Beacon Plumbing

Melissa F.

We had a power outage to half of our condo unit on a Saturday evening and needed to have someone come out ASAP. I googled ""24/7 emergency electricians"" and found about a dozen. I called Beacon first, but was told no one would be available until Sunday morning. The guy on the line even gave me a recommendation for another company. I started calling around and found that most didn't pick up. Two said a technician would call me back within 30 minutes, but none of them did. I ended up calling Beacon back and learned the guy who was answering after hours calls was the owner, Bill Cahill. He was very personable and professional. It made me feel confident about the choice we were making.

The electrician, Zach, showed up this morning and was equally as pleasant, friendly and professional as Bill. Zach worked fast to diagnose the problem and reached out to our landlord to give her the information directly.

I can tell the owner sets high standards for his company. Based on my experience today, I would make Beacon my first call for any of the services they provide.

Drew H.

28 April 21
On this day I realized we had a water leak in the master bathroom. The area was within 5 feet of the master tub but in the walk in closet. It was a minor leak.
I called Beacon Plumbing and asked for emergency service since I didn't want water damage. They showed up within hours of my calling around 4PM. The tech recommended that a hole be cut in the wall next to the master bath to check the pipes. After this he said he had found the leak and that we had a mouse problem. He said that extensive work would need to be done and so instead of fixing the issue he would cap the part that was leaking because he was sure we needed drying services and we would need to call water damage folks and that he had a contact that he recommended. After capping the pipe he said we needed to wait 3 hours before turning the water back on. Since I was out, my wife made a video of what needed done. When I got home 5 hours later. I went to turn the water back on so we could have water for toilets/showers etc.. since the leak had been capped but not fixed. Looking at my $890.43 bill it makes it seem like I asked for the guy (two guys) not to fix the issue and I chose to just have it capped. I was really overcome by events and they pushed me to that outcome which they messed up badly.
I turned the water on at the street and as instructed in the video my wife made before they left. I needed to go upstairs to turn the water off at the faucets. The two sinks and the tub were running. I turned off the sinks and saw that water was streaming out of the area where the ""capping"" had happened. This was about the same time that my wife was screaming downstairs. I came down stairs in the kitchen and liberal amounts of water was streaming from one of the light fixtures onto the fridge and floor. I ran outside to the street and turned back off the water. After mopping up what we could I called Beacon plumbing again.
An hour or two later another Beacon plumbing guy showed up. He looked at the issue and said that the first crew had capped the wrong side of the plumbing and that is what caused the issue. He didn't have the part to ""fix"" the issue and would need to drive back to the base close by to get the piece needed to fix our plumbing. I told him I would wait up since my wife would want working water in the morning. He came back and fixed the issue that the first crew recommended against causing me much worse water damage.
I had to take the next day off work to deal with the issues. I called the ""recommended emergency water removal folks"" recommended three times by the first guy who told me not to contact my insurance and call them instead. After the deluge the night before, I finally called my insurance and asked about who they would recommend for water treatment and they didn't have any local contacts. When the lead guy showed up, I told him that most of the damage had been caused by the work of the first plumber who in spite of an almost 1000 dollar bill didn't fix the issue and was eventually fixed in 30 minutes by the second tech. This person was quite aware of how much business Beacon was sending their way and mentioned multiple times how he would have to let ""them"" know that there was an issue.
I realize in hindsight I was gamed by the first crew that wanted to get a ""bounty"" for referring a customer to their drying service and if he had fixed the issue, I might have just continued my regime of fans, heaters and desiccants to get rid of the water damage and making him forgo his ""bounty"".
Shortly after meeting with the moisture removal crew. I got a call by the first tech that came by from beacon plumbing. I didn't answer as I was on a call with my insurance company but I called him back.
From the beginning he said, ""I told you not to take a bath"", to which I responded, ""I didn't I turned on the water at the street like you said and water was gushing everywhere when I got upstairs since you opened all the sinks and bathtub spouts, and by the time I had those off the damage was done.
Then he said that was impossible because he capped the line for water to the tub and there should have been no water, I said the second guy that came over said you capped the wrong end and water was openly flowing. He said maybe it was a new massive leak in the exact same area that I paid them to come and fix 5 hours earlier and that must be what happened. I told him what the second tech had said and that it wasn't a ""new leak"".
By the end of the call he made it seem like he understood that he had messed up and made a minor leak into a major flooding and said he would make it right.
I got a call from the moisture removal folks 15 minutes later that said Beacon plumbing had no responsibility for the issue and I was responsible for the damage. I told them I'd work through this with my insurance and I was very disappointed.

Ryan S.

