Anderson Plumbing

BEWARE, BEWARE, BEWARE (PREDATORY PRICING) I recently needed a toilet replaced and decided to use Anderson Plumbing after receiving price estimates (over the phone). Anderson wasn't the cheapest but since I had done prior business with them and was satisfied I decided to select them again. I was told the price for the job would be $140, which included $125/hr for labor and $15 for gasoline payment. Plus, the job would start 15 minutes prior to arrival; once the plumber called your phone, 8:26 in my case. Upon arrival, at 8:40, Norbert took 45 minutes to install my "All-in-one" toilet. After finishing at 9:25, he told me that now, he needed to go to his van to prepare an invoice. When he returned at 9:35, I was told to pay $225 dollars, significantly more than $140. I was charged $23 for parts, which he decided were superior to the parts included with the toilet kit. Then, he told me that I was being charged $55 dollars additional since he took 10 minutes to write the invoice!!! So, at Andersen Plumbing they make the customer pay for their commute, gasoline, and the time it takes to write an invoice. I have NEVER seen such PREDATORY PRICING in any business in my entire life. I will adjust this rating if/when I receive a satisfactory response.

Our backflow alarm sounded which meant we had a slow main line. We called Anderson Plumbing and specifically stated we needed our main line jetted. They arrived the next day, as scheduled, on time, but with an auger--not a jet. They sent a plumber with a jet the next morning but he showed up with no camera. Main line was jetted but conservatively (by the plumber's admission) because he didn't know how close to the house/down stairs toilet he was. (No indication he tried to pace of the distance and use marked feed line to estimate.) As expected, root blockage was detected. Toilets ran without issue. No charge for that visit as a return with camera to confirm the job was planned. No restrictions were specified on water use. Immediately after his departure, a load of laundry caused the lower level toilet and washer drain line to overflow. The plumber returned that afternoon with a camera. He found and removed three more root blockages not cleared that morning. A one year warranty against main line blockage was offered and we accepted. I'm unimpressed and will look at other options for drain services next time around. I used to use Stan's Plumbing. When he retired he started sending his customers to Anderson, which is why we used them. Anderson is not living up to Stan's high standards and it's very disappointing.

At first it went well, they were punctual and got to work. They replaced everything and charged me when I noticed a sink faucet they took apart was leaking. I asked him to take a look and he messed around with it for 20 minutes and then told me they would have to replace it at extra expense. I argued with him telling him it wasn't leaking before they cleaned it out, he said there was no way for them to know that. I asked him to leave and he did so in a huff and after a few more exchanges about fixing the problem he left with these parting words "I guess it's the s**ty faucet in your s**ity house" Besides from that faucet the other work seemed to be good however parts to replace a shower faucet were $200. This seems high to me, but I am no plumber. You be the judge.

They did a great job, the price was fair compared to others. 

I give them A's all across! 

Contracted them to install about 50' of LP gas line from the outside of the house to our new stove. They arrived on time for the estimate, provided a written estimate within 60 minutes, confirmed appointment for work and showed up on time to do the work! When the work was done they cleaned everything up. When I started to pay them for the job, they told me the estimate was high and reduced the bill by ~10% since the job was easier than expected! They were extremely professional and responsive to every question I had. I also very much appreciated that they treated me like my business mattered even though this was a fairly small job for them. I would not hesitate to recommend them to others.

unknown

The service provided was competent and professional--no complaints.  This was a 2-person job, and both arrived promptly and capably tackled what could possibly be a difficult job.  They removed a storage cabinet to get at the wall through which the cast iron pipe descended to the basement.  Then they cut through the lath/plaster wall making the smallest openings possible to find the pipe and locate the leak in it.  Bill, the lead plumber, fully explained what they needed to do and how they would proceed.  The work began shortly after 8:30 AM and concluded around 12:30 PM--in about 4 hours.
As I wrote above, I have no complaints about the service provided; it was excellent.  However, the price was far out of line.  I calculate that cost of materials was no more than $75 of the $1475 (a 35-ince piece of 4 or 5-inch PVC  plus two hubs to connect the segment with the cast iron pipe).  That leaves $1400 for labor--about $175 per plumber per hour!  When I was given the estimate, I was told that the job would most likely take a day, and possibly longer since the plumbers would not know what they were getting into until the work was actually begun and that, hence, the cost could be more.  I was given no basis for the estimate--no labor costs or possible parts cost, and unfortunately I did not ask, as I should have.
I phoned the owner after the work was completed and asked if he could give me a parts-labor breakdown invoice.  He said he could not.  He said that they  did not provide this information (!) and did their work by job estimate.  He was not willing or able to give me a basis for the estimate, repeating only that all work was done by job estimate.  He further said that if they anticipated that a job would take 4 hours but it took 4 days, the cost was the same--which was not what I was told by the fellow who made the estimate.
Now here's the question, would you do business with someone who was unwilling or unable to give you the specifics of costs?  As a consumer, I find a serious problem with work that is done strictly by "job estimate" especially if it is true that there is no additional charge if the work takes longer than anticipated when the original estimate was made. This means that the estimate will essentially always be on the high side to cover any possible extra costs the service provider might have.  I should add, that the estimate is the actual minimum someone will pay this service provider even if the time taken to complete the job is less than secretly figured in the estimate.  Consequently, you are obligated to pay the price, even if excessive, as it was in our case.
I contacted other plumbing services and found none who price their work this way.  All would make an estimate but would have that estimate based on anticipated materials costs and labor costs as clearly identified in the estimate.  They made clear that the estimate was only that and that the final cost might vary up or down depending upon the actual labor and parts required for the job.
As good as the service was, I cannot recommend this provider.  Their job-estimate practice is unethical, especially since they are unwilling to tell tell per-hour labor costs on which an estimate is based.  Should you decide to  use this provider, be sure to ask lots of questions about the estimate, pushing for a clear explanation of the basis of the estimate (something I did not do but, in after-sight, realize I should have).  I also advise getting estimates from other providers.  In other words, be very circumspect about this provider.  You will likely save a good amount of money using someone else.