Michael & Son Svc Inc

Great.. Fantastic Service and Response.

Bottom line is every single person sent was totally incompetent. in every category above the Company score an F because there isn't a lower score. (see Frosty comments to see how easy the fix was). Worst than that i was very mad that i had paid $458 for a thermostat that i didn't need. i called their office back and said I would pay the $289 for the thermostat, but not the installation costs. the account said he would do better and only charge me $220, ie refund my Discovercard $258. when the refund never materialized, I called Discover and they gave me a temporary refund while investigating. Michael and Son did not even respond to the contested charge resulting in me getting a refund for the full $458. However, we had to spend four days in a very cold house during periods of single digit temperatures and they didn't care. we had to buy several room heaters to ensure the pipes didn't freeze. Unless you know how to fix your own problem and you just need another expensive pair of hands, don't ever call Michael and Son.

It was done under warranty and a home care agreement so it didn't cost me anything. The experience was pretty positive. They came as promised. The work was done professionally and they did a good job.

It’s been a positive experience.

Overall happy with work done, although it took two day to fix the problem. Repair man was nice and got the job done the next day.

I had Michael & Son's come out to give me an estimate for some general handy-man work around our house. A representative came out and looked at some eaves (that had some rot), gutters, a window crank, a leaky faucet, and a reversed hot/cold water in a shower. When I was walking through with the representative, he told me that to fix the reversed hot/cold it would cost $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 and that they would have to remove the entire tub/fiberblass lining. (My husband said that he had thought this was just a cartridge in the handle but he didn't have time to fix it himself). I mentioned this to the estimator, but he said, "no, no, we have to remove the entire tub and shower to get to the pipes." Granted, Michael and Sons told me that they have plumbers come out to do separate plumbing consultations, and this estimator was not a plumber. The estimator also told me that we would have to replace the entire window that had a broken crank, because the crank could not be fixed. I gave the Michael and Son's estimator my e-mail and waited for an estimate. The next day I had a second handy-man came out to look at the same issues and to give me another estimate. When I told him about the hot/cold shower he laughed, and said that all it takes to fix is a screwdriver. He also said he could take the crank part and try to fix it (which he did eventually) by going online and calling the manufacturer. About a week after Michael and Sons came out I called their office because I never got a quote. I told the woman who answered the phone that I never received an estimate, and told her that the estimator they sent told me that it would cost $2,000 - $3,000 to fix my shower, when in fact I had already had it fixed for $25.00 by someone else (1/2 hour at $50 an hour; this other handy man also tightened the pipes). The woman who scheduled the appointments for Michael and Sons got a little nasty with me, and tried to tell me that the estimator was not a plumber so he couldn't give a proper estimate, and that I should have had someone from the plumbing department come out. Okay, I concede that the estimator was not a plumber, but I just googled how to fix reverse hot/cold water and found an answer in 10 seconds that does not cost $2,000 - $3,000! And, I didn't have to replace my entire window because the other handy man used his brain and figured out how to fix the crank. Anyone they are sending out to give estimates to customers should have some general knowledge on how to fix things. (Where did he come up with the $2,000 - $3,000 price quote to remove the entire tub?) I never did get an estimate for any of the other work from Michael and Sons, but I would certainly NEVER trust them to do anything on my house!

. I have found over the years that it is very difficult to get a good reliable plumber. We have had a lot of bad experiences. But Michael & Son Services did the worst job. They have several outlets. They are too diversified and not an expert in anything. That may be the problem. The guy who did the rebuilding of the guts in the toilets did not do it correctly at all. We had serious problem with that and they had to send somebody else to re-do the whole project. It was a simple thing that he did wrong. It was not a complicated deal. What he did wrong was something that any beginner in plumbing should know. So I was not happy with them at all. I had a minor experience when they worked on my washing machine that I had to have them re-do. The guy who did it did not fix the leak. So that was two incidents with them on two different projects. So I called it quits with them. The rebuild is expensive it is almost $400 per toilet. They replaced all the guts inside the toilets. They are not reliable. They were lacking in knowledge. I won’t be using them in the future.

