Are emergency plumbers trustworthy?

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Dansimmo95

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I have been having plumbing problems for years so I need a emergency plumber I heard they charge extra, because you don't have much choice in the moment

Portugal
 

Jeff H Young

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are ---------- trustworthy? fill in blank Typically I consider a Service and repair plumber or a construction plumber to be the 2 most common . Some/ many cross over to different types work .
A construction Plumber you don't call at 10 o'clock at night for a stopped drain and you probably won't call roto rooter for building a house or to build a shopping center.
a plumbing contractor that does some repair, some remodel and some new work might be a fit for you but you may need services from what you call emergency plumber at times .
I would expect that the guys in shiny vans , white shirts, greased hair , with radio commercials be higher priced. some probably are more professional use drop clothes and bootys on their shoes.
The guys in this business, vary I am partial to the smaller contractor , but believer in using Licensed Contractors only
 

Terry

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If you've been having plumbing issues in Gloucester for years, then it may be a good idea to bring in service plumbers on a regular basis during normal working hours.

Like Jeff mentioned, plumbing covers a lot and it's rare to find an outfit that truly does it all.
Outfits that clear drains have special equipment just for that, and skills and training to use them.
New construction, typically very good at knowing the latest code requirements, with the trucks and tools to get all of that all on the job and installed for you.
Service work, more likely repairing or replacing existing faucets and fittings in a home. May not have everything needed for complete drain waste and vents, but have become familiar with decades of plumbing they may need to work with.
Beginning in the 60's there may have been galvanized piping, then copper, then CPVC, then polybutylene, then PEX, then copper with propress.
When I started in new construction, anytime I had to work on older homes it seemed so foreign to me. There is a big history of plumbing and how it's evolved over the years.
 
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Sylvan

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My company does repair (Jobbing) plumbing 24 - 7 and new construction, fire suppression, boiler installations

We had a call on Thanksgiving 9 PM the lady was frantic and my partner called the mechanic on call to take care of the stoppage in the kitchen sink.

Willy went to the job cleared the stoppage and the low life did not even give him a tip or even say "thank you" and her home was in the 4 million dollar area.

My employees who do new construction normally are terrible at repairs and those who do repair I can place them on new work

When we send an employee out for an emergency call I take into consideration he leaves his home drives to the job takes care of the problem usually within an hour.
I pay the employee for 7 hours.

Reason being I know if I call them at 2am they will respond and this is called consideration

I wonder how many people that call for emergency work would be willing to leave their home on a holiday such as Christmas and go clear a stoppage or get the heat back on and are willing to be compensated for an hour or two?
 

GrumpyPlumber

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It goes both ways, for contractors & plumbers you can check their online reviews, I have hundreds.

New Years eve day 2021 I got a call for an emergency water heater, flooded the basement, customer pleaded, I agreed to run out the next day and replace it, I was not cheap, even offered to go out Jan 2nd at the regular rate..

Bought the unit while the supply was open, called him while driving there the next morning, customer "forgot" to call me and say he got someone else at a lower price.

This very rarely happens, but it seems to happen with some groups that are new to Western culture, I tend to shy from taking those calls, but the guy was pleading.

In some cultures, it's acceptable to renegotiate terms/payment after work is done, or ditch a contractor after agreeing to hire, not here - an agreement is the end of negotiation, you've "agreed".

There is a growing popularity for private "registries", where tradesmen can compile lists of problem customers for this reason.

If Angie's list can allow homeowners to do it, it's only fair for the inverse.


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