First the pros: polite and courteous people on the phone. Good communication and follow up about my appointment.

Now the cons: when I called and described my problem, I asked the receptionist if she could give me a ball park figure. She said she couldn't (even though their ad offers phone estimates), but was told the technician would answer all my questions and give me a quote (AFTER paying $45 for the service call). My plumbing problem was a small pinhole leak in my copper water line. Something I ended up fixing myself (for $25 in parts) in less than an hour. I was quoted a rate of $189 for the first hour and $79 for each hour after that. With the $45 diagnostic fee (which wouldn't be included in the $189 fee) and materials (one 6' copper pipe), the total quoted was $284! He said he would waive the additional $75, working in a crawl space fee, which was nice, but my crawl space is carpeted and very well lit. The only way I could have made it more easy for him to work on the pipe was to bring in a lazy boy for him to sit on.

When I balked at the cost, he started to negotiate with me and said he would call his boss to see what he could do. (So I guess the $289 is the sucker price.) I told him I felt the job shouldn't cost more than $150. He said he couldn't do it for that, so I paid him the $45 and repaired the pipe myself.