Shreve-McGonegal

We called Shreve-McGonegal when our kitchen drain was backing up on a Sunday morning. Even though it was Father's Day, Tsegaye was over at our house within about 90 minutes. He methodically tracked down the problem and took extra care with our floors and cabinets. While he was here, he fixed a leaky faucet as well. The job wasn't cheap given that we needed help on a Sunday, but Tsegaye did a great job. I would definitely use them again.

Excellent. I would hire them again. They are clean, polite and punctual.

Called the company the day before and they promptly scheduled me to have a plumber come over first thing the following morning. Technician was a complete professional. The only issue I had was the price. Originally quoted $230 to replace both valves but went down to $180 with a $50 off Angies list first time customer coupon. Still too pricey.

The serviceman himself (I think it was Randy) was great. Friendly, helpful, and courteous. The only problem was that I had three small issues - including a faucet that just needed a single small plastic washer. It took Randy about 25 seconds to take the faucet apart, and another 2 minutes to put the washer in and put the faucet back together - and the price book said they had to charge me $125. Randy called his management and tried to get them to cut the price - I heard him give an honest attempt to tell them it was a tiny effort and a plastic washer about the size of a quarter. But, they didn't relent and I ended up paying $125 for a plastic washer and 4 minutes of work. The other two issues he fixed no problems. So, I liked Randy but probably won't use Shreve again - if a company had wanted to keep me coming back, especially in the crowded market space of plumbers, I would think it would have served them better to just give me a break on the washer. Especially given the 2 inch plastic barrel for the Moen shower handle (8 minutes of work) cost close to $300 (again, book price), it would seem they could cut a few dollars on a 4 minute job. So, it wasn't like I was ripped off - they did the work I asked and I paid the book price (with a 1 minute caulk strip around the toilet thrown in). But, Shreve management didn't go out of their way to turn a reasonably satisfied customer into one who won't go anywhere else.

We'd used Shreve-McGonegal the last time we needed a plumber (because of Angie's list) and was happy with their work.They arrived within the hour. Technician was very, very nice, and stayed until he was absolutely sure there was no leak. It was not an easy fix, either. He actually made the whole process nearly pleasant.

Is anybody else out there incensed that these companies can charge you a service call fee of $75 for privilege of coming out to give you an estimate? If you think the estimate is too high (which I most certainly did), you're still stuck with the service call fee - they're going to get paid either way. In my case, the job wasn't complicated because the technician merely swapped out existing faulty parts with new ones, not having to install a sink, garbage disposal, and toilet from scratch. He had to extend the drain a bit because of the size difference in the disposals. It necessitated cutting a few PVC pipe sections and gluing them together via connecting elbows, not rocket science. The technician did a decent job, my fault is not with him. I am, however, disenchanted with the exorbitant Shreve-McGonegal charges. The technician was unable to fix my bathroom faucet due to the lack of parts. Get this: he said Shreve-McGonegal would charge me a $110 service fee to order the ($5.09) part and an additional $300+ to install it. I ordered the hot water cartridge from Pfister, which they replaced for free under their lifetime warranty, and I am certain it will take me no more than five minutes to install it when it comes. I understand that everyone's got to make a living in this area. However, I feel the price I was charged for simple work was usurious.

Randy was very professional, and good with both kids. My 6 year old son followed him around with his note pad taking notes and asking questions and Randy was great the whole time. He didn't leave a mess, polite, and as I said professional. It was expensive, but I needed the work done. I would call Randy and the company again.

I needed two bathroom doors replaced for handicap access. I had used Shreve-McGonegal before for plumbing, and noticed that they have a carpentry service as well. They were one of four companies who gave us an estimate, and except for one individual who could not supply any references but quoted a price dramatically lower than any others, they were the lowest price. Mike came out and gave me a general idea: he said it would be five hours labor (at their standard rate of $100). Later the actual estimate came by email and it was $1,250 including materials. The actual job entailed rather more than the five hours quoted. He was here a full day and a second person was also here for a time to help with carrying. Apart from that Mike did the work himself, and it turned out very satisfactory. He even came back a second day for a couple of hours to cut a marble replacement threshold, something none of the other companies I spoke with included; they instead had priced a wood threshold to replace the marble. We are very happy with the results, and would recommend the company now both for plumbing and for general carpentry.

