Russell Pietzsch
a year ago
Michael was very friendly, and seemed to be knowledgeable. I had them come out because one of my showers would not get hot. Turned out to be a diverter valve, which Michael said he could rebuild and cost would be just under $400. I had him proceed with the repair, he said he had the parts on his truck, but turned out he didn't, so he had to go get them. Once he returned, he got to work. About 15 mins later he came out and said that one of the screws in the valve broke while trying to remove it, so he was unable to access the part he needed to get to. It was an old shower valve so I went along with it. The only option now was to replace the entire valve assembly and he would have to go into the wall to complete (all drywall, no tile as he could access from behind). New quote was now nearly $1100. At this point I'm stuck because I need a working shower. Michael goes to the store again to get the new shower faucet/valve, which I checked and is a $59 piece (Home Depot, same part). He was here actually working for about 2 hours and parts were, let's just say $100, so I was apparently charged about $500 per hour in labor. I am not actually sure though, because I can't seem to get an itemized invoice. Just one that says replace shower valve and the cost. Not to mention, I decided to continue to use my existing shower head, and was not left the new one that I paid for. I called the office and spoke to the lady that answers the phone and was told she'll see if she can get Michael to provide the requested items. No response since. He also did zero clean up, there was drywall all over my bathroom and bedroom, and a complete mess left in the bathtub. I have used this company before and was happy with the service, but never again. The only companies that don't give an itemized invoice are ones ripping you off. Very disappointed!! Buyer beware!!!**update** I had another plumbing company out today, (a week later) for a seperate issue. I asked the plumber what they would have charged for this repair, as I showed him what was done since I have not patched the hole in the wall yet. He told me that would have been a $475-500 job for them. When I told him what I was charged, he honestly could not believe someone would charge that much. As for John's response, I never complained about Michael having to go get parts, also I removed all of the shelving in the closet myself, and the part Michael came back with DOES include the valve and trim pieces (see attached). There is nothing that was done in my wall that could possible justify the amount i was charged. Nice try, I stand by my honest review, which is more than I can say for Schrader Plumbing.