John Snyder Plumbing and Heating

Chris G.

I woke up to a leaking hot water heater on Friday 3/1/2019 at 7am. I called John and he answered quickly. Although he was busy, he told me he would get to me in the afternoon and would let me know when he firmed up the time. He was at my house by 1:30pm and gone by 3:30pm and I had a new hot water heater. John and his team member were both professional and took the time to answer my questions. I appreciated how easy it was to work with John and I'm obviously appreciative that they could fit me during an emergency situation. I will be calling John for any future plumbing needs.

Geq P.

2/11/19 Update
The agreed upon rate was $125 an hour for repair of the pipe. There was never any mention of the charge being per person as there was never any mention of an accompanying assistant. Bottome line, there was either a charge for the work performed for ""free"" or there wasn't and if there was I should have been notified upfront so as to make an informed decision about whether I wanted to proceed and for which tasks, but for JS to act in the manner of pro bono and then inflate the cost of an agreed upon job after the fact IS dishonest. Yelpers take note.
Revised Rating. One star. Awesome work. Shady pricing.

Original Revie
Things that make you go HMM
1. How niceness (is this even a word), can be deceiving?
I didn't realize right away that I had actually contacted JS in December for a nagging issue with my water heater only to be told he was too busy to help at that time. Now, having a situation in late January, where I had no heat, no hot water and a clogged sink with a jammed garbage disposal, I was at my brink and sent a mass message to most of Yelp. 41 degree house? Fine, dress like an Eskimo, heat one room like a sauna. No hot water? Does the stove work? Do I have a pot? Yes, to both? Then what's the problem?? But couple those two issues with, ""single kitchen sink clogged"" and suddenly it's hell on earth. This time, John responded within minutes, after hours, while enroute to an emergency call on a Friday (nice, right?). He was booked thru the weekend, but agreed to check his schedule and get back with me by Monday. He called on Tuesday, able to stop by in 2 hours. Luckily, I was able to be home. By the time John arrived, me, a handy friend thousands of miles away and Youtube, resolved the clog, but in all my understanding and my friend's expert explaining, I couldn't fix the garbage disposal. John took 10 seconds to connect a loose hose and 20 seconds to explain how it all works, for no apparent charge (nice, right?). John took a look at the water heater, which may or may not need to be replaced and by chance at the furnance also. In thouroughly explaining the system to me (nice,right?), we found a leak in one of the pipes. John agreed to return in 2 days to fix both issues. Price: Water heater replaced at $1200 and $100/per hour for the cracked pipe. I passed on the work for the water heater, having already received a more competitive quote. Without the work for the water heater, the charge for the pipe work would be $125/hour. Sure.

2. How does 1x1 equals 3?
Having had the same work done previously (& recently), which I observed from start to finish, and having consulted people that I know and trust before John arrived, I knew the job should be straightforward, relatively simple (it was both) and take no longer than an hour (though John somehow guesstimated 3-4 hours). For whatever reason, (you be the judge) in all his experience and having seen the exterior pipe he would be working on, when John arrived, he claimed to not have any of the necessary replacement supplies (i.e. the standard 3/4 90 (basic elbow) and a 3/4 union pipe). Not sure that I buy that a 17-year plumber that drives a van and presumably has repaired countless pipes, didn't know what would be needed beforehand AND didn't already have the supplies. If not, what a waste of the van's space and so said experience. While you're at it, you may as well tell me that the earth is flat too. At any rate, he left for nearly an hour, obviously at my expense. All told the actual work lasted hardly an hour at best, but with included 1 hour trip to supply store, 2 hours. Lucky me, I have a security camera, so I can be accurate with times. Arrived-8:55. Left- 9:22. Returned- by 10:05. All work completed-10:51. $125x1= $125 right? Not with JS-BS math, as my total was $350. I didnt contest it initially, expecting the invoice to explain further. I don't cheat, I'm not conniving and I have morals, so if I owe you, I'll certainly pay. Instead, the invoice I received (which I checked in email after he left-major no,no I now know) shows one line item for a single, inexplicable, overpriced total. I've reached out requesting clarification twice, by email on the day of service and by text the following day. Two full days have now passed with no response. Guess he's really busy.

3. Why it's IMPOSSIBLE to find credible (read, honest) contractors in Philly?
Enough said.

Rating: Decent work, Bamboozle Pricing -20 stars for the riduclous pricing. 22 stars for the solid work and patient service. TOTAL: 2 stars
BS math back at ya.

Katie O.

John came out right away when my faucet started to leak in my bathroom. He was quick and despite the job not being very large he fixed it very quickly (this was the day before new years..) While it was a bit more expensive then I anticipated, I was told that it was regular philadelphia prices. I had to have John come back a week later because another part of my bathroom plumbing broke (not related to the first) and he came quickly again and gave me a reasonable discount because he was just at my home. I would recommend him.

Lizzy S.

I was in a crunch for time and John was quick to respond, on a Sunday at that. He fit me in the next day and worked around my schedule. After immediately determining what the issue was, he was able to be in and out in under an hours time. Luckily, he had the right parts in his truck and was able to completely replace the garbage disposal in that time.

I also want to mention that I'm new to repair work and issues like this so he was very thorough and walked me through the issue at hand. Would definitely use John's services again!

Chris J.

I found my water heater had died around 11pm and could not get it restarted. By midnight I decided I needed to find a plumber to install a new water heater. I sent a request to John for a quote. I explained my issue and what I did to try to resolve. I didn't expect a quick response, but at 6am Jim responded with his quote. We messaged back and forth a few times. Basically because I had questions. I was lucky John had an opening in the afternoon otherwise he was booked for the next 2 weeks. John called mid day to confirm when he would be here. John arrived with his assistant. John was very professional and really knowledgeable. He explained everything he was going to do. John installed the new heater. Removed the old one and plumbed some additional lines he felt that was needed. I will definitely call John again.

Don't be fooled with the few reviews as John has recently started his own business. He seems like a good and honest guy. Price was very fair for the work. Thank you John!

Steven D.

John was very fast with responses and professional. I had a leak that needed further investigating and reached out for quotes on Yelp. John was the first to respond and the only one to offer a free in home estimate. He told me he's usually booked out a week or two in advance, but had some cancelations and was able to get me in. He arrived and opened up the ceiling and knew right away what the problem was. The seal on the toilet wasn't set properly so he replaced it and even caulked the base of the toilet because it wasn't done before. He also cleaned up after his own work. I don't have experience to know if prices are fair or not, but it was $150 all said and done. Would recommend!

Casey L.

John was fantastic- would highly recommend and will definitely use again for any of my plumbing needs. We had to have our sewer line replaced, having a reliable professional made the situation much easier. He was on time everyday, provided daily progress reports, and charges more than fair rates for his work.

Kim M.

John really quickly assessed the problem and completed the job at a high quality.

Anthony T.

John was excellent, very responsive and professional. Came in and completed toilet plumbing issues promptly. I'll recommend John to anyone. Great guy as well.

Lauren B.

I don't like leaving negative reviews, but when someone leaves a leak in my house that wasn't there originally, I have to!
I hired John to fix a bath spout and a slow drain in my sink. He fixed my bath spout great, but could not fix my sink. It was great that he didn't charge me for the sink, but he did leave me with a leak!
I contacted John when I realized the leak was continuing and he said to contact him in 24 hours if it continued, free of charge because there was no leak originally! I gave it a little longer, just to make sure it was in fact a leak. He then NEVER returned my calls or texts regarding the issue. I left voicemail/text messages which he received in the past, and never picked up! Suffice it to say, we now have a new plumber who was reliable and fixed the leak no problem!