Ray Flanagan Heating & Plumbing

Liam K.

Was told they could do my job the following week. Never followed up. I called four times asking about it. Just got tap dancing and zero action. I even asked if they could refer me to someone else of they were not interested. What can I say I am disgusted I trusted their good reviews. Now I'm in a crunch because it's getting cold. This is one of the worst companies I've dealt with. I cannot recommend them.

Avoid, Avoid, Avoid.

Chris F.

I had one of the most stressful experiences with this company. They completely lack professionalism, and don't give a shit about their customers. Go with another service for sure. Read on for a long and detailed description of my dreadful experience:

I had a broken hot water heater, which ended up having a bad igniter. This also prevented my heating system from working, since it uses hot water. This occurred on a Thursday night, which caused me to call Friday morning. They were quick to come out and diagnose the problem. The plumber was there for almost 3 hours, and my roommate said he left at one point for almost an hour. All of this to diagnose a broken igniter.

So the plumber leaves, and writes on the note that we need to call the water heater company and order a new igniter and have it shipped to our apartment so he can install it on Monday. Does that make any sense to me? No, not really, but I call anyway. The company (Polaris, were very friendly on the phone), stated that any generic igniter replacement can be used in lieu of the Polaris igniter. So my plumber ""of 13 years"", doesn't know this, and didn't want to take 5 minutes out of his 3 hour visit to even call the company who makes the water heater to figure this out.

This leads me to calling a plumbing supply store, provided by Polaris, possibly thinking I'm a plumber. The supply store states that they do not sell to individuals, and only sell to contractors. Okay, so back to square one, all the meanwhile I have no heat or hot water. So I call these guys and leave them a message, stating that I can't buy the part from the supplier, and it really shouldn't be my responsibility either. They never returned my call.

Monday: I call them asking for an update. ""We pulled the paperwork, and have ordered the igniter. We will have it tomorrow (Tuesday)"".
Tuesday. I call them asking for an update. ""Oh sorry, there was a delay in the shipping it will be here Wednesday, we will call you when we're 20 minutes out.""
Wednesday. I call them asking for an update around noon. ""The driver left now, he will be there shortly"". I rush home from my office, and proceed to wait over an hour for the guy to show up. Then for him to finish his cigarette. He comes in, looks at the part, recognizes that it doesn't actually fit the unit. So he decides to attempt to Jerry-rig it, and saw off the ends to it will fit the bracket. He comes back in, and calmly states, ""It broke, I am going to run to the supply store to try to get another."" So he leaves, stating he will call me. Two things about this, A) If he could run to the supply store and get a replacement, he could've done that at any time, it's freakin Wednesday. B) He never called, so I call him, to which he stated ""I'm at another job, I couldn't get the piece, we'll overnight it and I'll come back tomorrow."" Awesome, thanks dude. I have a job too and sat on my ass for an hour while you decided not to call me back.
Thursday: I call them asking for an update. ""The shipment won't be here until tomorrow"". Apparently ""overnight shipping"" doesn't define which night it will be shipped over.
Friday: I call them asking for an update. ""The part is in, and we'll be there in 20 minutes"". I've heard this before, so I left 40 minutes later, what a smart move that was because I only had to wait 5 minutes. The same plumber comes into my apartment for a 3rd time, he knew his way around, almost as though we were friends. He installs the new igniter, and we get everything running again. On to the billing.

Labor = $120/hr, for this top notch service
They billed me 3 hours, 1.5 for diagnosis. 1.5 for installing the part. Probably threw on another 30 minutes when this guy was eating a PBJ in the truck.
They billed me for PLASTIC GLOVES and TAPE. Is that a joke? No it wasn't a joke, it was $2.00. Apparently ""operating expenses"" never occurred to these people.
They billed me for the part, obviously. ""But don't worry, we didn't bill you for the one I broke"". Yeah, no shit.