The company responded quickly to my Angie's List e-mail and arrived promptly at the scheduled time. We had two different plumbers come on different days to do the two jobs. Both were courteous and professional. They fixed the problems and cleaned up after themselves. We would call them again for other jobs.

This was our second time using them, and just like before, it was easy to schedule with them, they showed up on time, and we were satisfied overall. This time we had a good portion of our lead standpipe removed due to a significant crack. They had to remove some wall in order to get to the pipe, and then they had to remove some gas lines. For a plumber, they did the best they could with the wall, so although it wasn't perfect, we can't complain much there. They also had to remove a portion of our gas line to cut the standpipe. We're not too sure that was entirely necessary, and since they had trouble putting it back together, we're not too sure it made things easier either. However, all is fine now, and the plumbing work looks great, so we're satisfied.

I called Shreve McGonegal because of a leaky pipe on Thursday. The plumber came first thing in the morning on Friday and quickly and efficiently identified the leak and replaced the pipe. It was quick and easy. The plumber was friendly and polite. He put down a drop cloth to work but did not wear booties.

I came home Friday night to my newly purchased home to see a pinhole leak at my hot water heater. First thing in the morning I contacted Shreve-McGonegal. It was a Saturday and they were closed, but I was lucky to catch Tsegaye who eventually picked up after going through their phone tree. A few hours later he came to the house and assessed the problem. At minimum, he could have simply replaced the hose and been done with it. Instead he looked over the system and not only pointed out all the problems the home inspector noticed, but additional issues as well. He showed me how the flexible hoses and the strain it was under was the issue, and that I may eventually have the problem again. After looking over the water heater and some other plumbing throughout the house, I learned how he favored stable copper pipes and making sure the pipes aren't under strain or stress. This would ensure quality plumbing that should last. He showed me how it was obvious the previous home owner had used some unexceptional service like Home Depot to do the work. Their work was okay but after explaining it to me you could see how it was sub-par. He even suggested I tie down some hoses at my washer to prevent them from pinching and eventually leaking as well. I was able to grab some zip ties and do the work myself in a few minutes. He then looked it over and approved what I did. Free advice from a professional like that is rare. Tsegaye recommended he redo the pipes at the hot water heater and also replace old valves with newer high quality ones, as the older ones have a higher tendency to leak. Not more than a few minutes later did we notice in fact one of those valves leaking. (I shut off the valve the night before to stop the water flow at the pinhole leak. Just turning it off and on again probably caused the aging valve to leak.) In the end, he did a lot more work than I planned for, but I don't mind paying for quality work. He took the time to explain to me what he thought should be done and why, and at no time did I feel pressured to take his advice. During his work he even did small things he probably didn't have to but you could tell he took pride in what he did. He ended up staying a lot longer than anticipated but the price didn't go up by much than what he originally quoted. In fact, for the time spent and what he did, I expected to pay a few hundred more. There are a couple other projects I'd like him to do and he looked over those, though obviously didn't have time for it. I will definitely make sure Tsegaye comes back to tackle those projects. I don't doubt he will deliver quality work like he did before.

Tsegaye promptly arrived and went to work to solved the problem. He covered his shoes when he came in and was very polite and efficient. He even reminded me that I could use a discount coupon. I would highly recommend him.

230.00$ for 1/2 hour work. Completely my doing,was quoted in advance, and knew from past experience that paying buy the job is not usually the best way to go, but had few options on a Fri afternoon. Mr. Hai came out quickly and was courteous and professional. In short, if it's not urgent, shop around.

We used Shreve-McGonegal because they were able to come out the very next morning to unclog our kitchen sink. (We called at noon.) A plumber and a carpenter came first thing (~8AM). We didn't ask why the carpenter, but suspect that their next job may have been bigger. Regardless, it was nice to know that should the issue have been far worse than anticipated, they were ready to get behind the cabinets. Service was professional, thorough, and as swift as can be (without looking like they were in a hurry to go to the next job, but rather like they knew what they were doing and didn't have to waste any time). They even fixed a minor pipe problem while there and provided some plumbing advice.

