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Flat Fee Billing Should Be Illegal - Find a Plumber that Charges T&M
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
No Stars. I used Southwest Plumbing about four years ago to replace part of a galvanized pipe that had clogged up so badly that water barely trickled out. They also replaced an outside water bib for the faucet, and installed a new kitchen faucet. We had them come out on a Saturday, and two guys showed up to do the work. We were given an estimate of $695 or so and were sold on the flat fee part as we were not sure of how long or how serious the clogged pipe was. When they finished up only after 1.5 hours I was floored. Even with two guys that's $200 plus an hour! Materials were less than $20. With tax the bill came to be in the mid 700 dollar range - and this was four years ago. Their reasoning is always "in case it takes two days to do the job then you don't pay more". That's B.S. I now know not to use flat fee billing companies - always ask if they bill for Time and Materials (T&M). In retrospect after having done more repairs and used other plumbers and subs since then, I still get steamed when I see their ads on the back of buses, etc. Almost all good "real" plumbers will tell you to avoid Southwest, Beacon, and Gene Johnson. These people prey on less knowledgeble people and give real plumbers a bad name.
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Olga:
3460 37 Ave SW
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 282-8176
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