I am 100% satisfied. At the time they did the work, I was in the process of getting a loan. So, they were very cooperative in working with my vendor to make sure all the outlines my vendor was asking for were completed to satisfaction. They were sometimes asked to go above and beyond, which they did. And they were very responsive in getting the write ups to the financial institute as well.

They arrived on time, and completed the install 3 hours early. Easily passed city inspection. A little pricey, but worth it. Very friendly and knowledgeable.

Matt arrived exactly on time. He surveyed the job and developed a work plan. He executed the plan efficiently and effectively. He completed the work exactly as he estimated. The wiring installation was very neat and no damage was done to the walls. I will use this company again. I recommend this company for electrical work.

I think that they do electrical, plumbing and air conditioning. They installed a new outdoor receptacle. They also installed a motion sensor light. They did some troubleshooting the last time. I had a power failure. They determined where the power failure was and corrected it. I am pleased with them. Their service fee is fair, but their materials are high.

Michael & Sons electrician, Luis Pinto, restored the electricity to the entire house by replacing a faulting wire in the dishwasher. The wire in the dishwasher was causing the main switch to trip.

Terrible company. Plumbing department started a job and then decided they needed $7,000 more to finish it the way they had written the job up. The manager negotiating was hostile and dishonest. He kept insisting that the only written description on the job was invalid. They're revised cost estimate was $4,000 more then another large bonded, licensed plumbing company. I could not more strongly advise against using this company.

