I called Champion Plumbing & Drains on a Sunday for an emergency visit for an actively leaking…read morewater heater at a tenant occupied rental property. At the initial visit, the technician/owner diagnosed the tank as rusted and leaking from the bottom and said it needed to be replaced. Champion quoted me $3,250 for the replacement and scheduled it for Tuesday.
At the emergency visit, the gas to the heater was shut off, but the water supply to the leaking tank was not isolated. The heater kept dripping and wetting the carpet outside the closet. I called the owner, Gus, because I was trying to understand why the water had not also been shut off and how my tenants were supposed to safely use the plumbing while waiting for the replacement.
My tone during that call was information collecting, not accusatory. I was trying to understand what had been done, why the tank was still leaking, and how to minimize additional damage. Gus became defensive and told me, "I never told you I turned the water off." I was not blaming him. I was asking a pretty basic question about an active leak.
It was Labor Day weekend and during that call it sounded like he was at some type of social event and did not really want to be bothered. I understand it was a holiday weekend, but I had paid $200 for an emergency visit and was dealing with an active leak at a rental property less than 24 hr after the visit. At the end of the call he abruptly hung up, and right before it disconnected I heard him say, "fucking people."
The replacement was still scheduled for Tuesday. He knew I had three tenants in the property and that they effectively could not use the water at all because running water was making the leak worse.
Tuesday came and the scheduled arrival time passed with no one showing up and no communication. I reached out asking for an ETA. Only then was I told they were fully booked and had to "pass on the opportunity." No rescheduled time was offered.
When I later followed up with Gus through Yelp asking why they no showed and why he could not even give me another appointment time, his response was, "that's on you my man I don't deal with rude people." I completely disagree with that characterization. My tone had been focused on gathering information about the leak and how to manage it safely, not accusing him or his company of anything.
If he decided after our phone call that he did not want the job, that is fine, but the professional thing to do would have been to tell me before the scheduled appointment. Instead, they just did not show up and I had to reach out after the appointment time had already passed.
To their credit, they did refund the $200 emergency service fee.
I had to find another company to do the replacement. Unfortunately they could not do it until Friday, so my three tenants were left without usable water for several more days. That company also only charged about $2,600 for the replacement compared with Champion's $3,250 quote.
After all of this I went back and read the negative reviews more closely and wish I had done that first. There are multiple reviews describing similar experiences with the owner becoming defensive or offended when customers ask questions or raise concerns. After my own experience, those reviews made a lot more sense.
They did correctly diagnose the failed water heater and they refunded the emergency fee, but the way everything was handled after that was unacceptable. Scheduling an urgent replacement, not showing up, not giving any advance notice, knowing three tenants were without water, then telling me "that's on you my man I don't deal with rude people" because I asked questions about an active leak is not how I would expect a professional company to operate. I would not use them again.