Fantastic responsiveness, knowledge and efficiency. I would hire them again.

Unfortunately, I have to give Shreve a failing grade. I say and quot;unfortunatelyand quot; because the plumber who came to my house, Mr. Hai, was beyond good. He was perfect. If he goes elsewhere, I will follow him. However, the management seems unwilling or unable to honor the $50 discount they promise to Angie's List members. Their prices strike me as high to begin with--and I went with them because of the Angies review. But I've been unable to get management to deduct the $50 from the bill they promise on your site .

Very well. He left the bathroom cleaner than it was before his arrival and even followed up with me on other shower arms I could try.

This was our second use of the company for the same issue -- sewage line back-up. Both times, plumbers arrived at the house the same day and completed work in a quick, efficient and professional manner. The second time, in a late-day emergency call, after power-snaking the line and running into problems, the crew suggested it was a more serious pipe issue outside the house -- and outside of their services. They provided a recommendation, which worked out. However, they left the toilet off the drain, claiming it was a convenience to any subsequent plumbing crew who would need to access that pipe in the coming days. That was incorrect and non-standard. They also nicked the stairwell wall moving the power equipment in and out. To the company's credit, after calling them to fix the situation, they dispatched a second crew several days later to reset the toilet. Overall, any plumbing issue can become very costly, so the prices are going to be and quot;highand quot; in most cases. It's also hard to complain when a crew works past 8pm to get sewage out of your house. But it's those finishing touches that separate good crews from great ones. The lesson for me was to ask a lot of questions and get smart on your options. I'd use these guys again but be much more vigilant.

I called at 8:30 on a Monday morning, after discovering the shower problem on Sunday evening. The person who answered the phone was courteous and asked a few questions about the problem. She then said that a service person would be at the house within two hours . . . he arrived 75 minutes later. After showing him the two separate plumbing problems, he went to work and was finished by 11:00 am. He was friendly, courteous, and seemingly quite competent. He showed me exactly what he'd done to repair both problems which, appeared to be substantial fixes rather than simple patches.

I will never use this company again. I needed a battery back up for my sump pump and what I got was a lot of incompetence. They were the only company willing to come out when a storm was approaching so I was really pleased about that. They charged a fortune for the battery backup but I didn't want to take the chance of a flooded basement so I told them to go ahead. Funny thing was the technician told me that it was highway robbery and I shouldn't do it. I told him to do it anyway. In the process of installing the battery he flooded our basement and didn't tell us. It wasn't until later that evening when I went to check on it that I saw an inch of muddy water covering the floor and all of our belongings. I called Shreve but they blew me off. I cleaned the mess and chalked it up to incompetence, but it got worse. After a few weeks we started to smell sulphur in the air and we were getting headaches. With a newborn baby and a young child in the house I called someone to help me determine what was going on. Turned out that the battery was sizzling (getting ready to blow) and the sulphur smell was terrible in the furnace room. I called Shreve back and they were dismissive. They finally sent someone out who installed a new battery. They told me the sensor wasn't working and that it would take 3 weeks for the part to come in. 3 weeks later I received no call. I called them back and they acted like this had never happened. I was also told I was going to get a new sump pump that was industrial strength (for my troubles) but never received that as well. I followed up again with a call to Chuck who said he would call me back. No call. Bottom line is that my experience was awful and I believe them to be unscrupulous in their practices. I will go out of my way to not recommend them for their awful service.

Called and left a message Sunday night. Got a call Monday morning and plumber showed up at 9AM don't andfixed by 9:30. Very respnosive, very neat and sink now working fine.

Came to repair malfunctioning faucet (was leaking; screaming with "washer chatter." Helped define possible solution, but did not resolve it. Will require at least 1/2 more service call(s) to resolve, if I do not determine solution through the manufacturer. Given the facts, I cannot complain. Gent was pleasant and very flexible on arrival time (had to cancel once and reschedule for later in day).

I would not use this company again. It was not an emergency situation. However, the plumber who attended for the service was rude and talked back to me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable and threatened that he would leave the service as it was in the midst of the work as I questioned the amount paid. I did speak to a manager and it was not fully resolved.

He did an excellent job and I would use him again in the future.