McDonald Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Inc.

I met Dan M[redacted], who is on the management staff with M[redacted] PHAC, at a home and garden show two years ago and signed up for some information. The company sent me free tickets to the same show this year, so I stopped by their booth to thank them for the tickets and to talk about water heaters. Dan arranged an appointment for me, came to my house, and educated me about lots of options. I decided to replace my very old water heater with a new heat pump water heater. I am very happy with my amazing new water heater and am also very happy with the great service I received from Dan as well as Vince M[redacted] during the purchase process and then from Joe and Eduardo, as well as office staff, during the installation process. The day before Eduardo was scheduled to do a pre-site check before the installation, I had a plumbing problem. I called Joe and he told me to tell Eduardo about it when he got there for the pre-site check. It turned out to be tree roots causing a clog, but finding the cleanout place, which was buried under bushes in the front yard, took considerable work, part of it in the rain. Eduardo was great. This company is a class act. Everyone I had contact with was helpful and worked hard to provide excellent service. And when the work was all done they sent me two delicious brownies to thank me for my business. I will be using their services for future plumbing projects, and I recommend them highly.

Review: Water heater wasn't working; pilot light wasn't staying lit. Repair technician came out and said it's most likely the thermocouple and the cost to fix it was to be approx. $280 dollars (we had a $30 off coupon, so the total came to approx. $250). The water heater worked for about a day and still doesn't work, so it wasn't the thermocouple. Afterwards I found out that the cost of the thermocouple ranges from $5-$15 and it took the repair tech all of 3-5 minutes to replace it (probably less, if we weren't talking to him). I think they have a very significant mark-up on the true cost of the repair (as other companies, charge $140 for the same repair service) and shouldn't be charging their customers such a high amount (especially since this isn't what is wrong with my water heater). Supposedly there was a service charge (approx. $50-$60) that was waved...so I would have also paying $300 for a 5 minute service and a $5-$15 part...that's a HUGE mark-up.Desired Settlement: I think that an adjustment is needed to reflect a truer cost of the stated "repairs" (and a repair that did not fix the problem).

Business

Response:

I personally spoke with the customer on the phone regarding this issue and apologized that she was upset regarding the situation. Although it may have seemed like this was a 3 to 5 minute repair, our GPS indicates that the technician was there for a total of 39 minutes. While we do have a diagnostic charge to determine the problem, we always credit that charge if you agree to proceed with the work. The customer requested an adjustment to her bill and we offered a credit of $100 which she accepted and the credit has been processed. In addition to this, she requested that we review our pricing on this type of repair to determine if this was the correct price, this analysis also was completed. The customer has agreed to drop the complaint.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

My experience with McDonald Plumbing was positive. Matt and Shawn was friendly, gave excellent service and was very professional.

Office staff was courteous. Carlos was on time, professional, and completed the work to my satisfaction. He explained the work he had done and cleaned up the work area when he finished.

John Barton at McDonald Plumbing was over-the-top in his customer service. He thoroughly explained the work that needed to be done and did an outstanding job in cleaning out our plumbing line. Not only is John a very skilled plumber, but he is also so very personable and adorable. He took the time to explain how the problem likely developed and gave maintenance tips, which are invaluable to preventing another problem. Plumbing problems can be scary expensive but John was very reassuring and calm. I feel so fortunate to have John as my plumber. I never make recommendations but in this case, I highly recommend John for any plumbing needs.

I have nothing but praise for McDonald PHAC. I first called & spoke to Jennifer in the office....she is wonderful, efficient & friendly. Then the tech Gabriel performed diagnostics on my terminally ill AC/Heating unit.....he was also efficient & very friendly. He called the office while still at my home to see about having salesman come out to give me a quote. Prompt visit from Aaron who spent a lot of time explaining options....very patient....something an older person really appreciates. Then the techs Matt & Tristan who actually installed the new unit were beyond my expectations. They didn't hesitate to answer more questions.....explained what they were doing as they went along....were nothing but friendly.....never once looked or acted like they didn't like their job....great employees all around. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. I've also spoken with Joe in the office who was wonderful about updating me on time of visit & also answering questions I've had about billing & scheduling matters. I've also previously had Carlos do some plumbing work & was equally satisfied. And, they all get along with my little dog who can be pretty annoying to visitors. These people know the meaning of customer service!

