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First issue: Spammy text notifications confirming my appointment (6 messages).

Second issue: 2 hours after my appointment was scheduled for (and confirmed 6 times per their spammy app), I get a text saying they would be here in 50 minutes.

Yeah, I'll take my business elsewhere.

I hate being the first dissenting opinion, but I had a pretty poor to mediocre experience with Dave (aka Henderson Plumbing).  And, you can see from my extensive review history, it's rare, rare, rare that I don't write a 4 or 5-star review.  But, I feel like the issues were extensive enough that I should warn others.

In short, we had 3 small-ish plumbing issues at our new house that I figured would be good to have fixed.  We called around to a number of highly regarded, Yelp recommended plumbers, and Dave gave the lowest quote at $170 (the highest was $220).  The issues were pretty benign:  (1)  We had a leaky hot/cold water spigot where the washer connects.  It only leaks when the water is shut off and the washer is disconnected (so no problems when connected).  But, we figured we'd go ahead and get it replaced, just so there isn't a future issue.  (2)  We had a master bath shower drain that backed up a little bit.  It never caused issues w/ taking a shower, but more or less something that should be looked at anyway.  The problem was hair from the previous homeowner that was lodged in the drain.  (3)  The cold water in the master shower turned hot/warm after 2-3 minutes.  It wasn't burdensome, but was a buzz kill after a couple of hours of yard work in the Texas heat, and craving a cold shower.  

So, we set up an appointment for Dave to come out to our house on a weekday afternoon.  The day of the appointment, just before he was to show, he called to reschedule b/c he'd gotten a last minute back doctor appointment.  No sweat!  Gotta take care of the ol' back.  So, we rescheduled for the next day at 9:30 am.  9:30 comes around the next day......no Dave.  9:40.....no Dave.  9:50......no Dave.  Finally, just after 9:50, he arrives.  When he comes in, he kind of chuckles and offers a half-hearted sorry I'm late, then totally dismisses it (as if forgiving himself for making us wait).  Honestly, I don't mind so much that he was late, it happens to everybody.  But, I do mind that (a) he didn't call to say he'd be 22 minutes late, and (b) when he arrived, his apology was pretty nonchalant (like the guy who bumps you pretty hard in the store, and just keeps trucking while offering a muttered sorry.  So, that was the first negative.  Not a big one, but it let me know how much he valued me as a customer and my time away from work.

So, Dave does his work, makes one run to the hardware store, and finishes up in about 3 hours (of course, he somehow managed to charge us for 3.75 hours....at $95/hr).  He changed out the spigots & replaced the little drip pan that water from the spigot drains into.  Had to cut a hole in the wall so he could grip the pipe to unscrew the hot & cold water spigots, but I gave him the thumbs up on that before he got started.   He also dug out the hair from the shower drain and got that working as well.  The hot/cold issue he wasn't able to fix, b/c our shower apparently needs a special cartridge to work.  So, he did 2/3rds of the $170 job he quoted.    

So here's my problem.......when it was all said & done, he presented my wife a bill for $639.  $223 for parts, $356 for labor, $25 for showing up (seriously, it's a line item on the bill), and $35 for using a machine.  Aside from the fact that he actually had the gall to charge $25 to show up LATE, I'm a bit stupefied that a plumber would actually charge $35 if he has to pick up a took that is battery or electricity operated.  He lists off the parts he used on his form, all of which have been marked up 200-400%......this on top of this $95/hr labor charge, which evidently includes time spent hunting for parts at Lowes he neglected to show up to the job with.  The parts he used were about $50-75 at Lowes, yet he charged $223.  

What angered me about the whole deal is that I told him before he started that if he had any issues that were going to put us significantly over the $170 quote, to come get me (I was working out of my home office that day).  He never came to get me.  Not only did he never come to get me, when he was done, he never asked to speak to me to explain the extra costs.  He gave the bill to my wife and convinced her to sign it w/o ever asking to speak to me.  So, he managed to take a 3-part job that he quoted $170 on, do 2/3rds of it, and increase the cost by 376% w/o so much as uttering a single word to anyone (me or my wife) about the increased costs until he hands the bill to my wife and bolts before I can talk to him.  Classy.

I'm a business owner in the service industry.  I work with clients much like Dave does.  No matter how great someone's performance or product is, if they don't respect their client's time or money, and operate based on what's in the best interest of their wallet, rather than their clients, they're not worth much.  I can attest, Dave does good work and has a good personality.  But, his tactics are shyster-ish and his business etiquette is severely lacking.

~ Fabrico

If you're like me and had some water coming up in your tub / shower drains, look no further than Abel to Plumb!

I called 7+ plumbers looking for same day or at least next day service.  Most were booked a week out but I needed service ASAP!  I called Abel to Plumb based on other Yelp reviews and was promptly greeted by Kayla on the phone.  She informed me that they could send someone right away and I should be expecting a call from the plumber shortly.  Sure enough I received a call from Alex asking what time WE would like him to arrive, talk about a pleasant surprise.  Even the plumbers that were a week out were giving me a 3-5 hour window of when they would show up.  Plus as a native Austinite I would much rather support local business given the opportunity!

Alex showed up for our same day appointment right on schedule!  He quickly diagnosed the clog and remedied it like a pro!  He hit a few snags along the way with a part that broke during removal and even had to make a quick run to Home Depot!  He did it all with a smile on his face!  The culprit was nothing out of the ordinary and he gave us a healthy overall report of our pipes!

