|
|
|
Wed Sep 10th, 2014
 | 09:56 pm - Licence to print money
I called the plumbing company yesterday about snaking my slow-draining right-hand kitchen sink- same guys as snaked it eight years back when my new bath caused the pipes to flood the kitchen. Plumber gets back to me in fifteen minutes. 'I can be there in three hours.' 'I have to be at work then. Tomorrow morning?' 'Sure. 8 OK?' 'Can we make it 9?' and let me get some sleep. '9, sure. See you then.' 'Oh, how much is it?' 'Two fifty.' 'Two hundred and fifty dollars? Uhh err...' maybe I don't need two sinks. Hastily, 'OK, one fifty.' Enh: but known as a reputable firm; and plumbers are traditionally more expensive than dentists.
This morning I'm staggering back from the bathroom, half-awake, at 7 am. And of course the phone rings. I can't work, I *can't* work, please don't let this be a real crisis Hello? 'Oh hi. It's the plumber. I'm coming to your house at 9 today, OK?' Guy, there was a *reason* I said 9. But oh fine, I'm wide awake. I tidy the kitchen, empty the cupboard under the sink, wait. And wait. He appears at 9:30.
Squats down, looks at the pipes, and says, no really, 'Oh fudge. Oh fudge oh fudge oh fudge.' Long story short, he winds up replacing the entire apparatus, substituting plastic piping for the ancient and much corroded iron stuff. 'It's broken. I can't believe you haven't had leaks yet.' For that I'm happy to pay $250- payable to Cash which is a sure tip-off of something not quite kosher. But if I need snaking done again- mhh, I might call around first.
|
$250 you got off easy. Last winter when our pipes froze we called, and they said that to come out and diagnose the problem is $300 first hour, and then in half hour increments until they figure it out. That is the exactly the same rate as our lawyer, and he at least charge in 15 min increments! Surely that was a special 'what the market will bear' occasion? Or else DC is just super-pricey. The usual here is about 120 to come to the house and then extra for the work.
It's still ridiculous. Electricians don't charge like that, but then they're not often dealing with emergencies. |
|
|
|
|
LiveJournal.com |
