Adam W.
05/05/2021 12:00:00 SA
To be clear, the plumbers who do come on-site and work with you are professional, friendly, and efficient. I had no issues with the work product, or the timeliness of the repair.
The biggest issue I do have with the company is its business practices. They quote per job, don't provide any line-item pricing, and then tell me it's industry standard pricing.
I have used full nelson a number of times, here are my experiences:
* First visit to replace 2 x (hot and cold) sink pipe runs with PEX. I happen to know that the piping cost is around 20-30 dollars at a maximum. I know there are fixed costs for fittings as well. I was quoted 450 dollars to replace two pipes from the feed to the sink with two shutoff valves. I asked the technician the time it would take, they replied 1.5 hours or so. I asked about the price because 1.5 hours. Plumbers, on average, charge 45-150 per hour. Even at 200 per hour, the price was overly inflated. When I asked about this, it seemed clear that the company sets the rules but the employees know that its outrageous.
* Second encounter that was not so great: I had them come out to repair a tub faucet and install a new shower head. They ended up needing to cut into the sheetrock to which I was then informed it'd be another 100 dollars just to touch sheetrock amounting to a 1x2ft hole needing to be cut into a wall. The tech again seemed like he knew it was bad, and overly priced, but again they have to play by the rules. The tech was a great person and did great work.
* The third and final encounter was an emergency plumbing call to clean out a sewer line. The tech was great, was patient, and came out after hours. I paid $450 dollars for the visit, and then they wanted to come back and charge another 200 dollars to run a camera down the line. They ran the camera, and I paid, and they said it was broken and needed to be dug up and repaired. I was quoted for a single line item of $5200+ dollars. No labor, no part breakout, nothing. I called multiple plumbers around the area to find that a main line repair was to be 800-1200 dollars on average.
I ended up choosing another plumbing company because I felt truly taken advantage of. The fixed pricing is only meant to assist the plumbing company in lining their pockets. I can see a little margin to compensate for unforeseen issues, but charging $4,000 over the competition then throwing in free heath checks of your home after the repair seems very disingenuous.
In short, I think their prices are too high, they nickel and dime every thing (for instance, my new plumbers scoped the line after their repair as included in the $850 dollar cost, they were there to fix the issue not find ways to charge me more)
I felt rushed to make a decision on the spot to get on the calendar and pay the $5200, but my gut told me that it was an over inflated price, and not exposing the components involved (materials and labor) and also asking for four times the price of others in the area is almost simply taking advantage of a situation.
I called and talked to one of the owners who said someone would call me today to explain just why the price had to be so high. I didn't receive the call and I really think that the explanation should be up front and detailed on the quote, not just a single line item and a hurry up to book your appointment feel. In the end, great employees, but bad business practices.
I should have looked at reviews in depth, because there are multiple complaints of the same high prices and issues from multiple customers.
Good luck full nelson, I'll be taking my rental properties and home plumbing needs elsewhere.