Z PLUMBERZ North America

I was impressed with Jeff him. I got a few cards, and even passed them to my neighbors, and to the library. I would recommend him to anyone. Even the gentlemen was nice , helpful and knowable…

It was good. Due to nature of urgency I had to go with different plumber but phone call was very friendly and professional response. Definitely will consider for future planned plumbing services.

I had a metal plumbing snake snap off in the main clean-out drain in my basement for which he just tugged on to see if he could remove it. He said he's been doing this for 20 years. Based on my description of the problem he told they would need to bust the concrete in my basement around the drain, excavate the dirt replace four feet down and replace some of the drain pipe and it would cost $3975. He told me he would need a check for half the amount to schedule them to come out the next day. When I declined, he wrote the quote up and said he texted his master plumber and they could do it for $3200. He also said before he left if I got another quote and it was a couple hundred dollars less they'd match it. So before he walked out the door he dropped the price almost $1000. I went on a Plumbing forum online, posted a picture of the drain and explained all that happened. They all said $4000 was really high. They also said you can't quote a job like that until you've run a snake or a camera down there. They also said since he just quoted the job and didn't do any work I shouldn't have had to pay a service fee as a general rule. A plumber in the forum said he's removed lots of snapped snakes and recommended I take a pair of vice-grips, clamp the snake as close the drain hole as possible and turn in the opposite direction applying some back and forth pressure. It took three turns and about a minute for me to remove the stuck metal snake from the drain. Additionally, I never received a followup call from them so I am of the opinion they wanted a pretty big payday at my expense. The serviceman was dressed professionally, he was clean and courteous and I have no complaints about the way they presented themselves. I'm just not sure I trust them. Clearly others have used them and had some very favorable experiences so I guess my message is to follow the advice from the plumbers in the forum, get at least three quotes.

Came home after visiting my husband in the hospital, used the toilet and extremely loud banging and vibrations occurred. It was like someone hitting the pipes with a sledgehammer. Thought the whole powder room was going to explode. It quit after a few minutes. This was pretty late in the evening so the next morning I looked on Angie's List and called Plumbing Professionals and they were able to send someone that morning. He checked the water heater, flushed toilets and turned on all the faucets. Said there was air in the water line that probably was caused when the neighbor had her sprinklers flushed out and the air got into the main line and then into our house water line. He took the time to completely explain all this to me and said that the only way to get rid of the air was to open all the faucets at once but it would take hours but he could do it if I wanted or I could do it myself to save the hourly service charge. He also suggested that I call the Plymouth Township Water Dept. and have them flush air out of main city line. I called them a few days later and they agreed with the diagnosis but don't think they ever came out and did anything to the fire hydrant in front of our house. The water hammer continued for a few weeks but never as bad as that first time. Water out of cold water faucet came out in spits. I guess if I had just waited it out it would have taken care of itself but I didn't know.

