TOM SHELL PLUMBING INC

Beware of the Tom Shell Plumbing bait and switch scam. I asked for a repair estimate on my GE water softener with low water flow. The phone rep kindly said she would send a plumber to do an estimate. Tom’s plumber came and told me “you can’t get parts for GE, Whirlpool, Sears anymore”. He left shortly after, and sent me a shocking estimate…$1800 for a whole new water softener, when it might have just needed a cleaning. Disgusted, I did some more research and discovered that the parts for these brands are largely interchangeable and widely used, and the truth is that aftermarket parts are readily available on Amazon. I confronted President Tom Shell who then wrote, “We can only work on Clack, Fleck and Autotrol… We never have, nor will we ever work on GE, Kenmore or Whirlpool,” and added, “I would suggest calling a water softener company.” So an implicit admission that there ARE parts available. Thanks Tom for telling me the truth, unlike your plumber. And when confronted about why the phone rep didn’t tell me they only do the 3 brands, Tom wrote, “She does not know the difference between GE or anything else. She is not a plumber” So the conveniently “ignorant” rep lays the bait with the offer of a free “at your home” repair estimate, which really will be a replacement estimate. The lying plumber comes to your home and makes the switch, trying to convince you there’s no option but to replace a 3 year old softener because there’s “no parts”. Finally, the conscienceless president offers no apology for his own company’s wrongdoing, but only for mine, saying about my review, “I apologize that you feel the need to do that.” Then, the smart consumer fixes his water softener for a hundred bucs.

Monday July 29, 2019, 9:27am, text message from Lauren Brady. Plumber is scheduled to arrive Tue, Jul 30 at 9:00am. For House call job review. Tuesday July 30 10:16am, Kevin Gable is in route now. Kevin G. came over and did a review of what I would need and to give me a price. (I have a hot faucet a cold faucet and a shower converter that was not working.) Kevin check the hot water closet and then got into the tub took all 3 apart and then told me that he could not repair them because of their age. Kevin said that “the only thing he could do was replace them with new Moen’s. He said that “the hot water closet was to small and the only way to replace the old parts, was to cut a hole in the shower wall, take out the old put in the moens ,cover the hole with moens smitty plate. He said that “the work and Moen would cost $607.00 and the Moen Smitty Plat was $100.00 for a total of $707.00.” I told him that I had to get it done so go ahead and do the job. Kevin explained to me that he could not do the work at this time, but would return in a week with the new parts for the job. Tuesday July 30 11:28am. Text message: Estimate from Kevin for $707.00, Tuesday July 30 11:30 am. Text message: Hi, Kevin Gable from Tom Shell pluming, Inc. is scheduled to arrive Thu, Aug at 9:00am till 12:00pm. *note; at no time was I told that the fix would be anything different than what it was, hot cold and diverter. It was very hot and humid so I gave Kevin a $20 for a cold pack. When I went to take a shower the tub was dirty and I had to clean it first. I have a spinal condition and that was NOT an easy task. Monday Aug 5 10:09am. Text message: Kevin Gable from Tom Shell Plumbing is scheduled to arrive on Thu, Aug 8 at 9:00am to 12:00pm. Thursday August 8 10:00am, no Kevin? I called Tom Shell Plumbing and left a voice message: Where is Kevin? Thursday August 8 10:09am. Test Message: Nick Horetski is in route now. Thursday August 8 11:50am, Nick Horetski arrived to start the work. After turning off the water supply Nick Horetski got into the tub and removed the water faucets and shower diverter handles. Then Nick went out to the water heater closet and started to disconnect the water pipes. I said to Nick “It was my understanding from the other guy that it would be best to replace the parts from inside the shower.” Nick replied that “He could get at it from here easer (the hot water closet) and continued to remove parts. After working at cutting out things for a while (about 30 min.) he went inside climbed into the tub and started to saw thru the shower wall around the fixture to remove the old parts, he went back and forth several times between the tub and closet several times. He then went out to the van and was getting out the replacement parts. When I saw what he had in his hands I went over and asked what it was. He said that was the new parts for the bath tub. (It was just a converter valve) I told him that it was not what I wanted. He said “It is better than what I had before and it was what he was given to install and that I would like it better.” Then he continued working with the installation. When he turned the water back on things started to leak! After fixing the leaks Nick said, “The old fittings started to leak and he had to replace them” I really did not think that was true. After the leaks were fixed at 3:16pm Nick gave me the Bill and I paid it. Nick went into the bathroom and showed me how to use the diverter. I told him again that it was not what I expected and it did NOT look right. The diverter handle was too far away from the Smitty Plate and it looked like ****. Nick said that was the way it was supposed to look. Again it was a very hot and humid day so I gave them $20 for cold drinks. After they left I went into the bathroom to take a shower, the tub was left in a worse mess than what Kevin had left. It had taken over an hour to clean up after them. Nick had tossed an old towel in the dive and deep route on the front lawn by the street. When I tried to take a shower it did NOT work. Late the manager came by and told me either fixe it or he would and charge me $50 to do it. Thursday the 8th 7:36pm I sent a photo of what I had before the work and a text message with the caption: This was what I had, a hot water faucet a shower diverter and cold water faucet. 7:42pm I sent a photo of what had been installed, with the caption: This is what was installed. 7:43pm a Photo of the work in the hot water closet. 7:44pm a photo of the towel tossed in the drive 7:45pm a text message: You Should Call 7:59pm a photo of tire tracks left on the front lawn. Thursday the 9th 8:40am, I called tom shell plumbing and told the lady that the job was not right. She told me the job was completed and the only way she would send someone out was if the shower was not working, I told her that the shower had no water coming from it. She said that she would have Kevin and Nick come out Saturday at 9:00am to look at it. Saturday the 10th Kevin and Nick showed up on Saturday and while Nick fixed the tire marks Kevin changed out the shower head it was plugged. Again I told Kevin that I did not think the diverter was meant to look like that. He said again that that was the way it was supposed to look. That afternoon I went to Home Depot and found 2 plumbers that did fixtures and showed them the photos on my phone of the hot water closet and the converter and they both said that was not the way they were supposed to look. The pipes and converter should have been supported some way in the closet and the handle on the converter should have been almost touching the plate. No $20 for cold drinks this time. My Issues are the fowling: The 3-handle tub and shower rough-in was installed around or after 2004. Because that was when the Shark Bites Were first introduced to the US and all of the old connection were shark bites. There were repair kits for it. I don’t like the shower head, I preferred the one I had, and it was a jet spray type. This one just drizzles. There is a 3-hole smitty plate $20.00 there is a 3-hole tub and shower rough-in valve $50.00. It could have been repaired I would of gladly paid $400.00 for that. As it is I have something I don’t like and looks like ****. Each time I said that is not what I expected, wanted or it does not look right they should have stopped the job. I am a 75 year old, handicapped retired person on a limited income. If I was physically able I would have done the job myself. I trusted Tom Shell Plumbing to be fair and honest with me. They were not.

