John Baethke & Son Plumbing

We've used them for 3 ? years. We thought they were really good when we first started using them. They leave a comment card for you to fill out which I've done several times. They charge much more than they tell you they are going to. They come in to look at the furnaces and make sure they are ok, and all of a sudden they are leaking gas. Then we need a $300 part. I'm just not buying it. Looking back on their past visits, they tell us that we need a new part or something new every time. We are now starting to feel unsure about them and have told them this. They came out last Friday to make sure the furnace was ok and sure enough there was a leak. We paid for the part and service, but I'm not sure we are going back.

We are happy with there service, they are very professional. They did a great job for what we hired them to do.

He told me for a washer to be replaced it would be $264. He went up stairs to change a U-joint. He charged me $324. The job took him 15 minutes. I spoke to the owner and said I should have asked for a discount for having more than one job but I was not aware of that.

Felt way too sales oriented and gimmicky around price; prices were really high and I could get them lower if I bought their annual maintenance agreement (which I didn't). Broke a piece while they were fixing the pump and took forever to fix it - charges were so high and it still leaked after they left. They were punctual and responsive over the phone which I liked but I just felt like I was being worked too much on price.

They were unable to rod out the tub. They then insisted that I needed an access to the tub drain so they could complete the rod out. They attempted to charge me an additional $238.42 to install this access. This was in addition to the 425.78 they were charging me to rod out the drain. They did not complete the rod out on the tub and still charged me the $425.78. As to the leak from the tub area: First, they stated the tub was cracked. However, when I pointed out to them that the tub was intact from the top and there was no evidence of a crack from the top. I will not use this company again. $425.78 for about 40 minutes of unsuccessful work! Sincerely, Cheryl Gucciardo, 773-685-0857, Chicago, Illinois 60634

James was very professional and courteous. He wore a uniform. He diagnosed the problem and explained his recommendation and the cost options. Upon our approval, he completed the work efficiently and effectively.

John's office was incredibly responsive. They were on site within 2 hours of us calling on a Saturday. They routed the line only to find that we had a major root issue that was so bad that it snapped the cable on their equipment. They told me the only way to fix the problem was to excavate the front yard and potentially lose our 80 year old tree that sits on the parkway side of our city lot. They also suggested that based on where the problem is, that the city may take responsibility for repairing the problem. John's team coordinated the effort to find the right person within the Dept. of Sewers and Sanitation, met that person at our house, did a video inspection of our line and the city agreed that they would be the ones to excavate and fix it. John's team went out of their way to help me. Furthermore their efforts resulted in lost revenue for them since the city is now fixing the problem -- not them! If there was ever a trustworthy contractor who is going to put the customer ahead of their own interests, it's John Baethke & Son. The real separator from the other plumbing contractors is their communication. I received phone calls daily on the status of things. I was always kept informed. I have used their services in the past and I have posted on Angie's in the past on their behalf. This is truly an organization that values their clients. It is clear that from the secretary, technician and management, that this is a well run company with well trained workers all marching to the same drum beat - The client's best interest. I am thankful to have a plumber that I can rely on and would not think of calling anyone else...regardless of the price. Doing things right far surpasses saving a buck or two in my book.

They are very responsive! They came within 2 hours to replace the sump pump when we had water in basement.

Andy & Bob did a quick and clean replacement of the fill valve kit in a toilet. (We provided the new kit.) They were friendly and professional and were polite when explaining/offering the company's service plan. The pricing seemed a tad high, but for the quality of their service, I'll accept it. We would work with them again.

They did a great job. We have used them in the past and we have always had a great experience with them. They do a great job of keeping everything clean while working.

I was shocked when I called and they said someone would be there within the hour - and he was. The repairs went well until the feed from the wall crumpled apart when he tried to turn off the water. Thankfully he was also able to replace the very very very corroded feed pipe (bringing water TO the sink) also. Steven was the plumber - nice, polite, professional, and very easy to work with.

It went well. They are extremely polite and professional. They arrived on time to do the work. They have a fixed price no matter how much time they spend. It felt that they billed me for things that I did not need.

They came and did the work in an hour and our bill was $330. I complained to them about the $330/hour rate, and they said it is just a flat rate for the work performed. They also try to push a service plan, but why would I want to do business with them again, when I got screwed over so bad one time by their rates. We paid $280 for them to check the leak, they did that work in under an hour and it is not fixed, we have to patch up the hole in our ceiling and fix up our tiles. The $45 to remove the water restrictor was reasonable if that was the only reason they came out, but I would think the extra 5 minutes could have been thrown in with the original ridiculous charge. DO NOT use these guys, unless you want to risk being charged over $300/hour of work.

I own a 3 flat and got a call from one of my tenants that their furnace was not working. I contacted John B. and set up an appointment for later the same day. I was out of town, so I could not be on site. After some confusion with the office getting my credit card on file, to pay for the service call, appt. had to be rescheduled for the next day. Technician came out & inspected unit. Called me prior to any work to explain the situation. I had recently purchased the property and knew the units where in need of service, so he was right on with his analysis. I was told that the broken unit was so dirty that it began to overheat and a safety switch kicked in to prevent a fire. He cleaned the unit and replaced the switch. A second furnace, next to the broken one, he informed me was in the same condition. He asked if I would like to clean it now and save a 2nd service call charge. I agreed. Let me a brochure with some coupons and was very helpful and professional. It maybe a little expensive, but still worth it.

