Duane Blanton Plumbing, Sewer & Drainage Inc.

The first time Jack Blanton Jr. Plumbing's crew came they tried to just clean the pipes and advised me that further work would be needed sooner or later. When the tub backed up again within days, I called them. They had given me a 30-day warranty. They came back, laid out my options, I made the decision to go ahead with the bigger job, and to help me out with the unexpected expense they applied what I had paid for their first visit toward my overall balance. Both times they arrived within hours and at the promised time. Their work was professional and knowledgeable as well as their demeanor.

Fine, I was hesitant to call Jack this time because of my memory of the higher charges of this plumbing company. Also, when I checked the reviews he had mostly all "A" except price which he averages around "C". However, we have used him in the past and have felt like the company does a good job. In talking with Jack I learned that he pays in full for all his employees to have health insurance. I am willing to pay a little more for service when I know that it is top notch quality ( which I think they are ) AND when employees of the company are receiving much needed benefits. Also, he came out the same day!

The 2 plumbers came after we called several places and Blanton Brothers was available on the same day. Our basement was flooded with 6 inches of water. They did a great job cleaning out the pipes. Found that it was a lot of baby wipes! The plumbers even put in a camera to make sure nothing else was blocking the pipe. They did tell us we will eventually have to replace the pipes since the house is old. They were very professional and honest.

Our kitchen faucet had worn out and had begun to leak. We live in a high rise apartment building, and management is "picky" about outside workers complying with building regulations, so we needed someone who would be able to do a first rate job. Jack was prompt, friendly, a fast worker, and the new faucet was installed perfectly.

The men that were sent were professional. My only complaint is I was given an appointment for between 8am-10am. Come 10:20 or so I called and was told by the dispatcher that they were still at the previous job and they would call when they were on their way. That didn't happen until about 11:45. This was not a problem with the men that came as they didn't even know about my job till they called in to the office when they were done. It was a dispatching problem. I let the men know I was unhappy about having to wait so long and that I had to call in to check on their whereabouts rather than someone in the office calling me to let me know they were running behind. I did get a call after they left from someone in the office with an apology.

John was on time and extremely professional. The cold water to my shower just stopped flowing one day-leaving me with the option of only taking scalding hot showers. I was worried the issue might be related to the risers in our condo building. But, John assessed the situation rather quickly, and determined that it should be a straight-forward fix. He also looked at the risers and gave the opinion that they don't need to be replaced anytime soon...which is always good to hear. I live in a vintage building with minimal (if any) upgrades in the last few decades. Overall - a very good experience.

They did the job in the middle of the snow storm. I had to have them move it later a couple of times because it was to far from an asphalt area by our garage that I wanted it by. They would come right out and move it for me. They are very responsive. They give an honest estimate and give me options on what I can do. Any plumbing problem I have I call them immediately.

Very good experience- the company scheduled an appointment to fit my schedule and showed up on time as promised. They determined the problem quickly and were able to resolve the issue.

Plumber came out within 2 hours. I told him all the things I would like to get done and he gave me estimates. I wanted a leak under the kitchen sink fixed ($100), a slow drain in the bathtub fixed ($225 to rod it out) a slow drain in the bathroom sink fixed ($225 to rod it out), Clean out the vent stack ($225 to rod it out), a sump pump not working ($750 to replace the sump pump and check valve - standard company cost for replacing a sump pump and cleaning the debris from the sump area). The Plumber recommended replacing the drum trap under the bathtub with a P trap for $750, and replacing the metal P trap under the bathroom sink for $100 (Nothing wrong with it). The Plumber went outside to his truck to talk with his boss about the prices. The total for all was roughly $1800 with approx $150 knocked off the price for Angie's list members, bring the price down to $1650 if I got it done all at once. I told him I wanted to get other estimates. He said the boss told him to ask what he could do or get done while he was here. I told him he could fix the leak under the kitchen sink and rod out the vent stack. He found and fixed the problem with the leak under the kitchen sink. Electrolysis with dissimilar metals caused corrosion at the supply lines. He forgot to flush the lines before reconnecting to the faucet, plugging the orifices in the faucet which could not be fixed since the clog was not in the faucet valve, forcing me to buy a new faucet for $129 at Home Depot. While I went and purchased a faucet, he went and got his rodding tools from his shop. He rodded the vent line successfully. He then assisted me in installing the new faucet. I thought he would not charge me for installing the faucet since he had a part in plugging the faucet and forcing me to buy and new faucet. He charged me $100 for 15 minutes of work in replacing the faucet. The plumber was a very nice young guy, but their rates are not acceptable. I am not out to rip anyone off. My guesstimate was $100 a labor hour. Multiplied by 2000 working hours per year comes out to $200,000 per year, split 50/50 between the Plumber and business owner make a very nice profit and salary for the Plumber. It is also the same rate for most new car dealer repairs. It appears they are charging roughly $200 per labor hour. I only want to pay a fair honest price and not get ripped off. They impress me as not someone I would trust not to take advantage of a senior citizen. I asked the Plumber how much the sump pump replacement would be if I purchased the sump pump. He said that would lower the cost to 525 but no guarantee on the sump pump. He said they use Champion brand sump pumps. I looked on eBay and Google but could not find that pump anywhere. I do not know if it is a good quality pump or a cheapee that they buy at a low price and charge more since you cannot comparison-shop that brand. Their guarantee is 1 year on the sump pump which to me is way too low for the cost.

Well. They sent somebody within two hours of my initial call. The plumber's name was Jack. He showed up on time and was professional and courteous. He did the job well. No surprises; no problems.

This company was the first to reply to our phone calls. We explained what was the problem over the phone, but they did not bring the tools that they needed to cut the pipe to remove the blockage. They had to make a second trip. I had to take another day off from work and they were late.