NOTE: this is my father's Angie's List account and this is where I got PP's recommendation. I am leaving my opinions out of this review because I?m pretty sure you can form your own opinion based on the events listed below. I started to document everything as it happened when the first thing went wrong? Called 10/8/12 to schedule quote ? same day service promised on website. They scheduled us for Thurs 10/11 after 4pm. Got a call on Thurs ? need to reschedule for Fri 10/12, emergency surgery for tech. I asked if there?s only one tech for west Michigan, she said for today yes. Fri 10/12 ? Tech came out: Tech talked to Project Mgr and scheduled liner installation for Monday 10/22 night to avoid pulling permits and shutting the road down. Following up on Tues 10/23 in the morning. Threw in laundry hook up and new vent pipe section. Needed down payment check to schedule and I needed to get a loan first. Gave him down payment check ? he said he?d wait to hear from me before cashing it. I told tech I am going early next week to get loan. (went following Tues for loan) Thurs 10/18 ? checked online banking to make sure funds were there. Down payment check was cashed. I called the tech to let him know the check was cashed without our permission and he didn?t know anything about it. Sat 10/20 ? called PP office to confirm time Monday night for tech to come out because I did not receive a promised confirmation phone call. She did not see me on the books. 2 hours no call back ? I called her back and she said the tech thought it was Thurs or Fri. I said I?m looking at the work order and it says Mon 10/22 night & Tues 10/23 morning. PP office Left a VM on my husband?s phone confirming 9AM Monday 10/22. Why was our check cashed if we were not on the books? Because we were supposed to be schedule for Monday night and now it?s moved to 9AM my husband scrambled to get covered for work and had to take an unpaid day off. Mon 10/22 ? techs calls at 9:20 (already late) - they will be there between 1 & 2. Said they had to get organized and finish up loose ends from jobs on Sunday. I call PP office. Project Mgr calls me back, says he remembers the origin Monday night time vs morning and apologizes for scheduling error. ?We?ll make it right.? he says. Mon 10/22 ? techs make it out at 2:00. First thing Project Mgr says to me when he walks in our kitchen is: ?so you?re the p***** off yeller.? Project Mgr gives a verbal 10% discount to ?make it right?. Techs leave for supplies at 2:30 don?t return until 5:00. Jetter turns up at 6:00 they decide to put the liner in Tues 10/23/12 due to expected rain in the forecast. Tues 10/23 ? afraid of rain all week. reschedule for Mon/Tues 10/29 & 30 Wed 10/24 ? My husband talks to Project Mgr on speakerphone and he gives the OK to cancel liner installation. He said we will need a liner one day but right now we do not need it. Said the quoting tech works off sales and has been occasionally selling liners to people that don?t absolutely need one. Gave us price so far into job and said PP will send us a check for the difference between our down payment and that cost. Mon 10/29 ? I get a voicemail from PP Regional Mgr. I call him back and he itemizes all charges. This price winds up being $2600 over what the Project Mgr told us we were into the job. I explain that we got a price from the Project Mgr and that should stand. He disagrees and says if you had that on letterhead I?d have to give it to you. I?d fight you every step of the way but I?d have to honor it, but verbally no. I tell him I have it in an email and that?s when he asks to call me in the morning after he talks with the Project Mgr. Tues 10/30 ? I did not get a phone call, so I call Regional Mgr. and he is insisting that I am trying to get away with something and that he?ll have a refund check cut for the appropriate amount. I said you will have a refund check cut for $3200 according to the price we were given. I ask to speak with his manager. He recommends the Vice President. I call the VP to review entire situation. He requests all documents and will have a meeting involving everyone and call back tomorrow so I emailed everything I had. Wed 10/31 ? I do not hear from VP. Thurs 11/1 ? I email VP requesting a phone call. He calls back ? says he?s getting different stories from everyone. Tries to tell me that if we take this to court they would win. VP says they need to attempt to reuse the liner and that could take over a year and says there will be a restocking fee. VP says he will call back tomorrow with a number that he thinks is fair for the company and also for us. Fri 11/2 ? I do not get a phone call. Mon 11/5 ? Settled on a refund of $2600. VP says he will respond to my email outlining our conversation with the dollar amounts. Says he will make some phone calls regarding picking up their equipment at our house and we should see our check by next Monday or Tuesday. Wed 11/7 ? sent email to VP outlining conversation because I never got one from him and asked him to please confirm. Never got a response. Tues 11/6 thru Wed 11/14 ? no refund check/no communication from VP 11/18 - 4 days of badgering the VP we FINALLY got our refund. Basically the settled refund of $2600 was giving them $600 to just make it all go away. They were completely unprofessional in every sense of the word. I almost wish I would have taken them to court. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

PP explored the idea of directional boring to go under the street instead of breaking up the concrete, and they found a subcontractor who brought an old (small) machine out of retirement for the job, since it would have to fit into my narrow side yard to back far enough away to bore down nine feet or so to meet the line in the front yard. This required removing the wire fence to the backyard and three large shrubs. Holes were dug in the front yard to make the connection with the cast-iron pipe from the basement, as well as in the court island, to connect to the main. That required trimming of a 35-year-old maple for backhoe manuevering. By the way, it was fascinating to watch the delicate artistry of the backhoe operator ? he was very skilled! The boring machine is water-cooled, like a dentist's drill, so copious amounts of mud were produced. Since it had been out of service, it had some breakdowns, even requiring a part to be fabricated, but the job was still completed in the less-than-two days I'd been promised. They brought a LOT of people and equipment to get the job done expeditously. When informed that my township requires tree-and-shrub clippings to be cut to length and bundled for pickup, PP rented a chipper and disposed of the mountain of them at no extra charge, carting off the remains. They stayed until after ten that night and worked until after 5 the second day to clean up, shoveling the mud out of the court and off sidewalks. I am left with two dirt piles (in my yard and in the court island, where they trenched), which must be allowed to settle before reseeding the lawn, and I will replace some shrubs that I could not move before the job. But the fence was replaced as it had been and the job site was left remarkably clean after an unholy mess. I would have preferred to pay less, of course, but I care more about quality of work than price. I may have been able to get this done more cheaply by someone else, but I did not even get a second quote. PP has always done first-class work for me, and they certainly came through this time.

