Farr Plumbing and Heating

Not a good experience at all. That said, I did not ultimately contract with Mr. Farr. Maybe others will have a positive experience. John came to my property due to a leak in my basement. He inspected the area and indicated that he believed he could repair the leak but would like to see the upstairs area in case he was unable to access the leak from basement. This seemed reasonable so I called my first floor tenant and the tenant said he needed 10 minutes to clean up. John said he could not wait and would return later in the day. John arrived later in the day and examined my tenants apartment and said he would do the job for $800. John comes across competent and based on his Google reviews and his $800 price I intended to enter into contract. John said I needed to tender 50% monies, which seemed excessive, but I figured ok. While he went to his car to write up a receipt I called my family and explained the job would be $800 and my family agreed that sounded reasonable. John returns with standard yellow invoice and all that is written was "$400 paid". I pulled out $400 and look at the invoice and ask "Can you write that the job is $800?". John immediately flashes anger/frustration and expresses that he doesn't need my job and who knows once he opens the basement ceiling what the job will be because he might need to break a wall upstairs. I am taken back by his attitude and tone but still feel he is the right man for the job. I ask Jon further questions about the likelihood of his ability to do the job from the basement at the $800 price and ask him how much it will cost if he needs to break the wall upstairs. John appears frustrated by my questions and indicates he doesn't need my job and I have to trust him that he will do his best to solve the problem from the basement but that if he needs to break the wall upstairs it can be a $2000 - $3000 job. Ok, I think to myself, I understand that he wont know the scope of the job until he begins (that makes sense) and I still have every intention of hiring him. I indicate to John I need to call my family because my understanding of the job has changed from when I spoke with them 5 minutes earlier. Although I am the decision maker on the job I still confer on advice when making family decisions. John says "so you are not the one who makes the decision?" I explain to John that while he was writing the receipt I called my family and explained the job differently from how he just explained and I need to call them, and have a quick conversation. John takes a step back and says "I don't want your job" . I honestly at this point am becoming angry myself. John's professional demeanor is awful and he seems to be implying my indicating I need to call my family bothers him for some reason. Ultimately, I wasted a full day speaking to an unprofessional plumber who doesnt understand that (A) no one owes him the belief he operates in good faith, especially when he refuses to memorialize in writing HIS OWN TERMS OF AGREEMENT and (B) rudely implies that my desire to consult with my family on a decision is somehow a personal affront. My personal opinion is AVOID. Something wrong here at the interpersonal professional level.

We hired John Farr to resolve a violation with an old/unused bathroom. We are extremely happy with his work. His price quote was not the lowest but it was quality work so it was definitely worth it. John was spot on on everything he promised to deliver. He showed up on time for the initial appointment, applied and got the permit approved within few weeks, mediated the discharge and water pipes and signed off on the job. The Dept of Buildings finally approved the certificate of correction today. John was good in explaining everything to me and I was confident he was able to resolve this long dragged out violation. John is a true professional who kept to his words - a very rare quality in this field based on my past experiences.

Called Farr Plumbing early Sunday morning and spoke to John Farr. He came by within few hours. He said he would call me following day with price and work date. He called next day to let me know cost to replace pipe and t-connection would be $260 and he would fix it next day at 8 am. He came next day on time, and completed work in about an hour. He was professional, courteous and neat I would definitely call him again.