I had previously used this company and had a positive outcome so I called them to install 2 bathroom faucets. The person who came was not the person who came the first time. He opened my cabinet and said he hated my plumbing system and continued to tell me how bad a system and all the problems there are with it. I told him I would not have someone work on my system who hated it no more than I would have a vet treat a German Shepherd after informing me he hated that breed and what all was wrong with them. I rescheduled with who was suppose to be the original person who came last time as he was not negative. Two people showed up for the 2nd appointment and one began the same process of criticizing my system. I did not ask any of them what they thought of it they just had the need to tell me. Even children know you don't yuck somebody's yum. We have had our system 22 years trouble free.

The job went well, very pleased with the workmanship and knowledge of the Plummer. I have found a Plumber for all my need

Both Tom Shells (father & son) came over and carefully checked the pvc pipe and the area around the suspected pvc pipe. They said the pipe was okay and the accumulated ground water was due to rain, sprinklers and being in the shade. They couldn't have been nicer and didn't charge me anything. I definitely would hire them again and will refer them to my neighbors.

Punctual, courteous and very reasonable cost. Called him and within an hour was at my home fixing the pipe.

Tom arrived on time, was very nice. Completed the work in a timely manner. Was very clean when he needed to come inside the house. Answered all my questions. Highly recommend!

These guys came out within 45 minutes. they were professional, courteous and knowledgeable. They did the job for what they quoted and there were no surprises. I will certainly use them again.

The plumbers were actually a little early and acted professionally throughout, including humoring my three-year old son's desire to watch them work. We had experienced a loss of water pressure coming from the hot water heater (the hot water faucets would lose all pressure about four seconds after opening - every time), and my limited troubleshooting wasn't successful, so I called professionals. The team did about 60+ minutes of troubleshooting before dislodging a particularly deep blockage in the cold water inlet - some crud had built up down further than a large screwdriver could reach, but they isolated the general location of the problem and realized they needed to improvise a longer tool to clean out the problematic pipe. Once done, the hot water was restored and we could take hot showers again. Overall - good service that accomplished my goals without a lot of extra drama.

