazon Prime for $133.84. It was priced at $118.98 from Discount Plumbing Outlet and $128.95 from Supply House.com. I wanted to purchase the pump and have Scott install it.
His reply suggested that the pump he planned to install would be a much higher quality unit than the kind of unit I would be able to buy at Menards or Home Depot, and as such it would be better for me to purchase the unit from him.
Scott said the unit would be "around $275." The price difference in buying the unit from him and buying the very same unit through Amazon was $142. What? I have no problem with a plumber charging whatever markup he chooses, but I do have concerns when such information is not communicated openly and clearly.
I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with a plumber charging whatever he wants. That's private enterprise and capitalism. What does concern me -- because it's deceptive and unethical -- is that he wasn't transparent with me on the
cost of the pump, thereby misrepresenting the cost of the pump as well as his labor charges. Further told me I was getting a better sump pump. Like a bad politician, he overpromised and underdelivered. But wait, there's more.
He did not provide a bill of sale from his supplier, which would have lent some credibility to the price verbally quoted. In handling it this way, I was making a decision based on incorrect, misleading information, which is not only poor business practice. It's lying. Had I been like many customers, maybe most customers, I would have been none the wiser. But I do my homework.
I was only able to assess my true costs/Scott's real charges *after* the fact because the information Scott provided before the job was not accurate. Assuming his true cost for the pump was closer to the Amazon price I could have paid (his actual cost may have been less), that means he was charging me labor costs of $391, significantly higher than the $150 an hour that even the most expensive plumbers charge! It took him less than 30 minutes to do the work. He didn't even leave the warranty/owner's manual presumably because that would have made it easier for me to assess his true cost for the pump.
I agreed to Scott's price of $525, though it sounded high, because he indicated the pump he planned to install was of high quality.
When the job was completed, I learned that the pump Scott installed was not of the quality that I could have bought for $275 and could have been purchased for far less than I was charged.
It would have been perfectly acceptable had Scott declined the business if he didn't want me to buy a pump through another source. Though I would have declined to do business with him, I would not have had a problem with that because it would have been open and transparent.
Instead, he misrepresented the true value of the pump and benefited from a
significant markup (105%) on the pump alone, not to mention labor. Scott charged 2.5 times more than even the most expensive plumbers. Again, fine to charge what you want. Not fine to lie about it.
Scott was not transparent in his billing practice in that there was only a total price with no breakdown of materials and the hourly labor rate. I wonder why? No, I don't. I *know* why.
After sending Scott an email with my concerns and requesting a response in writing, I never heard from him again. When I called his business line in the evening thinking I would get a voice mail and leave a message requesting a return phone call, he answered the phone, used unprofessional language, said he had nothing further to say to me, and hung up the phone.
Scott had nothing further to say because there's nothing he *could* say. I caught him in his scheme and he knew it. Don't risk being taken in my this man's folksy, deceitful act. Don't have Sherman Plumbing do anything for you, or if you do, clutch your wallet tightly. read more
