Holtmeier Plumbing Co Inc

Service Issues: Within minutes after entering my home, Tom Holtmeier asked me if he could "vent" about his new kitchen range installation issues at his residence. I said OK. Perhaps this preoccupation affected the task at hand. He proceeded to disconnect the washer/dryer water lines, the refrigerator water line and the dishwasher water line. He told me my dishwasher was cheap and that I should get a new one since I was having new floors put in. When I arrived home later that day around 5 PM there was water leaking from my lower level ceiling. I called the business number but it went to voicemail (they close at 4:30 PM). There was no after- hours number on their website. I left 2 messages. I had someone come out that evening to reconnect the refrigerator water line which stopped the leak. The leak was coming from the underside of the refrigerator water line valve. Tom Holtmeier showed up the next morning, unconcerned and unapologetic. He said the valve was not leaking when he disconnected the refrigerator water line. He replaced the valve. I called the office after Mr. Holtmeier left and cancelled the appointment to reconnect the lines. I also requested an adjustment to my bill for the ceiling water damage. When reconnecting the lines (again, not by Holtmeier), it was brought to my attention that the dishwasher drain pipe extension hose was cut and that I needed to buy a new one. Perhaps Tom Holtmeier cut the hose instead of disconnecting it properly thinking he would return put in a new one. I issued a complaint to the Better Business Bureau about the damage to my property. Mr. Holtmeier’s response was a denial of the refrigerator line valve leaking and a denial of cutting the dishwasher hose, both on his initial visit. He refused any billing adjustment. Billing Issue: I called to question why I was charged $192.50 for 1.75 hours because Mr. Holtmeier was at my home no longer than an hour. The office manager insisted that the billing was correct. Two days later I received a letter from the office manager stating that the .75 hour charge of $92.50 was not really labor but rather a "port to port" charge defined as "he was in his truck". So they charged me $92.50 to make a 5.6 mile trip (mapquest miles) from their office to my home. (Seriously?) They also bill a service call charge of 39.50 in addition to $110 per hour of labor. Final Words: Final words sent to me in a letter from the office manager say "I am sorry you had such an unpleasant experience, however, you do owe us the invoice amount. Our terms are due upon receipt." I found this plumber to be below average in quality of work, professionalism, and customer service. Their billing is questionable and not transparent. For a company being in service for over 80 years and a plumber with 40 years of experience, I expected the work to be done properly. It was not. In the future, I will pay more attention to negative reviews on Angie’s list. I read reviews similar to mine about this company AFTER I had my “unpleasant experience”.

Tom Holtmeier called at 8:05 AM and rescheduled the appointment to NOON due to other pressing matters. He arrived at Noon and replaced the trap in 10 minutes. While running the water to ensure there were no leaks, he noticed that, although the hot water was running, the cold water was not. He conjectured that the in-line water filter was clogged. He asked if he could "bypass" the filter. I agreed. Unfortunately, that solution did not result in running water so he concluded that the cold water pipe may be frozen. He did not have the appropriate equipment to deal with a frozen pipe so he gave me a few suggestions. To my surprise, he then handed me the filter from under the sink and left around 12:30 PM. I then spent the next few hours resolving the frozen cold water pipe issue myself (with a hair dryer) and left at 3 PM to return to my home. The following week, my brother, who had personally installed the filter a few years ago, found the filter lying on the table. He noticed that both tubes had been cut (see picture #1). He then investigated the situation further and noticed a large hole in the drywall under the sink where the filter had been mounted (see picture #2). Apparently, Tom (1) had cut the tube from the filter to the cold water tap rather than simply unscrew the nut from the cold water tap and (2) had yanked the filter together with its mounting out of the drywall rather than disengage the filter from the mounting. The filter mounting (see picture #3) had been attached to the wall by drilling two holes and inserting two spring-loaded fly nuts that open up when inside the wall. So, it is not surprising at the amount of damage to the wall done by yanking the filter and the mounting off the drywall. Also, it was my understanding that he was going to “bypass” the filter with a braided hose - not yank it off the wall leaving a large hole. Finally, the instruction booklet was attached to the filter and could have been used for reference by Tom regarding how to easily remove the filter leaving no damage. The invoice from Holtmeier Plumbing arrived a week later and was $233 (see picture #4). The invoice includes a charge for a service call which was not mentioned by Tom nor the scheduling assistant as well as one hour of labor when, in fact, Tom was at the house no more than a half-hour. However the bigger issue was the hole in the drywall and the filter damage. So, I called Tom Holtmeier on January 22nd and, after discussing the situation, indicated that we were willing to pay half of the $233 bill ($116) for fixing the trap. We would then take responsibility for fixing the hole in the wall and the filter that was damaged by him. He did not agree with this arrangement so I indicated that I would refer the situation to Angie’s List for resolution. He indicated that would be “fine”. I have not paid the bill yet pending the resolution.

