
Serving Alpha, IL and surrounding areas
Approved
In business since 1973
Free estimates
Emergency services offered
"**Update 10/19/15:
TMI did call me to chat about the issues I experienced. Apparently the costs were correct (although I still think they are too high). The customer service rep did say that they should not have quoted anything for me over the phone. I appreciated the response, and concern, but I would still hesitate to recommend them, as I think the prices are too high, and I do not like the model of not having an estimate until you have already paid the service visit fees. I will go with plumbers who charge an hourly rate in the future.
*****
*Original Review:
My experience was similar to the review from August 2014.
We were having new flooring installed in our bathroom and needed the toilet pulled and then later reinstalled on a higher surface. After getting phone estimates in the $200 range (including the site visit fees) from a number of plumbers, I decided to go with TMI because they seemed to have a better sense of the specific cost based on the service.
Once the plumber was on site, it became clear that we needed to switch out the shutoff valve at the toilet, as 40+ years of Rock Island hard water had done a number on it. At this point, I felt as if there was a bit of bait-and-switch going on. Quickly flashing some tables at me from a booklet, the plumber then quoted me $410, instead of the $200 range. These tables did not outline why the cost would be more than twice the price for a smidgen more work, but I felt that at this point it would have been a waste of money and time to pay this plumber for the estimate alone, and start anew with another service.
We determined that the toilet also suffered from similar issues (hard water), and he recommended replacing it. I did sidestep his hard sell to purchase a toilet through them. Instead, he spent a total of 20 minutes turning off the main water supply, replacing the valve at the toilet and removing the toilet.
In the interim (as other contractors were replacing my floors), I reached out to TMI to see if there would be additional charges for installation if I purchased a new toilet on my own. Thankfully, they said no, so I went ahead an purchased one to be installed once the floors were finished.
When the plumber returned to install the new toilet, he tried to charge me an additional ~$120 to raise the toilet level. Upon inquiring about my receipt (which I did not receive originally) for my earlier payment, we learned that I had already paid for this service.
Long story, short: the work was done well, but my major issue is in their billing structure. There was a definite lack of clarity in the process of going about an estimate, and the price charged for a minor addition doubled my original estimate. This seems like a classic bait-and-switch to me. This, coupled with the attempt to extract an additional charge out of me discourages me from ever using their services again."















































