Home Wise Plumbing

Plumbing
Sooke BC V9Z 0Z5
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Home Wise Plumbing
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94%

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Reviews for Home Wise Plumbing

Average customer rating:
9.5 10 (25 reviews)

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Private User
Private User
Private User reviews Vancouver, BC
1/10

Not recommended...over billed.

We were over billed and charged a $45 extra equipment fee. Spent alot of time untangling old equipment and seemed to stretching out the job to fill the afternoon. He spent 30 minutes chatting with me about gardening, the price of houses, et cetera, not related to the job. My husband called and they would not reduce the bill. The lady he talked to has a great explanation for everything, but in the end we felt happy with the final bill was too high. It came to $628 to take out a rootball. Definitely felt they milked the job for all they could get and then some. We have had trades people before and never felt ripped off like we did here. We are reasonable people and appreciate trades people but not this company. Not recommended.

Approximate cost of services:
$628.00
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Company Response

This customer called on a Friday afternoon explaining they had drainage/back up issues with one of their toilets and wanted us to come inspect the lines.
Our dispatcher discussed our first hour and regular rate as well as the charge for a camera investigation. It is true that the charge for sewer cleaning equipment was not discussed. This is due to not knowing what the job would actually entail at the time of the original phone call ( Not unusual in service plumbing). We sent one of our best journeyman plumbers to the scene with a camera and drain cleaning equipment (just in case it would be needed). It was also discussed with the plumber and this customer that we would only be able to provide enough time for a camera investigation and if severe issues were found, they would likely have to be taken care of after the weekend. They happily agreed to this as they were still able to use fixtures, with the exception of one toilet causing them concern.

An hour and a half into the inspection, we found a massive root ball which was completely blocking the inside of their sewer line. In the interest of taking care of them, we pushed our other appointments and made time for them. This was all approved and the customer was very happy that we could do the work.

As the customer requested we be "gentle" with their pipes, our technician started with a 3/8 auger (our smallest piece of equipment) . After attempting to remove the root ball with the 3/8 auger, he had to start using a k75 to remove the roots from the system. He spent two and a half to three hours on-site clearing this root ball until he could establish good flow in the line. All of the time which he has billed for was necessary in order to do the job. We have plenty of work coming our way and it does not benefit us to have our plumber biding his time on site when he could be earning income elsewhere. This conversation that happened between the customer and our plumber was 100% related to the job at hand. He explained to the lady of the house that the piping is quite dated and warned that they would most likely continue to have issues with root blockages. He showed her our video footage and the pictures of the blockage. He gave recommendations for how to prevent these root blockages from recurring. All of this is considered billable time as we were giving valuable advice to this customer specifically related to their system. This was not a pointless friendly chat, but rather a productive conversation and it was not a half hour long as this customer claims. It is standard to spend ten or fifteen minutes after a job is complete to discuss said job with the customer.

Three days after our invoice was sent, our dispatcher received a call from this customer claiming that they were unhappy with their bill. They thought that it was too high for clearing a sewer main and wanted us to take another look. Our immediate response was one of understanding and flexibility. We promised to take a closer analysis of the job and give a deduction if warranted. It is also worth mentioning that the $45 equipment charge was not mentioned by the customer during this conversation and so they did not give us a chance to make any changes in this regard. After speaking with our plumber, it became very clear to us that this is not a case of over-billing, but rather, a client not understanding how long this kind of service call should take and what should be required. A quick Google search will show you that a severe root blockage can take upwards of a grand to clear so for this kind of job, our bill was not high.

Instead of simply denying this customer a deduction without any explanation, we explained the reasoning behind our decision and went over every aspect of the job in terms of billing. The conversation was quite pleasant and the customer paid their bill of $628.95 in full. From a customer service perspective, this was dealt with professionally and efficiently. We always do our best to hear our customers out and give them deductions when necessary. This was simply a case where, after going over every aspect of this job and following up on every concern the customer voiced, we could not find any reason to lower the bill.

Eddie Atherton  in Sooke
Eddie Atherton in Sooke
1 review Sooke, BC
10/10

Bathroom

Cam and Mitchell were wonderful. They took out our old cast iron bath and surround and fitted a new bath and surround. They were great to have in the house and when they'd finished they did a great job cleaning up. The quote was for $1837.50 Inc taxes. We thought there might be extra costs as they had replace some studs but the bill was exactly as quoted to the cent. Would highly recommend these guys and will be getting then in for some other plumbing jobs

Approximate cost of services:
$1,800.00
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Company Response

Wow! Thank-you so much for your kind words. I will be passing this onto Mitch and Cam.

