Salem Plumbing Supply & Designer Bath Co Inc

Salem Plumbing Supply (SPS) is engaging in "Bait and Switch" sales tactics. My apartment's American Water Heater broke down before the end of the warranty period. The American Water Heater sales distributor, Urell Inc, directed me to get a water heater replacement from Salem Plumbing Supply because it was the closest American Water Heater supply house to my home. On Wednesday, 1/30/19, I called SPS and spoke to Matt. I called SPS to ensure that they had a replacement water heater in stock. I also asked Matt if I could pay extra for a water heater with a longer life. Matt put me on hold, then came back to told me "Yes" if I paid an extra $132 I could have a longer life water heater. (This would be in addition to the $100 "restocking" fee for exercising the old heater's warranty.) Later that afternoon, my plumber insisted I call SPS and pre-pay them. In this way, when my plumber showed up the next day to retrieve the water heater from SPS, my plumber would not owe SPS any money. I called SPS back and spoke to Shawn. I explained to Shawn that I wanted to pay extra for a water heater with a longer life. Shawn put me on hold, then came back to told me "Yes" if I paid an extra $150 I could have that. The cost went up, from $132 to $150. But it was small enough that I didn't care. So, Shawn & I were in agreement, $100 restocking fee plus $150 for the longer life water heater. (I believe the longer life water heater was a 12 year life water heater, but it could have been 10 year life.) I gave Shawn all necessary details, my credit card information, etc. and expected SPS to hit my charge card, for $150, that day, 1/30/19. (I later found out that the SPS charge was not processed that day.) On Thursday, 1/31/19, my plumber, Mike Gogos of A&A Plumbing & Heating (617-627-9441) showed up at SPS to pick up my water heater replacement with the longer life. Mark at SPS refused to honor what Shawn (SPS) and I agreed to the day before. Mark had a whole long story about why everything was all wrong and a new proposal - $810 for the water heater I wanted and he was giving me a credit of $100 for my old water heater. So, really $910 minus $100 credit for the old water heater. SPS behavior, to my mind, amounts to an eleventh hour "bait & switch." With my plumber standing there at SPS counter, at the eleventh hour, SPS personnel changed the pricing. I instructed my plumber to walk away. Later that day, I bought a new water heater from Home Depot. "Bait & Switch" behavior is illegal in Massachusetts and I'd stay away from Salem Plumbing because they are engaged in unethical business practices.

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We recently added a bathroom, renovated a bathroom and kitchen. We purchased all of our sinks, toilets and accessories from Designer Bath. Mark Joseph was our sales associate and was extremely helpful as we picked out our items over a six month period. He was extremely knowledgeable and has a lot of experience. We would not have been able to complete this large project without Mark's assistance. He never made us feel like we were bothering him, always returned our calls to answer any questions we had.

Sharon was very helpful and gave us a lot of great info.

Three or four years ago, I bought an American Standard faucet from Salem Plumbing Supply. Although they don't have discount prices, the quality of their products and knowledgeable salespeople make it worth the extra money as compared to big box stores. The hose on my faucet sprayer has frayed over time. Although the warranty had expired, Salem Plumbing offered (without prompting from me) to sell me a new one and refund the money when I returned the damaged one. They were true to their word. No problems, no hassle.

I purchased a bathtub and plastic (swanstone) surround for my bathtub/bathroom. Since the surrounds were a special order, i had to wait for the items to arrive. even though the parts had arrived from the manufacturer no one even called to let us know (for several weeks after it had arrived - thats what you get if you make the full payment upfront). when we followed up, they scheduled a delivery. Upon installing it i noticed a small 2 inch crack in the plastic. (this could have been defective material or bad installation - its hard to tell). I called Salem plumbing in order to get an idea on how to repair it and if i could avail of some warranty. Initially i was told someone from the manufacturer will come onsite and repiar the surround. unfortunately no one showed up or even called. its been several weeks, and i am still awating the call from the manufacturer. I follow up every week, and most times there is no response. the manufacturer says i need to contact the place where i purchased the item (i.e. Salem Plumbing supply) and Salem Plumbing Supply says the manufacturer has been informed and they will call me (nice setup). I am not sure if its the manufacturer who wont support their product, i expect them to support what they sell. Given that this is a fairly expensive plumbing supply store their customer services is pretty bad. Update A person from the manufacturer came after about 3 months and fixed the crack with a epoxy. Its been holding pretty well since.