This is in response to Michael & Sons response to my report on them. I did make a few minor errors in my report so I want to make a few corrections. In my frustration I sent out a report that did not get all the facts as precise as I should have. These minor errors in no way impact on my initial report though nor the overall complaint I have with them. I also want to add more information since I made my initial report. And I will also point out how their response to my complaint was inaccurate in many ways. In short, they tried to make themselves look good but said things that were not true. I do not appreciate their making up a story that only tried to make them look good. They blew it in many ways, and saying things about me that are not true has made me very angry. I did purchase the home back up generator in 2008 and it was working up to October 2010. The third week of October 2010 I called them as my generator would not start. They could not come for 2 weeks (November 1, 2010) at which time I paid $89 for a service call. I was told then that the battery charger was dead and needed to be replaced. I was told it would be ordered and installed in few weeks. I APPROVED the work at that time - contrary to the company's response. (Why would I not? I needed the generator working!) I also called to ask it they needed a deposit on the part and they told me 'no'. As I reported in my first report, the person that was suppose to order the part went on vacation. I called them after 2 weeks because I was led to believe the part would be in and installed in 2 weeks. I had to wait for the third week of November for the person to return and order the part. And then I had to wait until the first week of December for it to be installed. From the time I initially called them to the finished repair was 6 weeks. Quite I long time IMO. [Please note this is an EMERGENCY generator. In my situation, it backs me up if my sump pump / back-up sump pump / small back-up battery on the back-up sump pump. While this may seem excessive, I can assure you I have done all of this for a reason and even all this has not stopped me from having floods.] I have lived over 25 years in my home. I have storms that damaged the first sump pump, kicked in the second sump pump and back-up battery (which only lasts 4-6 hours) and then had major floods in the basement when all these systems fail. I have had 4 times that all my systems failed for one reasons or another, and I have had 2 major floods causing $10,000+ worth of damage each time. I now can not get insurance for water damage as I have had too many claims. Thus, I bought this generator to save me from any further flood damage. This generator is an absolutely emergency piece of equipment for my home and peace of mind. I somehow expected that because it is used for emergencies (and comfort) I would find a faster response to any break downs. Because the generator is so critical in my home I felt a faster repair time would be provided. I also found it insane that another person in the company could not order the part (when I did call in 2 weeks the person I spoke with said they could do nothing until this person on vacation returned) A major reason I went with Michael & Sons was because they seemed so large, and thus I expected they would respond quickly and professionally if I had any problems. They finished the installation of the battery charger the first week in December for an addition charge of $278 (P&L). I was never offered a maintenance contract ever, contrary to what they said in their response to my response. I hoped I would not have any further problems and assumed since the unit was so new I could rest assured it would work when I needed it. I did as the salesmen told me and started the system up manually from time to time so I could know all was working on the system. And I could also hear the system start up at 6 PM once a week too. When the generator would not start in June of 2011 I went searching for another company to help me. I did not find anyone on Angie's List but did find a company called Nova Power via Service Magic. This company has been terrific! He came over, looked over my generator and found 2 issues. First, the battery charger was dying -again. Secondly, the battery was the wrong or poor battery. He could not get the battery charger as the generator company only sells to authorized dealers whom they have trained to install their generators. These 2 companies in the DC area are Michael and Sons and CDS. The electrician installs a different brand name of generators and could get the battery charger himself; so he had to go through CDS to get the job done. He told me from the start that if he could not fix it I would not be charged. He has spent (I am not sure how many) hours researching the problem, finding the answers and even contacting CDS so they could do the work for me. Even though he said he will not charge me I am paying anyway for his outstanding service, attitude and going the extra mile. The story leads to other facts being uncovered. When I called Michael & Sons in October 2010 I told them they had installed the unit and asked if it was covered under warranty. They told me I only had a one year warranty and thus I would have to pay for any repairs. CDS tells me that the battery charger is in fact covered by warranty and they will install it as no cost to me. I should have never been charged anything by Michael & Sons, but I am not even going to try to work with them again. I will have to pay for the correct battery,CDS they said that since they are out to install the new battery charger there would probably be no charge to install the new battery. I also discovered that these generators not not come with a battery; it must be supplied by the installing dealer. CDS and Nova Power both said that Michael & Sons installed a poor quality battery when my generator was initially installed. (I can only assume this was done to save money.) They also told me that because the battery was so cheap, it over worked the battery charger. In short, what they are saying is the battery charger would not have died in the first place if the correct battery was installed. This also explains why the battery charger has gone bad twice. Note: they installed the battery charger in the first week of December so this unit only lasted 7 months. I should not have ever been charged by Michael and Sons as this is all covered by warranty. It also appears that the charger would never have burned out if they had installed the correct battery in the first place. Yes, I feel I have been ripped off. And yes, I am angry. And yes, they are trying to make themselves look good in their response to my complaint on Angie's List. But they are not being honest and I have paid the price for it. Not just the financial cost, but the long process of finding out what was really wrong and getting responsible companies to make it right. I am glad there is another company besides Michael & Sons that can take care of my generator if need be in the further. And I can not say enough about Nova Power for the tremendous effort they made to help me sort all this out.

My back up generator was installed by this company stopped working a few years ago. They were supposed to call me twice a year for a check up but never did. A tech came out and told me the battery charger was dead. The unit is only 2 years old! He said they would order it and call back in a week. After 2 weeks and no call I called them. The person was on vacation and no one else knew about my issue. I had to wait for this person to get back from vacation. I questioned why they did not pass on my job to someone else while they were gone. They were silent and did not seem to care - as if they were saying, this company does not pay me enough to care. The part was ordered (took 2 weeks) and the tech installed the unit a week later. Total 6 weeks from time of first call to repair completed. The tech came the wrong day and time, and they complained I was not at home to meet them. The generator is not working again, two months later. Same issue I assume but not sure. Thought a big company the way to go for a home generator, but I guess I was wrong. Looking for another service that believes in service and actually cares! They sure have a ton of trucks on the road, but marketing is not of much value without a professional attitude and approach to business.

I scheduled an appointment a week in advance to install a ceiling fan. They gave me a window of noon to 4 p.m. At 4:10, I called to see where the technician was and they said he was delayed at another job, but would be coming soon. By 7:30 p.m., still no technician so I called and, after given the same story, cancelled and will use another company.

