Gene Johnson Plumbing & Heating

Overall, they're arrived on time, been professional in their dress and demeanor, described the nature and scope of the problem, and solved it to our satisfaction each and every time. We've been very pleased with their services and would recommend them with high marks. We know we can count on them for excellent service at a fair price and without the need to re-do the work at a later date. Kudos to everyone on their team.

Gene Johnson's plumber could not find a main line access point and so suggested that pipes would need to be cut and a new access point created. Their estimate for this work plus clearing the main sewer line was $4,138.00. I called The Plumbing and Drain Co./Go Rooter for a second opinion regarding sewer line back-up. Eric Styles from Go Rooter showed up promptly and was very helpful. I didn't tell him about the Gene Johnson assessment or estimate. He came to the same conclusion that JG had that there was not a main line access point. His estimate for creating a new access point and clearing the line was about $1,000. Significantly less than the first estimate. He then figured out a way to access the main line without cutting into any pipes and refined the estimate to $250.00. He then agreed to accept an Angie's List coupon and did the work for $120.00. So I paid 30 times less than GJ Plumbing's estimate. The problem is fully resolved. Needless to say, I was very pleased with Eric Styles excellent work and his professionalism. The Plumbing and Drain Co./Go Rooter is my new go to plumbing company. I will not be calling Gene Johnson again.

Woody came in and evaluated what was wrong, and quickly determined the problem. He looked around for cleanouts and the condition of the pipes and gave us a price quote from a printed list. He had to remove the toilet and run a rooter through the drain pipe. He brought in carpets to lay down over ours so they were left clean. He explained exactly what he was doing, and was very thorough. It took a long time to clear the pipe, and he kept working on obstructed areas until he was sure they were clear. He explained what could be going wrong (it is an old house) and what might have to be done in the future if the problem recurs. He was very personable and seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He reinstalled the toilet and cleaned up completely.

They always provide excellent service.

Fine in terms of diagnosing the problem, however, the clean out valve he installed ended up leaking and Rick Middleton from Aces Four who came out to give me a bid on repairing the sewer line itself ended up fixing it just on his own. The leak was the result simply careless work. I also got a bid from Gene Johnson on the sewer line repair and it was nearly twice as much as the bid from Aces Four, who I eventually chose for the sewer work and who did an excellent job.

It was fine. They got everything done. They came to do the inspection then came a couple of days later to do the work. They gave me pointers and advice on things around the house dealing with plumbing. They are quick to respond and I think the work is good. The price is probably average.

My experience was absolutely perfect. I was so happy to have contact with a plumber that I knew and trusted, and they did not let me down!

I came to know of them through a personal referral. They fixed the toilets and cleaned up after themselves, but within a year it was leaking again. They did a really bad job, and I would not use them again. I was actually assured by people who had used them before that they were good.

They were very friendly, professional and responsive. They arrived on time and finished the work in timely manner. They did a very good job.

They spent about two hours trying to clear the drain, and they were working very hard. What I fault them with is that they should have known better than to jump to the conclusion that I needed a new sewer line that would cost me about $13000. They should have asked me to try an alternate company that has a different technology. I used another company to finally clear the drain, and it cost me only a few hundred dollars. I just think that they were too experienced not to suggest that I try an alternative, and it seemed that they had business on their mind primarily.

I was impressed with Tom's knowledge, professionalism and demeanor. The installation went well. Their installer is an absolute wiz with sheet metal fabrication, basically constructing a custom duct system that fit in a very restrictive space. The heat pump works very well. However, the oil backup did not work. They came out and tried to fix, but could not find the problem. I had to have another company fix it.

The guys came in the house and the first thing they said was that there would be a $50 fee for the quote. The person on the phone said nothing about such a fee. I said I wasn't interested and that I hadn't been told about the fee on the phone, and after huffing and puffing, the guy said he'd waive the fee. They go down to the basement and start going over things that need to be done, and they just seemed like sleezy used car salesmen. Then at the end, he said "ok, that'll be $75 for the trip out here." I reminded him that he said he'd waive that, and he said that he said he would waive the fee for the quote, but that there was still a $75 fee for coming out. I told him I would have none of that and kicked them out of the house. A total waste of time and a horrible experience. And, the quote that they gave me was more than twice what I eventually had it done for (from a different company). The only bright side is that they came on time, though I wish they hadn't come at all.

