Christian Brothers Plumbing Heating & Air

Serviceman, Charles Dalmolin, was very polite and explained everything he was doing, told me the cost before he started the job and was very neat. I was very satisfied with his work and will recommend the company to others..

Josephine was very polite on the telephone.

Jamie N[redacted] was informative, friendly and very neat. He was a pleasure to work with.

We had a problem with the drain on our clothes washing machine. We found Christian Brothers in our Christian Resource guide. The office staff was efficient and courteous. The plumber who helped us was fantastic! He listened to the problem. He listened to the explanation of the plumbing system. He followed through with cleaning the drain and explaining what he was doing as he did it. He followed up by testing the line to make sure the cleaning was effective.

I had a kitchen faucet replacement issue and called Christian Brothers. Lady receiving my call was very pleasant and said it would be very soon when I would get a call back for the scheduled service call. She called me back within 5 minutes to inform me that [redacted] would be my serviceman and would be by soon. He showed up in approximately 20 minutes from that call (by the way this is on a Friday afternoon, I just can not believe the quick service. It took [redacted] under an hour to complete the job, gave me a fair price, very courteous and conscientious. I would do business again with him. Thank you

[redacted]. with Christian Brothers Plumbing explained to me the work that needed to be done on my toilets and gave me a discount on some of the material and used the phone book discount I didn't know existed. Worked very professionaly and quickly and cleaned up everything. He explained that my water heater should be replaced soon. I will call him when I decide to have this done and I will choose him to do so.

I recently had the opportunity to work with [redacted]. and [redacted]. during a fall A/C checkup. I have never had such a great crew and service on my home. During the checkup I had many questions and all were answered in great detail and patience. If you are someone that wants the job done right, with ALL your questions answered in full detail, then Christian Brothers is the PERFECT place to go for your plumbing and heating needs.

The air conditioner at our main office was just about dead when I called Christian Brothers. George B. was the technician they sent out immediately. He confirmed that it was not worth fixing, so we bought a complete new system from them. George stayed involved with the installation and has followed up several times to be sure we are happy. The air handler was originally installed incorrectly so they had to build multiple brackets and supports that they hadn't planned on. All of this was done for the original price quoted. Fast, clean, professional. Excellent contractor.

I received professional, friendly and helpful service from [redacted] on 6/17/2015. Such a experience. He spent the time to ensure the units were working properly and explained in detail what we could do to get the most from our a/c units. Very impressed!

I had the pleasure of having [redacted] and [redacted] evaluate my heating and air conditioning system. After giving me several options, from repair to replacement, I decided replacement would be the most effective, long-term solution. [redacted] took the time to answer all my questions and helped to find the most economical, long-term solution. [redacted] and [redacted] did an expert installation and thoroughly cleaned the work area when they were finished. They also did a thorough evaluation of how to use the system and offered to answer any questions I had. I appreciate their professional, friendly, clean and courteous service. They did a very professional job and I would recommend them to anyone.

I called the office, thinking it would be tomorrow at the earliest for a person to come, but [redacted]. came within 30 minutes of my call.

He assessed the troubles, gave me a price and went to work after I agreed to the price. He fixed all the problems and informed me of an issue that I will be able to fix myself.

I am very satisfied with the work and the company. I will use them again.

Very proffesional and courtious. Did the job and cleaned up afterwards. Did his very well.

Review: There were two issues.

The first issue was a misrepresentation of the electrical repair environment. As we were reviewing pricing for the service in question on June 6, 2014, I asked the salesman/repairman if these prices were typical of other electrical companies. He said that all companies use the same book to assess pricing for electrical services. I called another electrical company, Mr. [redacted], to confirm this assertion. I found out after paying Christian Brothers that the salesman's statement was a lie--there is no standard book or charge used by all companies. Had the salesman told me that all companies have different pricing models, I would have selected another service as Christian Brother's price seemed excessive. With that being said, I assumed for the price I must have a serious electrical issue that would require a great deal of effort to resolve. In the end, the work performed lasted about 45 minutes and cost over $600. In fairness, I should have demanded to know how long the repair would take.

The second issue was the salesman's/repairman's high pressure tactics. He pushed a service contract at the beginning of the sale. I listened and discussed it with my wife. I told him we had discussed it and were not interested. During the service, he continually pointed out, without solicitation, other issues that he were sure would fail within the next year. He said I would pay thousands of dollars for these repairs. At the end of the service, he began the pitch for the service agreement again, telling me that he very strongly felt that we needed to have the service agreement and ran me through the pricing again, reminding me again that I would have significant problems in the next year. I told him I needed to think. He kept bringing up reasons why I needed it. I again told him I was not interested. He seemed very disgruntled that I had not purchased his agreement. It was the worst customer experience I can ever remember having.Desired Settlement: I called Mr. [redacted] and was quoted at $345 for the same job by one of their repairmen. I know there would have been a charge for the trip fee by Christian Bros if I had not purchased service, so it is fair that this be added on to $345 for a total of $415, or a difference of $187. This is the amount I would like refunded. If I am remembering the trip fee being lower than is standard, I am fine with a lower settlement amount that represents the $345 quote plus the standard trip fee.

