Techs Mike and Rob arrived at my house on Wednesday morning. I'd used the Pink Plumbers in the past, and had a bad experience, but given their commitment to fighting breast cancer, I decided to give them another chance. Last time, the tech took care of a broken pipe, and left to get a part to finish the job. He never returned. When I called to make the appointment for today's job, (yesterday), the scheduler couldn't access my record because she said they computerized and my record was no longer available so she couldn't tell what happened.
I showed Mike, the senior tech, what needed to be fixed. I decided not to go forward with everything due to budget restraints, but did proceed with immediate needs. He did call his office to verify the past problem and this time there was no issue confirming the past appointment and problem. I was told that tech was no longer with the company. We chatted about the fact that there are bad apples everywhere. Mike said they wanted to make me happy, in part, to make up for the bad experience.
We proceeded with the work in the garage, and I paid the bill. When reading the invoice on my computer, I noticed something I found unsettling. The fine print said No warranty on pipe repair due to age and condition of the existing pipe. That was exactly the work they had just done. They repaired old pipes due to old age and poor condition. Mike and Rob were still sitting in their truck in the driveway, so I asked them about it. I was assured that sentence referred to the portion of pipe that they did not work on. I still had an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach.
There was also a clause on their tablet included on the signature page that I found disturbing. I had to sign that I was happy with the job they'd done. Aesthetically, the work looked very nice, but this is a plumbing job. I did not have a chance to run a load of laundry before they left, and there was no water gushing from the pipe. Then again, there was no water gushing from the pipe when they got here. This was preventative maintenance. I imagine I will not know, for a while, if their work withstands the test of time, so why include a clause like that regarding pipe work? It makes absolutely zero sense. These two issues are not issues for Mike and Rob to address. These are issues for the Pink Plumber administrators. I was told that they read all reviews at company meetings, so I'm hoping what I'm writing is actually read. I tried going to the actual website provided after the invoice page, and I hit a random number for the first question, in hopes of going through all of the questions before answering any of them, and program cut me off.
In summary, once the estimate issues / uncomfortable negotiations were settled, Mike and Rob were friendly, and had no problem showing me what they were doing. I appreciate being educated when having things in my home fixed. They take pride in their work, and repeated that I was in good hands, unlike my first experience with the company. Hopefully the repairs done will withstand the test of time and I was indeed, in good hands. I will update this feedback, as necessary. Thank you, Mike and Rob.
Addendum: **Being added at 3:19pm, same day as service. I have discussed this situation thoroughly with others, and have come to the conclusion that I have been overcharged. I ended up paying $400 for less than 30 minutes of actual work. The original estimate was $1600, and I was shocked by it. A lot of time was spent going back and forth with phone calls, both to the plumbing office, and to my boyfriend. I should having just paid for the service call.
I think readers need to draw their own conclusions after reading all of the other feedback from other writers. I am embarrassed to even acknowledge this experience. When the price went from $1600 to $400, I should have gone with the negative gut reactions I was having from the beginning. My records weren't in the computer, and then they were. Prices went down as my facial expressions registered shock, etc. A prior bad experience, etc. I made the mistake of not checking Yelp before I called for an appointment.
Please check around for estimates and learn as much as you can before you are faced with an emergency. Education is a powerful tool. Thank you, Yelp.