This was our second time using Waterworks, and most definitely, our last.
Now, in 2016, a hum started which seemed to come from the same shower fixture or the adjacent Jacuzzi tub. We called up Waterworks again owing to their HomeStars' rating. The plumber arrived and said that based on the location of where the sound seemed to emanate, he needed to make a hole in the ceiling to look at the pipes. He told us that qualified as a "plumbing diagnostic (major)" and the cost was $509.06. We were desperate and so we approved the cost. The plumber found nothing amiss, and decided the hum was coming from the Jacuzzi tub, and Waterworks does not repair Jacuzzi tubs. The plumber spent 20 minutes in total in our home, and in addition to the "diagnostic" charge, the service call charge was $39.00 for a total of $619.30 with tax.
I would not be writing a negative review except for the fact that the second company I contacted, did a fantastic job. He determined that the hum was a result of a faulty valve on our humidifier attached to the furnace and the sound traveled up the wall pipes to the upstairs bathroom, and when I told him that the shower upstairs was broken but the previous plumber from WaterWorks who had worked on it could not identify the brand, he just picked up the shower wand and said, "It's stamped 'Aquabrass.'" It did take the second plumber 5 hours to determine the cause of the hum, but he charged us only $672.35 for the whole day's work.
This suggests to me that WaterWorks is overpriced and simply capitalizes from its misleading ratings on HomeStars. I will _never_ use them or recommend them again. Initially, we didn't know that we had been overcharged off until the work was fixed by another plumber at a significantly cheaper rate.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $619.30
- Company Response
Dear David,
My name is Michael Yuffa and I am the owner of Waterworks. I am terribly sorry about this disappointment that you experienced with our service. As the owner of Waterworks, I am committed to 100% customer satisfaction and in this isolated case I failed to live up to my own standards. In order to ensure 100% customer satisfaction, we call every customer after the service appointment is completed. We called you as well and were told that all was ok. I regret that you did not report this incident to our customer service representative when she called you to follow up. Had we known about our failure to live up to your expectations we would have, as is our policy, offered you a choice of either returning to your home to do whatever it would take to resolve your problem with no additional charge or refund your money in full. I am saddened that you did not call me to give me the opportunity to resolve this situation because I surely would have.
Although you say that you will never use us or recommend us, I cannot keep your money if you did not receive the value that you expect and I would be happy to refund your payment in full.
I know that I can change your opinion of us if you give us a second chance so I would also like to offer you a second option. If you wish, in lieu of a refund of the total amount of $619.30, I will give you a credit towards future work of $1,238.60 which is double the amount of the refund.
Please contact Randa for my personal number which Randa will give you at your convenience and I will be happy to deliver the option that you choose.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Michael Yuffa