[Read the whole series of postings about Winters Plumbing here.]
We hired Winters Plumbing about six months ago to replace our heating system (old ducts in basement needed to be removed due to peeling asbestos, and while we were at it we went ahead and replaced the furnace as well). After the job was done, we enrolled in the Winters “Service Partner” program, which (for a $12.95 monthly fee) includes priority service, an annual inspection and tune-up, and a 15% discount on all jobs.
About a month ago, we got a voicemail message from winters asking us to call back to schedule our “safety inspection.” I thought this meant it was time for our annual tune-up, so I called back and scheduled it.
The plumber showed up at the arranged time, toured our house and basement without actually doing anything to our plumbing or heating system, and proceeded to quote to my wife prices for a long list of things we didn’t actually need, e.g., replacing our humidifier pad and our water heater, neither of which was due for replacement, or adding a waster filter to our humidifier, which was never mentioned by Winters as something we might need when they installed it just six months ago.
For the one thing we did need, a replacement for a broken toilet handle, he quoted a price of $238. Yes, that’s right, $238 to spend less than ten minutes installing a part that costs less than $5 at The Home Depot, a part which the plumber probably had sitting out in his van when he came to do our inspection. With our 15% discount, it would have been a “bargain” at “only” $202. The very same day he quoted this price to me, Winters was advertising on their Web site a special — $99 during business hours on any Thursday or Friday to replace your toilet handle, do a dye test to check the toilet for leaks, and inspect the toilet for other issues. In other words, as a service plan customer with priority service, I was quoted a price over $100 higher than the price being offered to new customers.
I sent a nasty letter to my contact at Winters about what had happened. That was about a month ago, but because Passover and such, I didn’t get a chance to speak with him about it until today. (more…)
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