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Renee, I am sorry you still feel this way about your experience. I’m surprised as this is counter to your husband’s feedback during our most recent visit. During our standard happy check call after the technician leaves, he stated “it was great, he does a great job.” And in response to the question “was he polite and professional inside your home?”, he reiterated, “he’s great.”

During our original visit on 5/20/16 to discuss water heater replacements, our technician and your husband discussed several options to replace your single 40 gallon water heater with 1. One 75 gallon water heater 2. One 55 gallon high efficiency water heater, or 3. Installing two water heaters where you currently had one. Based on that discussion, your husband agreed to go forward with a 55 gallon high efficiency water heater. Before work began, he signed agreeing to the work with the 55 gallon high efficiency water heater listed on the invoice. At the conclusion of the service, he signed again indicating he was satisfied with the work, and with the 55 gallon high efficiency water heater still listed on the invoice additional notes were added stating, “installed Bradford White Higher Performance 55 gallon serial xxxxxxxx water heater”. During the happy check call after that service, the feedback we got was “He’s awesome!”

We received a call on 5/23/16 indicating that you were unsatisfied with the water heater agreed to. During discussion with management we agreed to do one of two things 1. come back, at NO CHARGE, and replace the water heater installed with one 75 gallon water heater or 2. come back and install two 40 gallon water heaters for an additional cost of $800 due to additional work necessary to convert the system to accommodate two water heaters. Your husband chose option 2.

We returned on 5/24/16 to make the agreed upon adjustment to your water heater setup. Upon further discussion with your husband, it was discussed that there are two options for installing duel water heaters. The way that was agreed to for the additional $800 was installation “in series”, meaning that the water is pulled from one tank to the house, with the second tank refilling the 1st tank as water is used. With this option, if one tank goes down the whole system must be turned off as there is only one point to turn off the water supply. The other option that was discussed with the technician on-site was a “parallel” installation, meaning that the water is supplied to each water heater by its own source (and thus each having its own shutoff) and hot water is pulled simultaneously from both water heaters (again each with their own shutoff). With this option, you get the flexibility of isolating one water heater should you have issues (or not want to heat both), so you still have a supply of hot water from the other. The technician discussed the benefits of each, and explained that the “parallel” option required additional work to properly setup and would require additional cost above the $800 previously discussed. He agreed to go with the more expensive option based on your needs and his opinion of the options presented and signed the invoice stating “parallel system including isolation shutoff valves” for the additional cost required for this setup vs. the in series option discussed with management. In total, the installation of these water heaters has taken approximately 13 hours (6 hours on the first visit, 7 hours on the second)

We have tried repeatedly to present options that are both transparent and in writing that have been agreed to before work began. During follow-up calls after each service it was communicated to us that everything was done satisfactorily and no concerns were raised (either on service or price). We feel that we have presented alternatives and solutions that have not been accepted (returning to install a 75 gallon water heater at no charge, or plumbing the two tank system in series rather than parallel to avoid the additional cost). It is only after alternative choices are made and agreed upon that concerns are raised. Again, I am sorry that you feel this way about your experience and wished it had been different. As we have now installed 3 different water heaters at agreed upon terms I’m not sure there is more that we can do. We wish you the best of luck, and while parts and labor warranty will stay in effect for the installation as stated on the invoice, we hope that you are able to find another plumber in the future that better meets your needs.

Done Plumbing commented on 05/25/2016