Chris H.
08/12/2019 12:00:00 SA
I called Tony because I have an AC condensate drain that is clogged, and my drip pan is full. I was hoping to find a good plumber to squeeze me into his schedule on the same day (more of a schedule emergency for me, rather than a true plumbing emergency -- due to my personal travel plans and work constraints, I needed to get this done today, or I'd have to wait for over a month, and I didn't want to leave the house vacant for that long with a shallow aquarium in my attic!). I called ET Plumbing first, and they couldn't get me in, and they very kindly gave me a few referrals, one of which was Tony with Armadillo Plumbing. I called Tony, and explained my issue, and he said he wasn't able to fit me in either. Ok... no worries. I moved on. A while later, Tony called back and said he'd had a cancellation and could get me in. I was ecstatic. He gave me a window when he'd be here, which was about 2.5 hours later. During that time, I had two other plumbers call me back with availability, and I thanked them and said I already had Armadillo coming.
Fast-forward to 3 hours later, Tony (I guess it was Tony) showed up. He asked where the sink was, so I took him to the master bath where the HVAC condensate line is connected. He ran water in the sink for a while and concluded that it was running fine. All he could offer was to snake the drain out (the *sink* drain) -- I reminded him that the problem wasn't the sink, it was the condensate line that drains *into* the sink drain. He said we don't work on HVAC systems. I was bewildered!!! I reminded him that I had explained *precisely* what the problem was on the phone, and that he could have told me that, and saved us both a lot of time! I turned away two other plumbers who are now no longer available because Tony said he could be here! He said he wouldn't charge me since he didn't do anything -- and I'm certainly appreciative of that. But he had no idea why I was upset. It wasn't about charge or no charge -- it was about wasting my time (and his) and costing me another day, since it's now too late to get anyone else to come out! All he had to do was say we don't work on HVAC systems when I was on the phone with him, when I clearly explained that the HVAC line is where the problem was!! Anyway, he gave me a lot of defensive attitude when I tried to explain why I was disappointed, kept telling me I should call Eric (who the heck is Eric, and why would I call him??), and then he stormed out of my house in a huff-- as if it were MY fault.
On the whole, he gets points for calling me back and working me into his schedule -- I certainly appreciate that. But his poor communication skills and his inability to take any responsibility for wasting both of our time was extremely disappointing. His rudeness when I tried to explain my disappointment was unacceptable -- and that (his rudeness) is why I won't use Armadillo in the future.
And by the way, I've had this issue (condensate drain getting clogged and/or causing a clog at the sink) twice before, which is why I know exactly where the clog is, and what's causing it. The sink wasn't clogged because I cleared that part myself, and in the process, I probably made the clog in the condensate drain worse. Regardless, the times I've had this issue before, I had a PLUMBER fix it. Zero points to Armadillo for being unwilling to work on HVAC drains, which are nothing more than plumbing!