A BETTER PLUMBING CO

Does good work but had issues with Punctuality Professionalism for the price I would rather hire someone who was customer focused.

We discovered the leak on a Friday evening of a three day holiday weekend. We called at 8:00 AM, Saturday morning and he was out within 90 minutes. Very professional and friendly demeanor. Had all the necessary tools and parts. Was able to show me exactly what the failure mode was rather than just speculation. Work was done quickly and area was left in a clean condition.

Not at all happy with the overall experience with this guy! I called and left a message on their answering machine on a Monday morning. Thursday afternoon they call back (prompt???) and claim the message just came in on Thursday. Appt. was scheduled for next morning between 8 & 10 am arrival. I asked about the fee, $85 for the first hour plus $15 truck fee then billed for each 1/2 hour thereafter. NEVER was it stated that the hourly charge starts from wherever his last job is! At 9:15 am Friday I get a call that he's on his way. At 5 min 'til 10 he arrives. I again repeat that I want to be shown how to do the fix so I can do it myself in the future. He fixes the leaks quick but never gives me any info unless I specifically ask (such as when replacing the kitchen faucet, things have to be in exactly the same position as when removed; if I hadn't thought to ask this I wouldn't have known). Then, part of the time involves a phone call from his girl friend from the Philippines.

Arrived on time. Began the work and worked through lunch to complete the job.

UNBELIEVABLE! Dave (owner) He tried to collect entire $1800 bid the first day of work. I refused and told him 1/2 now, 1/2 at completion! He had previously seen what we needed done and now acted like we were asking him to do the impossible. He called me at work and said I needed to come home because there were problems but when I arrived he just explained that the work was too hard and he needed $700 more. We agreed, to pay upon completion. On my way out he asked if I would drop the permit app. off (apparently he hadn't obtained a permit!). Reluctantly I agreed but when I delivered it, the clerk said his license# was missing a digit. I drove BACK home, then BACK to the city office and was now told the license was not registered work in Wash City. I think his teenage son ended up installing our water heater! NOW washer line leaks and hot water is messed up. He has never attempted to call, return to finish the work or collect any more money. (it's been 6 months).

Since we were leaving town later that same day, I was hoping to find someone who could do the work in the next few hours. Called A Better Plumbing Co. at 9:00 AM, and was given a time frame of 12-1 for appt. I received a call at 11:00 AM saying that a plumber would be there within 30 mins. Buzz showed up at 11:30 (when does this ever happen?) and got right to work. He worked by himself and was very knowledgeable - no apprentice to double the labor charges! Through the course of replacing pipes, we agreed that the old shut off valve inside the house should be replaced as well (it was about 60 years old). The work was performed professionally, quickly, and I was very satisfied with the results - it saved me hours of cursing and trips to the store! Worth every penny.

As noted by the other posts, Dave quotes a rate of $85/hour. Then he brings an unqualified helper and charges $85/hour/person ($170/hr). Quality of the work is okay. Labor charges are over the top (in excess of what he quotes on the phone). So, here's the worst part: He charges you for the permit fee and then fails to file the permit with the city. So you thought your plumbing job was permitted??? So that when you sell your house there is a record with the city of the work being done properly??? Think again. I currently have a claim filed against him with the CCB and hope to have his license revoked. Oh, and when there's a problem like the one above, he doesn't return phone calls. DON'T, DON'T, DON'T USE THIS GUY FOR YOUR PLUMBING WORK.

Denies liability. Terrible experience.

We couldn't get an approximate ETA from the company and then when they called he was already at the house and I had to hurry home. We requested that he bring a 40 gallon water heater because we knew the heater was toast. He didn't and charged us $85.00 and hour for the 45 minute trip to the store and back to buy one. He spilt water in the garage and the carbon that was on the outside of the heater was all over the floor. He then tracked it inside the house. He came in the house when I was talking with another person and set himself up in the kitchen to do his computer work. He had his son working with him and charged us $85.00 an hour for him as well. He charged us for 6 hours work to install the heater. The labor charges were over $500.00.

Excessive labor charges for work done. I would not say where he was located, only that he services entire Portland area. (CCB license shows address 5916 SE Milwaukie which isnt far from my Milwaukie home) They billed me 147.00 in travel time (52 minutes from when he called to say he was coming times two people at 85.00/hr each) plus 13.95 to defray his gas! He never said anything about a trip charge when I called. Also, he brought his son, ''who wants to be a plumber'' along and charged full hourly rate (85.00/hr) for him. I could not find any plumbing license info on the son. Left to get a part, was gone along time, said he was in a traffic jam He added about another hour (170.00 in labor). The actual work done seems OK, my issue is with the excessive labor charges.