We always appreciate positive feedback.

Private User
Private User
Private User reviews Victoria, BC
10/10

Job well done

I have a sub pump in my suite and I had noticed the motor was constantly running. I called a local "super" plumbing company and although they did the best that they could, after coming out 5 times in the span of a couple of weeks, they threw in the towel, gave me a partial refund and asked that I don't call them anymore. OK, but that still left me with the same issue. Then a friend who retired from construction recommended HomeWise Plumbing. Dave came out, looked at the sub pump and about 30 minutes later the problem was solve. A year later it's still working fine and when a pipe burst outside by the house, we did not hesitate to call HomeWise again. The job was so well done, the clean up was great and most importantly, it was done properly the first time. Three time is the charm and we had to call them again for another issue and again, the work was well done, the site was cleaned up and the bill was reasonable too.
I highly recommend HomeWise Plumbing.

Approximate cost of services:
$0.00
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Company Response

Thank-you so much for your positive review! We really appreciate it! Merry Christmas!

Ron in Sooke
Ron in Sooke
1 review Sooke, BC
8/10

Sink stopper repair

The company is very good at keeping you informed regarding the ability of the Tech. to make the appointment, and called if the tech was going to be late or unable to show. This saved lots of waiting time for me. Had to have 2 visits to fix the problem, but they honoured the guarantee and did not charge for the 2nd visit. Would call them again if needed for another issue.

Approximate cost of services:
$187.00
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Company Response

We always appreciate hearing feedback from our customers. It's great to know what we're doing right and what we can work to improved.
Cheers!

Private User
Private User
Private User reviews Victoria, BC

First Review

10/10

Waterline replacement

My 75 year old copper water line from the street to my house sprung a leak in the winter. Homewise did a great job replacing it with a larger PEX line. They had to dig a trench, in the rain, thru my elaborately landscaped and sloping front yard. There were plants, bushes, boulders, a pebble path, etc. I was expecting it to look terrible afterwards, but they did an excellent job putting everything back the way it was, even replacing the mulch and planting grass seed! It's been two years and you can never tell that the landscaping had been disturbed. And of course, no more leaks. :)

Approximate cost of services:
$2,100.00
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Company Response

Thank you so much for your review!
We value feedback from our customers; it's important to us that we know what we are doing right so we can keep offering excellent service.
Of course, it's always gratifying to hear back from another happy customer.

The reviews on this page are the subjective opinion of the Author and not of HomeStars Inc.

More about Home Wise Plumbing

HomeWise Plumbing and Drainage is a family-owned and operated business started by David Topelko, who's been serving the commercial and residential plumbing needs of the Sooke and Greater Victoria areas for several decades.

We have an award winning, professional, experienced and expert staff. In fact, our apprentices have received the top marks at Camosun during their trades training to become journeyman red-seal plumbers - a recognized standard of excellence across Canada for trades training. Our mission is to make sure our customers are completely satisfied. We use the highest quality products available and make sure our customers understand what they’re receiving for their money.

Our Services Include:
Plumbing Renovations
Gas Fitting
Drainage Solutions
Backflow Testing
Service Calls (Big & Small)

At HomeWise Plumbing, we treat every customer like family, ensuring exceptional service. Choose HomeWise Plumbing for expert care, dependable service, and a promise to treat your home like our own. Let us handle your plumbing needs with integrity and precision!

CATEGORIES
Plumbing, Drain Services, and Gas Line Installation
PRODUCTS
Splashes Kitchen & Bath Sherets Electricians Plumbing Parts KDS Knockdown T+S unit Orca cut Marathon Lifetime Water Heaters EMCO Bartle & Gibson
SERVICES
Plumbing Services, Drainage Services, Gas Fitting Services, Backflow Prevention
BRANDS
Rheem Water Heaters, JW Pro Electric Water Heaters, Pro Flo Kitchen Faucets, Delta Kitchen Faucets,
SPECIALITIES
All renovations, gas, drainage, service calls, and more! Hot water tanks, toilets, fixtures, gas, perimeters, clogged drains, ETC
WEBSITE
https://www.homewiseplumbing.ca/
YEAR ESTABLISHED
2008
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
10
LICENSES
Gas, Bonded, Insured.
MEMBERSHIPS
BBB
LIABILITY INSURANCE
Yes
DIPLOMAS
Over 40 years experience and fully certified
WORKERS COMPENSATION
Yes
BONDED
Yes
PROJECT RATE
Hourly & Materials
WARRANTY TERMS
Duplicated work is free
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