I had a leaking shower valve that was unprofessionally installed by a handyman and was leaking into the first floor of our home. Needless to say… it a huge problem that needed to be fixed quickly. I left a voicemail for Gordon and he promptly called me back. He showed up on-time, did a great job explaining what the issue was and gave me a flat rate quote for the repair. It was more than I was expecting, but that’s ok— having the job done by a professional gave us the peace of mind we needed. Gordon did much of the plumbing assembly outside to avoid making a mess. After the work was done, he showed me the finished project and was also kind enough to alert me to some miscellaneous plumbing issues that he noted around the outside of our home, suggesting that we keep an eye on them. He was never pushy about moving forward with additional repairs, which I appreciated. He then went back to his truck to write up the invoice… and magically it was $137 more than our agreed upon “flat rate”! Needless to say, I was a bit surprised. I asked what the additional charge was for… initially he couldn’t remember, but then said it was for the new trim kit he got. I thought that was included in the quote since he said he would pick one up and install it? I asked how much the trim kit was, and he didn’t want to say. I then wondered if the job took him longer than he expected, and if so, what his hourly rate was? Well, he didn’t have one and explained that the flat rate model worked out better for the customer anyway (I agree!). Needless to say, he couldn’t articulate what the additional $137 was for. We eventually settled for the original quote he gave me, acting as if he was doing me a favor. Perhaps I’m not the demographic that Gordon typically caters to— particularly, a young new home buyer with an unexpected $1100 expense— but the whole pricing situation left me feeling a little off about my interactions with Gordon. It’s really a shame since he did such great work and we are tremendously grateful for his prompt response. I would absolutely call him again for future plumbing needs, but would first make sure that we have a better understanding of how his pricing works before moving forward.
