JH Peterson Inc

It was very easy to schedule the appointment and they even offered me a super-convenient pre-work appointment. Petersen gave me the name of the plumber coming to perform the special service (4-point toilet tune-up), which restored my toilet to perfect working order. I asked for an estimate on replacing the tub spout diverter, received a sound estimate, and the employee, Mr. Jaffa, went to his truck for the necessary parts and immediately replaced the diverter. Good value, excellent service. I paid $80 for the toilet coupon, and $190 for the spout replacement. That bathroom may be good to go for another 17 years!

I called them and they explained that the Big Deal would not cover the repair. I had the deal refunded. I appreciated that they were very honest on the phone.

They did pretty good work. Everything got done. It did take a little longer than I thought it would take so it did end up costing more than I had liked. But the work was done well.

He said that it would be better to replace the toilet as opposed to fixing it. He said that to replace the part would be fairly expensive. He was also very informative about some other things that I need to have done. It was a positive experience generally, it just did not accomplish what I was hoping to accomplish which was having the toilet fixed.

They literally came out and checked four points of the toilet. In the end, I felt it was a waste of money. They did what was advertised in the Big Deal, but it was not worth the $69.00. I would not recommend purchasing the Deal.

Due to slow drains and flushes, I contacted JH Plumbing and was quite pleased with their service. The plumber was early, called me numerous times by phone, waited for me to get home, gave me honest upfront pricing out of a standard price book, and took the time to explain everything he was proposing to do. He took a price and effort incremental approach that was extremely thoughtful, and ended up resolving the issue at a lower price point as a result. He was very careful regarding cleanliness and protecting my walls, floors, etc. He contacted my local waste company, which was ultimately at fault for the problem, and ensured that they came to my house the same day. His effort took 3 hours; on an hourly basis, this was an extremely reasonable price for these services. I have rarely had this level of courteous, thoughtful, thorough and price conscious service from any company. I will absolutely be using their services in the future, and recommend them highly to you.

Note the above story. Overall, it was long and very expensive. It seemed like every time the second man came, there was a new charge that I didn't know about. I was prepared to pay for the parts but thought the company should have fixed the faucet they had recently replaced for free especially after I had to chase the company down for more than 3 months!

I needed what I thought was a "simple" float valve replacement to silence a running toilet. (In lieu of a new toilet.) The 4-point toilet tune-up announced December 2011 was perfectly timed. Finally made the appointment in late March and even had a replacement float in hand ahead of time. Unfortunately, the pipes were so old that the water shutoff didn't even work properly. The plumber (Al, I think) explained where the difficulty lay, toilet types, toilet bases (i.e., impact on the existing tile). He even answered my questions about buying a toilet myself (contracting the installation alone) and applying my special deal to the larger job. He was prompt, tidy, and courteous (despite a brief misunderstanding about the entry to my building--my error). I am saving up for the new toilet that I plan to have JH Peterson install. Definitely recommending them to my friends. (Long delay in posting this in NO way reflects the service they provided or my appreciation for their work.)

The plumber came on time, assessed the problem and even explained the issue with my toilet seepage so that I could potentially address it myself if it arose again in the future. The toilet is still running great.

Given that the condo was built in the 1980s, replacement of the seal is dued to normal wear and tear. The plumber advised to always set the facuet handle to the center when turning the water off. It is not neccessary to replace the whole unit because the facuet works without any more leak We discovered the location of the water shutoff valve. He turned off the this valve prior to replacing the shower/tub facuet. When he replaced the facuet, he turned the main valve on then tested the shower/tub facuet It worked satisfactory. The job took about 20 minutes.

Pointed out situations fine.

He was very responsive and gave me a really great price.

We expected the repairs to cost hundreds of dollars, but it was only a minor issue. The gentleman diagnosed and repaired the problem within minutes. Furthermore, he was friendly and professional, and it was easy to deal with him. The lady in the office was very nice as well. Since he had been there only a few minutes, we decided to have him perform a whole house plumbing inspection. He did a great job with this, too.

JH Peterson has a very professional front office staff. On the day I called they were prepared to send someone out the same day, except I couldn't get home in time. I scheduled for a few days later. JH did some plumbing work in my upstairs bathroom last year. I suppose now that none of that work was really necessary, since this plumber was quite confident that the leak impacting my living room ceiling appears to be unrelated to the toilet they replaced or the work on the tub performed one year ago. In any case, I don't totally regret those upgrades, since I realize some of this is trouble shooting, and water leaks can cause very serious problems. On the other hand, it was painful to have purchased a $720 toilet last year knowing now that it was not the problem. But for no charge on this visit, the plumber did a simple fix on the toilet so that it now flushes correctly, and JH provided a referral to someone who does tile work and can repair and re-seal around the tub -- the source of my slow ceiling leak issue. The plumber also inspected my front hose bib and confirmed my suspicion that it needs no immediate repair. I am happy with their expertise, promptness, professionalism, and responsiveness.