They answered my phone call on the weekend and sent someone out that day! The job went great and I had every confidence in their work!

Getting an appointment was quick and convenient. The plumber arrived on time, wore booties, and did his job efficiently.

Mike A. and Delmar were awesome. They came a few minutes early and did their work with care. They were helped me understand my options and they made sure everything was working properly before they left. Thank you.

Had to contact Plumbing Professors after Roto Rooter told us that could not come until the morning. Contacted PP, made it to my home within 1 hour to troubleshoot my problem. Jason was very friendly, and explained everything. I had a flood in my home (colonial style) that was coming from my bathtub) so the water needed to be shut off but there was at least 1 ft of water. Jason handled the problem and gave us advice going forward. I would use them again and recommend this company.

Water started backing up in my basement on a Saturday night. I called Plumbing Professors on Sunday. They charge the same rates for weekends so I thought that might be a good sign. Tim came out on Sunday and snaked the main and got the water running again. During the process he could feel a spot that he suspected was broken. He recommended sending out someone with a camera on Monday. Sunday's weather was not in my favor with over an inch of rain and unseasonably warm temperatures. Sunday night the drain started backing up again. Tim came back out (in a snow/ice/rain storm), snaked it again at no additional charge. On Monday it was confirmed via camera that there was a break. Unfortunately I was looking at a very expensive repair that included digging up my front yard. The excavation team (Todd, Bo, Mike and Chilo) arrived promptly at 8:30 am. Prior to digging equipment was used to confirm where the pipe was. It was not where it was expected to be and at one time there were multiple additional people including the VP of the company at my house confirming where the issue was prior to digging. This effort saved multiple holes and saved my driveway. The team was exceptional. They worked in 0 degree temps and 35 mph winds to repair the problem. They were polite, professional and cleaned up after as well as could be expected given the weather conditions. I would call Plumbing Professors again if needed and would recommend them to others.

they got the job done within the time needed but the cost was twice as much as expected.

I did not end up suing the company due to the cost being greater then another company.

He did good work but he was a little too expensive for me.

Initial contact went fine, even on the evening of Christmas Day. Spoke with a rep who said he would have a technician at our house between 9:30 and 11:00 that evening. We waited, and finally the technician called at about 9:45 to say he wouldn't be able to make it because he didn't have enough gas in his van and wouldn't be able to get any until the next day. We live about 25 miles from where he was based. We thought that was a little strange since several gas stations were open on Christmas Day. He offered to reschedule the service call for the next morning at 8:30. Since I had the day off from work anyway, I agreed. The next morning, 8:30 came and went with no sign of the technician. At 9:00 I called the company again and was told the service call hadn't been rescheduled in their system, and they would have to make another appointment for mid-afternoon that day. I wasn't too happy about it, but by that point we just needed to have the work done. Finally, I got on the company's website and sent an email detailing what had happened. I received a response from a senior person shortly thereafter who indicated he would upgrade the call to an emergency and get someone to my house ASAP. The technician (not the one who had called me the previous evening) arrived around noon. The technician did a good job and cleaned up some of the mess the backed up drain had left behind. He hadn't been told about the situation I had had with the scheduling, however; when I told him the story he offered a $20 discount off the service call, which was nice, but I already had a coupon for $15 off, so I essentially got a $5 break for my trouble. Once everything was scheduled and the work completed, I was satisfied with the end result. I just wish they had arrived when first promised, then I could give a higher rating.

Overall they did a great job.

Company was very attentive during the first call to discuss the problem. They were able to come out slightly before scheduled time, but called first to ensure I was available. Once arrived, the tech was very professional and diagnosed the problem immediately. He attempted to snake the basement drain using the regular equipment. However, that did not clear the blockage, so he used the heavy duty equipment, which ended up working fine. All in all, it took just over an hour or so, which I thought was quick for what needed to be done. The tech also answered another quick question I had on something else. Definitely a positive experience.

Extremely responsive!!! The crew showed up about an hour after my call. Very professional!! Discussed the problem and possible causes, and we all agreed upon the corrective action before they began. It took a bit of doing to reach the actual clog (several bends under the floor), but they managed to clear it with not much difficulty. Very Neat!! Put down floor tarps and cleaned up any mess under the vanity when they finished.

