We bought a historic home in Maplewood over the summer and wanted to find a reliable heating system & plumbing guy to service the vintage (probably 50+ years old) boiler and radiator system, as well as do some plumbing work. A neighbor recommended Gateway. They were booked up for a while, so we called Roto-Rooter to come out and unclog a drain. The Roto-Rooter guy wanted $379 to unclog one bathroom sink -- WHOA! Then he asked if we'd be willing to pay $150 or so, cash. We decided to pass on that offer and wait for Gateway.
SOOOOO GLAD WE DID! Gateway showed up on time for the appointment and sent two men (Sean and Greg), one to focus on the boiler and the other to do the other plumbing work, so I wouldn't be spending my whole day watching a plumber's butt. They gave us estimates before starting any work -- $185 for the boiler service, and $65 to unclog a drain (that's $300 less than Roto-Rooter for unclogging the drain). They got to work quickly and efficiently, showed me what they were doing, and explained what I needed to do every couple weeks to keep this boiler working efficiently.
Here's the best part -- after they serviced the boiler, the secondary fail-safe system triggered and the boiler wouldn't restart. They identified the problem and had the part in the truck which surprised me somewhat as this is an old system. They explained that the part was $465, I authorized it and they installed it. It still didn't work. They traced the problem to a brittle switch in the electrical system, re-connected it, and the system worked. THEN they took off the new part, put my old part back on, proved that the old part still worked fine, and charged me ZERO/ZIP/ZILCH|/NADA for parts and service for this task. Clearly I was an ignorant sucker that would have paid them $465, but they went out of their way to verify that that was necessary before selling me the part.
Sean and Greg are two personable, honest guys who take pride in their expertise, craftsmanship, and customer service. They like working for Gateway because it is an honest shop, and because it's a Union shop that trains their men up and provides benefits. In addition to doing plumbing work on-call, they also have the opportunity to build their skills and expertise by working on new construction projects.
So, if you want honest, enthusiastic professionals who will give you fair estimates before starting the work, explain what they're doing, and educate you on the systems you own, call Gateway. If you want to be grossly overcharged, there are other places out there who will be happy to take your money.