I couldn't believe it when this thread came up today with a new post! I just had a bad experience with "Pat, the Plumber" (who advertises 'arriving with a smile') yesterday. We had a small leak from the hot water knob in my shower. My husband left for the golf course (!) and left instructions for me to look for a plumber in the phonebook. I found the biggest (2 pages) plumbing ad. My husband said what we needed was a new hot water valve. The young plumber arrived within an hour (sure enough with a smile on his face) and told me I would owe $79 for the call, which I expected. He then looked at the shower, confirmed the diagnosis and informed me that it would cost $550 to fix! I told him he'd have to talk to my husband, called him at the golf course, he told him to leave, I paid the $79 and Carl called his brother(who is not a plumber) and he repaired it with a ten-cent gasket!! Yes, there are many honest plumbers but not this one. As relative newcomers, we now know that we need to get personal recommendations, rather than look for the flashiest ad in the phonebook. (Carl just stopped payment on the $79 check.)
|