I have written previously about the problems I had with Winters Plumbing when they replaced the heating system in my house. I wanted to post an update because while I still wouldn’t recommend them, they’ve done some things to address my complaints which they deserve to get credit for.
They fixed the duct opening which their subcontractor made too small, and replaced the screw in the duct cover that was damaged when I had to unscrew the cover from its frame because the frame was wedged to tightly into the too-small opening.
They fixed the air leaking from the furnace manifold.
At their expense, they replaced the whole-house humidifier that was wasting a huge amount of water, with a Humid-a-Mist humidifier that doesn’t.
[Read the whole series of postings about Winters Plumbing here.]
I posted a while back about a bogus “free safety inspection” Winters Plumbing convinced us to have, where “safety inspection” actually meant “excuse for one of our plumbers to get into your house so he can try to convince you to buy all kinds of stuff you don’t need.
I also mentioned in that posting how the plumber who did the “inspection” quoted us a price of $238 to replace a broken toilet handle, a job that takes less than ten minutes and requires a part that costs less than $5 and is stocked all the time by pretty much every plumber.
Scott Adams says that human beings are “rationalization machines.” I’m sure I’m as guilty of that as the next guy, but I try to be aware of when I’m rationalizing. I have suspected for quite a while that I was giving Winters the benefit of the doubt more than they deserved. I hired them to replace our heating system for a higher price than some of the other companies quoted because they seemed more reputable and trustworthy than the others. I wanted to believe that decision was the correct one. I don’t think I can maintain that delusion any longer.
[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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