Upsetting Conduct of Plumber

[MaryDar]

I am in need of advice on our plumbing experience that took place the day before yesterday. We arranged for a plumber to come to our home to clear a blockage in our main floor drain. We had clear water coming to the top of the pipe and a bit spilling out onto our cement laundry room floor. He and his partner arrived and went to task with the electric eel. The smell was horrid upstairs, so I opened all windows/door screens, turned on our furnace fan and provided a free standing fan for the area the men were working in. I noticed water with feces all over the floor in the area where they were working and it was already to the edge of our carpeting in the adjoining family room. The men couldn't clear the blockage called it crud and said they would need to come back to put through high pressure water spray for $450. plus tax and sooner is better. The owner, walked through our family room, up 13 carpeted stairs in his feces and wet boots and then said as he stepped onto our kitchen floor at the top of the stairs "oh oh, I forgot to take my boots off". He took them off there, then walked to our front door. After they left, I wiped up spots of watery feces off our kitchen floor that dripped off their equipment on the way out. We discovered yesterday that feces had been splattered onto walls, laundry tub, javex bottle near the eel holder...as it was being wound up and unwound it was obviously splattering. We had to cut away a portion of the carpet that when turned over, was soaked with brown water. We noticed this morning that there were two brown spots of dried liquid on our front door mat (that obviously dripped from the machinery as it was removed. We have stopped payment in order to devote the money to cleaning our carpets in basement, stairs and living room (where they walked with their equipment to the front door). We have been married nearly 40 years and fortunately for us, this is our first experience with such disrespect and unprofessionalism. We called him this morning to discuss the issue, prior to stopping payment. He first denied that he walked in his boots through the house, then he said they were dry, which they were not. In a nutshell, is there an expected level of care and concern that most plumbers follow? Is it customary for them to not protect the home from further damage or extra costs for steam cleaning etc. I am just so disappointed. Are we right in our thoughts about this experience?
Thank you for your advice.

 

[Jacobsond]

Im not a plumber,but I do service work in peoples homes.To cause that much damage and have no respect to keep the house undamaged by the grey water is unacceptable. If he was a true pro he would know that what he was doing could cause spatter and overflow and protect the area.Not to attempt to minimize the the "overflow" and not protect the area is not acceptable. Stop the payment estimate the damages he caused and call a better plumber.Make sure the next guy protects the area and causes no further damage. You may have to pay a little more but a true pro is worth the extra cost.Take alot of pictures of this incident because you may end up in court.With his fee for services against your damage claim pictures may be a deciding factor.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Brand them a new name for their actions

In a nutshell, is there an expected level of care and concern that most plumbers follow? Is it customary for them to not protect the home from further damage or extra costs for steam cleaning etc. I am just so disappointed. Are we right in our thoughts about this experience?
Thank you for your advice.

Yes, there is. They should be wearing foot booties like I do.




What you have experienced is the typical bait and switch, with disregard to your property. But before I go further,


Any drain cleaner, plumber knows and understands how to protect the area they are working in, including the area where the clog exists. Here's a typical video of what I've encountered at times arriving at one's home to clear a clog.

When your plumbing is in a clogged state, conditions are difficult to deal with. But, with one's ability, they can minimize the amount of mess along the way.

Your situation sounds like a total disregard, along with walking on your carpet without protection. Everyone can afford foot booties. FACT. Something you can peel off at the base of the steps, throw a new pair on and protect the area.

Stopping payment was warranted if you feel they did not represent the task/effort and what is customary.

If your statements are true, this service provider deserves a BBB complaint and/or an online review so this company halts their business practices, which in turn stops giving others in the profession a black eye.

Bad day or not; there's no excuse for not being courteous and respectful to another's property.


Was this problem resolved by another company, and was you satisfied with the results?