Found leaky valve over the weekend. After finding Exceptional in Angie's List and their prompt responses to service, waited until Monday to contact. They were able to come out during the morning to investigate. When the men came out (don't know their names), they put on protective booties and found the issue. They quoted an hour of time to repair with a cost of $563. They were right on, finishing within the hour. With Angie's List coupon, total charge was $506. Was told when we initially called that someone would call between 9-11am, but instead they just showed up between that time.

Great service from the owner and another technician. I spoke with Jamie in the office about a disconnected water heater, furnace and dryer due to "insufficient ventilation." I was in a panic and completely confused as to what the gas company had done in my home. The owner, Jack, happened to be in the area and stopped by with in 30 minutes. He clearly explained what the gas company had done and even called them on my behalf to see what changes they expected in my home. He told me in detail what needed to be done and even gave me the option of having a friend or handyman do the work as they might have been a cheaper option. I asked him to perform the work that he was able to do, moving a gas valve for the dryer, and he kindly directed me to my HVAC supplier for the ventilation issue. He was honest, polite and went above and beyond in his service.

In a nutshell, we needed a plumber. I called Exceptional Plumbing. I think the girl's name is Angela that helped set this up, but I am terrible with names and I threw out my paper with it written down. Anyways, she was courteous and explained how they operate, and I set up our appointment. The guys were late to arrive due to an emergency, but I was informed of the situation and kept in the loop as to when they'd arrive. When they arrived they put slippers on over their shoes to not track in dirt, which I thought was very respectful. Jack the plumber was really polite and nice, as well as his assistant. They fixed what we needed fixed and were nice to deal with.

A short time after the repair, I started having problem again. I looked in the tank and the ball was rotted. I called them and they said it can not be replaced. I went to the hardware store and purchased one myself, installed it ($3.00) and everything is fine now. I called the company to see if they would take responsibility for it and they denied it, of course. I will not use this company again.

Exceptional Plumbing, Chicago, referred me to their plumber who worked in the Evanston area. The plumber arrived as scheduled. I told him there was a slow leak from my toilet to the ceiling below. He said the wax ring needed replacing. It would cost $385 and would take about an hour. I thought the charge was outrageous for an hours work. I told him I would look elsewhere to have the job done.

This company was absolutely amazing! They worked efficiently, started the job as soon as they could, finished earlier than I expected, left the place clean, and even did some extra things not included in our estimate. Even though we agreed they would only rough in the plumbing (to save us some money), they were gracious enough to install one of our toilets, hook up a sink, and drop a tub back in, and connect the faucet. They were clearly concerned with complying with code and our safety as they replaced the plumbing, and I appreciated that very much. I will admit that I got a quote from another plumber that was a fair amount lower, but after meeting with Jack and talking with him, I felt far more comfortable going with Exceptional Plumbing because of their thoroughness and professionalism in going over the project and estimate with us. I think they did a great job!

They arrived on time. I let them know the problem. They said they needed to put a clean-out in the backyard approximately 5 ft. from the house. They said it was code (later found out that is code for NEW construction, existing homes are exempt from the code). They said they needed to clean the drain first and then send a camera down to assess the problem. We kept coming back to digging a hole in the backyard. Advised them I needed to think about it. Subsequently hired someone else to clean the drain who used 160 ft. of equipment to rod the drain. Works fine now.

They were really easy to work with. They came over and gave me an opinion and an estimate for the work. They explained thoroughly what they would do, how they would do it and why. They were very quick and professional at it.

The worker showed up on time and was very courteous. He offered an overview of items that should be done and explained why. Very professional and polite.

Tim was the crewman, and he was very good. The owner, Jack came out and took a look at the situation before any work was done. They came out right away, when I called them. They are really good people. I would highly recommend them.

They were very nice when I called and got me scheduled within 3 hours. The serviceman was very nice and even helped me to clean up the mess that was made from the stand water where he had been routing. The job took about 30 to 45 minutes. I am very pleased with the service and feel the price was competitive.

This clean out that was supposed to be the end all of my plumbing problems was not the cause of my plumbing issues. I think that Blanton uses this scam for as many cases as possilbe since it keeps them in business. The clean out was installed 12/2004. Since then, without outdoor rodding, the outside line has been clear, meaning the issue is NOT with the outside line at all. I still have the exact same problem every year of my sewer backing up. The Jr. aprentice who came along during one of my rodding sessions after the clean-out job at Blanton summarized the problem for me. Citing when my downstairs toilet flushes, the toilet paper backwashes a little bit which causes a slight congestion. Over the course of a year, this eventually snags my pipes. Barring major concrete work done, I'll just have to rod this section annually. I do not recommend this profiteering company. On top of that, they charged me $165 to rod my line for a problem that was supposed to be fixed permanently.

Called Exceptional Plumbing because water was accumulating on basement floor (got the name from Angie's List). Was told by Exceptional plumber the pump needed to be replaced and quoted $575. Was also told the crock lid needed replacement at a cost of an additional $150 ($725 total). Since it was somewhat of an emergency repair (not an emergency call, though), I reluctantly agreed. While work was being performed, I called a couple of plumbers on the phone and gave them the name of the exact pump Exceptional was installing. These plumbers quoted me (+/-$300 to replace the pump and less than $40 for the lid, for a total +/-$340, almost half the price being charged by Exceptional. Also checked online and the price of the pump on all web sites was $99. I complained to the repairman, called his office and got the price reduced to $575 (took off the $150 for the lid). Although they reduced the price, I still think that $575 for the work performed was outrageous.

Excellent service, very cordial, very professional and very expensive. This is the third company I called and the only company that had a live person answering, I thought that was very good.