Benjamin Franklin Plumbling

They won't even discuss a rough estimate without you paying them $89 to come to your house. I understand that there are many factors in each job and it really depends on a project by project basis, but no way will I pay $89 for a rough estimate on a small job.

An A he was fine. They were a little pricey. As I recall they were pricey. Actually I would not use them again. Their last visit was fine but I actually had a horrible experience with the plumber before him. I refused to let that guy back in my house. As long as I have a different plumber I use them but it was just an absolutely horrible experience with them. So I actually stopped working with them. I liked the guy who came out and did the faucet but I will not use them again.

They did good work but I researced the price and found that it exceeded even the highest side of the spectrum for the same work in the metro area.

Benjamin Franklin has cleared my main drain before. I called them yesterday and told them that I needed their services, and that when they had come in the past they had found that they needed to use a jetter to do the job right. They said they could take care of it today. Today the technician showed up and told me that they couldn't use the jetter until Tuesday. I actually had to cut short a family Christmas celebration to come back to meet the technician. I called the office, and the person kindly informed me that it is Christmas Eve. He also told me that if he listened to what his customers thought they needed it would not be helpful to them. Really? They have done this before for me! I will never use this company again.

Well - first machine broke but he replaced it quickly and had it unclogged within an hour. Also helped us try to figure out where drain connections are - without charging for extra time/service.

They are a phenomenal company. I have used them for about 28 years. They have done big and small plumbing jobs for me over the years. The plumbers do exceptional work. They are also knowledgeable, friendly, careful and clean. They are very trustworthy and reliable. They always deliver exactly what they say they will. I have had no difficulties scheduling a service for when I need. Their pricing is a little higher but the quality of service is wellworth it.

We had purchased the annual maintenance plan on our own home and a rental property. This is nothing but an up sale scam! They came to the rental property to fix the plumbing fixture and said while they were they they would do the annual maintenance check included in the maintenance plan. Well then they proceed to tell us that our furnace is defective and tagged it and told us our only remedy was to replace it (oh by the way they sell them too). He went on to say he was required to tag it and turn off the gas to it. The rental property is vacant at the moment (new tenants moving in 2 weeks from now). We said he couldn't turn off the heat - it would freeze up in this weather. At which time he said we could turn it back on if we wanted when he left. Then they said they needed to sell us an entirely new plumbing fixture because they don't handle the brand we currently have - even though it only needed a new seal/washer. The electrical fella told us we needed to replace the smoke/CO2 detectors because they were cheap store bought detectors and were dangerous (THEY sold us all new ones less than a year ago for $1000). It just went on and on. Well - we had another business come and check the furnace - there is NOTHING wrong with it! We went to the hardware store and ended up fixing the plumbing fixture ourselves. We are cancelling our annual maintenance agreement with them - it's a scam.

I had a water heater that started leaking and I called the company that I bought the heater from but they were bought out by Benjamin Franklin Plumbling. So I called them up and they came and replaced it under warranty and they charged $750. I think the work was ok but I think they gouged me. My interaction with them was not wonderful because they did not want to replace it. I had to keep telling them that it is under warranty and they gave me a hard time. I would never use them again.

They were out within approximately two days of calling. I think they did a great job. My husband said everything went fine.

It's a local franchise. The plumber that they sent himself was very nice and tried to be very accommodating. They were very expensive. They were good about replacing them when they went bad, but that was a hassle to have to call somebody to fix our window of time and be home. I could probably have done it, but we just don't have the time. Initially, to put in a new faucet no work that was done was around $400. I was told that I was getting a commercial grade thing, but obviously the first one didn't last three months, and then they put in a similar one and that one failed. They finally said, "You can pick what you want. We will be willing to upgrade it.", I think I ended up paying another $50, but that's because I chose a different finish on the metal, that was a little higher priced, so it just cost me a little bit more, it wasn't like a we'll give you a totally new, whatever you want kind of faucet which was they kind of let me believe, but they charged me more. We only had it for a few months and so far it's working okay. It's a different kind of model. They said they were having some problems with that company, so they won't use that anymore.

Our main sewer line began backing up in the basement. I called the plumbing outfit we've dealt with in the past knowing their prices are on the high side; service and expertise has been praiseworthy. The plumber, who had performed cleaning the main line with cable and cutter two years prior, showed up at the door. The local owners -- in order to expand their business in Fargo -- had partnered with Ben Franklin, a national franchise, he said. The sewer backup, of course, happened on the weekend, therefor the "dispatch" call was higher -- $150 just to show up. The plumber drilled more than 50 feet through the line ending up removing roots from a willow tree that grows in the front yard. The clump of roots was about the size of a small beef roast. He worked for about two hours. Once the line was initially cleared, he reamed the line one more time. He left two bottles of chemicals to treat the roots ourselves via toilet application. Cost: $100. The plumber was courteous and clean. He laid down drop cloths down the stairwell and into the downstairs bathroom and was as professional as one can be. The price however was, we believe, outrageous: $511. That's $250 an hour. Since when did plumbing become more expensive than working with an attorney? Because of the gouging -- which is exactly what it is -- and despite the fact I checked the box that I would hire the outfit again, I remain uncertain. For sure, I'll be asking around for less expensive alternatives.

