The Waterworks

They smoked inside the house and seemed to not respect the environment.

Mike was on time and talked me through everything he was doing as well as the challenges he was facing with the work. My hope was that the tub drain would be fully functional when Mike left but that was only possible if he cut a hole in a wall. I was ok with that but Waterworks doesn't provide the service to deal with the hole in the wall. Quite surprised by that based on the size of the company. Cost was not ideal for what the tech did and while the drain is now open, the stopper was removed and the drain can't be closed so the work was only half completed.

I have used this company for 20+ years, and I used to really like them. They were prompt, they told you over the phone what the initial rate would be, and that it could increase based on the amount of work necessary. The technician who would show up, would diagnose the issue, and provide an estimate, which you could approve, or not. if you didn't, you would just pay the trip fee. I always approved, and so that wasn't an issue. On June 13, 2016, the technician came to my house, did not provide an estimate, and adjusted the chain that was connected to the flapper on the toilet. Total time for repair: less than 30 minutes. Total cost: $107 dollars ($47/labor+$60/trip). I had a coupon for $25 off of the service call/$50 if it was after hours. He told me he could not take the coupon because he had already provided a discount on the labor, and if he took the coupon, he would have to charge me $98 for his labor. It wasn't clear what was being discounted, so I phoned the main office. I asked the person who answered the phone the hourly rate. She said 'it depends on the job, we don't have an hourly rate.' I explained that he was there for 30 minutes, and that he was very nice, but I wasn't understanding how, with the coupon, that degree of work he performed was worth $98. She said, 'Maybe there was a minimum on the coupon.'-there wasn't. She finally said, "I'll have to have my supervisor phone you." "Beverly" the supervisor phoned within 5 minutes. She said that the customer service reps-unlike how it used to be, don't have the information necessary to quote hourly rates. At the end of the day, what it boils down to is that WW will charge a $98 'diagnostic/first hour fee,' plus a $60 trip charge (which is already pre-printed on the invoice.) In essence, the meter starts at $158 for them, whether they do the work or not. I have several problems with this: 1. The customer service reps were once, as recently as 2 years ago, very clear about the trip fee, that the repair person would provide an estimate, and if you didn't have the work done, you still had to pay the trip fee. 2. The customer service reps were once, as recently as 2 years ago, equally clear about the hourly rate, and at that time, there was no expectation that one paid for one hour, whether the work took an hour to complete the repair or not. I guess that's why they now term it a 'diagnostic fee,' rather than an hourly rate, so that they can ensure that every job nets a minimum of $158. As recently as one month or so ago, a technician came to the house, and he assessed the situation, concluded that a repair wasn't necessary, and charged a $35 trip fee. 3. No one, neither the person with whom I spoke when I made the appointment, nor the technician, cited a $98 diagnostic fee to me, "in the door, prior to work," which is why it was unclear to me how the repair person could say that $47 was 'discounted,' when neither he, nor anyone else had explained the $98--which is why I phoned, to ask, 'discounted from what?" 4. The repair person did not give an estimate---had he done so, at least I would have known about the 'upcharge.' I probably would have had the work done anyway, but failure to disclose how fees are calculated and assessed does not fall into the category of ‘best business practice,’ particularly when practiced by those who answer the phone and take the appointments. 5. It is somewhat fraudulent and misleading to send 'coupons' via email, only to dishonor them, or tell a customer that if the coupon is accepted, they won't get the 'discount' off of the 'diagnostic fee,' that was never disclosed to begin with. Unlike how they used to operate, the coupons are evidently worthless, or are a ploy to convince someone to rely upon them, make an appointment, and then to be told that it's cheaper to pay the minimum 'in the door,' rate. It appears that now that WW has expanded its services beyond plumbing, to HVAC, carpet cleaning, and a myriad of other services, they have changed their business model so as to net the most profit per service call. I know that Beverly shared with me that they ‘updated’ their system, such that she could not even see that I’d been a customer since the 1990’s at a previous address. The length of my loyalty to the company shouldn’t matter, but it would seem that professionalism would consist of keeping customer records longer than three years. One reason I always used them was because I liked the professionalism exhibited by their phone reps and technicians, and they did good work. You knew what you were going to pay, and you got your money's worth. They still do good work, but the professionalism component, particularly by the persons who take/return phone calls has declined. Their fees have become a 'moving target,' which is unacceptable. I am posting this review now because it has almost six weeks since I spoke with “Beverly.” Had she truly intended to credit $25, the value of the coupon, to my bank account, as she said she would, she would/could, have done so by now. She hasn't and the fact that she has not done so, further confirms for me that the company’s front office personnel lack transparency or commitment to follow through any representation other than charging a minimum fee irrespective of the amount of time/degree of difficulty associated with the work.

