Our basement filled with water this past Wednesday. At first we didn't know whether it was a burst pipe or a sewer backing up. After calling a few other companies, we chose A Marco because they were able to send someone right away. The plumber, Phil, seemed a bit sour from the start. Maybe this was just his personality or he was having a bad day, but you would have thought it was his basement that was full of water. He wore his workboots into 6 inches of water - which turned out to be sewer water - and walked back and forth on the hallway hardwood floor without any dropcloths. He decided it was best to snake the house's main drain with 100 feet of coil. This didn't solve the problem so he suggested getting another 100 feet or so, but he didn't have that much on his truck and would have to charge $350 more for travel time to get the extra 100 feet of coil. I didn't think anything of it until I met with my insurance adjuster the next day. She said $400-500, not $1,200, would be a typical price for this kind of work. Also, she asked: why didn't he (Phil) have the second roll of coil in his truck? And, looking back on it, was the 2nd 100 feet really needed? In the end, my gut tells me I was overcharged for the work, and this is the reason I would not use A Marco again. I called the company and explained my concerns to Brad but he was unable to resolve my concerns in any way. $1,200 for 4 hours of work by one individual (virtually all labour) seems out of line.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $1,200.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
I am terribly sorry to hear your concerns about the service that we provided you. I would however, like to explain why you were charged the amount you were. The call was placed as an after hours emergency call. Most service companies charge at a higher rate when sending out a technician after hours. Each one of our technicians carries 100 feet of cable on their truck. In most cases this is plenty to clear blocked drains. In your case it seemed that more cable was needed and unfortunately, that meant travelling to obtain more. There is a lot more involved when a plumber comes to your home than just "labour". There are many other factors that come into play then just paying the plumber and I am sure that the rates were explained to you prior to performing the job. We are always terribly sorry to see backed up drains but I am confident that Phil did clear the drain and rectified your issue.