It did not go well. There were a number of issues. When we provided them with the schematic of the custom sink, they did the rough in incorrectly. They put the water lines coming out too low. They had to spend an extra day redoing their error. They attempted to charge us for the extra day that was their error. When they installed the toilet, we had the sink ready to be installed, they came installed the toilet and refused to install the sink. It took them 6 months to come back to install the sink. I had to call them every 2 weeks to find out when they were going to install the sink. They did install the tub, however, they said the tile was too thick for them to put the mixer plate on. We had to go out and buy a special mixer plate. The plumbing specialty store explained that the tile wasn't too thick, the plumber messed up when they did the roughin. They installed the mixer in the wall too deep. We provided them with the board and everything beforehand, so they knew how deep it was going to be. They cracked a corner of the fiberglass on the tub, which fortunately was covered up by the tile in the floor. They failed to mention this to us, and just left it there. They lost a component to our tub, and we had to contact the manufacturer to get a new componet and install it ourselves. They also lost our housekey and still has not returned them. They lost both the front key to our apartment, and the front key to the condo.

When they replaced the toilet valve, the handle also needed to be replaced. They told me they were out of those and said I should just go down to the hardware store to pick one up. The valve does not work at all and it is a problem. I paid them $500 to replace a toilet, they should have had the handle. They said they could come back on another service call to replace the handle, but it would cost $200. For $700 I'm sure I could have bought a new toilet.

I called the gas company to make an appointment, but they said that they also own Gene Johnson plumbing, and someone from this company would do the service. When I called for an appointment, they were very nice and explained that someone would come out and look at my specific range and gas connection and then give me a quote before doing the work. When the technician arrived he used a pricing book to give me an extremely high quote of $746 plus tax, stating that the length of time and complexity depended on the details of my range. I had to insist that he looked at my range and gas connection (which he hadn't done on his own). He noted that it looked like it would be quicker than average, and called his manager to ask about lowering the price. The price was lowered to $383.98 plus tax. He stated that the price was high because of travel time, partial disassembly of stove (which wasn't necessary) and for replacing the gas flex line, which CANNOT be reused. It took him less than 5 minutes to turn the gas lever off, disconnect it, and unplug it from the wall. Upon return, he hooked it up in less than 5 minutes and DID not replace the gas flex line that had a red tag on it that said (DO NOT reuse after removing or disconnecting). I asked "how does the gas flex line look", and the technician replied, looks good as new, just a little dusty. I decided to not push the matter, since I had argued with them enough during the first visit. Overall, the were not very cooperative, and overpriced, and I probably have to go back and replace the gas flex line since they didn't do it. He also quoted me for other plumbing work, which was all overpriced compared to competitors.

They sent over a very dishonest guy, he overcharged us and did a lot of things we did not want them to do. I called them and Dennis who very kind, gave us our money back.

Came home to water heater leaking. Called Gene Johnson because they had installed the water heater only 3 1/2 years ago. Plumber said it was our fault for having galvanized pipes. Our last Sears water heater lasted 15 years even with evil galvanized pipes! Plumber gave estimate and discount if we signed up to pay $6.95/month for "special" plan. If we cancel plan, our warranty goes, too. Plumber was nice. Fixed it. That night; no hot water. We called company. Left message, no response. Called back. Said they'd call us next day. Plumber came at 5:00 pm next day. He hadn't installed the wires correctly. A few days later, we noticed he had taken 3 chunks out of the doorway when moving the water heater.

They seem to be very professional and prompt with the work.

Before he started replacing the hose bib he quoted me a price, which sounded more than reasonable. It took him about an hour or slightly more to replace the hose bib, and then wrote up the invoice. The amount was astounding to me; I evidently hadn't understood what he originally told me. I paid him, but I phoned the company to ask if that was really the correct amount, and they assured me it was. The hose bib started leaking again within 3 months. The banging pipe problem did not get resolved with the replacement of the leaking hose bib. My husband replaced the flushing mechanism in the toilet and that cured the banging pipes. We called Gene Johnson Plumbing to come back to fix the leaking hose bib, which they did promptly, and with no charge. However, it started leaking again. The third time they came out they did not replace it, but cleaned it out and replaced O ring on anti-siphon vacuum breaker. It has been leak free for a couple of months now.

