Dickinson & Son Inc

Great craftsmanship, punctual and,neat!

I was given a day and approximate time when the plumber would be here, so I made a reservation for our dogs to be at the kennel for that day so the plumber wouldn't have to deal with two dogs. After getting up at 7 to deal with the dogs after working the previous night until midnight, I waited until 11 and then called to see if the plumber was lost and was told that an emergency came up and I'd have to reschedule. I guess my family having no water for over a week was not a plumbing emergency, I paid for and drove dogs to the kennel for no reason, and then had to call them to find out that my appointment wasn't going to be honored. The next appointment I got the service done, although the plumber showed up 3 hours after I was told to be ready for his arrival. The best was getting my bill for $1800 although I had this same company do this exact same service 7 years ago, water pump and pressure tank replaced with the exact same Gould pump, and that cost was $800 and required the same 3 hours of labor. I called to inquire why the cost was $1000 more and verified that it was indeed the exact same service and parts used, and was told the parts were more expensive now but the owner would call me back to explain. The plumber who performed the job called that afternoon and explained what he did for service. I called the office again and said my problem is with the cost of the part and not the plumbers service and was told again that the owner would call me to explain but when I got home there was another message from the plumber explaining what he did. By this time I had already found the parts online for $579 including shipping while I was charged $1341 so I called yet again to speak with the owner and once again was told he'd call me later and received no call for a week only to be sent a new bill with another $55 added for not receiving payment yet even though I still hadn't had the bill explained by the owner. I was really not happy now and demanded to have the owner take my call. I pointed out that if I had purchased my own parts and paid the extra $25 an hour in labor for doing so, then I would have saved $600. The owner pointed out that my math was correct and that's what I should have done. I showed this bill to 3 other plumbing contractors who laughed and said parts mark up is usually %40 or %50 and they've never heard of %250 mark up. Unprofessional from every angle

I thought they were a little pricey, we got a top of the line heater but I thought the work was very good.  It was beautiful, done quickly, on schedule and just the way he said it would be. We were very happy but if I was on a tight budget I probably would have gone with someone else. Prompt and do high quality work.

unknown

Excellent company.  Will use again on bigger project coming up.

unknown

unknown

Better than I hoped, and I have high expectations.

After the plumber left, the tub spout blew off the next time someone turned on the water.  I had to make a weekend emergency call to have another plumber come fix it.  It took a long time for them to arrive, and I had to pay a high rate for someone to put the spout back on more tightly.
When I complained to Mr. Dickinson that I thought the issue was due to an installation failure rather than faulty parts, he listened to my complaint but said the charges would stand.
This was one bad experience out of many good experiences over the past five years.  However, given that I've been a paying customer for years and didn't get the benefit of the doubt in this situation, I will try to use another plumber before Dickinson in the future.

1. First, as other reviewers have noted, it was great to place an early morning call (7am) and actually reach someone.  They dispatched Rick Dickinson, and he was on site within a couple of hours to examine the situation.  He explained what the problem was and we collaborated on a solution.  I dug out the area around my well to mitigate the problem and prepare for a permanent repair which was scheduled a few days later.  His team arrived on time to do the repair.  The work was of good quality, and I appreciated the fast response and our collaboration on the fastest, most cost effective way for me to get the repair made.

unknown

fast and efficient

Complex job that spanned 3 days (Dickinson senior).  Very knowledgeable. Superb craftsmanship. It's obvious that he takes pride in his work.  The bathtub fixtures in particular were difficult since he had to access them by feel (reaching up from the basement ceiling that is underneath the bathroom). Good natured and informative.  Price is competitive with other plumbers. Would definitely hire Dickinson and Son for future plumbing issues.