Great. Andy was professional and attentive and trustworthy. I will definitely be using them again.

This is a company that cares! We called them this morning explaining that our sump pump died & it needed to be fixed today. We had plans to go out of town but couldn't go until the pump got fixed. Even though they are not a 24 hour service company, they made room in their busy schedule to accommodate us saying they would work us in and call in the early afternoon. They called us on time saying they were sending someone and he was there within 30 minutes from the call. Not only did the person replace the sump pump, he replaced part of the pipe that he felt was improperly installed. On top of all of this, we found their price a little less than the going rate. Holtmeier will be our go to plumber on all future needs. Give them a try!

The employees are professional and do a good job but I think their price is too high.

I needed a drain checked with a camera. Holtmeier Plumbing came to my home within an hour of my call and helped me identify my drainage issues.

I am not happy with their service at all. The guy was very nice and cordial. I had a drain backing up in my system. His recommendation was to dig up the basement so they could put a camera in there to see what was going on. I ended up calling a different plumber that I have used in the past and he just cleaned the drain. Then he was able to put a camera down there and told me that I have roots and advised that I get RootX so I did not spend anywhere near the amount the first group wanted.

Needed sewer line unclogged and they charged more than initial estimate and 40% higher than quotes we received elsewhere. They were not transparent with communication. Plumber on the job was rude and unprofessional. When I asked about higher cost, Tom (owner) told me they charge more than other plumbing companies because they provide far superior service. He berated me and was completely condescending on the phone. I've never in my life felt so disrespected by a contractor. I would never use them again.

Very professional and very responsive.

The faucet was replaced without much ado - probably on the high side of average but I didn't get other bids. Within days water was leaking under the sink again and Tom promptly came to repair it. The problem was a manufacturer's defect. Suspecting what the problem was, he had brought another faucet with him. The new hardware was in place in a flash and we haven't had a drip of water since!

Andy kept me informed every step of the way, showing me what was wrong and explaining what needed to be done to fix it. Holtmeier Plumbing is a full service company, so he could provide everything I needed as well as perform the work. I decided to replace my old kitchen sink, garbage disposal and hand-held shower fixture at the same time. When he discovered an electrical problem related to installing the new water heater, he called an electrician for me who came over that day to make the repair. Andy was very professional, knowledgeable and cleaned up every bit of debris as he worked. This is the second time I have used Holtmeier and I highly recommend the company if you want quality work done in your home.

Andy fixed it in about 10 minutes!!!

Excellent. He brought in an identical fixture and replaced the stems and faucet in the body on the stationary tub.

Andy was prompt, professional and very fair on price. We will be using Holtmeier for all our future plumbing needs.

We had a malfunction on a very expensive faucet. It's an $800 faucet. I went into this and I could tell that this could easily be repaired because all the parts are made so it could be repaired. They said they would come and have a look at it. So he came and had a look at it and he said he couldn't repair it and we need a new one. I said, "Why not? They make the parts." I said, "Just have it repaired." He said, "But you can't repair it now because when I was trying to fix it, I broke it." And then, he charged us for the new faucet and he put his commission on the price of the faucet any how. So, it was not a good experience. He did put in the new faucet properly. I won't be using him again. After 30 years of using Holtmeier, I think we're not going to do it any more.