We left off with the nice quote of, ""I won't leave your apartment until you pay me. If you don't I will go and remove the igniter."" Nothing ends a quality professional experience like a threat.

Do yourself a favor and find another plumber.

Peter N.

I had a warranty issue with a State Select water heater. Ray Flanagan is listed as a warranty service provider. Initially they came out and said the unit needed new gas valve and thermocouple. Made me call the manufacturer to order parts because they did not want to be involved and they complained to me that they don't get fully paid by the manufacturer for their time. Really? Then get off the list of service providers. That's not the end user's issue. Anyway, they replaced the parts that i got for them and the water heater pilot is still going out like before. i call them and they say they don't want to be involved anymore. Now they are making up a story that it is the fault of the original installer. Really? Why didn't you say that in the first place. I'll tell you why, because they don't care. i called manufacturer and they apologized for my having to deal with this type of attitude and to try someone else on the list. After reading some of the other reviews i see there is a common theme with Ray Flanagan of helping themselves, but not other people if things get too tough to figure out. Don't use Ray Flanagan because you might end up with a bigger problem than you bargained for and then have to get another company to actually solve the problem for you. Hope this helps somebody find a plumber who actually wants to help the customer.

Lynn G.

We did a whole house renovation two years ago, and our builder used ""his guy"" for all new plumbing throughout as well as all fixture installations. We have had to have Ray Flanagan out on 2 separate occasions in the last year to repair the other guy's work. They have always been very friendly, quickly repaired the issues and are very honest and affordable. I wish we had hired them to do the whole project from the start. Highly recommend their services!

Diana T.

To anyone who has ANY plumbing issues, you have to call this company. I had a couple of lead pipes that leaked in my kitchen ceiling (I thought all the lead was gone), and I called them to help asap. They answered the phone immediately on my first call, listened, and scheduled me asap. They showed up ON TIME. They were so nice, professional, and knew more than any plumber I've ever had. The best thing was that they recommended how they could help at minimal cost as opposed to trying to inflate the price. I then hired them back for another job, and once again, perfect. This company operates at the highest level of integrity. You will not go wrong by hiring them.

Jaci C.

I've used Ray Flanagan for 20 years, and have found them honest and competent. For one job, my renovation contractor used a less expensive outfit, but although their work was good, they were a small shop and never were there to answer the phone. When you need a plumber, you NEED them to take your call! So I've been back with Flanagans for 5 years now and they are always reachable and reliable. I think that the negative ratings due to late or schedule changes are due to unreasonable expectations about what it takes to do a plumbing job -- they work at the previous job until it's fixed and can't call that in advance over the phone, but they do notify you. Get real.

Matt F.

We've used Flanagan at a number of properties and always have a good experience. Staff is responsive and work is quality. Highly recommended.

Jeff W.

Based on my experience with Flanagan, I would never recommend using them. Ray Flanagan was hired to perform a simple toilet repair and after three trips to my home the toilet was still not fixed properly. Flanagan had the audacity to materially overcharge charge me for a repair that they never made. I refused to pay Flanagan and their attorney threatened to take me to small claims court. I called another plumber to fix the toilet and the issue was resolved in 30 minutes and I paid them in full upon receipt of the bill.

Adam H.

Well, I should have looked at the reviews first (other than the suspicious 5 star). I hired this company to fix a small leak that was dripping into my dining room. They came and were polite and courteous, and they didn't charge too much. Unfortunately the leak continued. When I called them again they agreed to return and correct their mistake, but the plumber that showed up then invented the clearly spurious excuse that in fact this was a new leak, although it was in the exact same place, and I was charged once again (now their price didn't appear so reasonable). I can only hope the leak is fixed now, but I doubt it, and I will probably have to pay another plumber a third time to have this small leak fixed.

Matt B.

Very professional and responsive company... I would highly recommend them to anyone in need of a plumber. Used them a few times and they have always took good care of us. Once was an emergency on a Sunday morning.