It was ok. The electrical installation wasn't complete because apparently the tech took some shortcuts. I also didn't pass inspection the first time. I did pass inspection on the first time with the HVAC.

My review of Michael & Sons is going to be different now after my last (just completed) work from them than it would have been had I written it after the two emergency services. I just bought a house two months ago after it had been unoccupied for a year. My drains backed up about a month ago. Michael & Sons responded very quickly (within a matter of hours -- I did have to pay an after-hours service fee of $89 since they had no more appointments prior to 6 pm). The technician (Mike C.) arrived at my house at about 4:30 or 5 pm. He was INCREDIBLY nice and friendly, seemed to take care to keep my carpeted basement clean, etc. I was unhappy with needing to have my drains cleared, but he made the experience much nicer. He spoke with me about their service plans; I chatted with him about how I considered getting a home warranty with the house purchase and he explained it wouldn't have helped me without having my drains scoped first. He suggested I have that done (free as a follow-up) but said it could wait two weeks until I could take time off from work. Mike C. is an employee that will result in return customers. Two weeks later, before I'd had a chance to have my drains scoped, my drains back up again. I called and Mike C. returned. He was, again, a pleasure to deal with and he snaked my drains again. I was not charged for this visit. He said that each time he snaked the drains he heard the clog clear out so he called to have my drains scoped immediately after he was done, since he didn't understand why they backed up again. Within a couple hours of Mike finishing, Bill G. came to scope my drains. He determined that there were several feet of grease build-up (from 25+ years of previous owners/occupants dumping kitchen grease down the drains) and that the snake isn't wide enough to completely rid the drains of the grease. He used the camera to "knock out" as much of the grease as he could. I could tell her was putting extra time and effort into removing as much of the grease as he could. I appreciated that. Bill is another employee that will result in return customers. Because of the nice and friendly employees I had encountered so far, I called Bill to schedule my jetting last week. I confirmed with him that I'd be okay for a few weeks and he said I should be fine. Gave me his business card and told me to call him directly to schedule the service. I called him first thing this past Monday morning, hoping to get an appointment for yesterday (Friday) morning. He said it shouldn't be a problem to get me scheduled for 8 am - noon and either he or the main office would give me a call to confirm the appointment. I realized on Thursday that I hadn't heard back, so I called Thursday morning. I spoke with Justin. He said that I wasn't on the schedule but he could get me on for 2-6 pm. I said that would be a huge inconvenience and can he get me in any earlier, since I had originally called three days earlier and I thought this was already taken care of. He said he'd need to call me back and would do so by close-of-business. 5:15 Thursday afternoon I finally called Michael & Sons back, again, since I hadn't heard back from them. This time Sarah said that the 2-6 was the only time they had available... but maybe they could come out tonight, since I'd been getting a bit of a "run-around" from them on this issue (those were her words). I said I appreciated her understanding and please call me back. Still no return call. I called Michael & Sons Friday morning and received busy signals. I called Bill directly and said "do I happen to have an appointment today, because as of yesterday, I didn't have an appointment?" He said he saw me on the schedule and he'd call me back to let me know. An hour later, he called to tell me I had the 2-6 pm window. I said "fine" and canceled my dinner plans. At 5:15 I called Michael & Sons to make sure they were still coming. I then found out the jetting equipment had broken down earlier that day so they wouldn't be able to make it... but no one called to tell me this. Kevin Lewis asked if I was available tomorrow (today - Saturday). I said it didn't matter because at this point, I would find a new company. I said I should not need to be hounding them to be able to pay them for a $650 service. Kevin was very nice and understanding and was able to get me a good discount on the service to keep me as a customer. Well, the technicians showed up today before their 12 - 4 pm appointment window started. Good thing, though, because they spent the next 45 minutes filling their water tank from the local fire hydrant (is that even legal?) with a hose that was in VERY poor condition. I am not exaggerating when I say that it had at least 4 or 5 major leaks on it and it sprayed their jetting trailer, the road, etc. There was so much wasted water that it ran in a river around the curb to my vehicle. Wow. The technician, Marc, then asked me to sign paperwork for the $650 service. He seemed very annoyed when I informed him of the discounted price that had been agreed upon and, therefore, I refused to sign for the original price... I insisted he write the adjusted price on the contract (is that really an unreasonable request?). He also seemed annoyed when I asked if I could close the front door some, since it was 80+ degrees and humid outside, and it was letting flies & hot air into the house. I also overheard him griping to his partner, in the basement, about the price. I was right upstairs and the basement door was open. Was that very professional for me to overhear him asking "Did you know about the lower price??" All-in-all, I am disappointed to write this bad report. Mike, Bill, and Kevin were great, friendly, and very responsive and willing to help. But with the lack of communication when scheduling non-emergency service and the bad attitudes of Marc and his partner, I would not recommend Michael & Sons and I will not be using them for my future plumbing or electrical needs. I am told they are a bit higher in price but I was willing to pay that for the convenience of a one-stop-shop business, but this whole ordeal was far from convenient.

