is there such thing like a honest plumber? (costs, money)

[ditchdigger]

When the first plumber (south hills plumbing) tells me one thing, then the second tells me another thing and then he tries to fix things that are not broken I become suspicious.

As well you should.

The fact of the matter is that some of these guys get rich preying on customers who aren't diligent enough to get bids from multiple sources.

We had some electrical work done here recently, and had three different guys look at the job. It was a difficult choice between two of them, but wasn't hard to tell that #3 was way out of line...

[PeterRabbit]

My water pipes froze and burst in the winter one year. I called a place that claimed to only employ retired seniors. A 20 year old and his little brother showed up. He welded my pipes back together and charged $10. I gave him $50. He drove here from Imperial.

I did a quick search and found:





Senior Craftsmen Home Repairs

(412) 341-1977
300 Cedar Blvd Ste B6
Mt Lebanon, PA 15228

[osirus226]

PeterRabbit - LOL thats funny the 20 year old showed up when you thought it would be a retired senior. The price sounds really nice though!

I'm definitely having a heck of a time finding reliable people to do work at our new place. We have to keep calling people over and over. It seems like theres a high demand for tradesmen and they're getting harder and harder to come by.

I've been using Angieslist and Servicemagic to find people, but even then the search is still tough.

[heetseeker]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

If a plumber advertises, that would tell me not to call. Good plumbers are on super high demand. The plumber I use has no names on his trucks and no signs anywhere. He is harder to get hold of than the president, but you get him at some point. Just the way it is if you are good.

That's a very stupid statement, "if he advertises you would not call him."

[heetseeker]

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

I agree. I always paid the plumbing or electrical bills if something was actually done. But somehow I feel that it is wrong to be charged for the driving time?!

Some strange things happened to this topic. Somebody has replied to it on Fri and actually gave me the names of their plumbers. I don't see them anymore. They vanished. In the same time the plumber friend of a friend called me this weekend and left a message saying he could do the job for 350$. He definitely must have read this thread.

I wouldn't use him after this incident even if he would do it for free. This is like admitting he overcharged me. And I don't want these pipes to be cut. They were not the problem to begin with. Why do unecessary work and bill me for it?

So, if at all possible, could the people who gave me their plumbers' names give them to me again? In PM eventually?

Thank you so much.

PS. If plumbers are in such demand why don't young people go to plumbing school instead of going to college? I mean how hard could that be?

The number one reason is because plumbing sucks, its dirty and wet and stinky. and you have to be inclined to do it. Whereas college are for the kids that do good in school live with mom and dad and can get a free ride in college then after they graduate they can call the plumber and get ripped off. They think they are getting ripped off cause the average college student dosent know squat about the cost of doing business.

[XRiteMA98]

OK guys, I thought about giving you an update. Maybe you can learn from my experience.

First of all I think people get ripped off because they would blindly pay whatever the plumber tells them to. Customers have to think first if the story their plumber tells them makes sense.

Thanks to all of you who gave me recommendations.

My problem got fixed. Cost of materials: $6. Time to fix: about 1hr. It was the rubber ring. Faucet is fine. Drain does not leak. Even at 100$ per hr, this would have been a 106$ repair, not 700$ not 1000$.

You do the math. Many, many thanks to the person who fixed it.

[XRiteMA98]

I thought about adding my 2 cents about advertising. I agree, I would never call people who have big ads - I did once and I got a 1600$ estimate for a plumbing problem that got solved for $200, but people do have to advertise in order to get their name out there. My boyfriend runs a samll business so I know his advertising dilemma, the pay per click cost and google ads cost. I actually helped him with these two, because I develop software for a living.

I would call people other people recomend. I called people from servicemagic. I found an outstanding electrician, but I had people who said they'll show up to do work and they never did. Or call. you know how servicemagic gives you multiple options and they all are supposed to call you back? Some of them didn;t.

I was also pleased to find a nice floor installer like this: did a search oh Google for flooring Pgh, skipped "molinaux, empire" because they are VERY expensive went to the second or third page of results and picked these guys. They are a family owned business and actually I chatted with the owner about Google ads and advertising costs when he came to my house for measurements. They also did a very good job. I liked them somuch I actually went out and bought food for them every day they were at my house (good stuff, ethnic food).

[XRiteMA98]

Did I mention that one plumber who had 6 very good reviews on service magic stood me up? Like he was supposed to show up @ 9am at the house and he didn't? And he didn;t call or email or anything... I understand something might have happened but he could have called, right? Now, i wouldn;'t trust him with any job.

[XRiteMA98]

OK, I thought about letting you know that the plumber threatened me to take me to court. He left a message on my phone saying so. This should be small claim court or whatever they call it, right?

[WINDCHIMES]

I would try Using ANGIE'S LIST...I think for a small fee you get a list of highly rated businesses...I also would not post anything that can identify me, and intact its best to give misleading info so people can't track you, there are a fair amount of people on here who are off their meds.