Best Water Heater Installers in Boston MA

UPDATE: The owner called me shortly after I posted this review. He was incredibly kind and truly wanted to understand the situation and why I felt how I did about my review below. I explained, he was incredibly understanding and gave his perspective on how the interaction should have gone, where there was a training opportunity for his newer employee, and we were able to quickly compromise on a small refund on the fee to my satisfaction. Given the 2 star issue was acknowledged and rectified, I am changing my score to 5/5.

I'm giving them a 3/5 for a couple reasons, but here is why I called:
I had gotten a new fridge and in the process of changing out my water hose I discovered some poorly done work by my original builder. There was an old straddle valve in a pipe under the sink to provide water to the line and began leaking bad while changing the pipe. I knew this was a bit beyond my scope due to the location and the part so I wanted this either fixed or built into a more reliable long term solution.

Pro:
1)McMahon was the only company (out of 7 I called) that had availability same day. Person who takes the calls was incredibly nice.

2) When it was all said and done, the plumber did a fine job and resolved the issue in a clean and permanent way

Con:
1) Where other quotes of $50-$70 'service fee for a quote' are put toward the work if you use their service, McMahon charges $129 just to quote you (nothing toward repair).

2) The repairman, while very kind and seemingly simply doing his job, quoted me at over $1,000 for a repair others said they could do for likely $200-$300 total. He said he was going to add a new valve for the dishwasher (he was not called about the dishwasher).

3) I now had a man here to do a job I needed done, and a quote almost half the price of the brand new fridge just to get ice.... I told the guy to ONLY do the work needed to make the ice maker and water dispenser work which involved cutting a pipe and adding a new (non saddle) valve. The total work (with the $129 fee) was $554.

The 3 star is mainly because I believe if I had just said 'yes' they'd have charged me $1000 for a $200-$300 repair that took about 30 min.

TL;DR - They fit me in same day, the work when it was said and done was good. BUT... they tried to, in what can only be described as a movie plumber cliche, scam me into doing a bunch of things I absolutely didn't need to do to resolve the issue. They quoted me around $990, I asked to remove the unnecessary things, which ended up at $550 (with the $129 service fee). This left me to either send him away and eat the $129 and hope the guy coming the next day was better priced, or do the work right now.

If the fee went toward the repair and the total was $400 or less I'd give a 5 star, but no one wants to feel like they're being played, and I felt that for sure.

Rich came out the same day as my water heater died, with permits and a replacement in tow. He was thorough, prompt, professional and personable. He took time to explain the details of the system and how it worked. Couldn't ask for more. Would definitely use him again.

After getting an especially high quote based on a misdiagnosis of the problem we contacted Vincent. He was AMAZING! Friendly and professional he responded right away and had wonderful communication as I text pictures of the issue (our tub wasn’t draining and the other company said it would be a multi day very expensive fix). He fitted us into his tight schedule, solved the problem within an hour, his rate for the job was very reasonable, he wore a mask and gloves the whole time for covid safety, and when he left you would never have know he was there except that now we have our shower back! We will definitely use him again for any plumbing needs, Thank you Vincent!!

Rich was terrific and the new hot water heater install was seamless! Professional, responsive and thorough!

I found Rich on Angie's List and gave him a call because the reviews he had were so good. I left him a message and he called me right back and we made an appointment for later that evening. Rich was there on time and was extremely nice and informative on my extremely old boiler system, water heater and the oil to gas conversion that was going to take place. Rich then sent me a quote in the mail which wasn't the cheapest but far from the most expensive that I had received and we decided that he was the best guy for the job. Prior to starting the job my husband and I noticed that one of our radiators started leaking and another was extremely loud. Therefore, I called Rich and he came out within a half hour and remedied the problem. When he came to start the job he was always dependable and willing to answer any questions. Rich was so personable that my husband and I looked forward to getting home and having small talk with him. One Saturday he came to do some work and brought my husband and I some AMAZING scones that he gets from one of his other clients and let me just say, they were to DIE for. How many people can say that they got breakfast from their plumber and above that enjoyed having them around?! As far as Rich's work is concerned, the boiler and water heater came out beautifully, when you have steam heat it truly is an art form and Rich is quite the artist. Our basement was literally cleaner when he left then it was when he came in. Needless to say, Rich will be the guy I call with all my plumbing issues.