The Drain Surgeon

Alex R.

I found these guys through Google after accidentally clogging my kitchen sink. The operator on the line told me that the drain cleaning would be $60, and she did not in any way ask questions about the nature of the problem (was there water in the sink? did I live in a condo? Was there water coming out of the pipes below the sink?)

The plumber arrived and looked at those three issues, and immediately said the cost would not be $60, but $240. I placed a call to the 800 number again and found a very hostile reaction from the operator, who had already spoken to the plumber, who had called from his truck, while I was searching for the number. They defended themselves vociferously and pretty much accused me of naïveté for even believing their advertised price.

Both the plumber and the second person at the call center said that they couldn't have been expected to provide for every contingency over the phone. The issue is that they simply didn't say anything at all about a higher price. And they didn't ask simple, checklist style questions of me that could have indicated to the person at the call center that the repair needed was more than basic, and likely to cost more. This is such simple customer service operational management to get right, and yet they got everything wrong. Literally everything.

I was so upset that I had to ask the plumber to leave. Now I'll go find someone real and honest to solve my plumbing problems.