This one star rating was not based on work done to be fair and clear. However, the tech sent could not give me a clear and transparent price for some basic plumbing work that needed to be done. There were no emergent repairs, just a few modifications. He threw some ridiculous numbers at me for materials, for which he was pricing way over the standard 10-15% mark-up costs and the $100 per hour labor costs, which was high, but I had no problem paying their labor costs. However, I did insist on a solid price for the project which he said he couldnt do because he didnt know how long it would take and all the materials involved which by the way were minimal. I pushed back on that, stating that I wasn't in the habit of paying anyone hourly, especially at a $100 per hour without a clear fixed price for the entire. They could drag ass and milk a cake job like this for hours thinking if a customer was stupid enough to buy that b.s. I explained to him that I've flipped homes, worked in the electrical business with my brother and have also done much of my own work on this specific home, so I know the costs associated with the materials and labor. I also explained that I didnt have the time to do it myself because I had several other projects and am transitioning into another career, so I wanted to sub this particular task over to a contractor.
I was more than willing to have the work done today but the impression I got from the tech was that he either didn't care to do the job/be here, and/or if he had to he would throw some arbitrarily high numbers at me instead of outright turning the job down.
It's really bad when local contractors won't be transparent, fair and honest about their pricing and instead get shady hemming and hawwimg when you push back on that kind of hustle. Perhaps that's the culture or training at Bryan's Plumbing, not sure. In my frustration with how the experience and conversation ended with this tech, I called the company and spoke with a "supervisor", not the owner. I explained what I needed done and how it all went south with the tech. His response was that we don't work that way and he would call the tech to speak with him to get me a price. I asked him not to send John back here, since it wasn't a pleasant experience. So, an hour later and I have yet to hear back from them. It appears they only want to work with naive customers and take lay-down jobs at exorbitant prices. Understandably, there's plenty of work out there and low hanging fruit for now, so they're capitalizing on the good times. However, if the job isn't worth your while tell a customer but don't try and jerk them around, especially if they are knowledgeable. It's insulting and a waste of time for everyone involved.
Buyer beware. Don't higher any contractor on an hourly basis. It's a sure fire way to get ripped off. Get upfront material and labor costs on paper. It's simple. If they can't do that. Run and spread the word.