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First of all, the receptionist answered the phone, not a service. She was very nice and tried to help me fix the problem myself. Unfortunately, my house doesn't have a basement, so machinery is in very small spaces and closets. the plumber who I believe was the owner came out and had to take out a shelf and drywall blocking our pump. he even helped me remove the items in the closet. He was talking about having to remove the old equipment that blocked the pump, but then tried another time to see behind the old stuff. Luckily, he was able to test our panel and determine we need a new one. Other plumbers didn't even call us back. One guy answered the phone and said he would call me in ten minutes when he got to the office, it's 4 PM, still no call. Another company called 3 hours after we called them, so this plumber is by far the best that we have dealt with since we bought this house!

Our plumber was professional and courteous.  Came on time and we had no problems scheduling a time.  The quality of work appears to be good.  We were surprised, however, when we got the bill.  We had expected a bill of around $350, but got a bill closer to $700.  Upon complaining to the owner, we were given a long description of the cost break-down and this was helpful.   We still feel that the price was high, in relation to the value of what we got (we were looking for low-cost fixes for now, knowing that we were going to do a major kitchen reno in a few years).  So, definitely ask for a price estimate before signing on.  
Part of the high cost was due to materials (which seemed high for what we got) and the fact that the plumber needed an additional supply (for an unexpected item he had to fix upon encountering it).  We thought the time he spent buying the materials should have been discounted, but the company explained that that is his hourly rate regardless.  Again, we understand, but nonetheless, always good to ask for a price estimate ahead of time or before agreeing to extra work encountered unexpectedly.  

My tub spout fell off!  Because the fittings were 50+ year old crumbling CPVC, the spout wouldn't screw back in fully, and water was leaking from the poor fit.  When I called Dickinson & Son, they were able to make an appointment for me quickly, even though I live outside of their usual area of operation.  In spite of getting lost due to road construction (they'd removed the street signs), the plumber still managed to show up within the time frame I was told to expect him.  After moving a heavy washing machine that was blocking access, he immediately found and fixed the problem, replacing only what needed replacing.  He worked quickly, and helped brainstorm ways to keep the moisture that had gotten onto the sub-floor from becoming a problem in the future.  He also cleaned up after himself, and was friendly and polite, and great to work with.
The only thing that I'm not 100% happy about is that Dickinson & Son had to charge me for travel time, at the same rate as their normal labor charge.  However, it's an understandable policy and one that I can't actually fault them for--just be warned, if you live in the boonies like so many of us do around here!
NOTE on the approximate cost: the bill hasn't arrived yet; this is an approximation based on how much time was involved, and an estimate of the cost of the parts.

Very Well

Everything was perfect; I'd recommend Dickinson & Son to anyone who asked.

Unbelievable service.   They actually came in under estimate.  Their work was impeccable and tidy.  They were quick and you could tell they were professional not some fly-by-night crew that you were afraid to have in your house.  I would highly recommend. 

See above.

I had worked with this company before and did not get multiple estimates. I called and asked for approximate price for toilets and installation. They came out either same or next day and did a thorough, professional and speedy job. All has worked well since and I'm very pleased!

We had another plumber come and work on unblocking the tub drain with a plunger for half an hour as well as an attempt to snake. At the end of the half hour he told us our drain was not snakeable. We then called Dickinson and Son and it took them five minutes to clear it with a snake and then adjusted all the toilets, checked all the visible plumbing in the house and basement and was super nice to boot. We also had our hot water heater fail at three o'clock on a friday afternoon last spring. The triage person on the phone told us they'd send someone out to check it, but they couldn't do anything until Monday. The plumber who came walked in the door, saw we had a two year old and made a phone call. 15 minutes later we had three guys installing a new water heater. They were done by five. They're now our plumbers.

Arrived timely, was polite, zeroed in on the problem, got right to work, fixed the issue, was tidy, and left promptly.

I like everything about them and they are very professional.  They have good staff and they can handle every plumbing problem you can imagine.  They do good work and use quality materials.  They are responsive.  He has done just about everything for us and everything has been satisfactory. The prices tend to be a little high but for the service they are worth it.