Larkin Plumbing

Constant dripping under the kitchen sink, had to call a plumbing company to find the source and repair as soon as possible. Called Larkin Plumbing because they had fairly good rating with Angie's List and Yelp. By mid afternoon, the plumber (not a technician) arrived and determined that the adjustable spray faucet needed to be replaced and could not be repaired. I asked for an estimate and was given a quote of $600 for parts and labor, which I thought was still outrageous. That is what I was expecting, but since I had to leave, my wife paid the invoice that included a new faucet ($367), valve/parts ($49), tax ($36), and trip charge ($7). The final total was $787! The next day I complained to the manager and he explained that the going rate for a plumber is $164 per hour and that is what determined the total labor cost. When asked why a plumber and not a lower priced technician had to do this somewhat simple job, he had no answer other than he would elevate my complaint to the ownership. No follow up or response from either side. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

He gave us an extremely high estimate. Ended up just paying the $149 service call. Hired someone else and work was done for a lot less money and satisfactorily.

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They had 24 hour response.

It went very well, I have used Larkin for many years now and would recommend them to anyone.

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They are very responsive.

Excellent. All took less than 2 hours. The work they did on the new valves is impressive. They have a special way of doing the valves. I am very impressed.

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They are reliable and professional.

Arrived on time, pleasant, clean, explained problem and answered all questions. Cleared drains, checked work. Experienced serviceman.

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Installed a multi-year guaranteed water softener the same day; reviewed a similar model at another rental house we own, and it checked out OK.  Work was efficient, clean and perfect.  Would definitely use Larkin Plumbing again for any plumbing services

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We had received a letter from the water district showing a 24 hour usage of water.  We called Larkin to come inspect and the technician found the leak in the main line that afternoon.  He scheduled to return the next morning (8AM), which he and an assistance did.

They began by digging a new course for the line, instead of digging up 8' of sidewalk (adding to the cost).  By 4PM, the new line was underground, all the soil had been replaced and the yard looked better than before they started.

The workers were professional, respective and complete experts in their work.

We would definitely hire Larkin Plumbing again.

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Called Larkin on the evening of 7/29 to let them know our heater had a leak.  The dispatcher told us to turn the water off. Larkin sent someone out the next day.  They were supposed to be here first thing and arrived at 11.  The technician spent about 20 minutes on the job, used my paper towel to wipe up water and informed me it was just a leak in the cold water flex, which he replaced and then said we were good to go.  I was so happy I didn't need a replacement, $24 part, $150 + tax for labor.  He left and I noticed he didn't turn the water back on so I did that.  
Later we noticed we didn't have hot water still so we called the next day and Larkin had the tech (Kurt) call me because he couldn't remember what he did.  He said to me on the phone that he forgot to light the pilot light. He then came out at 4 p.m. He couldn't get the pilot light lit and decided the heater was too wet and we needed to replace it after all.  By the way, the heater had 2 inches of water in the bottom of it the day before which he obviously neglected to notice when he told me it would dry out on its own.  He told ushe would be at work at 7 am. on Saturday and would come out immediately to put in a replacement.  
When we called the office at 7:30 Saturday they told us that he wasn't at work yet so we weren't even sure when they would show up.  We asked for a discount for our inconvenience of dealing with this for 3 day, when it could have been replaced on Thursday, and the manager refused any sort of discount and was not at all helpful or apologetic.  We are canceling their service and won't deal with Larkin again.  We have used them for years (12+) and always felt they were a bit over priced but very confident and reliable.  Not anymore.   

Larkin installed this Rheem water heater 4.5 years ago in November 2010.  It started leaking yesterday. The warranty covers the heater for 6 years, but of course labor isn't covered.  Larkin charged $150/hr to replace it and the bill came to $825, of which $657 was pure labor.  Larkin profited by selling us a bad water heater and charging us top labor rate to correct the situation.  Their position is that the manufacturer warrants the heater and Larkin warrants the labor for 30 days.  My position is that Larkin recommended this brand and model of heater.  That makes Larkin a manufacturer's representative.  If the product fails, Larkin should replace at a discounted labor rate, enough to cover their expense, but not enough to contribute to their profit margin. I would have been comfortable with a labor rate of $50 or even $80 (I doubt the technician makes more than $20/hr). I work in engineering and the going rate for engineering services ranges from $80 to $150.  To charge $150/hr to replace faulty equipment that you recommended in the first place is unjustifiable and I will not be using Larkin Plumbing again.

I am in the process of having new flooring installed. The workers removed my toilet in the master and when they put it back on, we noticed the tank was cracked. But they left it on one day so we had a toilet to use. That night, I went to Lowe's and purchased a new toilet. The next morning, I called Larkin Plumbing and asked if they could send someone to install it. I also told the dispatcher that I needed a new supply line and that it wasn't included in the toilet I bought. They said they'd have someone over quickly to help me. They quoted me $149 for the first hour, plus parts, if any were needed.
A plumber named Rick finally arrived. He removed the old toilet and put it in his truck. He also took the new toilet out of the box and got rid of the box and other packaging, which was appreciated.
He was extremely slow at the install. I periodically checked on him and he seemed befuddled quite a bit. Finally, after roughly 45 minutes, he said he didn't have a supply line. I was irritated, because I said on the phone I needed one. But I didn't say a thing and told the plumber that Home Depot was five minutes away.
He was gone for quite a long time. When he came back, he finished installation. But he charged me extra time. I did not complain at the time, even though I felt it was a simple job and even though I said I needed a supply line. I feel that's a basic and he should have had it. But leaving allowed him to charge me more. He said I owed $250 and I paid it without complaint.
On Monday a.m., we awakened to quite a big leak. Plus, the tank was very loose. As it turns out, he didn't properly tighten it. I could have done that, but I wasn't sure if there were some other problem and so I called Larkin back. I was extremely disappointed to see the same guy return.
I asked what went wrong and he said that he'd failed to properly tighten it. I work at home and my home office is across the hall from the master. I was there at my desk working. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the yellow truck leaving. I asked the flooring guys and they said he told them he was done.
The toilet did look better, as if it had been tightened, but I wasn't sure if he were done. He simply left without a word. I called Larkin and the dispatcher asked me to flush the toilet and to check if it was tightened. He then said he'd call the plumber to find out what was up. He said the man left because the job was done, but said he should have told me he was completed.
At this point, I complained to the dispatcher about the extra $100 I was charged. The dispatcher said he'd "look into it" and hustled me off the line.
Now, I wouldn't have complained about the extra $100 had the job done right. But he milked the job, taking way longer to get it done than needed, and he didn't bring the part that I told him would be needed.
Larkin, of course, didn't offer to refund me the $100 or anything.
Not happy with this company and they lost a customer.

They did a good job. It was expensive. They explained everything to me. They knew what they were doing. They gave me an estimate. They were professional. I felt good with them. I even gave them a tip. They removed all of the old stuff and I was very pleased with the work and everything is running great.

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