What is it With Plumbers?

Plumbers are the most unprofessional professionals I know. They weasel around and are sleazy. Is this genetic, do they drink a different kind of water than the rest of us? (toilet water), or do they go to school to learn this?

I can never nail a plumber down as to the time I can meet him on the job or have him do something in my home. You can sit and wait all day for these guys. They tell you they are jamming, but somehow they don't know what a clock or a calendar looks like. I have waited at my house 4 to 6 hours for a guy who was supposed to be there in 20 minutes. I don't believe for a minute that he was finishing the last job. A quick check at Starbucks might very well verify that. They somehow must think that I should take the entire day off from work so they can be in my house for 30 minutes and rape my billfold. 

It is no different having a plumber work out on any of my jobs. They somehow have a way of making me look incompetent or look like an idiot. Like the plumber I have working for me today. I have a customer who needs a vanity installed. I ask the plumber when he can do the work. His reply is that he doesn't know. I said, my client needs to know so he can come home from work and plan on it. The plumber says, he can do it Tuesday or Wednesday. So I said, so is it Tuesday or Wednesday because my client can't stay home from work both days. So, the plumber said, Wednesday. I said, OK, what time can he expect you. He said, 9:30 AM. So I called my client and told him the time of the appointment. An hour later the plumber calls and asks if he can to the work next week. I said, no, the client has company coming. The plumber asked, how about Saturday? I said, no, the client has company coming. The plumber asked, how about 11:00 AM instead of 9:30 AM? I said, you have a way of making me look like a dumb ass. I told him that I had gotten off the phone a few minutes earlier telling him 9:30AM, now I need to call him and change it already? So, now, this morning I have to be sleazy and change the appointment. I am betting the the plumber calls and cancels.

So the plumber called and asked for directions. I told him it is in Niwot. He said, Where is Niwot? So I tried to tell him, but I could tell it wasn't sinking in. So I started to give him directions. He said, I'll have to call you later when I'm not driving. He called me twice more but was always doing something where he couldn't stop and take notes. I finally got him to write down the address and told him to use Mapquest. 

Nailing these guys down on price is also impossible. Their bid doesn't mean anything. You can show them the project and detail the scope of the work. They come up with a price, insist on a down payment, then start screwing you. The price never stays the same. It's always, well I had to do this and I had to do that. And, I didn't realize this and I didn't realize that. 

We had a major plumbing company fix a leaky faucet in our kitchen. The plumber got there and told me that the price was $295.00 to overhaul the faucet. I told him that we wouldn't pay that much. He said that he would go to his truck and get another book. He said, that the other book said he could do it for $225.00. I told him I wouldn't pay over $150.  He said, ok, he'd do it for that. 

A week later I had another plumber from the same company look at my furnace. I told him about this. He said, "We don't have 2 price books."  This is the same major plumbing company that installed our furnace, and it didn't pass inspection, and then they wouldn't answer my phone calls.

I rest my case on plumbers. But if this guy doesn't show up today, you will hear more.