If you have ever heard of the horror stories associated with an inexperienced plumber who devastating someone’s plumbing system as opposed to repairing it, then i’m sure you know how important it is that you make sure that you hire a competent and reputable plumbing company. And while you may assume that this is common sense, most people never take the time to seek a reputable contractor before hand, and resort to utilizing the first company that they see whenever a plumbing emergency occurs and the clock starts ticking as the damages start piling. Therefore, here are 5 things you should consider when it comes to finding a plumbing company that you can put on file before a disaster occurs.
1) Licensing
One of the most basic things you need to do is to check to see if they are certified and licensed as a professional plumber. In the event that the state doesn’t require licensing, you can check to see if there has been any complaints pertaining to their level of service.
2) Experience
Another thing you need to consider is their experience. Licensing and certification only goes so far, because training is different from performing in a real life scenario. Simply said, the more experience a company has, the more likely they are to hire only competent plumbers with a proven track record of successfully completing their assigned projects.
3) References
Even though a company have have the necessary licenses and insure all the members of their staff. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they provide an excellent from of service. Most competent companies will have no problem with providing you with a few references that you can use to accurately gauge the quality of their work to determine if they might be the right fit.
4) Written Estimate
Another thing you need to check is to see if they will provide a written estimate. Each state has laws surrounding written estimates. The general rule of thumb is that they can’t charge you above a certain percentage of the price that you and the company agreed on in the written estimate. Without a written estimate, some companies can, legally, charge you double what you verbally agreed on.
5) Warranty
The last thing you want to do is to spend money on a repair job only to find out that the same problem arises again a few months down the line. What would be even worse is if you have to pay the same plumbing company to redo the repair job. Thus is the importance of ensuring that the plumbing company offers a warranty. A good warranty should state that they will successfully complete the job the first time around, or come back to redo the job, if the same problem occurs at no cost to their clients.
6) Customer Service
Another thing you need to consider is the level of customer service that the company provides as you evaluate them by asking questions pertaining to their licensing, warranty policy, references and back ground experience. Because chances are, if they have all the right stuff, but they do a poor job of responding to your requests, then they may not be the right company for the job.
John Reede is a plumbing expert and writes exclusively to inform readers of the key points to consider before hiring a Frisco plumbing company or a Keller plumber for your needs.