I had an appointment for them to come in the morning on a Wednesday. I moved all of the furniture out of the two rooms the night before. The next morning I waited for them at home. At 11am I had heard nothing, so I called them and they said that they were running behind and would be here after they finished the job they were on then. I heard nothing until 3pm, when they called and said that they would not be able to get our carpets cleaned that day. They said that they couldn't do it the next day (Thursday) because I don't get home until 4pm and they said that they don't clean carpets after 3pm. They rescheduled for that next Friday...the interesting thing about that is that originally we had wanted them to clean our carpets on that Friday, but they said that they couldn't due to the fact that they "didn't clean carpets on Fridays"! They called on Thursday at 3:30pm to ask if they could come out and clean our carpets right then...to which I said no...I wouldn't be using their services. What I find interesting is that they wanted to come out and clean my carpets at 3:30pm, when they already told me that they don't clean carpets after 3pm!!! I'm thinking that their not coming was a good thing!

Two gentleman arrived to investigate and solve the problem. They were very professional and told me everything they were going to do. The person that did most of the work was called "Q". He did most of the work since he was still in training. "Q" was a good worker and explained to me everything he was doing. He went beyond to make sure everything was perfect before he left. He replaced the old trap with a new one.

Prompt response, excellent service and equipment

Initially I had a stopped up kitchen drain that was backing up in the 2 bathroom sinks. My garbage disposal quit working at the same time which I thought was the cause. I found Waterworks on Angie's List and was highly recommended by my neighbor across the street. I called on June 7th and they were able to send someone out the same day! A young man, Paul, quickly cleared the drains and cleaned up the mess. We discussed that I needed a new garbage disposal. Also I'd had to shut off the water to one of the bathroom faucets because it had been leaking around the base for quite some time. To save money I was able to purchase the new disposal and faucets myself. Paul said to call when I had them and was ready for him to install. When I called the office to schedule phase 2, I specifically requested Paul if he was available, and he was. On June 24th, Paul installed the garbage disposal which took longer that expected due to differences between the old and new models, and because he kindly attempted to keep the color-coordinated flange and stopper which didn't work, but that was okay. When replacing the faucets in the bathroom, the shut off valve under one sink wasn't turning off which meant new shut offs. He recommended replacing the shut offs under both sinks, and I agreed. Paul was very prompt and professional, very knowledgeable, a very conscientious and hard worker. The same can be said of the office staff who were exceptional in scheduling service calls asap and were very sweet. I have already recommended Waterworks to friends and will definitely use them again if I have any plumbing issues, but hopefully not too soon!

First, I'd like to say how easy it is to get an appointment with The Waterworks. Second, it couldn't have gone more smoothly. Both the plumber and dispatch personnel are very professional. Keith, the plumber, was clearly knowledgable and very competent in completing the installation of my new water heater. If that weren't enough, he was a pleasure to work with, and he impressed me as being a truly nice person. I would not hesitate to hire this company again--or recommend them.

Everything was quick and easy from start to finish. Requested service via the website Monday morning. Received a call a few hours later. Lonnie came out with his assistant and reset the toilet and replaced the wax ring. Advised me on leaky faucets which will be repaired in the near future. Personable and professional.

estimate appointment scheduled for June 2nd. they failed to show up there was no call

Lonnie was on time and very professional. He explained what he was doing and how best to care for the water heater down the line. He was also very clean.

Called Waterworks and described exact what I needed. One was a non-working disposal. We had a crack in our Moen Gravity Faucet retractable hose and needed a new hose. Moen makes LITERALLY only one retractable hose for the kind of kitchen sink we have. Tech showed up without the part. Stated as IMMEDIATE statement "oh yeah we don't carry that part in our trucks". Complained how hard it is to get the part (I ordered it while he was complaining on Amazon to arrive within 24 hrs). Fixed the disposal (which was one turn of a wrench) and then charged $160. He then called the CreditCard in, which took longer than the actual repair. Complained to customer service. They didn't care. Will never use them again. We lived in 6 different cities, have owned 6 different houses and have used dozens of contractors. Worst company ever.

