Solutions Mechanical & Plumbing, Inc.

Review: Well pump went out at my house. I contacted Solutions Mechanical to come out and repair. They said I also need new pressure tank, not one but two pressure tanks. ( I previously only had 1). They did the work and charged me $4.025 for a 3/4 8gpm pump and 2 fiberglass well mate pressure tanks. Once this was completed I was told the well needed to be packed with rubber and the casing length determined. No estimate on cost given. After a month of waiting to get an answer, it turns out they didn't have the equipment to proceed with the job and I was encouraged to reach out to another company. WHen I did, I found out the additional work wasn't needed, the two pressure tanks were not needed and the cost for the same work from the other company would have been $2565. Solutions charge for pump $2750, other company $800, solutions charge for tanks $1500, other company $500. Also checked on line and found them cheaper as well. I reached out to solutions twice trying to determine the reason for the huge disparity in price. I received comments like "we are competitive with the market", "we are not the cheapest" I can't speak to their invoice", and were unable to provide any reason for the huge increase in cost. They could not provide an hourly rate, stated they charged a flat rate and that was all. I had not time to shop around and get estimates, they started the work immediately. Had I known they would charge this much I would have never them and if it were anything I could exchange, I certainly would and would buy online or go with another company. This is not competitive pricing, this is price gouging and I feel very taken advantage of. Not to mention they weren't able to finish the additional work that didn't even need to be done in the first place, couldn't give me an estimate on the cost of the additional work, and put in a tank I didn't need and charged me an outrageous price for it. I tried to work with them. This is not how customers should be treated.Desired Settlement: If they are truly competitive, the right thing to do would be to adjust the bill to a reasonable charge. I realize prices can vary but not this much. I am simply asking for them to match the price of other well drilling companies and refund the difference.

Business

Response:

Mrs. [redacted], My apologies for your dissatisfaction with our pricing. I can only assume from your complaint though that the work performed was up to your standards. I will address your complaint as best I can. First off, as to the estimate you received from the other company (attached). You have misspoken a couple things in comparing prices. You stated their price for the pump work was $800 and ours $2750, on their estimate the $800 was just for the pump itself, the 6 hours labor for the pump they estimated (not quoted) was an additional $900, and wire $140 bringing their total to $1840. Their estimate also did not include the rest of the materials needed for that part of the job, including wire guards, torque arrestor, fittings, clamps, etc which would have also raised their price. Also in our experience, companies like that also have a truck charge for using a pump truck. So in effect, their estimate was not complete for that part of the job. As to the pressure tanks, we almost always put in two smaller tanks instead of one large tank, to provide redundancy for the pressure tanks main function, which is to provide run time for the pump to cool off after the initial starting amps. That way, if one tank fails, your pump is still somewhat protected from damage while waiting on repair. The price between the two smaller tanks, vs. the one larger tank is not that much different, and we find our customers to appreciate the extra thought. As to addressing the quote on this matter, again, you stated their price would have been $500 for the two tanks, and ours $1500. They have no listing of labor, the 6 hours listed was just for the pump and wire to the pressure tank, and does not include installing them, if it did include labor for the tanks, then they are wrong. And again, it has no listing of the other parts needed for that part of the job, including the special union tee that has to be a certain type (it could actually be dangerous if a certain tee isn’t used), relief valve, boiler drain, pressure gauge, pressure switch, fittings, etc, these left off fittings do add up pretty quick. As to the pump tec, we spend a lot of money with our suppliers, and our pricing with them is the best they can offer any company, if he wants to sell them for $225 installed, I cannot speak to that, but that is his choice to lose money and give them away at almost cost. Now to address the issue with the additional work needed on your well. We stand by our diagnosis, considering you can actually see the line on the casing where the mud gets to. Your casing is leaking, and we were going to install what is called a “packer” to block off the leak so ground water was not contaminating the water you drink and bathe in. As to us not being able to “finish the job” there was no well report with the health department to get the information needed (casing depth) as there should be and we even went so far as to building a electro-magnetic sensor to drop down the well and help us determine its depth. Unfortunately it was not quite powerful enough when we came out there and used it (at no charge, I might add), and one more powerful would have been too big to go down the well. Quite frankly, we were spending time trying to help you, get information on your house, to fix your water, not ours. In conclusion, their estimate was just that, an estimate…and an incomplete one at that. It did not even reflect the fact that this call came in on a weekend and was done on a weekend. Their price would have changed when you received the bill after the work was done, period. Which is also one reason we always give up front pricing, so there are no surprises after the job is done. And yes, you can always buy things from the internet, and find cheaper prices, but then you would also have to still get it installed, and nobody warranties equipment they don’t provide…and bottom line, you get what you pay for. Our reputation does not require of us to compare ourselves with every company out there, especially ones like you are comparing us to that have their own many complaints (including with the Revdex.com) of not even knowing what they are doing. That would be like asking a custom home builder to match a handyman’s prices. You are more than welcome to call a company like [redacted], or [redacted] and get a quote, but I will not compare our company to the one you have, just based on their incomplete estimate and work quality complaints. Again, you get what you pay for, and you received quality service, and especially quality work. We have 92+ years of master tradesman experience working in management here (Yes, the person that came to your house was part of that) and care about our customers, which is also why we have a 94.6% customer retention rate. We stand behind our company, and our reputation, and I personally will not compromise that. Every company makes mistakes, what makes a company is how they handle it. And there has been no mistake made here. [redacted] Service Manager

