Be careful and read this!! We live in Overgaard. Thought it might be a good idea to replace our water heater, since we didn't know how old it was. Got a referral to Rick Abbott. Woman who answered the phone was very nice. Told us that it was now Legacy plumbing. Branson and his assistant showed up in minutes..we really liked them both. He told me it was the original heater and probably over 20 yrs old. I agreed we should probably replace it. Branson agreed to send me an estimate. I thanked them and they left 10 minutes later. A couple of days later I was emailed the estimate. 3 lines...50 gal electric water heater, remove old and install new..$1700. 2nd line was trip charge..$0.. 3rd line was a surcharge if you paid with a credit card. Didn't sound too bad, I really liked Branson, felt good about him doing the install, but wanted to know the Make and Model of the unit being installed.
Hang in there...this is where it gets really weird!!
Same woman answered the phone. Wish I could remember her name..she was very nice. I asked if she could tell me the make and model of the heater they would be installing. She said she didn't know, it would depend on what their supplier had available. Thought that was a little odd...how do you arrive at the $1700 without knowing which water heater you're installing?? Anyway, she agreed to get back to me.
A few days later while driving to the grocery store, I got a call from a person calling herself Frankie. I was happy someone was getting back to me. She immediately wanted to know if I was ready to proceed, and that she had no intention of telling me the simple answer to my question. Then she accused me of only wanting to know so I could shop around!! It went downhill from there...
The real irony was, I had no intention of shopping around. But she acted like I had NO BUSINESS knowing a little more about what I was buying! Hey Frankie, guess what? Even if I were, isn't that business?? Are you new?? When you buy tires for your car, as long as they tell you they're black, round, and rubber..that's good enough for you??
I'm 72 yrs old. Owned a rental business in the valley, now retired. Customers frequently compared our prices. Won some, lost some..Duh? We always tried to make the difference in OUR SERVICE. As in CUSTOMER SERVICE!
This was so unnecessary. Almost for sure, if I had just been TOLD WHAT I WAS BUYING, I would probably have a new heater already from Legacy. Hell, because the current one is still working fine, I haven't even called anyone else...YET.
The final straw. Frankie told me she was going to send me an invoice for a service call. She did. $220 for nothing!! Never discussed at any time with anyone. The only invoice/estimate says trip charge $0.
Yes Frankie I did raise my voice. You cost your company my job. read more