McCarthy Services

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The service was fine. The repair took less than 30 minutes.

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It was not so good. They didn't do anything. I think we decided that I could get the worker guy that helps me to do it. He was pretty nice and honest with me about it. They were to charge me a lot of money to do what my handyman did. They were very nice and pleasant.

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I called McCarthy and several other providers on a sunday night when I my heat went out and I discovered a large plumbing leak in my basement that had caused the boiler to turn off.  McCarthy was the only provider to return my frantic call.  Christian asked me to send him a picture of the pipes.  He then gave me advice as to what to do and promised to come the following morning.  On the next morning, he showed up early and spent time diagnosing the problem. He rearranged his schedule to accommodate our need for emergency service, went out to buy the supplies he needed, and then replaced the leaking pipes.  He got the boiler running again and gave us advice about the boiler.  We needed to replace the boiler.  We did not use McCarthy for the boiler replacement because their estimate was so much higher than the other estimates we received for the job.  But we were very happy with the plumbing service and thought it was very reasonably priced.

The service engineer from McCarthy was polite, professional and very friendly.  I was able to get a same day appointment which worked out well for me.  I wanted to use the promotion they had for a heating check-up for $59.  I was impressed with the service engineer and also signed up for an annual contract to have the a/c and heat check-up in the spring and the fall of 2016.  That cost was $199.  It turned out my heating unit had a faulty flame sensor which was fixed at a cost of $126.  My husband suspected the heat was coming on inconsistently so I was glad it was corrected before we had freezing weather.
The service engineer asked if I would like my first service call from the annual contract to the be the one he was currently doing.  I agreed, thinking it was saving me $59.  However, I later realized it didn't save me money - it cost me an additional $30.  I was disappointed that I was offered something that wasn't a good deal for me under the guise that it was.  Especially since I had committed myself as a customer for 2016.  The $199 annual service contract basically breaks down into two service calls at $100 each versus the $59 service call currently on offer.  Therefore, I paid half of $199 (the annual service contract) for the current service call when clearly, the better deal would have been to use the $59 service call promotion.  So, although I was happy my heating unit was serviced quickly and professionally I felt duped.
As I mentioned earlier, the service engineer was polite, professional and friendly but I rated this company a 'C' for professionalism as they successfuIly convinced me I was saving money when I really wasn't.   I guess I should have been a smarter consumer!

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I purchased a voucher for what I believe was $100 in order to replace a stuck shower valve.  I had already tried several different methods to loosen it and remove it, but failed.  I was somewhat cautious as I did not want to break it.I had a new valve ready.  I was not ready to replace all the shower's plumbing as I was hoping to remodel the bathroom in the next few years.
The gentleman that showed up was friendly and knowledgeable, but in his attempt to loose the valve, he actually broke it.  Since there is no local cutoff valve, I was stuck with having no water until the problem could be fixed.  As a result, I had no choice but to replace the entire regulator.  He then offered me the choice of my going to the local Home Depot or Lowe's and buying a new regulator myself or he could go, with an added surcharge of $200.  Since I could not go myself, he went and returned with not just a new regulator, but a complete shower/bath set.  Not clear to me if regulators can be bough singly, but at the time, it seemed to me that a plumbing concern should be able to come up with one, instead of an entire shower set.
The shower walls are fiberglass so the plumber had to cut around the  area to make it big enough to cut some pipes, remove the old regulator, and install the new one.  However, he had no suitable cutting equipment so I had to lend him my tools for the job.  The new regulator was installed and secured well.  However, he could not patch the fiberglass, even using the plate that was cut out.  I had to do this later myself.
In summary, in terms of actual plumbing knowledge, the plumber definitely knew his job and did a good job installing the actual plumbing pieces (although I would hope that next time he exercises more restraint).  However, I have to say I felt somewhat held hostage after the valve breakage (not caused by me) and then being charged extra because I could not go to the hardware store to purchase what was needed.  And on top of it, the plumber did not have all the tools necessary to perform the repair, much less leave the area in a state where it could be used (the fiberglass had to be repaired/patched by me at a later date).
Perhaps under different circumstances, my evaluation would be higher, but I think next time I'll try a different provider.

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It didn't cost more than the deal. The price was good.

Scheduling the initial appointment was pretty easy via email but on the day of the appointment no one showed up. Upon calling the office, it turned out the plumber who was supposed to call had called some other number. So a waste of a Saturday, but wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt so re-scheduled. Well, surprise surprise, no one showed up the 2nd time either. Definitely would not use again or recommend to anyone.

Were told we needed the replace some of the workings inside the toilet tank and that would resolve the problem. My husband replaced the parts and the problem was the same.

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The services were performed from approx. 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. The provider was 1 hour late. All the services were satisfied. Since both baths needed attention immediately we decided to get the work done. This will be the last time we deal with McCarthy. We have worked with them since 2008 when they provided a heat pump.

We believe the price was extremely excessive. This is especially true since the total cost of $530 included a 10% discount and they also did not charge the $40 for coming.

The plumber tried to stop the leak by replacing the upper O ring. But, that was not the source if the Kwai. I found out later from Kohler that the faucet required a new base O ring kit which they sent me free since their faucets are guaranteed for life. Repairing the Kohler faucet base O ring only requires removing the single handle and pulling the faucet apart, but the plumber was not familiar with that technique. So, I have a new kitchen faucet and a repair kit for my Kohler faucet. The Kohler faucet is much heavier and better built (solid brass) than the new faucet I bought. I will repair the Kohler and keep it for possible use later.

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Called the service provider and requested if they offered service for a leaky faucet. I was scheduled for an appointment where I was met with a plumbing professional. He was kind and even made a few light-hearted jokes. I was not pleased with the over-all price of the work being that it took less than 30 mins to fix.
Nonetheless, the service is what I asked for and I was appreciative of the plumber explaining to me the problem and how to fix it for future references.