Not well. See detailed remarks above. I will not be doing business with these folks.

They have been excellent. They are always punctual and responsive. They are very professional. I strongly recommend them. They have been bought over by Benjamin Franklin, and they are still great! I feel that their service is well worth the money.

They did a thorough job. They were not the cheapest, but they did a good job.

When I called and spoke to a phone rep, they would not give me a fee that they would charge to take care of something I knew what the ballpark would be. I had to wait 4 hours for a mangager to call me back, I had to call them to speak to the manager and the manager stated that they do not give feedback, but when I mentioned the issue he stated it could be up to $600 and then they tried to upsell me on the phone. I will not be using them in the future. They were the company that answered the phone when I thought I was calling Gavic and Sons Plumbing in my town and this Benjamin Franklin is 45 minutes away. They had apparently purchased the company but have not changed any contact information also claim they are local. The original company was excellent but now when I called them, this was not an experience I want to deal with again.

They did do a really good job of getting the work done quickly. He figured out what the problem was in a quick manner and got it fixed right away. Kept everything cleaned up really well. He had finished his job but stayed around to try and sell other products.

We were very pleased with his service. He wrote us a thank you note after the job was completed. Through out the job he was very professional.

Very well: they promptly scheduled our appt, showed up on time, evaluated our problems and made suggestions re: replacement parts, gave us a thorough estimate, helped us with finding a showroom for picking out new parts, promptly installed the parts after they had arrived. All work was done in a timely manner, professionally and all work was cleaned up.

Very well: The plumber came to our house, listened to our problem/issue, made suggestions to try other things before investing in a booster pump and, when those suggestions didn't work, he helped us decide on the booster pump that would work the best and installed it.

They spent 30 minutes and attached a $2 connector to a drain hose to direct flow directly to the drain. They charge a service call fee of $90, then a minimum additional fee of $148. In truth, their service call fee is $238, which is outrageous. I called Paul to work out a more reasonable fee. He said he would look into it and call back. He never did. We have paid them hundreds if not thousands for previous work and should have been treated better.

This company installed a Rheem water heater in January 2004. In August 2007, the water heater tank started leaking and needed to be replaced. This company was more than happy to replace the premium water heater, however it would cost $400 (cost of the labor to replace basically a defective water heater). Rheem is unsupportive of their products when they were contacted about the service charge and the water heater. Basically, I was to feel lucky to have a Rheem (suppose to be the best - ha!) and that the replacement was cheap. To add a little salt to the wound, the new water heater warranty is a continuation of the original water heater. As a consumer, I expect a company to stand behind it's work and support it's product. Clear this is not the case here for either company involved. Bottom line, I will not be purchasing another Rheem product and Gavic has lost any of my future business.

Peter came in the following morning and completed the work in a timely manner, within a day. All was done per specifications. Although not discussed, he installed shut-off valves that make it possible to isolate the bathroom should the need arise, which it did as we were finishing up our remodeling project. I was not that impressed with a couple of items. First, after the project was completed, I discovered a hole punctured into the adjacent room. No mention was made on this until I had inquired as to its origin. Second, the amount due on the final invoice did not quite add up. It amounted to a miscalculation of $200 which Paul and I resolved. Overall, it was a good first experience.

This was a disaster from beginning to end. There was a high pressure sell to act on the broken pipe immediately including several calls from the plumber after he had left. We had another company come to give us an estimate and they found that the pipe was not truly broken but filled with roots. They and another company were able to come clean out the pipe. This cost another $500 but saved us $3000-6500 if we had gone with pipe replacement. When we contacted Gavic and Sons to tell them of the misdiagnosis and asking for them to honor their money back guarantee, they gave us a little bit of a run-around saying a pipe really is broken if there are any roots in it. We also found out that the plumber who had come to our house had been fired soon after that. It was a very disappointing experience overall.

They explained everything to me in a very professional manner. The explained everything before they started and used the best products for our needs as well as trying to help us save money.

My water heater sprang a leak and I cold-called two companies for estimates. The first company sent a person who was rather rude and, after quickly glancing at my problem, said I needed a new water heater, installation of which would have cost several hundred dollars more than the bid I got from Gavic & Sons. Gavic had a friendly phone operator who sent out Jeff Dietl on the same day. Jeff explained what the problem was and gave me options for repairing the exiting heater or installing new. Even though installing new was a better deal for him, he was not pushy in getting me to take it. Installation was quick and the job was well done.