I never do these reviews, but given my experience with this company today I decided I should definitely share in case anyone else is looking for a plumber. Over my 14 years in this house, I've experienced the gamut with various plumbers ranging from shoddy work to overpriced and unnecessary repairs. I won't name the specific companies but can give you a hint by saying they are the heavily advertised places frequently heard on Dallas area radio stations.
My problem started Saturday, when a leak developed near my water main. I called the City water emergency hotline. They responded promptly and determined, much to my detriment, that the leak was occurring above the water main box. In case you don't know, that basically you means the problem becomes the home owner's and rarely will you find an instance where your home owner's insurance will cover any of the costs. Doubling the potential negative impact, my water main is located next to the sidewalk leading to my steps. So, if the issue resides in pipes under the sidewalk then it becomes necessary to jackhammer the sidewalk. In short, those are the types of jobs that will drain your bank account quickly as it would cost several thousand dollars.
After shutting the water off for the remainder of the weekend, I was excited for Monday morning to come. Everyone enjoys spending all weekend searching for a plumber, right? Well, I was very fortunate. When the City employee and I were talking about the possible leak location and we were talking about plumbing companies in general, he told me about a plumber that he had heard several very positive experiences about. That company was Mark Ondras Plumbing.
First thing this morning, I called Mark. He promptly answered the phone (didn't have to wait for the usual 3 to 4 hour delay before you hear back from a plumber) and I described the problem. He indicated a few possibilities and assured me he would have someone out today and that it should be fixed. He gave me an expected time of 10-12 am to allow for his worker to arrive at my place. Less than 50 minutes later, I look out and see a Mark Ondras Plumbing van in front of my house. Yes, he was more than an hour EARLY. EARLY! Given my experience with plumbers over the past 14 years, I was in totally shock as they are typically 2-3 hours later than the anticipated time.
Once Eric (the technician.....probably the best technician of any I've had on my property during the past 14 years) got out of the van, he IMMEDIATELY started to work after asking me a few questions about the leak. None of the I gotta call the office and then sit in the van for 45 minutes (while you're being charged) that I've experienced in the past. Eric went to work diligently trying to solve the problem. After 30 minutes of digging through the mud and water...VOILA....Eric located the leak from a compression nut. Basically a plastic piece of pvc had blown. He quickly completed the repair, put the dirt back and was done......IN LESS THAN 1 HOUR!!!!! I've had similar experiences where something less major took almost 4 hours to repair as the plumber lazily attacked the job and spent more time talking on the phone. Even moreso, I'm not so sure that one of the other big companies I've used in the past wouldn't have made an excuse to make the job appear to be bigger than necessary in order to increase the price.
Well, as you can tell, I am beyond satisfied at the quality of work, service and the price (which was very reasonable IMHO). Hallelujah! I have finally found a plumber in Dallas-Fort Worth, and in case you are a new homeowner reading this -- there is NOTHING better than finding a reasonably priced, high quality plumbing company.
I will recommend this company to anyone with whom I come in contact. I realize this review may appear overglowing, but it should -- it perfectly describes what my experience was with this company.
I will be happy to answer any questions if anyone has any.
