$630 to replace a pressure relief valve in 15 minutes is a complete money grab, and as an…read moreexperienced plumber, he knows this too. Unfortunately, I showed obvious desperation to get a water pressure issue fixed and this consciously factored into the calculation for the repair cost. He was responsive early on and after hours to one email, but the reality is that he took advantage of the situation and I worry that he is doing the same to all of his customers. For this reason, I would recommend always getting a second quote, ask for itemized costs, and run his quote by a trusted family member or friend to get a independent opinion of the price.
The cost of the PRV is $250 max so that means labor was billed at $380. Assuming 45 total minutes from when he arrived, time to go buy the PRV, and complete the install, means his labor rate is at least $500/hour. This wasn't an after-hours repair either, it was at 10am on a Wednesday and 14 days after I made the appointment. Don't tell me it was in a hard spot to access either because we both know it wasn't that tough plus it took only 15 minutes to replace.
The part that bothered me most is that he could not tell me the cost of the PRV (that he bought 25 minutes before) because he "just charges it with his credit card so he doesn't know." That is a remarkably shady and outright awful response and that answer alone should make him ashamed of his own business conduct. He could have very easily checked his credit card account, sent it to me later or just knew the cost off the top of his head because he replaces these exact valves all of the time and 100% knows how much it cost. In fact, it is the same exact model PRV that was installed with my house 9 years ago so it is almost impossible that he does not know the cost of it after replacing over 100+ of these in his 25 year career. It's clear he didn't want to tell me because I would end up calculating the labor costs and realize that he overcharged me for the repair. Even if there is a good reason for his response, then he had the opportunity to explain this to me when he was here, but he did not.
Sure, I could have rejected his quote, asked more questions about the price or called other plumbers, but the reality is that the situation was stressful for me and I made the mistake of blindly accepting his quote. However, this situation cannot be disputed as a prime example of someone who took advantage of a customer's anxiety for their own personal gain. For a company that prides themselves in honest prices and service with integrity, I experienced the exact opposite of these values which is very difficult for me to grasp as a customer. As someone who donates to charities, I can only hope that he uses the roughly $250 upcharge by donating it to one of the charities he lists on his website.
The use of flat rate pricing is commonly very consumer friendly, however it can be used to deceive customers into believing that they are getting the better end of the deal when in reality, they end up paying more in the end without ever knowing it vs. T&M (but feeling like they got a good deal). The research and statistics are there to support this and he has made the decision to knowingly use this tactic for his own personal benefit. Flat rate should be used as an amount not to exceed and can be overridden by T&M if it turns out to be less than the flat rate after the repair is finished. That is what countless other companies do with their pricing. Instead, you knowingly inflate the flat rate to give the impression that you are acting in the best interest of the customer but actually squeezing more money out of them. In the end, you charged me $500/hour for labor. Flat rate or not, do you really believe this is a fair way to price your services? Does honesty include charging $380 for a 15 min repair? The hourly rate is probably much higher because the cost of the PRV was likely 30% lower because of the bulk pricing discounts through his distributor. So $600/hour?
Two stars because his wife was nice on the phone and returned my inquiry quickly.
