Price Complaints

Whenever I leave a job, you'll hear "If there are any problems, call me." My warranty is honest...as long as the problem is my workmanship.

Lately, I've had a complaint about the price. Most of the time, the price is out of the price book (that's 4 years old) and a written work order has been approved and signed.

Okay, standard stuff for repair work. You get a price for it that includes parts and labor (excludes the Gov's Fee). If it takes me twice as long, the price is the same, right? My regulars know this to be true and as a consumer, I personaly prefer it this way.

But what if everything goes quick and my 30 years (yikes) of repair experience finally pays off and I gain an hour on ya? Should I discount the price? If I discount it, should I increase it if it takes me twice as long?

This all stems from a complaint on Angies List about a 250.00 bill. I left a response similar to this post, but more direct. I did NOT refund any money for the same reasons I posted here.

NWPR

Ball Plumbing has been sponsoring Northwest Public Radio on KZAZ-FM 91.70/104.70 twice a day for the last six months or so and plans to do so for decades to come! This is the kind of advertising I like!

Listen to NPR for (almost) commercial-free airwaves!

Cat and the Water Heater

Saturday was a busy day ending in a strange way. I had an emergency water heater replacement in the late afternoon in the Silver Beach area and by the time I was finished with my Bandito burrito it was close to 7:30 pm. Typical day in the life, right? Nope.

At 7:35 pm, I get a call from a frantic fellow about a cat and a water heater in a apartment complex off of Sunset. I told him the cat will come out when its ready and not before, but that wasn't the problem. The gentleman finally conveyed to me that his cat was stuck and Whatcom Humane Society has been there for hours and if I didn't want to help he'd call someone else.

It was too good to pass up. I was there in 15 minutes.

What happened: the gentleman and his wife were moving into the new apartment and their cat freaked, jumped onto the water heater, saw a space behind the heater and jumped down. Problem was that the space was very narrow and there wasn't a way out except up. The cat was stuck upside down between the water heater and the corner of the water heater closet. For 4 hours.

I shut down the water, power, and cut the overflow pipe and ever-so-gently, edged this 50 gallon water heater away from the walls allowing the cat to escape.

It was a very happy cat. And I was a hero...until they got the bill.

For the record, I have 3 cats, 2 of which came from the shelter. I'll probably donate the "cat money" to the Whatcom Humane Society as I missed my annual donantion in 2008.

RIP Kohler Toilets

Well, scratch Kohler off my list of best flushers. They discontinued the last 2" flapper systems in favor of the 3" systems.

I've been trying out different makes and models in the normal price range and there isn't much out there worth the money vs the flush.

I got in some Toto (think Dorothy's dog...not to flush, but to remember the name) toilets and so far, so good for my parameters of 1) good flush, 2) price to you, 3) part availibility for these models.

These Toto models have the old style flushers, Comfort Height bowls (17"), and a good rep.

We'll see how they fly...flush...in Whatcom County, though.

Who is your plumber?

There are a few types of plumbing companies and a few different types of plumbers. The types vary from state to state and since I'm in Washington, let's look at here.

Repair and rooter: This is a specialized field that most people are acquainted with. These are the heroes who get your plumbing system working safely and to code. This is what Ball Plumbing does and we do it well.

To work for Ball Plumbing, the repair plumber has to have a clean record, clean driving license, be a registered Washington State Plumber, and be very knowledgeable about plumbing systems.

Ball Plumbing is privately owned by me and I'm a licensed Journeyman Plumber who started this company, but not all companies are like mine. There are franchises, inherited, bought, married into, and all combos therein. In Washington, anyone can own any kind of company, but you need licensed individuals doing the work or you will get fined and/or jailed.

I've seen companies like mine come and go that were run by non-plumbers who thought it was all profit and no overhead...yeah, right. Just the opposite, bubba-breath. This ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin' around, this is hardcore customer service combined with terrible conditions under great stress surrounded by anxious customers.

And I love it.

Dog Days of Summer

Man, it's quiet out there and I'm lovin' it! I'm on summer schedule which means Saturday and Sunday is closed...plumber gone fishin'-type of deal. Problem is, come Monday everybody calls and I'm busier tha all git.

Yesterday I had two more disposers and today was disposer-free. I did have a whirlpool tub repair, a stoppage, a sink drain repair, and a toilet rebuild. I feel like a truck driver sometimes because of all the miles I can log.

Off for the weekend!

Bellingham garbage...disposers

Sometimes I get runs of certain jobs for no reason other than I get called to do it.

I had three garbage disposers today: Sudden Valley, Fairhaven, and Blaine. Since I carry two types of Insinkerator (but these three customers wanted the same model), I had to go and pick up two more at two different times.

A few months ago, I had a run of water heaters---two a day for 3 weeks---the supply house still talks about that!