Holtmeier Plumbing Co Inc

Service Issues: Within minutes after entering my home, Tom Holtmeier asked me if he could "vent" about his new kitchen range installation issues at his residence. I said OK. Perhaps this preoccupation affected the task at hand. He proceeded to disconnect the washer/dryer water lines, the refrigerator water line and the dishwasher water line. He told me my dishwasher was cheap and that I should get a new one since I was having new floors put in. When I arrived home later that day around 5 PM there was water leaking from my lower level ceiling. I called the business number but it went to voicemail (they close at 4:30 PM). There was no after- hours number on their website. I left 2 messages. I had someone come out that evening to reconnect the refrigerator water line which stopped the leak. The leak was coming from the underside of the refrigerator water line valve. Tom Holtmeier showed up the next morning, unconcerned and unapologetic. He said the valve was not leaking when he disconnected the refrigerator water line. He replaced the valve. I called the office after Mr. Holtmeier left and cancelled the appointment to reconnect the lines. I also requested an adjustment to my bill for the ceiling water damage. When reconnecting the lines (again, not by Holtmeier), it was brought to my attention that the dishwasher drain pipe extension hose was cut and that I needed to buy a new one. Perhaps Tom Holtmeier cut the hose instead of disconnecting it properly thinking he would return put in a new one. I issued a complaint to the Better Business Bureau about the damage to my property. Mr. Holtmeier’s response was a denial of the refrigerator line valve leaking and a denial of cutting the dishwasher hose, both on his initial visit. He refused any billing adjustment. Billing Issue: I called to question why I was charged $192.50 for 1.75 hours because Mr. Holtmeier was at my home no longer than an hour. The office manager insisted that the billing was correct. Two days later I received a letter from the office manager stating that the .75 hour charge of $92.50 was not really labor but rather a "port to port" charge defined as "he was in his truck". So they charged me $92.50 to make a 5.6 mile trip (mapquest miles) from their office to my home. (Seriously?) They also bill a service call charge of 39.50 in addition to $110 per hour of labor. Final Words: Final words sent to me in a letter from the office manager say "I am sorry you had such an unpleasant experience, however, you do owe us the invoice amount. Our terms are due upon receipt." I found this plumber to be below average in quality of work, professionalism, and customer service. Their billing is questionable and not transparent. For a company being in service for over 80 years and a plumber with 40 years of experience, I expected the work to be done properly. It was not. In the future, I will pay more attention to negative reviews on Angie’s list. I read reviews similar to mine about this company AFTER I had my “unpleasant experience”.

Tom Holtmeier called at 8:05 AM and rescheduled the appointment to NOON due to other pressing matters. He arrived at Noon and replaced the trap in 10 minutes. While running the water to ensure there were no leaks, he noticed that, although the hot water was running, the cold water was not. He conjectured that the in-line water filter was clogged. He asked if he could "bypass" the filter. I agreed. Unfortunately, that solution did not result in running water so he concluded that the cold water pipe may be frozen. He did not have the appropriate equipment to deal with a frozen pipe so he gave me a few suggestions. To my surprise, he then handed me the filter from under the sink and left around 12:30 PM. I then spent the next few hours resolving the frozen cold water pipe issue myself (with a hair dryer) and left at 3 PM to return to my home. The following week, my brother, who had personally installed the filter a few years ago, found the filter lying on the table. He noticed that both tubes had been cut (see picture #1). He then investigated the situation further and noticed a large hole in the drywall under the sink where the filter had been mounted (see picture #2). Apparently, Tom (1) had cut the tube from the filter to the cold water tap rather than simply unscrew the nut from the cold water tap and (2) had yanked the filter together with its mounting out of the drywall rather than disengage the filter from the mounting. The filter mounting (see picture #3) had been attached to the wall by drilling two holes and inserting two spring-loaded fly nuts that open up when inside the wall. So, it is not surprising at the amount of damage to the wall done by yanking the filter and the mounting off the drywall. Also, it was my understanding that he was going to “bypass” the filter with a braided hose - not yank it off the wall leaving a large hole. Finally, the instruction booklet was attached to the filter and could have been used for reference by Tom regarding how to easily remove the filter leaving no damage. The invoice from Holtmeier Plumbing arrived a week later and was $233 (see picture #4). The invoice includes a charge for a service call which was not mentioned by Tom nor the scheduling assistant as well as one hour of labor when, in fact, Tom was at the house no more than a half-hour. However the bigger issue was the hole in the drywall and the filter damage. So, I called Tom Holtmeier on January 22nd and, after discussing the situation, indicated that we were willing to pay half of the $233 bill ($116) for fixing the trap. We would then take responsibility for fixing the hole in the wall and the filter that was damaged by him. He did not agree with this arrangement so I indicated that I would refer the situation to Angie’s List for resolution. He indicated that would be “fine”. I have not paid the bill yet pending the resolution.

All went very well.

Great. Andy was professional and attentive and trustworthy. I will definitely be using them again.

This is a company that cares! We called them this morning explaining that our sump pump died & it needed to be fixed today. We had plans to go out of town but couldn't go until the pump got fixed. Even though they are not a 24 hour service company, they made room in their busy schedule to accommodate us saying they would work us in and call in the early afternoon. They called us on time saying they were sending someone and he was there within 30 minutes from the call. Not only did the person replace the sump pump, he replaced part of the pipe that he felt was improperly installed. On top of all of this, we found their price a little less than the going rate. Holtmeier will be our go to plumber on all future needs. Give them a try!

okokokokok

excellent job

The employees are professional and do a good job but I think their price is too high.

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I needed a drain checked with a camera. Holtmeier Plumbing came to my home within an hour of my call and helped me identify my drainage issues.

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I am not happy with their service at all. The guy was very nice and cordial. I had a drain backing up in my system. His recommendation was to dig up the basement so they could put a camera in there to see what was going on. I ended up calling a different plumber that I have used in the past and he just cleaned the drain. Then he was able to put a camera down there and told me that I have roots and advised that I get RootX so I did not spend anywhere near the amount the first group wanted.

Needed sewer line unclogged and they charged more than initial estimate and 40% higher than quotes we received elsewhere. They were not transparent with communication. Plumber on the job was rude and unprofessional. When I asked about higher cost, Tom (owner) told me they charge more than other plumbing companies because they provide far superior service. He berated me and was completely condescending on the phone. I've never in my life felt so disrespected by a contractor. I would never use them again.

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Very professional and very responsive.

The faucet was replaced without much ado - probably on the high side of average but I didn't get other bids. Within days water was leaking under the sink again and Tom promptly came to repair it. The problem was a manufacturer's defect. Suspecting what the problem was, he had brought another faucet with him. The new hardware was in place in a flash and we haven't had a drip of water since!

Andy kept me informed every step of the way, showing me what was wrong and explaining what needed to be done to fix it. Holtmeier Plumbing is a full service company, so he could provide everything I needed as well as perform the work. I decided to replace my old kitchen sink, garbage disposal and hand-held shower fixture at the same time. When he discovered an electrical problem related to installing the new water heater, he called an electrician for me who came over that day to make the repair. Andy was very professional, knowledgeable and cleaned up every bit of debris as he worked. This is the second time I have used Holtmeier and I highly recommend the company if you want quality work done in your home.

Andy fixed it in about 10 minutes!!!

Excellent. He brought in an identical fixture and replaced the stems and faucet in the body on the stationary tub.

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