I contracted The Works Plumbing on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 due to a water leak. The ceiling of my living room had two very distinct 7 foot by 3 inch of water damage.
I called this company because I rely on Yelp for all my service needs. In the past, whether it's for auto repair, electrician, contractor, whatever, I've always used Yelp. Prior to this experience, all 9 companies I contracted were great. Unfortunately, my experience with The Works Plumbing was dismal.
It started out just fine. The agent I spoke to asked me what's wrong and I told him the 7 foot by 3 inch water damage in the ceiling. The agent told me that it'll be $75 to cut the ceiling to figure out what's wrong, and then depending on what the problem is, I'll be quoted again on the cost of repair. That sounded fair to me so I agreed to their service.
John showed up to fix the issue. I recognized John right away. He and Shawn worked on a gas line contract on my house 2 years ago. I remember Shawn being very pleasant and I was very happy with their service. I even remember giving them a couple beers after they were done with the project 2 years ago as appreciation for their hard work.
Anyway, John showed up and after looking at the damage, went straight to the bathroom. He said that the leak was from the toilet hose. He tightened the hose, and said that the problem should be fixed. He arrived at 2:00 pm, and he was done at 2:05 pm. The issue was fixed in 5 minutes.
I assumed the cost would be $75. Instead, John said it was $150. I found that to be a ridiculous invoice. The initial $75 included cutting the ceiling, which is for 2 purposes. One to diagnose the problem, and two, to make sure that the problem is actually fixed.
I had issue with the $150 for numerous reasons. One, John did not cut the ceiling to make sure the problem was fixed. Second, to bill an additional $75 to tighten one plastic hose that took 10 seconds is ridiculous. The RIGHT THING to do was to just bill $75 total.
My disappointment with The Works Plumbing continued. I told John if he's going to bill me $150, which I told him I was unhappy about, he should at least cut the ceiling with the water damage to make sure the problem is actually fixed because, to me, the damage to the ceiling seemed more than just the leak from one area from the toilet. The damage was two large straight lines. I did not see how one lead could cause two parallel lines. It made no sense. Not to mention, I had already paid for him to cut the ceiling, which he didn't do.
I asked John a second time for him to cut the ceiling. John had the audacity to say, if you want me to cut the ceiling, you have to pay ANOTHER $75!!
Flash forward 3 days later. I'm standing in the living room as someone is showering upstairs, and I hear a drip drip drip on the ceiling.
The Works Plumbing did not fix the problem. The Works Plumbing intentionally overbilled me. The Works Plumbing was sloppy and refused to make sure the problem was fixed.
Edit: My response to the business owner's response
After the toilet issue, I had them take a look at the garbage disposal. I chose not to include it in my review because it was too much negativity for the Saturday before Christmas.
Anyway, my disposal broke. I asked them how much it would cost to fix it. They said $25. I said fine. They reset it, and tried to spin it with an allen wrench, but nope.
John says that we have to take it apart. I ask how much. He says 75. I ask how much just to have a new disposal installed because this disposal is old. He says 228. I told him that I should just have the disposal replaced because I don't want to pay $75 for him to try to fix it, and if it doesn't work, have to pay another $228.
He says, no, let's try to fix it. So, John spends the next 5 minutes trying to fix it, but it's broke, so I tell him that I'd like to just have a new one installed. John installs it, no problem. He hands me an invoice and it's $378, which is $150 for the toilet leak (which I'm not happy about) and $228 for the new disposal.
John tells me it's 10% off if I pay with cash or check. I live in LA, and came down just for this issue, so I tell him that I don't have cash or check on me, and told him that I'll mail a check. He said no, payment has to be made right now. So I tell him that we can go to Chase and get cash for him. John says, that works because he wanted to grab a bite anyway.
I go to Chase and withdrew $340.20 ($378 x 10% off) and hands it to him. He said no. He says $378 is what I have to pay in cash. I said, what about 10%? He tells me that I'm getting a break because I didn't have to pay him $303 for trying to fix it and then installing. I'm not happy because I feel like he's trying to price gouge me again.
I asked to talk to his supervisor. He says he is the supervisor. I head to the ATM to withdraw another $38, while thinking whether I should contact the Owner. John says $340 is fine, and I paid him.