Jeff Nagel performed the work. Jeff is awesome! He did not pressure me into more work than was needed to repair the leaks in the shower and toilet. The work was excellent, and he cleaned up so well no one could tell a repair person had been in my home. Jeff was extremely knowledgeable and answered all of my questions without talking down to me. I rated the price as C because it was high, but probably the same price another plumber would have charged. I have recommended Jeff and Plumbing Professors to several friends, and they have had the same excellent experience as me. I hope I don't have any future plumbing problems, but if I do I will definitely contact Plumbing Professors.

Had them come to give me a third estimate on Gas line installation. I had two very different estimates and they were recommeded to me to get a third so I could see where the mean was. They were on time for the original appointment, after some initial confusion with their dispatcher about potentially coming earlier. The rep was very professional and very nice. Unfortunately they needed more information (BTU's of all potential appliances etc). We ended up going with a local group that installed quickly and took into account the amount of BTU's one would need to get good gas pressure. PP was nice but gave me all sorts of caveats about doing what I wanted to do.

The technician arrived late, but did call first to tell me that there was a mix-up with the supplier. Once the problem was resolved, he was able to perform all of the work as promised, and on the same day. He was polite and professional throughout the day, cleaned up well after the job was completed, and worked later than usual to make up for the late start and to finish on the same day. A few days after the job was completed, I had to call them back about a slow leak - more like a slow drip - and that was repaired the next day. I selected Plumbing Professors from Angie's list, along with two other contractors. PP was very competitive on the pricing. They weren't the least expensive, but were within a hundred dollars. I chose PP based on the professionalism and knowledge exhibited by the technician when he came to the house to quote the job. I was not disappointed in any way with the results, and have already had them back to install a new bathroom shower.

Diagnosing the Problem: We built our house about 7 years ago. Our "builder grade" water heater decided to go out the weekend before Thanksgiving. We called the company who originally installed it but they charged a very high "emergency fee" to come out and take a look at it since it was on a weekend. We called around and found Plumbing Professors, who seemed to be rated well on Angies List. They came out promptly and told us that the thermocouple on our unit was bad. They thought that perhaps it would be covered under warranty and to check with the company that originally installed it. I was impressed that they wanted to do the right thing and have the original company that put it in service it, rather than take the opportunity to make a quick buck off us. Integrity means a lot to me, especially in this day and age when it's hard to come by. Unfortunately, we called the company that installed our water heater and learned it was not under warranty (by 1 year). Plumbing Professors quoted us $450 to repair. The original company thought that the repair might not be as big of an issue, but they were going to charge an excessive fee for "emergency" and it still probably would have been at least that cost. In addition to the age of the unit and it not being under warranty, we also ran out of hot water on occasion. Consequently, we decided to use this as an opportunity to upgrade to a larger model. Plumbing Professors provided us with several different options- repair the existing one, replace with a similar sized 40 gallon, or upgrade to a larger 75 gallon model. They also quoted a tank-less water heater option. Rob was very friendly and explained some of the technical detail around why our water heater went out, and what some of the pro's and con's are of the various models. Making the Decision Before making a decision, I decided to call around. I checked with many near by "big box" retailers. They offered similar options, but none of them had any stock for larger units (above 50 gallons). I also called several other contractors and had similar price quotes. A few wanted to charge me an service fee to come out and provide a quote, while others ball parked similar pricing to what Plumbing Professors quoted me. I compared the options and ultimately decided to go with Plumbing Professors. In the end it was the professionalism, courtesy, and friendliness of Rob that sold my wife and I. Performing the Work We chose to upgrade to a 75 Gallon water heater. They gave me a time window from 3-6 and made it around 5:45. They were done a little after 9pm. The install looks good, and more importantly we have hot water. I am very satisfied with the work. From start to finish the entire process took 3 days. On Saturday (day 1) they came out and diagnosed and gave a quote. On Sunday (day 2) I reviewed quotes and considered my options. I made a decision by the afternoon and asked them to install. They did not have a 75 gallon water heater in stock and had to order it, and that was installed Monday evening (day 3). I would have preferred a little bit quicker turnaround time but I understand the stocking situation (as well as existing scheduled work), especially given the other companies I had spoken with.

The appointment went perfectly. The crew showed up right on time and were very professional. Everything went perfectly.

They did OK. Expensive for the nature of the repair. I'd use them again, but I'd certainly shop around for a lower price first.

I called them for an estimate they came saw the job, the needed to get the pricing of some parts and were going to get back to me but never did.