Able Home Services, Inc

[redacted], Senior Information Specialist  Revdex.com serving Northeast California 3075 Beacon Blvd  West Sacramento, CA 95691   August 17, 2016   We just received your notice regarding complaint ID #11621276.  Thank you for forwarding that on to us.  ...

As we shared with Mr. [redacted], we are very happy that he is looking out for the interests of Mrs. [redacted] and believe that he is sincere in the concerns he has expressed.  The unfortunate fact is that Mr. [redacted] was not included by Mrs. [redacted] in any of the process including our initial 5/17/16 service visit at her request during which:   -          we inquired into her wants and needs, -          we examined her home’s plumbing systems and shared our findings, -          we answered any and all of her questions, -          we provided her with various options to solve the observed situations in her home including the option which she ultimately chose and instructed us to complete, -          we also provided lesser options for her consideration including the option of having us not perform any work at all.   Each option that we presented included the exact price for the package of services so she was able to make an informed choice with no surprise or unanticipated costs to follow.  We did not pressure her to select any particular option or any option at all.  The fact that two specific lesser service options were presented and documented supports the fact that we did not pressure her into a single choice or claim that something in particular must be done – the providing of those alternative lesser options would be nonsensical if that were the case as the complaint contends.   Mrs. [redacted] presented herself as a woman fully independent, responsible, and capable of making such decisions on her own behalf and we had no reason to question her competence.   I must also strongly disagree with Mr. [redacted]’s methodology for arriving at his calculated fair price for our services.  Combining just the direct cost of materials and the cost of direct labor on the job site in no way represents the total cost of operating a professional service business.  The 2015 independent financial survey provided by our nationwide professional association reports that those categories of costs only represented 50.8% of revenue for member businesses such as ours.   Once again, we respect and admire Mr. [redacted]’s concerns and efforts to protect Mrs. [redacted] and hold no ill will in that regard.  We wish that he was present and involved during any or all of the service process so that he could appreciate the level of service provided and/or have participated in the decision making process in a timely manner before the project was completed.   We responded promptly to Mr. [redacted]’s phone call complaint regarding the price for our services.  However, he chose to abruptly terminate the last phone conversation with our Customer Service Manager on 8/8/16 as an apparent reaction to our sharing of our goal and average of earning a fair and responsible net margin of 10% our revenues.  We would welcome the opportunity to continue the discussion with Mr. [redacted] and would be willing to consider crediting back some or all of that margin as applied to this project if that would please all the parties.   Thank you again for your service in facilitating this communication.

I apologize in advance for the length of this response, however I believe that each piece of information included is necessary to understand the situation and the efforts that we extended to provide service to this property and this customer.The property in question is atypical with the living...

