God, I should have read the reviews on these guys before hiring them. But of course, when plumbing work comes up you often need whoever you can get as soon as possible, and such was the case this time. Working with this company was miserable, in nearly every step of the way. They just do not care about their customers, and seem to rip them off at every opportunity. I'm still in the market for a good plumber if you know of any!
Here is what happened: One evening we discovered that the pipe coming out of the ground behind the house, at my rental property, had sprung a leak. The water company came and shut off water to the property. It was dark by this time, but I called around to see about plumbers and rates. These guys had ABSOLUTELY EXORBITANT evening rates, as in they charged hundreds of dollars just for the drive over, and hundreds for each 15 minutes after arrival. Screw that. So first thing the next morning, I called and asked them to send a plumber at their normal rate, which is $99 for the first 15 minutes, and $49 every 15 minutes after that. They told me that a plumber would be there a little after 8.
I went to meet him at the rental house at 8. I knew he might be a few minutes late because of traffic, so I brought my dog to walk her around a bit while I waited. At 8:25 he called me to say he'd be there in 20 minutes. I said, Okaaay, but I've been waiting for you for 25 minutes already... He said he had *just* been given the call about the job. Like, the secretary forgot to let anybody know to come meet me? OK, so he finally shows up at 8:43 (it's right on my receipt, so I know the exact time). After I had been waiting in the cold for over 40 minutes, but whatever.
I show him the problem, where the pipe is leaking. The exposed pipe is wrapped in bicycle tubing over duct tape, from previous patch jobs. He instead decides to replace the nozzle, or hose bib as it looks like it's called, thinking that it would be an easy fix, if that's all that's leaking. I was like, well, I'm just a girl, what do I know? So he fixes the hose bib, and finally turns the water on to test his handiwork. the pipe sprays water all around, as it should since he actually did nothing to repair it. Probably 15 minutes have gone by. That just cost me $100 plus parts, and he has done nothing. Finally he believes me about where the leak is located, and he gets to work. He is friendly and chatty, and spends a long time digging to the bottom of this pipe connection. I figure, someone who likes to chat that much is surely not going to charge me for every minute of his time? I was so wrong.
Finally, he replaces the pipe. Then, he has to take the new hose bib off the old pipe and put it on the new pipe. Fill in the hole. Turn back on the water. Finally we're done??
No :(
Now he goes to his truck and spends 20 MINUTES, while I stand in the cold, looking through his parts book so he can figure out what the codes are for all the parts he has to charge me for. And you know what? He hadn't worked for a few days, and said it looked like someone had changed the order of the pages around. It took him longer than usual. He charged me for this time, because that is the policy of this incredible company. That I will never hire again.
I called to complain the next day, about the lateness, about fixing the wrong part, and about being charged for time spent not working. They assured me my message would be relayed, and I would get a call back. Three weeks go by, never heard back. I called again, and was told the same thing. Hours later this time, some guy does finally call me back. This time I have another thing to complain about, since my first message was lost...
The Plumbing Joint guy has no sympathy. With every issue I address, he says either that's just our policy or I'll have to talk to the receptionist about that and get back to you or I'll have to ask the plumber about that and get back to you. This was two days ago, and no one is getting back to me.
These guys are the worst in every way.
Oh, except that my pipe doesn't leak anymore. $403 later. And I found out from a friend that he could have put a real patch on the pipe instead of digging it out and replacing it, which would have cost a few hundred less. The plumber from The Plumbing Joint never even suggested such an easy fix.