Tech was an arrogant asshole, not happy, demanding. He wanted to charge $1500 saying each diverter would take 3 hours. Hired a different plumber and he got the diverters done in 30 minutes each. Will never call this place again and wish they would refund the $100 service call.

It went great! It was completed all in one day. They were great communicators, and did a really good job! It went about as smooth as could be!

I used The Waterworks. They were here several months ago around March 15th of 2016. It was good. They came when they said they were going to. They were reasonably priced. The work was good.

The guys were very professional and did a great job.

I had to shut my water off at 9:00pm because the shower head was spraying water and would not turn off. I found The Waterworks on Angie's List, and they were at my house at 8:00am. They were prompt and explained everything to me. I would use them again.

Way over priced and underperforming. I think they would be good to use if it was an emergency during non business hours, but for all other jobs, I would never call them again.

The waterworks is an over priced and under performing company that did not meet any expectation. I will never use them again.

I was working and had my wife deal with the repairman. 1) They wouldn't tell my wife the fee ahead of time when the appointment was scheduled, nothing. 2) When the guy showed up there was some confusion about what the right cost was and how the billing would work. So she was kind of at his mercy. 3) He found a mud block in the first 20 minutes. They tried to sell my wife on a "Camera service" for $144 extra to see the block. I know what mud in a pipe looks like, I don't need a picture of it. This would really help them more than it would help me. I had her declined the camera service. At this time I came home from work to observe the work going on. 4) He started work on another pipe and was able to get some roots out of the lines that feed to the "mud filled" pipe. I let him know that my main concern was the line that was mud filled and that was the whole point of them coming out to solve the problem. He said he'd work on clearing it out. I went back to work. When I got home later, the pipe was still filled with mud and not cleared. I would expect a reputable and professional service provider would stop work early on and say - "Your drain is collapsed, I'd like to help, but in the past, we can't clear these kinds of problems. I can charge you a minimal service trip to cover my time and be on my way." That did not happen. We had to pay a full service charge. When my wife was asked about pipe replacement, the repairman said he'd need the "camera service" to determine the right cost. She declined right away. No offer of current costs applied to future work or anything. Overall not happy at all and still have a drain pipe that's blocked. This whole thing wasted my time, my wife's time, and $460. This is why I don't like having any service done. Angie's list "A" rating failed and the service provider failed.

It was horrible and unprofessional.

OUTSTANDING customer service. Waterworks is not the cheapest game in town but they are consistently reliable, courteous and professional. Problem was Sunday night and they were willing and able to come Monday morning. We couldn't make that happen work wise so arranged for a Monday afternoon visit. Contacted us ahead of visit so my husband could leave work in time to meet plumber at the house. Problems solved. THANK YOU

I've used this company several times, always quick work, with friendly professional techs. My only problem is the price is usually quite steep. This last appointment was to unclog out shower and was quoted at $260 (because of being a branch drain). It took the tech all of 5 minutes to clear. Luckily he dropped the price to $194 because it was so easy, but that's still considerably more than we've had to pay for similar work before. I would recommend these guys for bigger jobs or emergencies. The service is always A+, no complaints there. But, if your plumbing problem is just an inconvenience which can wait while you gather a few quotes, do that.

There was a small sewer backup in the basement. I called The Waterworks Monday morning and they sent out two techs that afternoon. They were very professional and knowledgeable. They explained the probable cause of the backup and found the problem. They gave me an estimate which included doing a video of the line. They cleared the line and made sure everything was unblocked from the basement to the main line at the back edge of my property. They said they didn't find a need to video the line and didn't charge for that. They cleaned up the debris caused after they had to break up the cap to the line. They replaced the cap with a new one. They took care to use shoe covers even though they weren't in a finished part of the house. I appreciate the little details.

They can (2 men) and replaced the gauge and the pump. But the soldering at the gauge started leaking after 2 days ( copper soldered pipe.) They came back to re-solder it and move the pipes so we have a leak in a different place. They said we needed a new expansion tank. Estimated cost of $750! Expansion tanks are $30 at Lowes and they screw in. I've had decent service from them in the past but this last incident was too much. I won't call them again..