They came in to look at the electronic air filter. While I was talking with the main technician and not watching the assistant, the assistant placed one or more Michael & Sons stickers on: 1. My hot water heater 2. My electrical panel 3. My Furnace/AC unit 4. My ductwork 5. My electronic air filter The stickers DO NOT peel off.

They were on time and they were very courteous. I called them because it was an emergency and they came right out. They were very respectful of my property. They did what they said that they would do. They gave an estimate and the estimate was right on without any extra charge or anything. I would absolutely use them again in the future as they did a great job and I enjoyed their services.

The experience was very good. The cost was reasonable. They were very courteous and knowledgeable. They performed the work independently with very little oversight.

As I listed above, Michael and Son charged me 29K to renovate my 8'x10' 1920's DC rowhouse bathroom. The 29K they charged me did NOT include the items I purchased myself. I decided to buy the pendant light, medicine cabinet, console sink and toilet because online because I found all these items for, in some cases, half of what Angeline quoted. EVEN with my buying these items, the price was 29K, which I'm embarrassed to admit I paid especially when I take into consideration the work, craftsmanship and final product. As of the last visit, the bathroom is as good as I feel it will ever get. There are still a couple of tiles that should have been replaced, there's pooling of water in the shower area floor that shouldn't happen and the grout in one corner is black half way up the wall then mysteriously turns back to gray. All in all I'm happy with the bathroom, but I'm very unhappy with the process it took to get there and most of all, the cost. I jokingly commented to the crew the last time they were here that I should just give them a key to my house because I knew they'd be returning to fix other mistakes. Surprisingly, they laughed! Guess the joke is on me. I was offered an additional year warranty and a $2000 M&S credit toward any furture construction projects if I would remove this posting from Angie's List. What does THAT tell you about the integrity of this company. I'd like to also give them an F in the following categories: Value-F Project management-F Craftsmanship-F Project Knowledge-F Ability to perform work as described in detail-F Worksite cleanliness-F UPDATE Sept. 17th, 2011 Clearly Michael & Son didn't read my post and therefore are clueless (no surprise there!) why I'm upset. The reason the [expensive] tile, which was approx $3.67 as sqf was removed is because it was cut crooked, but installed anyway and at a thicker grout line and wrong grout color then wanted. Sink was installed 2" off center of medicine cabinet. Again, the $29,965 (makes me sick to my stomach I paid this much for crap) did NOT include the sink, medicine cabinet, pendant lamp and toilet. Clearly if M&S feels they did a quality job at a fair price, they're delusional and have NO clue what quality is. And for clarification, the 2K credit and extended warranty was offered to get me to alter my Angies List posting and for NO other reason. Below is a copy of the email I received from Bashar Salameh dated June 23, 2011: "I just wanted to follow up with you to confirm if you have received your warranty and discount letter in the mail.I mailed the document Saturday afternoon. I also just wanted to inquire if you had a chance to take action with theAngie list comment. If so, please let me know. Again, Mr. Zirkle, thank you for your patience in this matter. Sincerely, Bashar Salameh" It gets better... I returned from a 3 day business trip on Aug. 9th around 11 PM to a 12' x 6' puddle of water in my living and dining room. The leak was coming from the ceiling directly below where they moved the water line in the shower. MORE quality work. I called M&S the next morning (Wedneday) to try to get someone out as soon as possible. I was told the earliest someone would be out is Friday. I asked if I was expected to live without water until Friday? I was told "yes." I hung-up, called back and finally got someone to come out that night. He assessed the issue and told me a crew would be out that Saturday to cut out