kordts said:
She gave me the fisheye and "poor old me" routine. There must have been at least 20,000 worth of merchandise crammed into that house, if not more.
LOL! That was too effin funny!
Been there, seen that.
In regards to the "poor lady" with a clogged drain:
I've walked into "poor old lady's" home before and seen that the piping was galvanized or 2" cast iron. Any plumber in the biz knows what these two do over time.....and that clearing the drain is temporary at best.
Telling the customer that replacement is sometimes a better suggestion in regards to drain cleaning costs against replacement. Meaning, I cannot guarantee that it will stay open for any lengthy period of time.
The second plumber had an approach that was not wise.....especially leaving such a mess for the woman to deal with. Sounds like a bait and switch. None the less there might be a reason why the inspection of the piping might of led them to use chemicals instead of rodding.
In regards to the $7.99 corkscrew in the hand drain cable; very ineffective most times in clearing the obstruction
fully and most times it serves as a temporary fix. Those cables are made of a super flexible steel and most times glide over what you are trying to remove. Most common tool laying next to the clogged drain when I arrive to clear the obstruction with a device that scours the entire ID of the pipe, short of galvanized or cast iron build up that no cable can remove. It may of solved the problem at the present moment.......but proper drain cleaning involves proper equipment. The money matched the service though, so no harm I guess unless a month later it happens again.
And to top if off,
The woman might have a reputation for the "poor me" attitude and expects something for next to nothing. I've run into those same situations like kordts has and as recently as last week; two ladies who think nothing of the price they spent on their products they bought for me to install..........but think the labor to install after the fact is "adjustable". They knew what I was charging going into the job, I gave roundabout numbers that fell right into what I expected it to be and would you believe that the only number that stuck in their head was the lower of the two prices of that range? Pathetic in my book when you expect the plumber to adjust the bill even though the plumber has logged the hours in, performed the work, and no problems/leaks/errors. Those who have to deal with her might pass the buck like they did above and figure it's how you deal with people like them. I myself practice the first step if it is realistic that the piping is a case history for clogging.....the rest I don't do.
Customers build reputations just like plumbers; I have a list I share with other plumbers to protect their best interest in dealing with these people. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the large extent of them are older.
It's just like Angie's List but it is geared for plumbers only. :thumbsup: