We're a small collective that shares stories from freelance and contract workers who've been…read moretreated unfairly. This is one of those stories. A contractor was hired by this company to build a fully functional website on a rushed timeline. They were told they were the only person working on the project, and that the urgency was due to the company's former developer being in a legal dispute and planning to take down the live site by June 1st, 2025. The contractor dropped everything to help and finished the site two weeks before the deadline. Over the course of several weeks, the contractor even went to their office multiple times for meetings with the owner's son and other team members, working in good faith to move the project forward.After the work was done, it came to light that two or three other people were also working on the same site, despite the company claiming otherwise from the start. When the contractor followed up for payment, the owner's son who was the main point of contact allegedly said "My boy could do it for less than $1,000, so our initial agreement on price is gonna be a lot less now." He also added he was going on vacation in 15 days and "didn't have time to deal with it." All this while wearing an expensive Rolex. The contractor was told, "Send me the invoice I'll pay you for your time." The invoice was sent immediately, and the son followed up once more saying, "I'll get back to you." After that, he went completely silent no reply, no payment. The contractor was left dismissed and disrespected. The stress and anxiety from this on top of an existing heart condition led to serious mental and physical strain. Legal steps have since been taken. This post is meant to warn others if you're a freelancer, contractor, or subcontractor, be cautious. Get everything in writing, and don't ignore red flags. No one should be pressured, misled, ghosted, or lowballed after showing up, putting in the time, and delivering their end of the deal.

JGriffin is by far the best HVAC we have had!! They are thorough - pleasant and explain exactly…read morewhat needs to be fixed or what they are doing! No pressure!! Thank you for all the help!!! A job well done and Office customer service is great to work with!!

water heater started leaking Friday night. was able to get…read moresomeone out first thing Saturday morning. Ryan was great, tried to keep my carpets/bathroom clean as much as possible and was patient in discussing my options and answering my questions. Surprisingly was able to get an appointment for install on Monday. Jared was also great. Definitely appreciate the small details and concerns to keep the carpet clean like hand carrying both the old and new water heater up 2 flights of stairs. Between the quick response/scheduling time, clean workmanship, and fine attention to detail, happy to say the leaking water heater experience felt less chaotic with 128's help! Total turnaround time, Friday 11pm to Monday 4pm hot water up and running!!

I called 128 Plumbing about one cracked drain pipe. I was told my entire house needed to be…read morerepiped. The estimate (#435094323) was $30,275 to demo every wall and ceiling necessary, disconnect first- and second-floor bathrooms, toilets and sinks, and replace the main stack. That was presented to me as the only option -- no alternatives, no phasing, nothing. And it did not include the roughly $6,000 I'd need to close the walls back up and reinstall fixtures, or the ~$400 roofer I'd have to hire and coordinate myself. Their own estimate puts the hole repair on the customer in writing. All in: nearly $37,000. Meanwhile my first-floor tenant was told she couldn't use her bathroom or her kitchen. When I hesitated at the number, I was told that at least if I sold the house I'd "have retail value." That's the line that made me stop and get a second opinion. Thompson Plumbing came out, found the actual leak -- old hubbed cast iron serving the kitchen -- and repiped it. $2,995. My final invoice was $3,420, and that included an unrelated frost-free silcock I added on. My toilet was fine. My kitchen sink was fine. My tenant's kitchen and bathroom were fine. Not one wall was demoed. Same house. Same leak. Ten percent of the price. I'm not going to speculate about why the two assessments were so far apart. I'll just say this: if 128 Plumbing tells you your house needs a $30,000 repipe, get a second quote before you sign anything. I nearly didn't, and it would have cost me thirty-three thousand dollars I did not need to spend.

After dealing with several private-equity backed HVAC companies that felt more like high-pressure…read morecar dealerships, we were relieved when Gill from Warrior Heating and Cooling came by. From the start, he was honest, thorough, and transparent. He took the time to explain everything clearly and never once tried to upsell us on things we didn't need. We decided to replace both our AC system and gas furnace (after the furnace died on the morning of the first blizzard!) with new American Standard units, and Gill gave us a very fair and reasonable price. While Warrior may not have had "7 trucks ready to finish the job in one day" like some of the larger companies promised, Gill and his team focused on doing the work the right way -- with care, professionalism, and attention to detail. What really stood out was the customer service. Gill even helped us install and set up a new smart thermostat I had purchased myself. It's rare these days to find contractors who are both skilled and genuinely trustworthy. We'll absolutely be calling Gill again for any future HVAC needs, and we highly recommend Warrior Heating and Cooling!

Very professional and honest. Helped with cleaning and descaling , explained everything clearly…read morewithout pushing unnecessary replacement. Would definitely use again!

Great company! It has the brightest and hardest working people. They are great problem solvers and…read morecan troubleshoot any problems you might have.

Steve went above and beyond helping me with my issue. He took the time explaining the issue as well…read moreas what caused it and what to look out for in the future. As a first time homeowner this extra time, answering all questions showed me what truly top notch service AMT HVAC provides! I will be using him again for all my HVAC maintenance needs. Thank you!

Extremely professional- very informative-kept me apprised of everything I needed to know-punctual…read moreReally nice guy Ray showed up and was just great explaining everything to me and helping me make my heat pump work better for me. Finally, a great experience with a service technician-it's rare these days!!

We had Morris Plumbing install a split AC unit. They were fantastic. From their response on the…read moreinitial phone call to the rep's visit and recommendations, they were extremely responsive. Chris arrived on time (a big plus for me). He gave us excellent advice, a true expert. They coordinated installation at my convenience. Manny and Dan installed the units -again - arrived on-time. They said 7AM - and they were unpacking their equipment by 6:55. Both of them were so nice and friendly. Their work was clean and even suggested wrapping the units since the hardwood floors were going to be refinished the next day. Excellent idea! saved us a lot of headache if all that dust got in the units. Would DEFINITELY CALL THEM AGAIN!!!!

My air conditioning system failed (of course) during an extreme hot stretch. Shawn responded…read morequickly, handled some complications expertly and got me up and running quickly. The system is performing beautifully. This guy really knows what he is doing. Price was very good too.

I moved to a new condo 1.5 years ago and needed some items checked out, particularly the hot water…read moreheater. Admittedly I don't know much about plumbing or electrical so it was intimidating at first. Shawn was so easy to work with. He showed up on-time, was friendly and got everything working as expected. He had some recommendations for preventative measures down the road but didn't upsell or anything. Just a month or 2 ago something stopped working and he quickly replied and helped me troubleshoot and fix it within minutes (it was user error, but he was still friendly and responsive about it). Really nice guy and I'm glad I went with him. Highly recommended.

Mark was the most informative/consultative professional to bid on my boiler replacement. The…read moreproject dates never slipped, the job was done on time with minimal disruption to our heat/hot water availability. Mark was very responsive to questions during the quoting process as well as pre and post project. Highly recommend Epic.

I use Epic on a regular basis and there's nobody else I'll go to now. For starters they ALWAYS call…read moreme back. Between their quick response, their friendly, knowledgeable, professional team and their ability to diagnose and problem solve they get the job done right every time. I highly recommend Epic.

I've been using Ken and his team for several years after a referral from a friend. They have been…read moreprofessional, reasonable; informative, helpful, and have proven work. I recently decided to try replacing my very old sink disposal that was making a loud grinding noise. It was at least 30 years old so I wasn't surprised. The repair was surprisingly easy as I used the same brand to replace and the flange is the same after decades so I didn't need to do the hard work of interacting with the sink itself. When I pulled out the old unit, sure enough there was Ken's sticker on it from when he installed it for the prior owners of my home decades earlier! It was so old it didn't have an area code needed. Ken's team also told me about some repairs that could be safely deferred and done with the help of the local town when they did other repairs they are responsible for, which saved me about $1000. Tip: visit the Absolute website as there are usually coupons available to reduce the service charges.

I have to upgrade my experience. Since our first encounter with Absolute, we had a couple new…read moreissues arise and they were the first ones I called. The first one was a leaky radiator pipe in our bedroom which they were able to fix quickly and saved us from having a major problem if the leak continued and or if the pipe outright busted. The technician also noticed a problem with our water tank and gave us suggestions as to how to fix it. I gave him the green light and he was able to do everything in one day which saved time and rescheduling costs. This past week, I asked them to do what was supposedly a quick and easy faucet replacement in a bathroom sink but it turned out to be more complicated than expected. Bryan and very good in explaining everything and getting all the repairs done. So, after using them 3 times and been extremely satisfied with the results, I felt that I needed to upgrade the number of stars to reflect how much I appreciated their time, work, professionalism and helpfulness. I hope to be able to keep this relationship going when other projects arise.

I was given two estimates to clear my sewer line. The…read moreplumber did NOTHING, he didn't flush the toilet, didn't lift the tank lid, or use a plunger (next to it)! He wrote "Upon arrival I noticed the sewer line was blocked..." I paid $89 for this 'Diagnosis and estimate' I called one of the other referrals, they came & used an auger to clear the pipe for a total of $350!! ER Plumbing was a rip-off!

We had a small piece of pvc piping that needed to be replaced (it was leaking). The technician…read morecalled to let us know when he was on his way, had to run out to get supplies, and got the job done quickly and cleanly. Nice guy, he did a great job and answered all of our questions. My only issue (if that's what you even want to call it) is that I thought it was pricey for such a small repair. That being said, it wasn't something we were going to do ourselves, so for us, it was worth the $$$. I feel very good about recommending this company - he showed up on time and did a great job.