Dariush A.
07/07/2021 12:00:00 SA
Pros: Skilled workers, flexible scheduling, and overall good quality of finished work.
Cons: Opaque pricing, charged me 67% more than what they quoted over the phone, would not quote me an hourly rate, itemize charges or provide an invoice.
The scope of the job was:
1) Installing an articulating wall mount for a 65 TV.
2) Installing a power bridge with cable routed from wall socket level to mid wall.
3) Routing two HDMI cables behind the wall from wall socket level to mid wall.
4) The TV had to be mounted in a specific spot on the wall because two days later a custom built media center had to be installed around the TV.
The two operators performing the work were indeed skilled. I watched them closely and I can tell that they knew what they were doing. They worked together efficiently and knew how to use their tools safely and effectively. The holes they cut were precise and level. The finished job was symmetrical and looked like quality work.
The total time it took to do the job was about 3.5 hours. I was quoted a price of $850 over the phone and asked $1,420 when the job was done. When I asked why the price was so much higher than the quote, I was not given a convincing explanation. Mount Em Up would not tell me their hourly rate, they said they charged based on their assessment of how hard the job was. Thus, as far as I can tell, the pricing is completely subjective and made up on the spot. Also they did not provide a written itemized breakdown of the charges or an invoice. I asked them for an invoice while they were at my home and they said they would email me one. After following up by emailing them, and speaking to them over the phone, they still have not provided an invoice.
Thus, I cannot recommend Mount Em Up based on their current pricing model. Almost every other tradesman I've ever hired, will typically charge a flat fee for a service call and either provide an hourly rate or an itemized price for specific work. This is the way every plumber, mechanic, and electrician prices their work so that it is objective and the customer does not feel taken advantage of. Pricing based on an on-the-spot assessment provided after the work is too easy to game. Even if it was justified there's no objective way for me to determine that.
When I pushed back and told them their price was too high, they offered to give me $320 off the bill for my old TV and soundbar. Not wanting to argue with two gentlemen twice my size I cut them a check for $1,100.
This is where the story gets interesting. Ten minutes after they walked out the door, I looked at the plans for the media center I had printed out for the Mount Em Up workers and realized the TV was mounted in the wrong spot! To be fair, the reason it was mounted in the wrong spot was mostly my fault. I had read the plan wrong and put up markers on the wall that were wrong. I say mostly my fault for the following reasons:
1) The outfit that built our custom media center recommended we mount the TV after the media center was installed. The media center is designed to have bare wall behind the TV and cabinets so it would have been possible to cut holes and fish wire after it was installed. Despite this, Mount Em Up insisted they mount the TV first and asked that I email them the plan for the media center, presumably so they could study it and know where to mount the TV.
2) I emailed Mount Em Up the plan for the media center a week before the job. If they would have spent any time at all studying the plan they probably would have caught the incorrect marker I put on the wall.
3) I gave Mount Em Up a printed copy of the plan before they started the job and asked them to double-check my measurements. They took some measurements but still did not realize that my marker was wrong.
Therefore, I think Mount Em Up bears some responsibility for the mistake that was made, but instead they put it all on me. I would expect professionals to study plans and check and double-check measurements independently. To put it in perspective, the workers who installed the media center spent almost 30 minutes measuring everything up precisely and did not rely on a single measurement I gave them. To their credit, Mount Em Up did manage to clear a busy schedule, during what seemed like challenging circumstances, to stop by the day after the original job and fix the mistake. This time I discussed pricing with them before they started the work. Even so they quoted $500 and ended up asking $600 for roughly an hour and a half of work.
In conclusion, I would not recommend Mount Em Up unless they change the way they do pricing. I'm pretty sure that if the folk at Mount Em Up where in my shoes, if they had hired a plumber or electrician to do work at their house, and that tradesman told them they wouldn't honor their original quote and made up a price that was 70% higher for the work they did after the fact without credible justification, they would feel about the same way I do.