Had Frymire come out last Wednesday 11/13 to check on a water leak, called on Saturday 11/9 and Wednesday was the earliest they could come. I was sent a text message letting me know the tech was on his way and his name, which was a nice touch. Tech arrived on time and was very professional, my complaint with Frymire has nothing to do with service but with there outrageous pricing! I was quoted a $69 service fee for them to come out and identify the problem. The tech checked and advised that I had a leak in my hot water heater and it needed to be replace. He goes out to his truck to get the price quote for the replacement. He comes back and quotes me $1700 for a new hot water heater, are you kidding me???? Oh but if I sign up for there service agreement they'll knock $200 off, thanks a lot! So I know I'm not letting them install the heater for that price so I thank him for his time and prepare to pay the service charge I was quoted, not so fast! Apparently the tech had to check something extra special so the charge is now $137.72! I think I would have been ok with the price increase if he had given me a choice, told me what he was doing and that it would be extra but no, here we are at the end of the visit and suddenly the price has almost doubled. I will never do business with this company again and I do not recommend them. FYI I called Lowe's and they quoted me $892 for a new unit, installed the same day, Frymire couldn't install until maybe Tuesday 11/19! This place is a complete ripe off!
RESPONSE FROM Frymire Services, Inc.:
First to answer the difference between our $69 service fee and the $137.72 charge. The service fee is our price for a plumber to come to your home. If the customer agrees to repair or task, then the $69 service fee is waived. The customer approved a hydrostatic water pressure test on the homes hot and cold water system. This included pressure testing the water heater and it was then determined the tank was leaking water.
Regarding our quote for a water heater replacement; our pricing is inclusive of everything to ensure a complete installation that will meet the citys building code. Our quote is flat price and guarantees that there will be no additional charge to complete an installation. It is in our experience that the big box stores subcontract their installations at a low price and likely the subcontractor is incentivized to upsell as the quoted price over phone is rarely the final price at completion of the installation. Also, we view our product as superior, both in its construction and the warranties we offer.
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