We had a pressure relief valve that was at the end of its useful life causing the water flow to shut down at one point. I was looking for a new plumber, found Holtmeier on Angie's List noticing they were about one mile away. I gave Holtmeier a call and had a prompt response. Tom came out punctually, analyzed the situation, had a new valve on his truck and proceeded to replace the bad valve. Since he was here I asked Tom to check a flapper in an upstairs toilet. I hear the water running occasionally and figured the flapper was leaking. Again, Tom had the part on his truck and quickly replaced it. Tom has been in the family business for over 30 years. He knows his stuff, works quickly and cleans up after himself. I've found my new plumber, and Holtmeier has a new customer.

Called to make an appointment and was told earliest was an 8AM appointment and to expect a phone call at 730AM. Call came at 752AM right when I had left for work already assuming they were a no-call no show. I didn't budget that much time out of my day for an estimate so I seized the opportunity to make it in to work on time. I couldn't answer since I was driving. Second call came at 801 and I answered. I apologized to Mr. Holtmeier and explained that I was expecting a call at 7:30AM (as was told to me by receptionist), was on my way to work, and he retorted, "I called you 12 minutes ago." I reiterated what was explained to me, explicitly that I was told someone would call at 7:30AM. His reply, "The calls come between 7:30 and 8." I'm not here to argue with you and would have gladly turned around if the phone call was at least moderately pleasant. I'll take my business elsewhere. But at least it wasn't a no-call/no-show.

They came out and fixed it in a timely manor and was appropriately charged

I was in the process of a kitchen remodeling job and was getting quotes/estimates from multiple Plumbers. Unfortunately Holtmeier Plumbing is the only one who "had" to charge me for the visit; ~ $95! They explained it was discourage people from only using them for their ideas. Trust me - after their visit that was the last thing they had to worry about.... Holtmeier's quote came in at over 4X any other quotation I received! They also stated it would take 2x-3x longer than any of the other quotes I received as well! Holtmeier also made a commitment to check on a few things they were unsure of and that they would get back to me within a week - they never did. Bottom line is that I chose NOT to use them and it cost me $95 in the process.

We are thrilled. Andy was incredibly quick to respond, knew exactly what needed to be done and had everything fixed at a fair price in a short amount of time. I highly recommend Holtmeier!

They are very clean and trustworthy. That is who I use and I like them. They are a little more expensive, but the are clean and neat. I don't have some dirty guy coming in here with dirty hands who looks like he just crawled out from underneath a car or something like that. They are respectful and it is a good business so it is worth paying a little more because of who they are.

It took an hour per commode - 3 hours tops. They sent one tech and it was a fine experience.

I explained on the phone to the secretary that the drain does not regularly overflow, but only in intense rains and that I cannot replicate the problem. When Holtmeier arrived (promptly and on time), they assessed the situation by placing a running hose in the drain. This did not replicate the issue and they stated there was nothing they could do to unclog a drain they could not prove was clogged. Apparently, they did not properly listen to me on the phone, nor ask the correct questions to properly assess the situation. I asked about tracing the pipe line to determine where it connected, and they explained that they did not own equipment that could do that. This was not explained to me when calling in. The service they did provide (and charge handsomely for) was an "expert opinion". They suggested to put larger gutters and downspouts on my house (which I was already in the process of doing), as well increase the drain size. They provided a quote of $1250 to enlarge the drain. With no previous experience, I enlarged the drain myself for $60 (new tools included) and 6 hours of work. In total, Holtmeier spent 10-15 minutes at my house and charged me $155 for the call. They stated that there was a minimum 1 hr charge + diagnostic fee. I understand that a call to my house took away time they could have spent on other paying projects. However, I believe it was their fault for not properly assessing my issue and listening to my own diagnostics over the phone. Additionally, this charging was not stated to me on the phone. Many other contractors will not charge, or charge a reduced fee, for quick quotes and assessments. Their non-transparency in billing was very unprofessional. Overall, I regret calling Holtmeier Plumbing. I believe they probably do quality work, but they did not respond professionally in my circumstance.

There was a problem gaining access to the basement. He got the drain unclogged, and I haven’t had any issues with the drain clogging since. They were reasonable on price for this work.

They were professional, the bars look great. They explained everything and how to use the bars.