Response from Goode Plumbing
This was an estimate only-we did not do any work here, but since I was the one who did the estimate personally, I know the details. This estimate was given last summer. I admit that we are humans, and as such, are not perfect-but when we do make a mistake, we bend over backwards to make it right. In this case, however, I strongly disagree with the review. Once I realized which job this was, I was pretty stunned, if I am honest. We had the member scheduled for an evening estimate-something we try to avoid, but I realize that some members cannot get off of work during the day, and on top of that, this woman was upset with her current contractor, so I felt I would try to help her. We agreed to come "after 6 pm" at her request. She called at 6:10pm asking where I was at. I told her I was leaving another job that I just wrapped up and was heading to her. She expressed that she was upset that I was not there at 6, but I reminded her that she asked me to come "after 6". I arrived at 6:45pm, again, as agreed upon, so I do not agree with the D in punctuality. We made a very clear agreement about the time, and I made good on that agreement. The member had another contractor who was in the middle of installing an overhead sewer system. It was obvious to me that the contractor was NOT a licensed plumber or drain layer. The workmanship was substandard, the materials were incorrect, the design was poor, very little on the job would have passed city inspection, and there were no permits on the job. Sometimes, we get calls from clients asking us to take over where another plumbing contractor left off because they stopped showing up, or for other issues. Sometimes was can keep going from where they left off, but in this case, we needed to start from scratch. I could not in good conscience leave what was there and put my name on the completed system. We take our flood control systems very seriously-our back water valve systems and our overhead systems are relied upon by our members to protect their basements . against flooding from sewage! Our systems are not the cheapest on the market, but they are the BEST-designed to work properly for years. We would need to do everything over-from the permit to the materials and design, so I gave her a price that I felt was very reasonable for the task at hand. She compared my pricing to the one of the current contractor, and I explained that yes, I would DEFINELTY be more expensive. Having a properly licensed and insured plumbing contractor do a properly installed job with proper materials and permitted and inspected by the city, with a warranty, would surely cost more than a job done by an individual with no license or insurance, no warranty, improper materials, poor design, no permits, etc. To me, this is sort of like a price comparison of a new Cadillac to a beat of '78 Ford Pinto. Sure, there is more money involved, but there was a reason for it, and as such, a much better value from us. I am sorry that we could not be of service to the member, but again, I would rather loose a job opposed to sacrificing quality.