Golden Rule Plumbing Heating & Cooling Inc

DO NOT USE THIS BUSINESS!! You have been warned. Absolutely insane service pricing and dirty business practices. Two weeks ago I had a minor emergency on a weekend where my bathroom shower faucet would not turn off. I am a very hand guy so I took off the handle and used pliers to try and shut off the water. Obviously the faucet cartridge had failed. We were leaving for vacation early the next morning so I called Golden Rule and scheduled an appointment for the next day - Sunday). My early 20's daughter would be home the next week so i needed it fixed. My brother-in-law came over to meet the plumber the next morning. I got a call from my daughter while we were on the road and the plumber wanted to discuss pricing options to fix the faucet. So he started off with the cost to replace the whole valve $2,300. The plumbing is only 7 years old! Of course, I immediately dismissed that option. He then explained the cost to replace the cartridge (which I said had to be the problem) would be $800!!! I know the price of the cartridge would be about $50 at Lowe's. I asked my brother-in-law to run to Lowe's and get the cartridge. $65 with tax! But the tech charged $130 to wait the 40 minutes it took to get the part. He then installed the cartridge but it leaked. He said the cartridge could be bad. He'd charge another $130 to wait for my brother-in-law to go get another one. Really!!!!! I told him just to leave it as is and my daughter could just shut off the water at night and when she was at work. I came home from vacation and tightened the cartridge and guess what?? No leak!!!! In the end I paid $400 for a $65 cartridge and what should have taken maybe an hour and fifteen minutes (including time to get the part). If considering Golden Rule take a look at all the reviews. This company gives the plumbing trade a bad name. I'll never use them again and sharing my story often.

Service was excellent. Fair pricing, prompt, and reliable.

First I want to start by saying our service rep was on-time, polite and professional. Be warned though, if you invite these guys in your home, their bosses clearly have them trying to up-sell everything they do - - new faucets, water filtration, water softening systems, the works. It’s annoying, but the the guy is just doing what he is told and after enough “No’s” they stop. My real issue is the blatant price gouging/border-line con-artistry tactics used ..especially for a company that calls themselves Golden Rule! We had a kitchen faucet that would not shut off all the way and it was also leaking around the handle that turns the faucet on and off. The rep looked at it and says, “If I can replace the internal part it would only be $400. If I can’t, and you need a new faucet, it could be up to $900.“ I commented I didn’t think a new faucet was going to be necessary and the price to replace the internal part sounded steep. He replied, “Yeah, these internal parts are really expensive.” In about 5 minutes he made the repair while I watched. He removed a screw which allowed him to remove the handle. He them unscrewed the decorative housing that covers the part. He unscrewed one more part and lifted out the plastic part in need of replacement. I swear to you, if you can operate a Keurig coffee maker, you could have performed this repair. I wrote him a $407 check and everything is working fine. Here’s where it gets good...when the rep left the room I notice he left the empty parts packaging on the counter. I took at picture of it and while he was gone looked it up online. $32 at Home Depot. $32!!! Remember, that is a retail price. These guys are buying at wholesale which means it is offered even cheaper to them. When the rep came back in I let him know about my discovery. He said their pricing was based not on actual cost, but what it could cost if they had to replace everything. Huh? What? Then he went on to say that their pricing is specifically determined by the following formula. 60% for parts + 30% for labor/overhead + 10% for profit. I said well if 60% of the final price is parts and my part cost you $32, then why wouldn’t my final cost be $55? $55 x 60% = $32. He responded with a blank stare. Now I understand that no company can stay in business making $55 repair calls. But $400 for 5 minutes time and $32 worth of parts! Unethical is the word that comes to mind, but only because I can’t seem to conjure up something worse. If you are curious, what do I think would have been on the high side of fair? $175. $32 for parts. $125 for overhead (labor, travel time, gas, employee costs, other fixed costs). 10% for profit. I hope the Golden Rule does eventually apply to this company. I hope one day they get ripped off as badly as I did. Safe to say - I can only recommend not letting these people in your home, unless maybe you just have money to burn

I called on a Friday and they were able to send somebody on Monday morning. I'm not sure if it was because they contacted me through Homeadvisor or because I was hesitant to have them come out without even a ballpark price, but they waived the trip charge. I told them that I had a leaking shower faucet and expected that the cartridge just needed to be replaced. I received a phone call and text 40 minutes before the tech's arrival as promised. Jake showed up on time and offered to wear the booties everybody brings these days, but between the time he spent sitting in his van and then writing up a quote after glancing at the faucet, it was at least half an hour before I even had the quote. My choices were $412 for the cartridge or $700+ to replace at least the valve and maybe more and then repair drywall. I assume the quote was written this way to trigger the upsale, but I will be selling my home soon and the drywall that didn't even need to be removed for this repair is already being replaced as part of a separate repair project. I was surprised that he didn't bring shower cartridges on the van since it seems like a common repair, and I'd specifically told them that's what I needed. He was gone for over an hour to get one from the supply center. Once he returned, he turned off the water, then went back to the van for a bit. Once he started on the faucet, it took maybe half an hour to swap out the cartridge. When he was done, Jake had me sign a few times, then emailed me an invoice with no text describing the service performed, just the total. I told him I needed some explanation of what was done, and he re-sent it with a blurb explaining a Moen cartridge was replaced and has a one year warranty. About an hour after Jake left, I received a follow up phone call to confirm everything was completed to my satisfaction. I have no complaints about the work, everybody was pleasant enough to deal with, and I know they create their quotes straight from a pricebook, but 3 hours and $412 to complete a 30 minute repair that requires a part costing no more than $50 just seems excessive.

It went well. They did both furnace and AC maintenance.

Their price was very high for what they did and next time I will hire someone else.

repaired plumbing leak and also while here fixed dripping faucet and did furnace check

The technician was very helpful. He presented all of the options to address the problem we had. Didn’t push for us doing expensive service work. We ended up doing it ourselves, the way h suggested. Will use them again.

I was just really good.

We have had multiple services completed from this company in the last couple months. Everyone we have spoken to or worked with have been professional and courteous. They have done quality work in a timely manner and left our home clean. We are very happy with their service.

Call Golden Rule on a Friday night, and they were able to send someone out first thing Saturday morning. After going over our three options, we decided to replace both the AC and furnace based on the age of the system and the cost for a temporary repair. Monday AM the installer arrived, worked all day, and installed the system.

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All phases of the job went well. The technician was courteous and respectful in every aspect, he even covered his shoes to prevent any potential transfer of debris or shoe markings to our hardwood floors. He did an initial assessment of the condition of the current pump and verified it's failure. He then presented us with several options for the replacement . The work was completed in a timely manner and the work area left in good order.

They were respectful, timely and professional.

There wasn't anything really bad about it, I was pretty happy overall, If I was to say anything maybe had it a  little cheaper.

I was very pretty with their service.

Their quick, their knowledgeable, they went in did things right waythe first time and I didn't have to call them back.

It went very well. They had everything done within a couple hours.

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Very professional and courteous with great communication.  The new faucet and sprayer arrived at the shop within 24 hours; installation was flawless and took far less time than I anticipated.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their services.