GEM Plumbing and Heating

Despite their response here, when I phoned the office and tried to email I got no reply. No money back, no apology, nothing. Choose a different company!

I have mixed feeling about GEM.  

I have called them three times and used them for repair twice.  

First time I called it was for a leak in the bathroom.   It was causing a waterspot on the ceiling.  They came over and wanted to cut the dry wall open.  I thought they would have some little pipe camera unit to check but they did not.   I sent them on their way.  $99 service fee.   No big deal.   I ended up doing the repair myself and didn't have to cut the drywall out.  

Second time I called was to install a little baseboard heater for the crawl space.   It was also to remove an old heater and also to reroute a 120volt outlet.   The two electricians that came out were very nice.  The cost was $1000 which I thought was fair for a crew of two for 3 hours of work.

Third time I called was to tack a loose shower valve.   The drywall needed to be cut out and the shower valve reattached to the stud.  I bought an access panel that they installed.   It took about 20 minutes and the cost was $550.  A bit steep but atleast I didn't have to do it.  

I called them to ask about a wax ring replacement for a toilet.   They told me 555+99 service fee.   Now that's crazy.   That is nearly triple most plumbers are charging.  

I called Woods Rooter and they did it for $200.  

So yes GEM is expensive.   They are easy to contact and responsive but is that worth 2 or 3 times more?   I don't think so.

When I called Gem Plumbing and Heating, I thought I would be getting someone that could do plumbing and heating as the business name implies. They could do neither.  They were very honest about it though.  I'll give them that.  

Our electric water heater kept tripping the breaker. I called Gem.  They were very nice on the phone.  They told me it would be a $99 service call fee.  I could test to see if it was just a faulty breaker myself but, $99 so I don't have to mess around with electric and water?  A very fair price.  

They came out the next day.  Very courteous. They spent 12 minutes verifying that the circuit to the water heater was good. That was it. Their conclusion as worded on the receipt found possible faulty hot water tank.  Is it faulty or not? I asked if I needed a new water heater.  The response I got was We're just electricians. We can have a plumber come out. Roughly how much would a new tank cost?, We're just electricians.  They couldn't even tell me how much it would be to send out a plumber.  

Since the furnace also produces hot water and the water was still coming out fairly hot I asked, Is there a way to turn up the temp on the furnace?. You guessed it, We're just electricians but, we can send a furnace person.  

TOTAL CHARGE FOR 12 MINUTES OF WORK? $325  

That's right, the $99 is just to drive the truck to your house.  It doesn't include any work.  That's about $27 per minute.  It took them longer to fill out the paper work.  I even had to put them on MY wifi so they could do it.  Maybe I should charge them for that.  I'll only charge them $25 a minute so, about $500.    

So I guess I would have been charged another $99 plus whatever else for a furnace person to come out and turn up the heat then, if the water still wasn't hot enough, another $99 plus whatever else to have a plumber come out to replace the water heater.  

The invoice I got doesn't even have a breakdown of what was done. Just one line that says they cashed my check.  Is that even legal?  They couldn't even tell me how much it would be to send out a plumber to tell me if I needed a new water heater or not.

I should have put this on my charge and disputed the charge.

Very happy with the service. Replaced water heater in about 2 hours. Price was reasonable and there was a coupon as well. Will use them again.

When my split ac/heat units weren't working, I called Gem. They did warn me of a $200 fee to come for service. I agreed. my system wasn't working.
They did no exploratory questioning. The service man arrived over an hour late. In TWO minutes he diagnosed problem as a simple wrong setting on the remote, and tagged an additional $200. So $400, for a 2 minute service that could and should have been handled on the phone. He admitted that he's called for this several times a week . A real racquet . Terrible so they pocket $400  a pop for a simple push of a button. If I wanted him to perform routine maintenance, it would have  been an additional $400. Outrageous! Two stars is generous.

I hired Gem, based on what most Rhode Islanders defer to when hiring a professional- a company's  ability to saturate the market with advertising!

To replace the electric heat system, we hired Gem to replace 900 sqft with gas boiler and central air. the lower level- about 400 sqft was heated and cooled with a single split air unit inserted in wall.
Total cost was $19,500.

The electric work was underestimated and I agreed to pay an additional $1500. even though contract was signed. As it's said Nice guys finished last. The worst mistake by Gem was being unreachable when I tried to contact them in a panic to find out where the gas meter was to go...as NG workers stood around with machinery, ready to go. Ultimately, based on BAD advice by National Grid, meter put in wrong place, causing a myriad of problems to follow.

Do as not to lose the reader to petty detailing, I add that Gem also knocked out part of my power for 2 days; fell through bedroom ceiling and harassed me about a $900. balance that their accounting office insisted wasn't owed.  . It actually was owed and I regret paying it, for all the aggravation, They also failed to install, as required by law, a light in the attic and ignored my request to replace a. condensation line AND gas line rotting away after 3 years.

Run far away from this company.  There prices are outrages.  The two times I called they were 2 to 3 times as expensive.  They did not produce a detailed invoice.  When questioned they said they are a flat rate company.
Very very shady.  If you do consider them, get additional estimates and you probably will not hire them.  We were having a water filtration system put in and their flat rate was 12 thousand.  So we went to C ulligan and paid
6500.  Before that were were quoted 18K for a 10 K generator.
Don't waste your time.  I was so mad at myself for calling them.

Bloody awful. Unfortunately, zero stars isn't an option. After having spent over $900 to this company in the last 6 or seven weeks, my furnace still isn't right. The guys who came to service my water heater as part of my annual service contract did nothing, because the drain valve is plastic vs. brass, and all they tried to do as part of their plumbing inspection is sell me more pricey services.  It seems every possible solution to my furnace issue involves another big expense; it's all trial and error apparently. 15 years ago, they were great, giving us a hardship discount on a much needed furnace when times were tough for us. Is this even the same company? Maybe they suckered me. Either way,  I'm very disappointed in GEM.

Terrible customer service. Their advertisements on TV are total bunk. We had a leaky pipe and they hit us with an $1800 estimate. None of which was broken down. They absolutely refuse to give you the courtesy of a return call. I've been waiting a week to hear back from the plumber. I also called and asked to talk to somebody in management. I was assured I would hear back by the end of business. Well, that was a lie. That was two days ago and I've heard nothing. Avoid this business!!!

Several years ago my husband was working in another state and only home on weekends.  We developed some issue with our furnace and we had a service contract with Gem.  I called and a serviceman came out, took a look at thefurnace and said it needed to be replaced, at a cost of $11,000 to $13,000.  It just so happened that a gentleman from an appliance service was there repairing my microwave.  He suggested that I get a second opinion of the furnace replacement and gave me the name and number of another Heating and Cooling business.  I called the number and they sent someone out quite quickly.  They repaired the furnace and charged me $73.00.  They also informed me that someone had removed a screw which caused the furnace to create a loud noise.  Gem had been telling me for some t that the noise meant a very expensive part needed replaced.  I called Gem and discontinued any service with them.  To this day I truly regret not pursuing this issue further.  I should have notified the owner of Gem to report this, the Better Business Bureau and possibly the police.  
I tell this story to everyone and anyone who will listen.  STAY AWAY FROM GEM!  Their service people have proven to be dishonest beyond belief.