the ceiling and wall and the leak fixed. I was also told that the water damaged floor would also be replace. I asked that they leave the wall open for a week so it would have time to dry out to prevent mold and rot. They were going to replace the drywall that day while the wood was still wet. When they returned to replace the wall and ceiling a week later, they did an outstanding job. Tom wanted to pulling up a piece of the damaged floor so he could take the sample back to find the replacement. I asked if he wanted to take a piece of the flooring up in one of my closests so there isn't a hole in my dining/living room. He said no because the floor had to come up anyway. He mentioned if they couldn't find a match that they'd have to replace my entire floor, which he didn't want to do...nor did I. Its been 2 weeks and I'm being told they cannot find a 6" wide bamboo slat. I called yesterday to ask about the flooring and if they pulled permits and were licensed for this renovation. The woman I spoke with said was going to look into it and get back to me... She hasn't. Plumbing Issues (Posted 5/14/12): They ran all of the plumbing for the sink and for the tub through the floor when the house was originally built. Michael and Son came in to do a renovation on my master bathroom. Michael and Son Services was moving the plumbing for the wall. I brought it to their attention several times that it was needed to have permits to relocate the plumbing to the wall; which was stated in their quote. When I returned home from a business trip, I walked into a 15x20? pool of water on my brand new bamboo floors. It took them a week to come look at it. They were going to open it up and redo the walls. They needed to have the wood air dry since it was soaked. They opened it and let it air for about a week and came back then to close it up. The flooding happened around August 23 and took till mid-March to complete the flooring portion of it. They ripped the walls and the bulk head in the ceiling out. The master plumber was here for about 7 hours repairing and fixing the plumbing work they had done. They then called an inspector to come look at everything before they closed it up. It took another 6-7 months to get my flooring replaced. It took me contacting my lawyer and getting them a letter sent before they even moved on the floors to get them fixed. They ended up replacing my entire floor which now looks fantastic. We just had to go through everything that was a huge inconvenience. The guy who did come out was overall apologetic about the poor work and shotty craftsmanship. He let me know it was not typical work and that he was embarrassed for himself and for his company. I know shortly thereafter he was let go. They are all over the place. They are a sleazy organization.

The electrician was very professional. He was very cautious of causing any unnecessary damage to drywall or ceiling. He confirmed placement of all lights prior to making any cuts. He worked with the owner to ensure satisfaction. With the exception of a few mandatory cuts in drywall to run wiring in the walls, he left the house exactly as he found it. I am sure I could have found someone to do the work cheaper. However, the quality installation was well matched to the price. I would highly recommend them again.

The two technicians from Michael and Sons arrived on time. They sectioned off the work area with plastic tarp to keep the dry wall dust from spreading throughout the house. They worked quickly and efficiently. When they were finished, you could not tell the holes had ever been in the ceiling. They spot painted other areas that seemed to need it after they had painted over the two dry wall patches. The techs cleaned up after themselves and did not leave a mess. We were very impressed overall.

Their customer service is rude and obnoxious. The guy who did the estimate lied and said he would oversee the job. He never showed up and a crew of 2 other guys came out. They installed a water pipe that was non pressurized and it was placed so the water would have to run up hill. We called to get them to fix this but they would not. They unplugged a pipe connected to a natural gas line and my husband had to get it turned off. They obviously did not know the difference between a gas pipe and a water pipe.