Roto Rooter

Let me preface this by saying that I set up my appointment
the Friday before the Monday it was to be done. I didn't do good research
because I didn't have my Angie's List account name and password at work and
needed to set something up as soon as possible. I called the closest company
that appeared in my google search for "roto rooter". I spoke with the
office manager, gave her my address and told her when I needed service. She
said for a simple clog to be "root rooted" would be 165.00. I thought
that sounded reasonable, so we agreed on 10 am Monday morning.
 
Fastforward to Monday morning:
I got a call at 10:30 from Bud - he didn't introduce himself
( I had to ask "Is this Bud"?). Lackadaisically, he said he was on
another job and just realized it was after 10:30 and what exactly was my
problem that he needed to fix. I told him I had a clog in my main sewer line,
describing it as major/serious (to me anyway). He then asked where I live (???
huh??? didn't he already know??). I told him Canton and he didn't ask for the
rest of the address (indicating he already knew where I lived), then said he
would be there in ~1 hour. 
11:30 (an hour and a half late), he arrives and when asked
about the camera to look in the sewer line, he says, "Oh, we didn't bring
that". He said it wasn't necessary for most jobs. A little irked, but ok
with his explanation, I left it in his hands and left him with my boyfriend who
was also there working on the house. 
Then I get a call from my boyfriend at ~1pm saying that Bud
had left and that he (my friend) had paid him with a check from his own account.
He told me that was the "good news". Naturally I asked for the
"bad news" and he told me that Bud had said I was misquoted - that
the office manager wasn't supposed to give quotes and that the 165.00 was their
old price, but now it's 175.00, plus and extra 40.00 for going to where I live
(equaling 215.00). He added in that Bud said I couldn't have "come up with
that number on my own, so it must be she was really quoted that" (a
comment offensive enough in and of itself, implying that although I could
potentially be a liar, he would ally those fears in my boyfriend).
Obviously, if my boyfriend hadn't disrespected me by not
suggesting Bud call me prior to paying, the situation could have stopped there
with me explaining that I chose him based on the price I was quoted and not
what he was now telling me I owed, and that I would pay the 165.00. 
As it was, by the time I called Bud, he told me he had
already deposited the check and that I had gotten a "good deal" (i.e.
I should be grateful). He then asked why I left the house and how on earth was
a planning to pay anyway? Uhmmm, ever heard of an invoice?? My expectation was
that he would have called me (since he had my phone number) and I would give
him a credit card number over the phone. I guess he knew he had done wrong by
accepting my boyfriend's check and not calling me so he was attempting to make
me feel responsible, guilty. He also attempted to appear to be someone with
integrity, snowing my boyfriend by telling him another plumber could have taken
advantage of me (being female and all) since I said the problem was a "big
one", some kool aid my boyfriend just lapped up prior to handing over a
check for 50.00 more than I was quoted. 
One last thing he did was to try to paint me as petty since I
was bothering to contact him about returning the 50.00. He said "well, we
shouldn't get so upset over 50.00 dollars, so I'll just return it ? put it in
your mailbox tomorrow". I told him that I was glad he felt the amount was
negligible, so I would be waiting for it in my mailbox tomorrow (that's now
today).
I am still waiting on the 50.00 to be returned to me - not
because I care "so much" about 50.00 but out of principle. I?ll
post an update.
Summary: disrespectful, misogynistic, untimely and seemingly
unbothered by it, dishonest, and lacks integrity based on my experience. My
drain may be unclogged, but I really wish I had never hired this guy. I would
gladly pay someone twice as much who respects me as a person (a person who
happens to be a woman), who honors their word, and who respects my time and
intelligence.