Very well - I can't say that I had any problems. He did everything on time, did what he said he was going to do.

I typically do 90% of my home improvements / repairs. While in the middle of replacing a bathtub in my home, more important personal issues required my time. Knowing that a skilled plumber could complete the installation of the new tub in less than half the time it would take me and with no frustration. I contacted Tom Shell Plumbing about completing this job . I spoke to Dan explained my dilemma and sent him a short video from my phone as to what needed to be done. His quote was reasonable and when I wanted to schedule the work he had an opening in a couple of days, but due to the nature of my circumstance he fit me in the next day. After being a home owner for over 25 years I know what to expect from a contractor both good and bad and I must say Tom Shell Plumbing ( Dan and his crew of 2 guys) exceeded my expectations by under committing and over delivering. Dan notified me when he was on his way, was early, professional, efficient and honest, charged me less than originally quoted. When it comes to future plumbing projects or repairs it is a no-brainer, I will be calling Tom Shell Plumbing!

We couldn't be happier that they managed both those repairs on the same trip and that Tom was able to locate the leak without digging into the foundation. We've got water flowing where it's suppose and everything went better than expected. We've used Tom on other projects and we'll continue to use Tom and Dan when the need arises, they're the BEST!

He's okay. He's fair. It's a small job and he's kind of expensive.

They arrived promptly and were very professional. A father and son team quickly accomplished their work. Very neat and cleaned up after themselves. I have listed prices since it has been a long time since we have used a plumber. I would not hesitate to call again.

Excellant service. Fast, efficient and professional.

Did not hire them-undecenerable. They seem to put personal issues ahead of work-and-they don't even bother to call. They leave you ganging. I got another dependable plumber.

Have had plumbing jobs done by others. Mr Shell fixed them. There is nothing these professionals cannot do and do better than the competition. Great guys!

I've used Tom Shell Plumbing a number of times in the past 3 years. They always come the same day I call, find the problem and fix it on the spot. I just joined Angie's List and was happy to see that they are listed here with positive reviews. Yesterday I called about 10 A.M. and they were here by 11:30 A.M. At first it seemed that the water softener was just not plugged in (I didn't know what that thing was for), and they weren't going to charge me anything, but when it still didn't work, they found the problem quickly. They are friendly, polite and professional. It's a pleasure to deal with them.

They arrived promptly, very polite and friendly. They verified I had 3 sinks that I had clogged when I put cabbage down my garbage disposal. Within 15 minutes they had solved my problem. I certainly appreciated their professionalism and quick service.

He has always been reliable. He does the job right the first time, and he did a fantastic job. He was in and out and it worked way better than before. Two people came and said the faucet couldn't be fixed, but he fixed it.

We had hot water coming out of our water heater and Shell Plumbing Inc arrived within 20 minutes to check the heater. They replaced my water heater within 3 hours. A couple of years ago they fixed a leak in my toilet that the contractor was unable to find. They re-installed the toilet to make sure it wouldn't leak anymore.

I called Monday morning, and the men were here by 2:00 in the afternoon. They saved me a trip to the hardware store by bringing a unit with them. The unit happened to be the one my son-in-law recommended. ( He sells plumbing materials.) They had some issues because the former homeowner had installed the unit using silicone instead of plumbers putty. In spite of the hassles, the unit was installed in little time, the work area was spotlessly cleaned, AND they even tightened my faucet which was a little loose. They did all of this for less than I would have paid for the food disposal at the hardware store! I never think of calling anyone other than Tom Shell.

When the unit first failed, I called Tom Shell Plumbing for help. The men arrived, made repairs, and charged very little. Afterward, I just didn't trust the unit. I called and asked for a model they would recommend. The men removed the defective unit, set it in a location I chose, and checked the area where the new unit was to be installed. The gentlemen doing the install kept the area clean, worked quickly and were remarkably patient with my questions. After having the unit for several months, I felt it was not regenerating properly. Mr. Shell, himself, came here within 30 minutes of my call, explained that since I had disconnected the power while we were out of town, and the clock had to be reset. He took care of all of that with a genuine smile. I can't say enough about the company. I would never think of calling anybody else.

The representative had a spill on the front of his pants when arrived. He claimed it was spilled root beer, but the odor was not of root beer. I believe that he was drinking alcohol along the way somewhere. He did some work and was polite, but I did not buy his story and felt he was lying to me. I would not have this company back out to do work.

They were great. They didn t mess your place up. If they did mess it up, they cleaned it up. They were timely. They gave us some pointers on how to use and take care of the unit. I would absolutely hire them again.