The contractor was willing to come out on Easter Sunday, which was remarkable. He didn't have the necessary parts, though. While working on it, he diagnosed another issue, which was that the line was clogged. He used incorrect parts to clamp the new pipe in place (claimed he couldn't get the right part on a Sunday). Price was sky-high and the technician didn't inspire confidence in either the work or the pricing. I'm going with another company to fix the clog issue. Had they told me up front that they couldn't fix the problem, I wouldn't have bothered having them do anything. The price quote for bacterial treatment for the line was insane ($150 for three containers). Bottom line: I spent $700 and still have exactly the same problem I started with.

I called with a leaking water heater problem. I live in a one bedroom apartment by myself. Gene Johnson came and said my water heater was ruined and proceeded to replace it with a huge 60 gallon fancy-looking water heater. I told them I didn't think that I needed one that large (after they had done the work and I had paid them) and they told me it was a new requirement by the city. In addition to excessive material costs, they overestimated their time spent by about 3 hours. I complained about my charges to no avail.

In the past I have had good luck with Gene Johnson. This time, however, the price seemed excessive for a small job.

THE SCHEDULING PERSON WAS VERY GOOD, AND I NOW UNDERSTAND THEIR FEE SCHEDULE [AND WHY SHE WOULDN'T GIVE EVEN A 'RANGE' QUOTE OVER THE PHONE] - IT'S ONLY $29+TAX FOR A SERVICE CALL. THEY STRESSED THAT THE REPAIR PERSON WOULD CALL ME BEFORE DOING THE REPAIR. I SAID FINE, BUT WAS SURE I'D USE THEM BECAUSE I KNOW THIS IS A FAIRLY SIMPLE CHANGEOUT PROCEDURE, AND KNOW THAT A 1/2 HSP GOOD DISPOSAL IS AROUND $100. WHEN I WAS TOLD THE PRICE, I HAD TO ASK THE REPAIR PERSON TO REPEAT IT, I WAS SO SURPRISED AT THE $650+ STATED. I THEN TOLD HIM NOT TO PROCEED, AND CALLED AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR PERSON WHO HAD WORKED FOR ME PREVIOUSLY - BUT BY THIS TIME 2 DAYS HAD PASSED SINCE I HAD CALLED THE COMPANY, AND THE TENANT WAS BEING INCONVENIENCED BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T USE THEIR SINK. THE FINAL BILL FOR GETTING MY INDEPENDENT REPAIR PERSON TO INSTALL THE SAME HSP DISPOSAL WAS UNDER $300 TOTAL - GENE JOHNSON PLUMBING WANTED MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT. LUCKILY I HAD AN AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVE!

PLUMBERS HAVE A REPUTATION FOR BELIEVING THEIR TIME IS MORE VALUABLE THAN THEIR CUSTOMER'S TIME AND MY EXPERIENCE WITH GENE JOHNSON PLUMBING ILLUSTRATES THAT NOTION TO A T. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR AN ESTIMATE ON THE PLUMBING FOR A COMPLETE BASEMENT REMODEL OVER A WEEK AGO. THE FIRST APPOINTMENT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AT NOON ON MONDAY OCTOBER 3RD BETWEEN NOON AND 1 PM. AT 8 AM MONDAY, GENE JOHNSON'S OFFICE CALLED AND SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO RESCHEDULE BECAUSE THE ESTIMATOR WAS ON ANOTHER JOB. I WASN'T HAPPY, BUT NO BIG DEAL, I SET UP ANOTHER APPOINTMENT FOR OCTOBER 5TH BETWEEN 2 AND 3PM. AT 1:45 OCTOBER 5TH GENE JOHNSON'S OFFICE CALLED AND SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO RESCHEDULE BECAUSE THE ESTIMATOR WAS ON ANOTHER JOB AGAIN. I HAD LEFT EARLY FROM A ONCE A YEAR TRIP WITH MY VERY YOUNG DAUGHTER TO A PUMPKIN PATCH SO THAT I COULD BE ON TIME TO THE APPOINTMENT. THIS WAS NO SMALL PLUMBING JOB, BUT THAT SHOULDN'T REALLY MATTER. NO CUSTOMER SHOULD BE TREATED IN THIS FASHION.

DID NOT PASS CITY INSPECTION. DID NOT RETURN TO FINISH WORK FOR WEEKS. HAD TO THREATEN REPORTING TO STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OVER FRIVOLOUS ADDITIONAL BILL.