The work was completed satisfactorily, though they were in and out in less than 20 minutes. Given that we paid for 1 full hour (their minimum billing increment) I would have expected to see them make even a semblance of an attempt to utilize the time. Considering that our sink needed to be reinstalled, etc..., there was plenty of opportunity for them to utilize the remainder of our hour within the very bathroom he was working in.\r
\r
The fact is that companies are absolutely looking for shortcuts these days, they feel that their potential is best realized by rapidly hopping from job to job. Since you're always worried about catching the next fish, you don't really care about things like satisfaction or quality. The plumber also tool the piece of drywall that he removed, which is quite puzzling. Our painter could have simply refit that section, patched and painted. Instead we have to track down a scrap of drywall. They may have thought they were being tidy, but that seems like a rookie move to me. It is small potatoes, but is just one more incremental cost/hassle for us to deal with. \r
\r
Their billing breakdown is as follows:\r
\r
Labor\r
1.00 TOTAL HOURS (Minimum Charge)\r
.50 HOURS @ 89.00 per 1st 1/2 hour - $89.00\r
.50 HOURS @ 99.00 per hour - $47.50 \r
Angie's list first time customer discount 15% - ($20.77)\r
\r
Materials\r
4 inches of pvc pipe and 2 fittings - $10.22\r
\r
Total - $127.95\r
\r
When all is said and done, they did repair the pipe. But if you're going to bill me for a 1 hour increment (which I entirely understand), be motivated to deliver an entire hour of service. If you don't want to do that, stop tying your minimum rate to a time phase, and instead call it an arrival fee, which is likely more descriptive. If they;re the sort of company that is going to itemize a 4"" section of PVC on a bill, they should apply that level of attention to actually delivering the time I've paid for.\r
\r
These days this has become standard operating procedure for service oriented businesses, that is, do the very least amount of work possible (at any cost). Just because they're all doing it doesn't make it right. This will ultimately catch up to companies like Plumbing Plus, because I still believe that repeat/referral business is important in the Angie's List world we live in.\r
\r
I have to imagine that this company does fine work overall, the other reviews on this site indicate that to be the case. But I also know that there are business owners out there that will find ways to delight their customers, or at very least deliver what they're charging for.
more