Whenever major homeowner problems occur, they always seem to happen during the most inconvenient of times. Just like clockwork, our sewer line backed up last Friday night before two house guests were scheduled to arrive Saturday morning. Fortunately, two heroes arrived on their steeds to save they day named Anthony and Mike. What was supposed to be a quick 15-20 minute fix turned into a 2 hour odyssey that even Homer couldn't have envisioned (also there was more sewage involved, but you know...). Anthony and Mike were amazing, funny, and worked their absolute tails off and discovered our city's main line had grown roots down and into our line causing the backup. They were able to blast out the blockage enough to get us back in business. They are the best. We are now flushing our toilets with reckless abandon! Thanks again!

Jeffrey P.

What other business or industry do you know that charges $75 to come and give you a quote on a new HVAC system? I understand a $75 fee for repairs or minimum charge for a service call but $75 fee to give a quote on a new system?

- This would be like a real-estate agent charging you $75 before they decide if
they want to sell your house or not?
- Or what about a lawyer that charges you $75 before deciding if they want
to represent you?
- Maybe I want to get my car detailed or house cleaned? Is the service
going to charge me $75 to give me an estimate on that?

When you are looking to spend $5k+ with a company it is beyond me how they can justify a $75 fee to give you a bid? What if they aren't the lowest bid? (Apples to Apples) What if after they give you a bid it is way more than you expected and you can't afford it?

Certainly Beacon has built a good business financially and it seems they have more work than they can handle, hence the $75 to give a bid on HVAC system, but should they ever start looking for more work maybe they should spend some time hustling out on the road instead of spending all their time on radio ads.

Update: called two other HVAC companies after calling Beacon. Both are stopping by today to give a quote on a whole home AC system. They do not charge for quotes.

Laura E.

We highly recommend Mike Sullivan and Mario Miranda to come fix any of your plumbing issues! Mike has been with us now for several projects and repairs. He is experienced, knowledgeable, and straight forward. He is honest, professional, and trust worthy. He gave us options and explained ways to mitigate further issues. If only all professionals could be as great as this team!

Jen L.

Well, I should have listened to the other reviewers but o was in a dire need for the same day service. $75 service charge regardless you do the work with them or not. A toilet clog issue we typically pays 200-300 for a local guy who couldn't come out today. The beacon plumbing charged $850 to unclog the toilet. Are you freaking kidding me?! Didn't go with them so had to pay $75 plus the tax.

Lei Y.

Worst plumbing company. Highest price with least service. A small work cost me $1000. Tenant called this bad company and I paid for it. They replaced my sewer pump and it was broken within a year.

J L.

The call:
Called Beacon for a non-emergency water heater failure and scheduled a visit for the following week when an ""experienced"" guy could come out. Told the person making the reservation that the heater was about 15-20 years old and gave them the model and serial number. Was informed that there would be a $75 service charge to come out and troubleshoot the unit.

The visit:
The appointment day arrived and the guys showed up on time after calling. Good work, but that's were the good stopped. Upon arrival only one of the 2 was wearing a mask when they got out of the truck. We've been doing COVID for a year now, get with it... Brought them over to the unit and then was informed that it was old and that I should just get a new one. No kidding? Maybe I don't have 2-3k to drop on a heater when I can make this one limp along a while longer? When I suggested that he at least try to take a look and see if there is a repair that could be done and get us by for a while longer I was told that the ""diagnostic fee"" would be $385 just to find out what's wrong. That sounds a bit different than $75 to me, but what do I know? Fortunately the tech also told me that he wasn't even interested in looking at it; which saved us both some time as I told him he could leave.

The resolution:
After the techs decided to leave they chilled in the truck for a while before they took off. Must have been break time... Don't bother wasting your time with this company, they clearly don't care about customer service and are VERY inclined to try to scam people out of money. Beacon Plumbing, ""The used car salesmen of plumbing.""

Amy D.

Pros - They came out same day and unclogged my sewer line
Cons - The price started out as $75 to come out and assess the problem. The fix was going to be $800 which I agreed to. But then the cost ended up being $2400 for the ""short term"" fix and $20,000 for the long term fix. Even with the $2400, they still charged me the $75 fee to show up.
Because they told me I needed to have my entire sewer line replaced for over $20,000, per the city guidelines, I called other plumbers to get competing bids. They assumed that anyone charging me $2400 for work and a $20,000 bid would have done ground markers and provided a video as part of that $2400 work. But Beacon destroys all the videos. I feel like I was scammed.

Shayna G.

I remembered to call Beacon from hearing ""stop freakin' call beacon!"" The gentleman who showed up was ready to help & answered all my questions. He made sure that I was satisfied with the work that was completed.

Thank goodness for a catchy phrase! Def will be calling them back in the future and referring them to all my friends.