I called JH Peterson frantic due to water gushing through a ceiling. The lady who answered the phone was very calming and walked me through shutting off the water to the house. My husband was recently deployed to Afghanistan and I had no idea of what to do. She had a technician (Ray) at my home within 1 hour. He was very professional and after checking several areas where the leak was it was determined that the leak was coming from behind a shower wall. He then explained that tile would have to be removed and the entire shower valve would need to be replaced and that I would need further tile and ceiling repair. On top of that the job would take at least two days. At that point I was in tears. Ray said that he would not be able to complete all of the work since it was Friday and that the office is closed on the weekends except for emergency calls which come in after 4 pm on Friday's. This bathroom is the only one with a shower and tub and with 3 small children I was completely overwhelmed. Ray said that he would be glad to return on Saturday (his day off) if the office would give approval. After calling and speaking with Mr. Peterson, not only was authorization given for him to return but also that I would not be charged the emergency rates for weekend work. Mr. Peterson stated that this was the least that he could do as my husband was away defending our country!! He was also able to contact his tile repair person who agreed to come out on Sunday to replace the shower wall and tiles.These folks are incredible and I have not ever experienced such care and concern from any other contactors that we have used over the years.

The repairman was actually early for the appointment. He was very professional and courteous. He really tried to work with me on the price. We thought it was going to be more, but when he got in there he found he could do it for half the price. Very happy with their work and would definitely use them again.

