Winters Home Services

Branden K.

Winters may do great work... but I'll never know. Their estimate was completely outrageous and their upselling practices sketchy, to say the least. Don't be suckered in by their mailings and coupons.

Our water heater broke over the weekend. We went to Home Depot and purchased a new one, and we called Winters simply to install it. We did some Internet research beforehand and expected to be charged around $500-$600.

Winters came by to do their estimate on Monday. The plumber filled out an Option Sheet that started with a ""Premium PLUS Option"" priced at $3,500. Holy sticker shock, Batman! That included replacing additional valves, adding a flood protection system, and including a 5 year maintenance contract.

There were 6 options, and the final ""Band Aid Option"" (installation only) was still $1,400. I told them I couldn't authorize the work. To his credit, the plumber was very polite and did not charge me for the estimate.

The next day, I had Prospect Hill Plumbing come out. They quoted me $550 over the phone, finished the job in an hour, and charged me exactly what they promised.

I feel that Winters takes advantage of people who are in tight spots (when else do you call a plumber?) and have no idea what a job will cost. I certainly wouldn't call them again.

Michael S.

I have been a customer of Winters for many years, since they acquired a plumbing company I used many years ago. Recently I called them to fix a leaking toilet seal, a 1 hour repair with no parts involved. They charged my wife over $1000 for the repair, about 4x the price that other plumbers I called later would have charged. When I asked them to explain the price, they told me their prices are fixed and that my wife agreed to it (true, though she did not realize it was such a simple repair -- they took advantage of her). They refused to do anything to address the issue, despite the fact that I'd been a customer for many years. If they treat long time customers this way, I can only imagine how they treat new ones. Stay away!

Derek G.

This company had their Better Business Bureau accreditation revoked. Look it up for yourself.

I will never do business with them. I called them to get a quote to replace my furnace. They came the following day which I was happy with. I told them that my wife would meet them at my house since I work far away. When the technician arrived he walked around for a bit and asked where I was. After explaining that I was at work he said that he should probably come back when I would be here. My wife said that she could answer any questions that he has. He was reluctant. He left without giving an estimate and told my wife that he would email me. Four days later and no email! So I called the company asking for my estimate. Later that day I got an email from the technician. It was such a weird email, there was no estimate included, just a bunch of stuff about what great service he claims that Winters provides and wanted to know what they could do to get my business. Funny, because if his service was so great then why did I have to call them a second time. I told him he could start with a quote. One that provides the best price for the service. To expedite the process I included the 3 quotes that I had already been given by companies in the area. I asked him to please give me a quote and to give me some feedback on his offer. He replied that he couldn't compete with the lowest offer and I never got my quote.

Are you kidding me? I didn't say I would only go with the lowest quote. Furthermore we took time out of our day to get a quote, but this guy wouldn't give us one. I think he only wanted to wait for me to show up so he could see what kind of car I drove or something so he could determine how much we could afford.

Additionally, they saw this review on Yelp and contacted me right away asking me to take it down. It took them less time to respond to this review than it took them to deal with my furnace quote.


Don't waste your time with these people.

Jess C.

When our pipes froze, we were able to talk to a person right away. They told us someone would be there in 2-3 hours, but we got a call half an hour later that a guy was on his way. The plumber was very careful about our apartment - he put booties over his boots before coming inside so he wouldn't track dirt inside. He had a printed quote book for all ther services, so we knew he was charging us their standard rate. The pipe thawing machine took less than an hour. Fortunately, there were no burst pipes, though the plumber had organized things ahead of time so he could shut off the water quickly if that proved to be the case. Overall, very quick and competent. He even gave us a quote on the way out for switching our kitchen faucet, saying it would be better for us to buy the fixture and have them install it because of the campany's prices for faucets.
The cost for a little over an hour of work was steeper than we had been hoping. A little research shows that it's half the cost of the machine he used. However, the peace of mind was worth it.
Several people have complained about the service plan. We have Winters service our furnace and water heater every fall. We have found that with the 15% discount of the service plan, getting a service plan for 6 months and then canceling costs the same as not getting it at all, with the added benefits.

Leila B.

Zane saved us money!

When Lowes came to install our new washing machine, we were told we needed a plumber to replace our valve because water was coming out from the hose. So we called 3 plumbing companies. One gave us a variable quote, another gave us fixed cost of $400, while Winters Co sent Zane and Jeff to look into the valve prior to providing us a quote. Zane and Jeff were polite and prompt. Zane quickly noted that there was nothing wrong with the valve and that the water that came out of the hose was just residual water. Winters Co charges $49 dispatch fee which was waived in our case since we were new customers. We would not have allowed Winters Co to come to our house have they not waived the fee. But I would not mind paying for it next time so long as they send competent and honest Zane.

I would have given Winters 5 star but i noted that their quote was much higher than the other plumbing co.

Lisa A.

Rip off! Don't use this company. We called them to fix a plugged toilet and they would not tell us the price for coming out. They told me there is no charge for the visit, and the plumber would give us an estimate when he got there. When he arrived, he put an auger down the toilet, and unplugged it right away. He did not give an estimate before doing the work, and instead told us after we owed $700! $700 for a 15 minute visit. That is outrageous. Do not use this company.

Mike K.

RIP OFF!!
I wish I read these reviews FIRST! Do NOT use this company. Don't use any service that won't quote a price first. A tech came over for simple maintenance of my heat pump. Nothing was wrong with it, just a cleaning. They charged $250! I asked for some help with the charge and the Operations manager never called me back. They happily cashed my check though. Please save your money. Call someone else. Trust me.
Mike

Kim D.

I would have given 5 stars, but we had some bumps in the road. I can say that Winter's is friendly, professional and willing/wanting to help. I have used them several times and I really like them. As I said, we had some bumps, and they righted their wrongs immediately!

Jan P.

We've been Winters customers and fans since they installed our new gas furnace and water heater three years ago. The furnace was installed in record time and is a fabulous improvement...as is the new toilet we ordered soon after. Their service couldn't be better. Every time we have a plumbing issue (large or small), they respond immediately and thoroughly. I opted for the monthly service plan and am delighted I did. It's definitely the way to go.

Tim M.

So, I called Winters to come and sort out a problem with our boiler - there was a build-up of Carbon Monoxide in the vent. They couldn't come during the day, but could come that night, but would charge a $125 emergency call out fee, before doing any work. The guy came, took a 2 minute look at our boiler and then told us it would cost $675 to fix the problem, but we actually needed a new boiler and they could install it for $13,000! That didn't seem right, so I asked for a written quote with a full scope of work, which the guy promised to email over to me the next day. The quote never arrived, and I got someone else to do the work and it only cost $125. The guy who did the work also said there was nothing wrong with the boiler and probably has another 15 years of life in it. So, I will never call Winters again.