quarters, including bathroom and kitchen, located upstairs in a commercial warehouse type building.  Numerous aspects of the system are not installed in accordance with code and multiple aspects of the system are not properly finished.  Based upon the condition the property that we witnessed during our visits, the living area is also not well maintained or kept clean or dry.We were informed that the property owner is Ms. [redacted] and the property is occupied by her daughter [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] was not able to meet us at the property, so communication with her was limited to telephone contact.  We have record of at least six separate attempts to coordinate our initial visit to the property with the result being that we had to reschedule the visit because we either were not able to reach one or both of the parties at the appointed time or [redacted] asked us to reschedule.We finally were able to reach both parties at 2:53 PM on 1/19/16 and we responded by having our plumber arrive at the property at 4:15 PM that same day.  Our plumber that served this property has over 30 years of experience and is a recognized expert in the field.  He was shown around the property and as summarized in the opening paragraph, there are many issues of concern at this property.  During that visit, our plumber reached Ms. [redacted] by phone and communicated his findings which included, among other items, the following:1)      [redacted] took our plumber below the living quarters into an area that was very cluttered.  [redacted] showed him an area where she said there had been a leak coming through the ceiling periodically.  There was no active leak evident at that time and there were no plumbing fixtures above the area in question.  Based upon some of the other findings (noted below) it appeared likely that the intermittent leak was the result of one or more of those factors.  As a result, there was no specific action recommended regarding this intermittent issue unless and until the leak could be reproduced and traced while active.2)      The shower door was missing and the shower curtain being used did not cover all the way to the floor.  He noted that water escaping from the shower in this condition could be a source of an intermittent leak like that noted above.3)      The kitchen counter had standing water on it and the counter slopes to the back right corner.  The combination of allowing standing water on the counter and the improper slope of the counter could be another source of an intermittent leak showing itself below.4)      The dishwasher door does not stay properly closed and slopes in a manner that likely also results in water getting onto the floor.  The dishwasher does not fit in the cabinetry.  There was water present on the floor.5)      The laundry is not plumbed properly.  The hot water is not connected and the drain is routed to a kitchen drain instead of a proper laundry drain.  With this configuration it is possible that during the discharge cycle of a laundry run, the drain may not be capable of handling the flow and overflow is possible and is another potential source of water getting on the floor and leaking through periodically.6)      There was water staining evident below the water heater area, but [redacted] informed our plumber that the source of that leak had been found and repaired previously.7)      The disposer was jammed and not working.  Ms. [redacted] told our plumber she wanted him to replace that.8)      The kitchen faucet was old, leaking under the sink and dripping into the sink.  Our plumber provided an option to replace the faucet and Ms. [redacted] authorized him to do that also.9)      The dishwasher was being provided water through a series of hoses. Our plumber provided an option and recommendation to replace those hoses with a proper supply line connection and Ms. [redacted] authorized that work.Our plumber communicated all of the above to Ms. [redacted] and, before proceeding with any work beyond his observations, provided the cost of $1169 as a fixed complete price to provide the requested fixtures and work as noted in items #7, #8, and #9 above.  Ms. [redacted] authorized the work and the amount to our Plumber.  In order to protect our clients and strive for their complete satisfaction, a member of our office speaks with the owner to confirm their authorization of the exact amount before we proceed with the work.  Our dispatcher discussed this with Ms. [redacted] over the phone and confirmed her authorization and request that we provide the work that she selected.Our plumber left that property about 6:00 PM that first day (1/19/2016) and returned the next day (1/20/2016) at 10:00 AM to proceed with the work.  At 4:28 PM, he completed the work he had been authorized to do for the exact amount which had been pre-authorized.  He provided quality materials and expert workmanship.On 2/11/2016 Ms. [redacted] called and stated that the intermittent leak had now appeared again.  She asked us to prepare a typed copy of the invoice because she found the handwritten copy provided by our plumber to be illegible.   We prepared and provided that to her.  Through multiple telephone discussions since that time we reviewed the service call with Ms. [redacted] and informed her that we would be happy to come back out to do more service if she would like.  We stated that if there is anything wrong with the material or workmanship that we provided that we would repair that free of charge, and she informed us that everything that we did was working properly and was not leaking.  On 2/23/16 we received angry calls from [redacted] and then from Ms. [redacted] accusing us of bad business practices for not coming out for free to find and fix this intermittent leak and each of them hung up on us before we could offer any alternatives for resolution of their complaint.Unfortunately, this property is in need of extensive work and the pre-existing condition of any property before our arrival is the responsibility of the property owner, as is its ongoing proper use and maintenance.  We are responsible for sharing our findings and opinions, providing options of specific services that we are willing and able to provide and the cost for those services to allow the responsible party to make an informed decision whether or not to have us provide any of those services, and professionally performing any agreed upon authorized services.  My investigation into this situation as summarized above has led me to conclude that we have fulfilled all of those responsibilities.[redacted]Vice PresidentAble Home Services, Inc.

I am rejecting this response because:   As I stated before, their pricing was outrages and they took advantage of an old lady.  BUT,  nobody seems to care about the elderly in this country,  which I think is a very sad state of affairs.Since I am also elderly, I personally do not have the energy to continue to fight with businesses like Able.  Therefore, they win.  They will have to face judgement some day soon.                                                                                                                                     Sincerely,                                                                                                                                      [redacted]

Pleasant, knowledgeable, and professional service.