Business

Response:

Christian Brothers has been serving the valley since 1976. Our policy is to charge by the job, not by the hour; which saves the customer money by eliminating inefficient use of the technician and customer’s time. Our trucks are stocked like moving warehouses, most companies need to leave to get parts; we get the job done quickly so you won't be inconvenienced. We get the customers approval before any work is started, so that our customer has the right to approve or deny the price quoted for that particular job. We also get the customer’s signature accepting the work was done to their satisfaction. We uphold a full disclosure relationship with our customers at all times and do not vary from this policy.

We subscribe to a national pricing service, and based on the phoenix metropolitan area, our prices are about average. There will always be a plumber or a/c technician out there that will quote you a cheaper price; however, you might not be dealing with a bonded, licensed and insured company that will stand behind their work for many years to come. We have been in business for thirty years and our customers can be assured that we will still be around when they have a warranty problem. These other cheaper companies also do not provide their customers with the quality and service that you will receive from Christian Brothers. Some of the “behind the scenes” qualities of a reputable company would be both pre-placement and random drug screening, background checks, weekly training, and hiring the “cream of the crop” service technicians because they will need to be trusted in the customer’s home and they are also expected to fix your problem the first time, so that our customers are not inconvenienced by the problem not being fixed on the first visit. Our technicians respect your home at all times! Before our technicians enter a home, they will put on carpet protectors, roll out their red carpets to protect the floor covering, and leave their work area clean.

Sincerely,

C.E.O.

[redacted] was very courteous and knowledgable.

Awesome service and would definitely recommend to anyone looking.

I asked for a quote for 3 20 amp circuits and 1 40 amp circuit for a new air conditioner. The quote was $11,690. The home run would be about 110 feet. All the wires would fit into 1 run of conduit. These guys appear to be parasites and rip-offs taking advantage of the uninitiated. Caveat Emptor.

Mike E[redacted] was the lead on our HVAC installation. He is knowledgeable, polite and easy-going. Everything was explained before the work was done. Work was done expertly, all questions were answered. Everything was cleaned up before leaving. Excellent experience.
Mike also did the follow-up check-up and made a recommendation which resulted in better air. Glad to do business with him.

I was so impressed with the professionalism of Mitchell N[redacted], electrician for Christian Brothers. He did a great job and was extremely courteous, knowledgable, and meticulous. A great asset for his company. Would not hesitate to call him again!

[redacted] was efficient, very polite and understanding of a problem we had with an elderly neighbor. Everything works well and we enjoyed doing business with [redacted] He had to work on a Saturday evening and Sunday and he was still pleasant and kind.

My technician from Christian Brothers Plumbing, Heating and Air was [redacted]. He was the most professional and knowledgable servie technician I have had to pleasure to meet in a long time. [redacted] quickly diagnosed a fix for my plumbing issue and resolved it completely.

To the Management of Christian Brothers: [redacted] is a "keeper".

Review: On August 7th the electrician arrived for an appointment to pull through an HDMI cable.

We had stipulated with scheduling that it was a two person job. This was to attach a new HDMI cable to the end of an existing one, pull it up into the attic from the kitchen TV, through the attic, down through the wall to the DISH receiver.

The electrician arrived alone. He and I agreed that I would help him do the job. It was a simple pull through. No dry wall work, drilling, electrical, etc. The electrician was to be in the attic, I would feed the cable up through the wall, and pull down at the other end, with the employee feeding the cable in the attic. The anticipated time was 10 to 15 minutes maximum.

The electrician then provided an estimate for over $400 for the job. I declined. I told him we would take the fee up with management. We called the company that day, and were told we had no choice but to pay, which we did.

Unless we agreed to pay $400 for a simple cable pull through, we are out $69. To pay over $400 for a 10 to 15 minute job is exorbitant, amounting to $1,600 per hour.

In fact, why not charge $500 per hour, or $1,000. At worst, an automatic $69 fee is collected. At best, the company makes $1,000 for a 15 minute job.

We paid the agreed upon $69 estimate fee, but I feel this is unfair, tantamount to bait and switch:

1: a sales tactic in which a customer is attracted by the advertisement of a low-priced item but is then encouraged to buy a higher-priced one

2: the ploy of offering a person something desirable to gain favor (as political support) then thwarting expectations with something less desirable

Or price gouging:

Pricing above the market price when no alternative retailer is available

Or an outright scam:

A dishonest scheme

The website states “We offer upfront pricing by the job, so there are never any pricing surprises when you choose Christian Brothers”.

Finally, the company did not provide the two person team they promised they would send for the job.Desired Settlement: Notify Revdex.com and warn other customers.

Change advertising to reflect true practice.

Refund estimate charge.