My Renter called on a Thursday evening, of course, to report they had excess water in the middle of the lawn. This is not a small job. The renters had called the City to confirm the leak hmmm...
I typically try hard to get at least 3 estimates for any and all services. It was quite a task trying to get 3 estimates for this plumbing job, so annoying. I ultimately made contact with Waterways through Home Advisor which is annoying in itself (Home Advisor) totally new story. I had seen Waterways Plumbing when I was doing my Google search but thought they were too far out when there were a lot of closer located plumbers.
I did not meet Mike or Greg in person. From the beginning I took notice, they answered in complete sentences and it appeared to be the plumbers themselves with whom I was communicating with. A secretary did not do the ole, Call us to discuss bit. When I did write to them they answered right away, of course it was the weekend, Seafair weekend no-less. We communicated mostly by email which I prefer, love that paper trail. I liked it that the 2 owners appeared to be the ones communicating with me, which also gave me a lot of confidence in what they were saying.
One thing that they would not do was go out to the house without someone being there. A couple of plumbing companies said that they would. I actually kinda get it on a couple of different levels. Eh...
They did go out to do the estimate on Monday, no fee, (I don't do fees unless it is below $30, and they will apply it to the fix if I have them do the repair). I decided that I would go with them by Mon evening, 80% based on the quote (Money talks). Waterways quote was lower than the other quotes-I am debating to say by how much hmm perhaps what John S. review says about his quote. I also went with them (20%) based on how they do business meaning they actually gave me a couple of firm quotes in writing. Apollo gave quotes over the phone but also there was a $1000 threshold meaning that the low end of the quote could go up 1K. I guess I am thinking why would you do that what is the incentive not to go up? Just give me a couple firm quotes. SW Plumbing wanted $500+ to see what was wrong and no quotes they also had to have someone on site, they did go out to the property.
On Monday eve we confirmed that Waterways was the one that was going to do the repair, they told me they couldn't go until Friday due to other commitments. The renters I think, had already noticed the water pooling in the lawn a week before, but I figured if they weren't in a hurry, neither was I. On Friday morn as scheduled, Waterways called me to tell me the situation and what they found, what they advise... what could happen in the future etc., they did what I asked them to do. They called me again when they were done to get payment, they sent me a written receipt and went on to explain the type of pipes I have and what could happen in the future. I was extremely happy with the process from end to end, currently we are 6 days into it. The renters haven't called with anything so far hmm they might wait a week.