Schwartz Plumbing, Heating, Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/07/21) */
First of all, there was never a quote given to the customer. The customer was given an hourly wage rate and a range for the cost of the sewer machine. The customer is billed for drive time to and from the job site and if a second man is needed...

the rate for that employee is [redacted] per hour. On most down spout drains a small machine is needed and only one man. However, this drain needed a larger machine due to the amount of the blockage and therefore needed two men for the job. It is very difficult to diagnose a problem and what will be needed for the job when talking to a customer in the shop. That is why all information given is specified as an estimate. No quotes are given for repairs such as this. We did adjust the cost of the sewer machine by [redacted] but since the customer was not charged full price for the second man, there was already a discount given on the labor. We regret that the customer was unhappy but some circumstances can not be fully diagnosed until there is an employee on site.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2017/07/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We were not told that there would be an additional charge for any other person. There was absolutely no mention of a [redacted] charge in addition to the hourly charge that we were definitely given. They state in their response that we were not charged the full rate and so in effect we were given a discount but I don't see how they could say that as [redacted] plus [redacted] is [redacted] and we were charged [redacted] for 40 minutes of work plus about 10 minutes of driving time. The one man stood with his arm in the window sill as the other man worked at unblocking the clog. I could have done that for them and saved [redacted]
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2017/07/25) */
The customer is being refunded [redacted] This would bring the bill down to the [redacted] that the customer feels she was quoted. However, we want to make it clear that all prices for repairs such as this are estimates. No quotes are given. It is impossible to give a firm price because the exact problem and what will be be necessary in order to repair the problem is not know until arrival at the job site.
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 11, 2017/07/26) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I believe this is a fair settlement.