I will use Abel to Plumb next time I need service and will most certainly recommend them to friends, family and anyone else needing a plumber!

Braulio is outstanding, honest, and reliable.  He showed up on time, did the work timely, and his fees were reasonable.  I highly recommend him for all your plumbing needs.  He is an excellent communicator, I will call him for all our plumbing needs.

Garbage disposal stopped working and sink was backed up over the Labor Day weekend.  I couldn't cook or run the dishwasher.  Called, left a VM on Sunday and Jaime texted me back within 30 minutes.  He said he could drop by the next day at 10:30-11:00. Mind you, that was the Labor Day Monday!  He showed up on time and got to work replacing the broken disposal with another one I had bought from one of the big box stores.  Unplanned but he was also able to fix an old toilet at the same visit.  All for a reasonable price.  

Very grateful for his responsiveness and professionalism.  I've found my go to plumber now and I know my old house will have something for him come back for another visit...hopefully not soon.

Really enjoyed working with Jim. His honesty and straightforward nature of getting work done is hard to ignore. He knocked everything out quick and was incredibly responsive via text and phone.

Just had a terrific experience with Stan's. Austin in August is the time for A/Cs to blow, and mine did. On a Friday night at 6 pm. I called ARS, with whom we have had positive experiences, but they called back to say that they couldn't get a technician to us until tomorrow. With the house already at 88 degrees inside and two small kids, we decided to call around and try our luck.

Left a msg on Stan's emergency line at around 7 pm, a technician called me back right away, was here within an hour, and the A/C is fixed by 9 pm.  I am happy to pay a bit of an up-charge for after-hours service when it is prompt, efficient, and effective. My family can sleep tonight in their own beds = awesome.

We had an emergency with our water heater, leaking down the wall. After calling eight plumbers who couldnt fit us in their schedule, they were the one who came out the same day with a new water heater and replaced it! So grateful, since we had a house full of guests arriving the next day and needed hot water for showers. They were friendly and responsive throughout the process.

Plumb and Order came out to install a generator connector to our natural gas line.  Super impressed.  The install went smoothly, professional.  They were on time and got the job done fast.  Oh, and you get a map of them on the way to you can be ready.

I've had Raymond from Thunderbird come out twice now.  First he helped with my propane stove connection when Sears didn't know what they were doing.  I asked him to check out my water heater and we discussed it but I thought I would wait.  A few weeks later it was leaking very obviously, but was probably busted when we checked it out the first time.  Raymond did a great job and worked with me while I attempted to repair the floor under it.  I'm calling them now to fix the garbage disposal and faucet.

Mark is an excellent plumber.  He was professional in diagnosing my issue then methodical in approaching the installation of the new part.

Olvin and his crew did a great job. I had a small patio that needed tiling. Olvin gave me a reasonable quote. On the day of installation, they showed up on time and completed the job as we agreed to. And the finished job turned out great. I'd highly recommend him.

Scott is very professional and responsive. I got the quote from Yelp within 20mins, scheduled the appointment the next day. It took him 20mins to fix the broken pipe from the ice storm, also he insulated the pipe because they are exposed outdoor. Really nicely done.

I had Nick come by again (it has been over a year since he'd put in a dual flush in one of my toilets and now I was ready for him to put it in my other two toilets). My wait time this go-round was a bit longer, but only because he is the best. I had to wait two days after my call for him to come by, and he did amazing and quick work. He told us what he was doing each step of the way too.

Then he gave us a discount on the dual flushers since we were buying 2 at a time. Seriously, great guy, great plumber, well worth whatever wait you must endure.

Ben and his crew were able to resolve an odor issue in our tenant's suite that others were not able to find. We have used O & M Plumbing other times in commercial services and they have always been reliable and provided good and polite service on each job.

So responsive with a quote, service response, communication, quality of service. We were 1st time customers and I'd recommend them highly and will call them again, if needed. 5 stars!

Geronimo has helped me twice already with a few plumbing issues. Replaced a faulty shower cartridge, as well as installed a new Pressure Regulator valve and water main shutoff.  Both jobs were excellently done and have had no problems.  Prices were competitive, and Geronimo was responsive to calls and inquiries I brought up.  I would HIGHLY recommend Geronimo and Sons.  Hard working guy, deserves people's business.

We had water damage in our house and after the restoration group dried it all up, we had carpet, baseboard and flooring repair needed. After getting a few quotes, Diego stood up above the rest in not only great communication, turn around time but also with a very reasonable cost.

The work was done great and there was even a bit of savings found during the repairs. Overall I am very happy with Diego and All Pro Handyman, I will keep his contact information close for all my rental properties!

Had a great experience with Emilio at Everest plumbing.
He replaced my aging water heater. The install was quick and he kept me updated along the way. He cleaned up the space really well before finishing the job. Very professional. I'll be using them for my future plumbing projects.

They were able to make room in their schedule for me very quickly and were even kind enough to call and see if I wanted them to come sooner (I did) when someone else cancelled. They quickly identified that the leak was actually a backed up drain pipe from me A/C. They cleared the pipe for me, helped me fix it so that it wouldn't happen again, kindly pointed out that I needed to clean out my dryer vent soon, and vacuumed out all the water that had accumulated. They were very punctual and professional. They're one of a very few businesses that I have saved into my phone to contact again in the future if I have problems. I highly recommend them!