I have used Baethke for several jobs and have been extremely pleased with the quality of their work and the professionalism of their technicians. Steven is the tech we have had and he is very good. I would highly recommend asking for him personally. Steven was right on time everyday (we had to stage it over 3 different days) and was very willing to work with us and asked our plans for the bathroom and then tailored the work to fit those plans. Baethke seems to be at the higher end of the pricing spectrum, but for things like plumbing I want to know that the job is done right and I really trust their workmanship and attention to customer service.

A pipe had burst in a bathroom in my house, and I had called another plumber out to fix the problem on an emergency basis, which they did. However, several hours later their "fix" started to leak again, so several days later when time allowed, I contacted John Baethke and they said they could have someone out within 2 hours to look at my problem. The plumber arrived in about 90 minutes, and upon inspecting the pipes that were behind the wall that the original plumber had torn out, he immediately said that all of the piping was sub-standard and not up to code, as whoever had done the rehab work (probably 10-15 years ago) had used PVC pipes and rubber/flexible hoses to work around some of the woodwork and support beams, and one of the rubber hoses had burst. He said he could replace all the substandard piping with copper tubing and re-route the pipes so that it didn't look like "spaghetti" anymore. Two days later, he and an apprentice spent about 7 hours and got everything nice & shiny.

I asked for an appointment and they were available the next day. Bob and Edgar arrived on time and put on their own protective covers on their shoes before coming up the stairs. Bob quoted the job before they proceeded with any work. They put tarps down and installed the faucet. It has been a few weeks and I'm very pleased with their work, availability, politeness, and punctuality.

I called Baethke and requested they clean out my dryer vent. The technician provided good expertise and cleaned out a small portion of the vent. However, he did not clean out the entire vent. He helped me make an appointment to have the entire vent cleaned out. I hesitated to commit to that appointment because the price seemed high, and I wanted to get some estimates for comparison. I paid for the service call and for the partial vent cleaning. I went back to Angie's List and found someone else to clean out the entire vent for less than I had paid Baethke for the service call and partial vent cleaning. I called Baethke to confirm that I was charged correctly, and to complain that I felt that I had been overcharged for the service call and partial cleaning. The service manager called me back immediately and was very understanding. He offered a decent explanation for the charges, but I will be more careful next time regarding what work I expect and agree to pay for.

Great experience, they were very professional. Showed up on time and were very respectful of keeping my house clean. Finished the work in a timely manner. We had some issues with the humidifier install (bad part) that required a second visit but that was the only hitch.

Great Service! The leak started on a Sunday morning (of course) and within 90 minutes of speaking with John, Steven arrived. He called prior to coming to let me know that he was on his way. He was extremely courteous and helpful explaining everything in detail so that I could understand my options. I was very short on time and he was able to get everything done. He left the area neat and clean and offered helpful suggestions. I will definitely use this company again.

The service was excellent. The plumber was on time and very courteous. He was talked to us in detail about our plumbing issue and recommended optional repairs.

Plumber A seemed like he could only perform very basic tasks. He worked for over four hours, taking frequent trips out to the truck for smoke breaks. I think he was a salesman first and plumber second. Plumber B was professional from start to finish and complete the job quickly and efficiently. He didn't try to sell me anything else and gave me some good advice about upkeep and how to fix a jam with the handy tool that came with the new disposal. So overall we had both extremes of service from this company so the grades are an average of service.

It was Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we needed to have the faucet fixed because we were preparing the next day's feast. I went ahead with the replacement of the existing faucet because we were in a bind. I bought the faucet myself before the technician arrived and expected to pay between $150-$300 for the labor. Instead I ended up paying over $500 just to install a faucet!!! The installation itself took less than an hour!!! On top of that the faucet that was installed was loose. After I was told the story that this faucet probably has a defect and that I needed another one (that I would have to pay another $550 to install plus the cost of the faucet the technician would supply), I declined and just paid the technician for the overcharged installation. A few days later I took another look at the faucet and was able to tighten it myself for free. I guess I didn't need that new faucet.

We woke up to nice sewage water spewing all over our basement on Sat. By the time we discovered it, the smell was terrible, there was water leaking in multiple places, much of our property in storage was also damaged. It was horrible. Our first call was to John Baethke. They had done work in our house in the past and we were always very pleased with their service. It was easy to find John's phone number because in a previous service call to our house, one of John's plumbers labeled all of our water and gas shut off valves with their tags. Nikki answered the phone that morning and couldn't have been more helpful. At 8:30 she told us she could have someone there by 10. James arrived at 9:45. This is an incredibly professional organization - shoes covered in the house, excellent communication, they even put their own floor mat down in front of our door! I wouldn't consider hiring someone else in the future. Feel confident things will get done right with these guys!

We've used them for several years and have always been satisfied.