We had a problem with a blocked sewage line from a commercial building. We called South End Plumbing because the were our next-door neighbor in our industrial park. We thought it might be related to an area that was sinking around the sewer clean out. I had an one of my employees dig down to the cleanout/sewer junction to expose the problem and save some time/money. The South end employee that arrived at our facility said we needed to snake the blocked sewer. He quoted $325 to attempt to snake the pipe. We agreed to the $325. He made a 15 minute attempt to snake the sewer, and the said he was unable to clear the blockage. He then said he would try to Water Jet the blockage for an additional $200.
I agreed. He went next door get the Water Jet, and after about 30 minutes he said the pipe was clear, but that the pipe was broken about 10 feet down from the clean out. He said it was going to cost between $2500 and $3,000 to fix the pipe, and said that my insurance would likely cover the expense. I paid the $525 and declined any further work.
I became suspicious at this point, as I know a good bit about plumbing. I called another local plumbing contractor to consult on the job. That contractor dug a bit deeper around the cleanout junction and exposed the broken sewer pipe. He cut out the broken section, exposing that the $200 Water Jet job had only opened a 2' hole in the clogged 8 sewer pipe.
He repaired the broken pipe, and made an improvement in the cleanout configuration that would help prevent future clogging/damage. He charged me $800 for the whole job, which I considered fair for 2 men and a mini excavator for about 3 hours.
Later that day (about 2:00 PM), I called South End and asked to speak to the owner. I was told that he was in a meeting and would call me back shortly. I waited until 4:30, and the called again and asked for Robert Dulin, the owner. I was told again that he was unavailable. I asked who was next in command. I was transferred to Miranda, John's assistant. I explained that I was unhappy with the work performed and wanted to discuss a partial refund. I also brought up the $2,500-$3,000 estimate for unnecessary work. Miranda was very nice, and heard me out, She said she would talk to Robert about our situation.
The next day, I waited until about 2:00 again to call Robert. Again, he was unavailable. Maggie, their receptionist was very nice. She said I could speak with John who had apparently talked with Miranda and/or Robert about our issue. John was difficult, and basically said they did what they could and that the deal was done. He said that because my budget was small, that's all they could do. I replied that $525 for one employee, next door to their facility for less than 2 hours, and with very small equipment, was excessive. He didn't want to hear that his employee had done a poor job, or that they were trying to make $2,500 worth of work where none was needed.
In conclusion, It seems to me that South End only wants to do big jobs with a nice juicy Insurance Company payouts. Their employee was either incompetent or dishonest. I tend to lean towards the latter. John seemed to have had the discussion that we had many times.
It seems that he shields Robert from dissatisfied customers. I have tried to call Robert several times since, but no one answers the phone now. Caller ID? I think so.
Run, don't walk, away from this outfit.