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Review content:
Right before Christmas the rental house next door had a clog in the main sewer line, which is 70+ years old and made of concrete. After it was unsuccessfully snaked a few times, a camera was run through and the clog was located in the first T. Unfortunately, this T ran under my fairly new concrete driveway and had to be jackhammered to be unclogged and the T part replaced. The fellow that initially came out to do the snaking and exploratory digging was Drew, who cheerfully did his best, with what I feel was a genuine desire to help. The knowledgeable estimator, Buddy, came out the next day and was calm, helpful and upfront with the different solutions and costs. I chose one of the solutions and plumber Mike and a helper came out to do another camera run and the actual unclogging and replacement of the T.
Well, Mike has one of the worst attitudes for a tradesman I've ever had to deal with. He immediately jumps to worst case scenarios and offers no solutions whatsoever, all the while complaining about whatever it is he should be doing. He wants the job to be dig-free and fixable on a silver platter. In this case, it was discovered that my main sewer line, which runs parallel to the rental house line, was cracked and leaking. While the driveway was torn up, it seemed to me like the ideal time to get this new problem fixed and I told Mike that's what I wanted to do. There was a pile of dirt and broken up concrete from Drew's previous digging right above where the crack was. Mike then proceeded to tell me that it was MY responsibility to get the pile of dirt moved and did I REALLY want to pay $100/hr (or whatever it is) for him to move dirt? He was already complaining about having to do more digging to get to the crack and basically stopped working and wouldn't budge. I called Buddy and told him what was going on, who then must have told Mike to move the pile and get to fixing the problems. After Mike and his helper left for the evening, my husband relocated a good portion of the pile so they could get started without much fussing and grunt work. Another part of the job was to install a cleanout trap near my house. This portion was also not accomplished without a great deal of grumpiness from Mike and anguish on my part. Mike complained the pipe kept breaking up as he dug. The pipe was going under a tree and he stopped and told me with false authority that I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO REMOVE THE TREE. Mind you, the tree isn't large; the base is approx. 8" dia. He said if he kept on digging the tree would die. Or there wouldn't be enough roots left and it would fall over. Fortunately I know something about plants. After I flipped out over this latest provocation, I assured him that even after digging right up to the trunk, there'd be plenty of root structure left; it wouldn't fall over and wouldn't die. I informed him I simply was not going to call an emergency tree service three days before Christmas and pay for an unnecessary tree removal, to which he replied that he was obligated to say what he did so his company wouldn't be liable. I don't know if that's true but I didn't have to sign anything and it was all for dramatic effect IMHO. My husband helped Mike and Mike's helper dig and move dirt to quell his whining and also keep an eye on him that day. By late afternoon the job was done (earlier than expected) and both sewer lines were fixed and cleanout traps installed. I still have the hole in my driveway, which I elected to not have them fix.
So why would I recommend the Plumbing Joint? Because every plumber I've had out here over the years EXCEPT FOR MIKE has been awesome, especially under emergency circumstances. In another instance, I remember a couple years ago it was Mike that installed a tankless water heater at the rental. He complained I didn't get the right parts. I got the other parts and a few days later he came back to install the water heater. My very tolerant tenant later told me he'd made a big mess and tracked mud through the house. This guy is a total anomaly for the company and the only reason I can think of why they keep him around is nepotism.
There's one other thing worth noting if you're not familiar with their billing: each invoice/work order is detailed down to the very last screw, nut, blade, etc. It will look crazy but I understand why they do it. I only wish they would ask, for instance, if I have any tarps rather than charge me $15.50 apiece for them and not even leave them for me to reuse. But if you like knowing this kind of detail for plumbing jobs then you'll love their invoices. I also wish they would get rid of the fish symbol on their invoices because as an atheist this offends me.
The Plumbing Joint does good work and has been reliable and affordable. Just say no to Mike if you call them for service.
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