The company performed the work in April 2011. After a short time the system failed ? the emergency overflow light turned on, one of the two pumps failed, the controller system did not switch the load across the two pumps as it was supposed to, and manually clearing the sewer by running the second, more reliable pump in ?manual? mode sometimes worked ? clearing the emergency warning light ? and sometimes didn?t. This set of symptoms remained present over about ten service calls between April 2011 and August 2012 ? the time of writing ? in a small number of variations but always on the same theme; failure of Pump 1, failure of the controller system to work as it should, the emergency light on, and overflow on two occasions. It would be fair to say that the system did not work properly for more than a few weeks in a row since it was installed by the contractor. The good news first. JH Peterson has always responded when called, even if they were a bit dismissive and resistant over the phone. Other than questioning my judgment numerous times (?Well, it?s only you saying a part of the controller blew up in your face, of course we?d have to come out and, aah, verify that.?) they DID come out for all the multiple and repeated service failures we experienced. Now the bad news. The original installation was done lazily and carelessly, with the pumps not being properly elevated or mounted in the sewer pit ? the result being that they twisted with the startup torque every time, causing failures. This problem was not caught in the first few follow-ups and was only addressed later. The controller cabinet had a faulty switchover relay which was only found today ? sixteen months after installation ? and which they now say ?could have been the problem for months?. Some months ago something in their controller cabinet literally blew up in my face ? flash, boom, shockwave ? when I switched Pump 2 to Manual to clear the tank after another failure, and it may well have been this controller unit. The company was completely dismissive at the time; it seems I was exaggerating, or perhaps misunderstanding normal operation and unable to recognize an explosion. Today they finally replaced the switchover relay, cleared their Pump 1 which had failed owing to an airlock problem (no, we didn?t sneak down to the pit and pump air into the system one night for a joke, any more than I made up the relay explosion ? the pump failed in normal operation) and pronounced the system fixed. I want to believe it, and they appear to have made a real effort this time, but we?ve been told on every other visit that the problems were fixed then too. And finally ? I got a very rude and arrogant letter from the owner of the company today, accusing me of impatience after my family had waited 16 months for a fix, which is impressive. They also washed their hands of the whole thing and have now walked away. I?ll post this letter on Angie?s List if there?s room below, and if not, then on Facebook, so you can judge for yourself. Needless to say, we?re now heading back to Angie?s list for a new contractor. It?s a shame when once-good businesses drop the ball, and it makes me sad for the founders. If these are ?the Good Guys your friends told you about?, I?m in no hurry to meet the bad guys. =================================================== The letter from JH Peterson dated today, August 14th 2012, the date of posting, from the owner of JH Peterson, reproduced below in full and unedited. Judge for yourself. From: John H. Peterson [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 3:41 PM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected]; Ellen Roberson; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: RE: ((address removed)), Potomac MD As you are fully aware now, the failure in the system this time and possibly for over 6 months has been the alternating relay. That would include the numerous times we were out but everything would be working OK after reset. As you are probably aware, any item that has microprocessors can work 100x and then stop and start sporadically. Just so happens today, Brian was able to isolate it when he was testing the switches. You are also probably aware we brought in the Myers ?Factory Representative? to verify the install and anything that may be wrong. Using a direct quote, the ?Factory Representative? Service Tech stated that the failure was ?probably? caused by an electrical surge from outside sources such as power interruptions and/or lightning. With this in mind, they also stated that any Act of God or power surges would not be covered under any manufacturer warranty as neither will we. The failed relay would not allow the alternation nor the backup needed and caused the pump to air lock itself out. Again Not an installer error as you have implied. Kind of like running a tire over a glass bottle and expect a manufacturer to be responsible. Brian Jaffa, our technician is also in agreement with their statements and even explained to you that this was an entirely billable call. They also concur that there is no evidence of recent ?overflows? as quoted to the answering service last night. All homeowners with grinder/ejectors know that when the alarm sounds, stop using any water in the house because it is the homeowner?s responsibility to make sure no more water goes in to cause an overflow. Since you have had to deal with the nuisance we decided to just make the ?problem? go away and absorb any and all costs incurred today which include the relay, Factory Service Tech, our Tech and the parts runner. By employing the factory representative today, as our witness, they concurred that the job is sized, controlled and installed properly using approved installation methods not as implied elsewhere in this email. In addition since the ?Factory Rep? has implied electrical surge, the manufacturer and JH Peterson Plumbing?s (1) warranty is now exhausted. We basically gave you an additional (5) months extension by picking up the costs today. I would suggest that you contact an electrician and have a whole house surge protector installed and also on the pumps sitting in water outside. http://www.serioussurgeprotection.com/web/specialized-products/ I would suggest that in the future you keep the ?personal attacks? and over the top infuriation made directly to our Coworkers including our Office and the On Call technician at 9PM last night to yourself. No one enjoys going into a sewer pit, especially when people are insensible to the dangers it presents, so graciousness is appreciated. It is my personal belief civil people get more done by acting courteously such as we have been to you instead of acting out as a bully. My mother used to say ??? To keep the office informed, Please "Reply All" so that they may see this thread John H Peterson [email protected] JH Peterson Plumbing Heating & Well Pumps 627B Sligo Ave Silver Spring MD 20910 (301) 585 3006 (301) 589 8739 Fax www.PetersonPlumbing.com "We're the Good Guys your friends told you about" ® ================== UPDATE - 21 Sep 2012 ================== The system failed yet again, several days ago, with exactly the same symptoms. Emergency light on, sewage water overflowing from the tank, Pump 1 repeatedly blowing breaker on the panel and even the main switch breaker. No power failures or glitches anywhere, so we can give that excuse a decent burial. Photos attached. These people charged us $10k-plus and dealing with them has been a nightmare. We are getting the work redone by a competent company, and no doubt that will be expensive. Nor are we the only bad review of JH Peterson - see for yourself. You belong to Angie's partly to be warned about experiences like this - so take our advice and don't be a victim. We paid $10,300 for work that was not worth $10.30 .

