#89 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Saturday was going to be my peaceful day to myself alone at home. My sister decided to not go out as planned and thought she would do a load of clothes. I was walking out to the kitchen for a beverage and heard the toilet moan and bubble. I went in to look at the problem and all of a sudden the water started pouring out the tiolet. I shut off the valve and the water kept coming. Screamed for my sister to help and what a mess. Wiped up the water, Mary returned upstairs to her room and ta ta it happened again. Water every where. The washer's water was coming out the toilet. Called the plumber no answer, no machine. - Tried again on Sunday, no answer no machine, tried Monday the same so I called Plumbers out of the yellow pages. One came Tuesday at 3:30 and stayed until after 5 saying he would be back Wed at 8. He needed to get a part so he could cut a pipe and the supply store was closed. Wed 8:30 this kid(looked like he was 19 but he was 25 came. I called in that I would be a little late. He needed a wrench and went back to the shop for it 45 mins later he was back. He couldn't find it. After 3 hours he called in help. I thought I would have a heart attack, he had been there 4 hours and the meter was still running. They decided a power snake was needed and had to RENT one. They got the blockage fixed. Ran water from every source for 40 mins and then started totaling the bill. Well when he was doing up the bill he said (young plumber)4 hours and he had 2 at $55 that's $330 power snake rental $100 house call just to show up $70 tax $40 total $ 540.00 I thought I would cry right there. Then I started to ask some questions like how about my toilet and how he scraped the white off(it looks like a public toilet) and that a more experience plumber probably could have fixed it in 2 hours. Then the poor widow thingy and I got the bill down to $253. That's much better. I wrote the check and did a couple loads of laundry after I got home from work. It's no wonder people have heart failure when they have to call a Plumber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guffalo Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Was there a tennis ball involved in any of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 How about your furnace goes on the blinky right when the coldest part of the year arrives and you are 2 days away from going away for Christmas holiday. Luckily, I have a couple of building maintenance friends and the heat exchanger was still under warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jan Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 From $540 to $250 ...good job Cindy! Sounds like it was a real mess...sorry you didn't have that peaceful day you were hoping for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 last year down at the apt. bldg. I took the drain plug out in the basement to snake the line and took a sh-- bath . called Apex , they came and unpluged the line and charged $157 plus tax . they are the only ones i call now .glad you got the price down . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Avenger Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Repair guys are like peaches - the good ones are really good and the bad ones are really bad, but you don't know just by looking at them. Just goes to show how valuable it is to know honest, relaible people in the trades - plumber, electrician, HVAC, mechanic, etc. Once you find them you make sure you always use them and recommend them to everyone you know. My furnace had a problem last week and I immediately called the HVAC guys who worked on my AC last summer - the same guys who came the same day I called them and got my 30 year old central AC unit working again with just a cleaning for $55. Once again they showed up same day, were going to replace the main control board in the furnace ($250 just for the part) but opted instead to replace a $20 part that they thought could solve the probelm - it did and saved me $180 plus higher labor charges involved with replacing the whole control board. When you do get hosed on a repair its terrible - you feel like there's not much you can do except try someone else the next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 When calling people out of the Yellow pages. Look for notes saying, in business since 1973. It helps show a track record of professionalism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 When calling people out of the Yellow pages. Look for notes saying, in business since 1973. It helps show a track record of professionalism. 616276[/snapback] last year some one around here was saying that they have been in business since 1975 , but he had not been doing business in the field he was advertising in since 1975 . he had only been doing that business for 2 or 3 years and not very well .some people are just rip offs no matter what . best to ask several friends who they have used and find out if they where happy with the work that they did . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dib Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 If it will make you feel any better: i still have a blue roof my patio is still torn to shreds the cielings in my house are still stained but, help is on the way..............so they say. Only 3 more months until Hurricane season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Repair guys are like peaches - the good ones are really good and the bad ones are really bad, but you don't know just by looking at them. 616242[/snapback] Yet bananas are pretty much always good. If they aren't, you can almost always tell by looking at the outside (the skins are bruised, brown, etc). So....now what was this all about again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Good negotiation. Many don't know that you can negotiate with contractors. They get nothing until you give it to them. Give them the fair price tell them why its fair and let them make the argument for more. If they say $55.00 an hour, negotiate. If they say it was (as in your case) more hours than reasonably needed tell them and give them what you think is fair. The shoe is on their foot to either accept it or sue. Suing often means THEY have to deal with lawyers, who can teach them a thing or two about overbilling. New York for instance used to have a law REQUIRING that corporations be represented by counsel. The widow thing is a nice touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 You could have put the whole thing to music, like you own Las Vegas Bellagio! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 last year some one around here was saying that they have been in business since 1975 , but he had not been doing business in the field he was advertising in since 1975 . he had only been doing that business for 2 or 3 years and not very well .some people are just rip offs no matter what . best to ask several friends who they have used and find out if they where happy with the work that they did . 616304[/snapback] There are always exceptions to everything. I just use that as a guideline. Usually if someone has been in the business for 30 years, they have the tools and knowledge to handle any problem quickly and professionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Hindsight being 20/20, I don't know if Olean offers this, but in Syracuse, the Public Works department will snake out your sewage line from the street to the house. Anything in the house is your responsibilty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#89 Posted March 3, 2006 Author Share Posted March 3, 2006 And so yesterday I cracked a filling then we had a snowstorm(only 6 inches here) and my back door was frozen in the van. I broke a nail. Hope that is my "3" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 And so yesterday I cracked a filling then we had a snowstorm(only 6 inches here) and my back door was frozen in the van. I broke a nail. Hope that is my "3" 617126[/snapback] Why were you using a hammer and nail to get your door open? An acetylene tourch would have worked much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 He put the power snake down THROUGH THE TOILET? That's NEVER done. Dude wasn't much of a plumber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of BiB Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 He put the power snake down THROUGH THE TOILET? That's NEVER done. Dude wasn't much of a plumber. 617199[/snapback] Sounds like a blocked vent pipe, or maybe the drain pipe for the washer needs to be taller. Or both. Did he climb up on the roof at all to run a snake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 An auto repair place that used to be on Sheridan and Bailey told my mom her car was fine- then charged her over $500 the next day to replace the water pumpamong other things. Glad that guy os out of business! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 I *HIGHLY* recommend Angies List: http://www.angieslist.com It's cheap, and then you KNOW that the person you're hiring is reputable. I used the list to hire contractors when I was finishing my basement last year and didn't have a single problem with anyone I hired. Even though my project is done now, I keep the membership for things like this - plumbing, HVAC, etc. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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