ABC Plumbing Inc

Rotten, even though my previous history with him had been fine. This is a story demonstrating how valuable Angie’s List and/or the Better Business Bureau can be. I had a difficult time finding a plumber on Angie’s List to do some work on a full renovation of my master bath last year—the estimates that I was getting and what they were describing didn’t add up. I live in a gated community and the guard recommended someone who came in to see other people. It was ABC Plumbing of McKinney, Mark Allred President. That experience was great. The one problem was that when I showered the first time, the shower head had not been completely screwed on and water spurted all over the place. Small problem, easily fixed with a wrench, not a deal breaker. When I started to renovate my other 2 bathrooms (main and guest), I scheduled him in to install the valve in the walk-in shower and in the tub, shut off valves on the lavatories. I scheduled him to come the day after the demo was done when the walls were open to the studs; the tile guys were here working when he came. Because the flange had come up with the toilet in the guest bathroom, and because my daughter was coming in that weekend, I asked him also to install a new flange (which I had purchased at Lowe’s) and seat that toilet. It was understood that he would have to come back at a future date after the walls were tiled to finish the trim, install the vanity faucets, and seat the other toilet. When he left, I did not inspect the work because it was only the first step (and he would be back) and the tile guys were still working in the bathrooms. I signed and paid Mark. Later that day, when I was back looking at the progress in the bathrooms, my tile contractor said that he had heard me tell the plumber to install the flange and seat the toilet and that it had not been done. He volunteered to do it for me, knowing that I needed it for my daughter that weekend. Also, I later noticed that the contractor had not installed the new arms that I had provided (from Lowe’s) for the shower heads. He also did not use the shut off valves that I had provided him with, but used his own (and charged me dearly). I was a little miffed, so I decided to get another bid on the finish work. When a plumber came in to give me an estimate, he wrote on the quote, “Bathrooms were remodeled and faucets were installed without trim. Trim need to be put on tub faucet and shower faucet. Note faucets were installed without plastic flange attached to them so I can not verify if faucets are too clse or too far from tiles. Not responsible for distance on faucets and full charge will apply even if trim can not be installed on faucets.” Disturbed at this, I wanted to get a quote from ABC Plumbing who would, I assumed, have to install the trim correctly since they had started the work. But I wanted to get them to come out to give me an estimate up front this time so I could get an idea of what was going on. I called ABC Plumbing. Mark wasn't in, but I spoke to Mark’s business partner, explaining the situation. I was concerned at that point, but not angry. He said that Mark would be out to give me a quote the following day, which was July 29. That morning around 9 am, the secretary called and said that she could give me an estimate over the phone because Mark knew what needed to be done. I said fine. She started off with the charge to seat the 2 commodes. I stopped her and said that that the commodes were installed; the fact that he hadn't done one was part of the issue. I told her that we could skip that part of the quote. She said that changed the estimate and put me on hold. Mark came on the phone. I started to explain the problem to him. When I said that I was a little upset because he had ignored my request to install the flange and seat the toilet, he said that I never asked him to do that. I said that I knew that I had, because even the tile contractor had heard me. He started yelling and told me that I had never asked him to do that. He told me that I had gone behind his back to have another plumber into my house and that I could use that plumber and hung up. We hadn't even gotten to the meat of my complaint. I went to the internet and checked to see if he was a member of the BBB. He wasn’t. (Lesson learned. That is usually my first step.) He’s not an Angie’s List member. I had no recourse. I called back and talked to the secretary. I told her that her boss had just hung up on me and that I was trying to resolve a situation involving his past work, mainly the issue of: can the trim be made to fit. I told her that I wanted to discuss that. Mark got back on the phone and said that he wanted to make it clear that if I raised my voice, the conversation was over. I said that I also wanted to make it clear that he should not raise his voice to me either, that I was trying to resolve a situation and as his customer, he needed to hear my complaint. (If I was raising my voice in the first short conversation, so was he, before me and louder than me.) We talked for a few minutes. I was trying to find out about the issue of the installation of the valve not being at the correct depth with respect to the wall. He said that if the tile guy had installed the wallboard wrong, it wasn’t his problem. He said that he wasn’t in business to justify his work to some other plumber. He said that if I was a dissatisfied customer that I should find someone else. He said that I had such a bad attitude that he couldn't deal with me. (I guess raising an issue with his work constitutes a bad attitude.) He said that our relationship was adversarial at this point and he would not come back to my house. He said that if I wanted to go behind his back and have other plumbers in to my house instead of calling him to resolve the situation, I could use someone else. (I pointed out that I was trying to resolve the situation.) I never got the full story out. He wasn't interested in hearing about the issue I had, only in the fact that I dared raise an issue. I have no recourse now to exert any kind of pressure on him—no Angie’s List or BBB protection. I don’t know if the second plumber is blowing smoke and that the things are correctly positioned for the trim to fit (despite the plastic template not being installed). All I know is, that if the job was not done correctly, I will end up paying to fix it. I don’t expect things to always go perfectly, but I do expect a service provider to at least listen to the problem. This could have been a simple, “I have so much experience, I don’t need to install the plastic template around the valve to correctly position the trim.” When someone is as defensive and belligerent as this guy got very quickly, he’s not someone you want to deal with at all. This was a classic example of how NOT to treat a customer. I gave him an F on price (along with the other things) because if you get this kind of reaction to a customer concern, any price you pay was too much.

I had 3 plumbers out and they all wanted to take a jackhammer and put the plumbing in the floor and I didn't understand why it couldn't just be t'd off of a sink that was in the wall. So they wouldn't have to do that and they all said no. I had one out and the guard from our gated community recommended ABC Plumbing Inc and I had it t'd off. He suggested it; I keep my mouth shut until I hear what they have to say. I actually talked to the guy when he came out and he said that he didn't really understand what Angie's List was about. The experience was fine. Everybody else wanted to jackhammer my floor up because the old shower had the plumbing coming out of the cement and I needed it over on an interior wall, and what they were going to do was jackhammer up from where it was over to the other wall. But there was already plumbing in that wall to a sink and so everybody else said jackhammer and he said from the sink and it was less than half the price. I was getting quotes like $1600 to $2000 originally and he said $600 to $700 for the original work. It wasn't just the price; it was the fact that he knew his stuff enough to suggest the best alternative and did it.

My hot water heater sprung a leak at about 9:00am and Mark and son, were in my house starting the repairs by 1:00pm. Good and prompt service

The quality was good but the prices are too high. They were a little too aggressive with pushing their service plan.

We were remodeling our home and wanted the fixtures to be new, so we hired ABC to come out and replace them for us. They did this perfectly and without any problems. The men that came were very clean and professional, and the price was really good.

GOOD SERVICE, ON TIME AND POLITE.