Steinhorst Plumbing Inc

"Ms. [Member Name Removed], When we called you on July 21st we were under the impression that you were satisfied with your experience and that we had come to an understanding. We especially believed this since our technician came back with a tip and some cookies. We believe there was some miscommunication and we would greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. Please consider speaking with us so we can discuss the quote you were given 4 years ago vs the recent job completed. We have proudly provided service in the Annandale area for over 50 years and it is our goal to provide customer satisfaction on every job! Please give us a call at 703-256-2421. We feel that your review is unfair because we provided a clear cost for the work to be done for the repair prior to beginning the job. We realize no one likes to feel like they are being upsold on services or repairs but we have the obligation of bringing potential issues to the home owner's attention. We can assure you, that was all the tech was trying to do, in regards to his recommendation of flushing the water heater. Again, this is why we feel there was miscommunication."

"We’re sorry that the (member name removed) family feels unhappy about the project we did back in March. We’d like an opportunity to correct any problems that have surfaced. On our own behalf, we just need to say that in regards to the French door installation, the customer wanted the French door to face in a non-traditional fashion. Which we were happy to do, but we advised that we keep the door installation the way we had it. The house's wall was not straight and the door was supposed to be painted or stained within 7 days. Otherwise, the door would become warped. On the door’s paperwork it has a warning notice that the door has to be painted or stained or it will become warped. Also, we advised to straighten the wall because of the age of the house. The wall that the door was going to be installed on had settled and become out of alignment. Because of this so the door would not fit properly. The customer did not want to repair the wall, because they didn’t want to have it done. Susan informed Mr. (member name removed), and Mr. (member name removed) chose not to do the repair. After time, the door got warped and did not fit properly where we first installed it. For the shower faucet leaking problem, the shower head was not actually leaking. This was explained by our plumber when he inspected it when the customer told us about the problem. He told the customer that the faucet has a vacuum breaker design, which is part of the faucet. It was made this way by the manufacturer. Susan stopped by every day to supervise the project, which is standard protocol here at Steinhorst. When we finished, Mrs. (member name removed) seemed very happy, and said our employees were very professional. This is a repeat customer of ours. They told us they were happy, so we didn't think anything was not done to satisfaction. The parts of the job that may have gone awry were due to the customer wanting to do it themselves at a later time. As for the price of the project, this is something the customer fully understood due to the fact of a pre signed contract. The cost of everything we had done was explained, and understood before the customer signed the contract. Susan communicated with Mrs. (member name removed) every day for a follow up of the work done for any given day. Sorry Mr. (member name removed) that you feel this way. Please call us back if we can correct any problems for you. We would be more than happy to fix anything you want done."

"I’m sorry to say that we will no longer be able to serve Mr. Constantino. He has been a customer for us since 2011. Sadly, we will not provide services for him ever again. Our problem started on our last visit which was on 10-28-13. The plumber on site called and said that Mr. Constantino would only do the job if he was given a discount. At that point I gave Mr. Constantino a discount of $100 for snaking a drain line. The plumber then called again about two toilets that also needed to be repairs. Both toilets needed flappers installed. Again, Mr. Constantino denied the job unless he was given a discount. I decided to give him a second and third discount of $39 dollars off on each toilet flapper installed. So in total 3 discounts, for $178 dollars were given to Mr. Constantino.. At this point the plumber performed his duties, repairs were completed, and Mr. Constantino was happy. I then received a call back from Mr. Constantino 2 months after the job was completed. He stated that he was very unhappy with us. He stated that felt that he had been overcharged. At that point I tried to discuss his situation with him, but there was no consoling him. I asked him why he waited over 2 months to file a complaint, but received no logical answer. I asked him what it would take from me in order to make him happy. He told me he needed another $100 in discount and then he’d be happy. He informed me that anybody that has a drain line snaked should have both toilets repaired for free – parts installed and labor at no charge. He told me that if I was a reputable company, that I would give him $100 in further discounts because he spent money on a drain line. He told me that any reputable company would repair both toilets parts and labor for free because they snaked a drain line. I was then informed that I was not a reputable company because I did not give him another $100 dollar discount. The discussion then became heated at that point. I never received a logical explanation why I should give Mr. Constantino parts and labor for free. At that point he stated that unless I just flat out gave him a $100 refund, on top of the $178 I had already given to him, he would write something bad about my company online. He further stated that if he did not receive the $100 discount he would write something bad about my company on Angie’s List. He became more insistent upon threatening my company with bad reports online until he received $100. He threatened to blackmail me with the power of the number of subscribers who use Angie’s List in order to damage my company. At this point I realized that there was no resolution to our problems. I then stated that we will no longer be able to do business for Mr. Constantino. I felt that I had already done all that I could for him. I gave him more than 1/3 off the first job, equaling a $100 discount off a $300 dollar job. Then I gave him 44% off his next two jobs. Which was an additional $39 off of an $89 job, twice. In total I had already given him $178 in discounts. Now, he calls me 2 months after the job is completed and demands an additional $100 off. He stated that I should make both toilet repairs, parts and labor, free. He flat out told me that if I did not give him $100 off he would write something bad on Angie’s List. I told him I do not do well with people who try to blackmail me, and ended the conversation. Two months later I received a major written complaint, with a failing grade on Angie’s List."