Review: When I talked to Mrs. [redacted] and asked her why she had called Able Plumbing to start with, she said that she didn't remember, but thought it was something to do with her sink being stopped up. The paper work indicates that she probably called about a toilet stopped up. When I asked her why the plumbers had replaced a water heater, two toilets and had her water lines replaced, all of which were working just fine, she told me that the plumbers told her that these were things that she needed, so she told them to do the work. She was and is very confused over the whole ordeal. As you can see by the papers attached, they apparently gave her three options, all horribly overpriced. When I called Able to object to them taking advantage of 79 year old woman without the capacity to understand what was going on, and asked for a itemized invoice, I was informed that the company only gives total cost including parts and labor, no breakdown of costs. I questioned the amount of the bill and gave them a breakdown of material costs from our local home Depot which amounted to $1600. (giving the them benefit of the doubt) and given that they had a crew of three for a period of 11 hours, I very generously allowed for their labor cost a $100/hr per man for a total of $3300 for labor. Grand total $4,900. When I pointed out that a $3559 profit for a one day job was outrages, I was told that they had a lot of overhead and they were only making a $800 profit on the job. Too their credit, apparently some of the water lines they replaced, needed replacing, but all of it?? I understand that she did tell them to do the work (only because they told her that it was necessary) and she did pay them. My point here is that Mrs. [redacted] is not in full possession of her faculties, was confused and did not fully understand what was happening. It is my understanding, after speaking with your office, that price gauging is an issue that your office normally does not address. But how about price gauging of an old lady without the capacity to understand? It would seem to me that your organization would be concerned about this type of treatment of the elderly... It would be one thing if this were to happen to a person that was in full control of their faculties and just stupid enough to go along with their scam. But with people not able to comprehend?? Shame, Shame, Shame, on them!!Desired Settlement: I desire an appropriate adjustment (refund) of the outrages bill. We would accept a billing of $6500. instead of the $8,400 which was billed for 33 hours of labor and approximately $1600. in materials.

Business

Response:

[redacted], Senior Information Specialist Revdex.com serving Northeast California 3075 Beacon Blvd West Sacramento, CA 95691 August 17, 2016 We just received your notice regarding complaint ID #11621276. Thank you for forwarding that on to us. As we shared with Mr. [redacted], we are very happy that he is looking out for the interests of Mrs. [redacted] and believe that he is sincere in the concerns he has expressed. The unfortunate fact is that Mr. [redacted] was not included by Mrs. [redacted] in any of the process including our initial 5/17/16 service visit at her request during which: - we inquired into her wants and needs, - we examined her home’s plumbing systems and shared our findings, - we answered any and all of her questions, - we provided her with various options to solve the observed situations in her home including the option which she ultimately chose and instructed us to complete, - we also provided lesser options for her consideration including the option of having us not perform any work at all. Each option that we presented included the exact price for the package of services so she was able to make an informed choice with no surprise or unanticipated costs to follow. We did not pressure her to select any particular option or any option at all. The fact that two specific lesser service options were presented and documented supports the fact that we did not pressure her into a single choice or claim that something in particular must be done – the providing of those alternative lesser options would be nonsensical if that were the case as the complaint contends. Mrs. [redacted] presented herself as a woman fully independent, responsible, and capable of making such decisions on her own behalf and we had no reason to question her competence. I must also strongly disagree with Mr. [redacted]’s methodology for arriving at his calculated fair price for our services. Combining just the direct cost of materials and the cost of direct labor on the job site in no way represents the total cost of operating a professional service business. The 2015 independent financial survey provided by our nationwide professional association reports that those categories of costs only represented 50.8% of revenue for member businesses such as ours. Once again, we respect and admire Mr. [redacted]’s concerns and efforts to protect Mrs. [redacted] and hold no ill will in that regard. We wish that he was present and involved during any or all of the service process so that he could appreciate the level of service provided and/or have participated in the decision making process in a timely manner before the project was completed. We responded promptly to Mr. [redacted]’s phone call complaint regarding the price for our services. However, he chose to abruptly terminate the last phone conversation with our Customer Service Manager on 8/8/16 as an apparent reaction to our sharing of our goal and average of earning a fair and responsible net margin of 10% our revenues. We would welcome the opportunity to continue the discussion with Mr. [redacted] and would be willing to consider crediting back some or all of that margin as applied to this project if that would please all the parties. Thank you again for your service in facilitating this communication.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: As I stated before, their pricing was outrages and they took advantage of an old lady. BUT, nobody seems to care about the elderly in this country, which I think is a very sad state of affairs.Since I am also elderly, I personally do not have the energy to continue to fight with businesses like Able. Therefore, they win. They will have to face judgement some day soon.