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I spoke with the individual at [redacted]'s plumbing and the price quoted to me is for the complete job and would have been the price if it had been during the week or on a weekend. He is willing to give a statement to this as well. He is aware that many companies overcharge for these services and is more than willing to make a statement to back and support his estimate. He would have done the complete job with the same materials, same time, etc for the amount of money quoted on the invoice. I specifically asked for labor charge from you and did not receive any response other than to say, we don't charge labor, we charge a flat rate for each job. It appears you are now trying to include the labor charge into your estimates for your cost which you previously denied.

As far as the incomplete work, I reached out to your company and specifically asked about the well work getting done and asked if I should reach out to someone else who may the equipment to be able to determine the well depth. I was told to do so by your employee [redacted]. When I spoke with [redacted]'s about this, after their evaluation, the well did not need to be packed and the work did not need to be done. When I mentioned this to your employee [redacted] and he inquired as to why, I conveyed to him that there was no disruption of the well when it rained and the water was running clear and no discoloration noted. Mr. [redacted] then said to me, "well that's happening isn't it" I responded to him that the answer was no. Mr. [redacted] had never even asked that question prior to recommending that the well be packed so it is unclear why the basis is for stating the well needs additional work when the indication for it isn't present.

I am more than happy to obtain additional quotes from other companies but it is important to note that [redacted]'s stands by their quote, are willing to state that in writing that this is all they would have charged me had I used them for the job. They are certified well drillers and have the skills to manage it appropriately. However, I think contacting individuals who you may have relationships with would present a conflict of interest and not provide an unbiased estimate.

I think from a customer service standpoint, I am simply asking for the difference in cost am not asking for any additional work. I will obtain estimates and provide those back to you in the coming days.

Regards,

I had both David and John at my home and they both did excellent work. I tried contacting several plumbing service providers on a Saturday to service my Rinnai tankless water heater. David was the only plumber to call me back. He was able to send John out to my home on Sunday. David himself then came on Monday and finished the service work. I will use them again to service my AC and furnace.

Very pleased.

David and his team are extremely professional and hard working. They get the job done, leave the place clean and are great at communicating with honesty and integrity. I have used them twice for my business and once for a huge job at my house and I am always happy with their service and extremely reasonable prices.

Solutions Mechanical re piped my house. I am thoroughly happy with the work they did for us. The plumbers were courteous, friendly, and cleaned up the job site each day. I highly recommend them and plan on using them again to install a tank-less water heater under a sink.