Very good service-had parts necessary on truck-in and out efficiently.

We've used McDonald Plumbing for our home and investment properties for over 20 years. Never a problem.

Staff has years of experience and know what they're doing.

Excellent service by McDonald's Plumbing to fix my toilet on Mother's Day, Sunday. Glen T. came to my rescue! I would definitely call them in the future for any plumbing need.

McDonald has been servicing our HAVC systems for the last 6 years. They provide an excellent service and I highly recommend them

As usual the technician from McDonald 's was courteous and thorough. He explained a possible problem that could be addressed at the time of his visit or, if inconvenient for me, at another time. I have always been pleased with the work of McDonald's staff.

We've used McDonald Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning several times to take care of plumbing problems. Carlos is efficient, friendly, and always on time.

Great job, as usual!

Picked these folks the first time because we share a name, although not related, and had seen their trucks in the neighborhood. I have used them for all HVAC and plumbing for about a decade. Always a great job, on time, on budget. Well trained and polite techs.

I highly recommend Carlos for his prompt and courteous service . Thank you

Aaron was personable, knowledgable and explained my system clearly. He made recommendations that were sensible and helpful. I signed up for yearly maintainence as well.

We have owned this home for 14 years and the only people that have taken care of it has been McDonalds. They have taken care of everything from plumbing to air conditioning. All of their people have been outstanding. I have had to call them at 2:00 AM and they still came out promptly to take care of a problem. They seem to send the same person out on routine calls which I like because you get to know that person like a friend. They are prompt, courteous, and I don"t have to clean up after them.

Have been a client of McDonald's for more than two years and have been very pleased with their service, both for yearly maintenance and repair of my heating/AC system. Their service people are thorough in investigating problems. Any service recommendations are explained clearly without pushy sales pitches. My most recent encounter was due to a blown fuse which I caused. Darryl came out within hours of my service call request, found the problem, and got the heater up and running in less than an hour. I would (and have) recommended their service to others.

Nick was thorough and explained what he did. He was also very courteous.

[redacted] took care of a heating problem ASAP. We called around 8pm one night and they were onsite the next morning. [redacted] was professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. They followed up with me two days later. VERY satisfied with their personnel and service!

Review: This business was called due to a leak under my sink. The plumber came out and said the problem was the sprayer head connection needed to be re-connected. He stated that this would be about $100 or more. I said okay because I didn't know what to say. He re-connected and gave me a bill for $193.75 with a discount of 10%. The bill came up to $174.37. There was no part needed and the mess under the sink had been cleaned up before he arrived. The total time at my home was no more than 20 minutes and this included talking to me and completing the paperwork. I wasn't charged with a house call or parts. This amount only included reconnecting the sprayer head. I feel I was highly over charged.Desired Settlement: I feel like I should have been charged an hourly rate as was stated to my sister-in-law when she phoned them. They told her their hourly rate was $69.50 and $49.50 for a house call, but if you used their business then you wouldn't have to pay for the house call. I feel like he took advantage of me.

Business

Response:

I apologize that the Office Manager did not record a response to the complaint when she was first notified. Our Office Manager spoke with Ms. [redacted] on August 5th, prior to her filing a complaint with the Revdex.com on August 8th. Mrs. [redacted] explained that we are a flat rate service company. Ms. [redacted] is not the person who called the office and scheduled the appointment. Her sister in law was the contact. We always explain to our customers that for us diagnose a plumbing problem the cost is $49.50. This fee is waived if they accept the repair and price they are given, only then do we perform the work. The customer was offered a refund of $15 so that the price paid for the service rendered was $160.00, our Value rate which is normally reserved for customers who purchase a maintenance plan. Ms. [redacted] also explained to her that the refund could not be issued until the invoice was processed and that could take another week. I issued Ms. [redacted] a refund of $15, as agreed, on August 11th 2014, Check number [redacted].