Justin was fantastic. Quick response, kind and knowledgeable!

Great service, really good people to work with. Bryan B did a great job.

On time, fixed the problem, friendly technician

Ben called first to let us know that he would be arriving earlier than scheduled. We had two jobs for him and he completed both in a short period of time. Everything to our satisfaction. He was polite, cleaned up, and had a cheerful demeanor. Great job for us!

Thank you Ben.

A great experience. From the scheduling to the completion of the job everything went perfect. The tech., Justin M., found the problem and then sat down with me and in detail explained what needed to be done. The job was completed in the stated time and job site was cleaned. I feel Justin M. did a great job, not only in customer service but in quality of his work. He is a great representative for Able Plumbing.

On time, friendly, courteous and did a great job!

Bryan ** performed a complete home inspection and evaluated my concerns about occasional toilet clogs and a squeaky swivel faucet spout.
I was impressed with his thorough analysis of the toilet problem, his explanation of the workings of a siphon-style toilet, advice for routine maintenance, remedies for mineral buildup in the toilet bowl, and advice for assessing future sluggish flushing.
Bryan lubed the faucet spout's O-ring and, again, advised the remedy for mineral buildup on the faucet.
I appreciate Bryan's patient explanations of the workings of fixtures because, if I understand how they work, I'm better able to maintain them and am motivated to do so in a timely manner because I'm confident that I'm doing it right.
As always, I'm grateful that I know a plumber who has the skill and experience to fix any plumbing problem.

Wow! Excellent! I have all great things to say about this company! Had a leak under my house (actually under the add on to my house ) and had 4 other plumbing companies come out and do nothing but destroy my walls invade my space inconvenience my family & my self and on top of that charge me about $400 each time ! Go with these guys they know their stuff!

I call Able this morning due to problems with toilet. They were able to fit me in before noon. Bryan B. came and replaced 1 toilet and snaked the other. Bryan was extremely friendly and very knowledgeable. He was efficient and worked sites were left very clean. I will use Able in the future as I feel I treated fairly and with respect.

Tech was highly professional and explained everything he was doing to repair problem...He was most helpful in our time of need....I higly recommend him and your company for all jobs needed by friends... You will never go wrong...

Tom S was the installer of three toilets in our home today, and the technician who looked at our leaky toilet initially. In both instances he was knowledgeable, professional, and friendly. The work he did was great, with everything cleaner than when he arrived. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Kyle showed up and fixed the problem fast.

Ben R was very helpful in solving a challenging electrical rewiring problem discovered during a remodeling project. He was very professional and friendly. Even though the solution required much more time than the original plan, no additional charges were applied. I would highly recommend Ben R and this company to others.

Bryan A. Was very knowledgeable, professional, and quickly fixed the problem. I'd recommend him to anyone.

Dwain W did a lot of electrical work both inside and outside of our home in Chico, CA just a few days ago. Dwain did an outstanding job and we will be calling Able Plumbing and Electrical this week as we have more work for Dwain. He is so good at what he does and is very friendly. He is an asset to his company.
Sincerely,