I think Augusta may have just had a string of bad luck with contractors. That can happen to anyone.
The general rule of thumb is to take a middle price, eliminating the top dollar guy, and the low ballers.
Somewhere in the middle you normally find guys that are making a living doing what they love.
How many times have I heard;
"After talking to several plumbers, I like "your" knowledge" of my problem, and the other guys prices. I would love you to do the work, at his prices."
I laugh and say no. One of the reasons I sound knowledgeable, is that I already know what needs to be done, and what can happen. Often the low ball price guy isn't providing a job that meets code, or with parts that will last. Many times on jobs I have lost, the homeowner later said that the winning contractor hit them over and over again with "change orders" that brought the price up to my original quote. Well duh. If you add up all the things required for a complete job, that's what it comes to.
I would say that it's rare that I hear about a plumbing business, one that has been around a while, that can't get a simple job done like the one picture above.
Any first year apprentice could have done a fine job. The reason so many posts are making fun of the pictures, is that it looks like a complete novice was doing the work.
They look like a bad first try at plumbing.
I can't imagine any plumbing company in the Seattle area that would do work like that. I realize that it's Georgia, but come on. I know there must be plenty of qualified workers there. They did rebuild after the civil war didn't they? And they make TOTO toilets there, so someone must know what they are doing.
A lot of shops in Seattle are charging double what I charge. They offer senior discounts and coupons, but even with those discounts, they are far, far more money then what I'm charging.
The guys doing it for less, do they have have a business license and insurance?