AWFUL. Day 1:When I went into the kitchen I found water all over the kitchen floor which was leaking through a recessed ceiling light. I ran upstairs and found water all over the bathroom floor above the kitchen. My husband had just had a knee replacement and couldn't use the stairs. He instructed me how to turn off the toilet water and I cleaned up the water and put bucket under recessed light in kitchen. In a panic I found that Angies List has an A rating for J.H. Peterson so I quickly read some of the reviews which seemed good. BIG MISTAKE not to read more than Page 1 because there were also bad reviews which I should have heeded - but I called J.H. Peterson for service. Ray arrived in about one hour. Pleasant young man - we had no reason to think he wasn't a competent plumber who could diagnosis our problem. He quickly decided he needed to pull and reset the toilet. He said that the turn valve was difficult to turn and offered to replace that - something my husband had done to other toilets and decided to have Ray replace. We thought prices were too expensive but had no other plumbing prices to compare and just wanted to get this problem fixed as soon as possible. As senior citizens we are increasingly having to hire contractors to do work that my husband has done in the past. Ray told us about J.H. Peterson's service agreement for 1 year which had a free future plumbing inspection for $99 and discounted prices to be included on work done that day which would make the s/a only $53. Seemed like a fair deal so we added that. That discount and Angies discount is reflected above. We weren't happy about what we paid for this repair and new turn valve but thought water leak problem solved. WRONG. Day 2:Once more woke up to find water all over kitchen floor dripping through bulging dry wall in ceiling, and water all over the bathroom floor above kitchen. I called J.H. Peterson again and a different plumber arrived several hours later. Initially he could find no leak or problem with what Ray had done on Day 1. He called Ray for advice who told him he should cut a hole in kitchen ceiling to see if pipes leaking. We were warned that was at our expense. We also felt we had no choice at that point so we agreed thinking that registered plumbers must know if there is no alternative and had checked other possibilities. WRONG AGAIN. About a 3 ft hole was cut - not very neatly - in our kitchen ceiling. Plumber turned on all water faucets upstairs and looked for leak. None found. Best advice was watchful waiting; also that if another leak occurred I shouldn't clean up water on the floors so they could see it. Yeah right. So when the plumber was upstairs in the bathroom gathering up his tools he called me to come upstairs. He asked if I could hear a noise from inside the toilet tank. I could. Plumber decided he would "rebuild" inside of toilet tank to see if that is a possible cause of leak. Apparently our leak was a very common problem caused by a defective fill valve that caused the toilet to overflow - something my husband had replaced on other toilets in the past for ~ $10. What I want to know is why these two registered - I assume - plumbers didn't check for this very common toilet problem before making costly repairs and cutting a hole in our ceiling which is going to cost many more hundreds of dollars to have repaired? Though the defective fill valve was fixed by the "rebuild" it seems that cost of repair is way out of line since we wasted so much money with unneeded repairs. Is that what J.H. advertises as "Straight Forward Pricing"? Price listed above does not include what we now have to spend on ceiling repair - all for a fill valve issue. Their Service Contract is a joke. I certainly wouldn't trust anything they found to be repaired - so that is a loss for us as well. Minor loss compared to what we have already lost by hiring this company. Advice - Don't hire this company. It was just a fluke that the second plumber on Day 2 even discovered the problem. NOTE: Ellen at J.H.Peterson called me ~ August 22, 2012. She said that Mr. Peterson was "dismayed" about the plumbing issues we experienced with their company. He offered to refund the cost of some repairs made by plumbing technicians as well as the cost of repairing and painting drywall repairs made to our kitchen ceiling as a result of leak search. He also offered to install a new toilet at no charge but I declined that offer. The rebuild seems to have worked. I received a check for $1,069. While unhappy with the experience, I think he made a fair offer to compensate us.

I did. Read the paragraph above.

They called to say they were on the way at noon, for a 1:00 start time. Jeff arrived at 12:40 ish. Placed shoe boots on before entering the house. I told him that the tank wasn't filling up and the toilet wasn't flushing. He turned the valve which turned the water back on and black water slowly began filling the tank up, and a slight leak was noticed at the valve. He suggested replacing the all the toilet pieces inside and connected to the tank. On the receipt he noted replacing the fill valve and flapper. He asked to remove his shoe shields since my floor was "too clean" and slippery, I agreed. He came back in with the parts, and completed the work. I had a new toilet seat cover and asked how much he would charge to replace it. He said "a couple of dollars" and then he threw out $25.00. I declined that service. After literally 7-10 minutes, he came down and said he'd finish and went get the bill. I checked the work and it looked like he replaced some parts inside and a white tube connecting to the valve on the outside., which was originally metal. I flushed and the toilet seemed to be working well. The issue was addressed. I just think that the amount paid for the services rendered was astronomical!!! I don't recommend them and will never use JH Peterson, inc. again. No offense to Jeff...I'm sure he was following protocol.

Emailed about clogged drain on Sunday evening, and had response via email at 7a Mon morning. Also received follow-up phone call from very nice lady at their offices - but had already booked appointment with someone else by that point. They were very friendly and responsive though - I'd definitely look to use them in the future.

From the initial contact with Ellen who scheduled the work to Ray's completion, I was very pleased. This is a service-oriented company and they were responsive, accommodating, and professional. The toilets were installed first and I had to order the new faucets and the day they arrived, Ray came by after a job in the area to install them. He was very personable and did the work quickly with clean-up after. I think the cost was high but since I didn't get multiple estimates, I can't say it wasn't within range for this area. I am very satisfied with the work and wouldn't hesitate to contact JH Peterson again for plumbing.

The staff was great. He did some extra work like unclogged my dishwasher. They were very easy to schedule. I would use them again. I would use them again

They came out and did what they were supposed to do.

They were just superb. They charge by the job and not by the hour. Very professional, showed up on time, explained everything to me. I would recommend them to anyone. They also honored my Angie's List discount. I am totally pleased!