James A. Wheat and Sons Inc.

We have been customers of Wheat for more than 20 years. We feel that the service has been pricey, but generally satisfactory, and we have stuck with them. However, we found a recent experience with Wheat during a plumbing emergency very unsatisfactory. The problem was a major water leak from an upstairs bathroom. Water from behind the shower wall was coming through the kitchen ceiling, through the kitchen, and on down into the basement. We called Wheat immediately and were told that a plumber would be sent as soon as possible and that we would be called back to let us know when one was on his way. Wheat did call back, but it was to tell us that they had uncovered what they showed as an unpaid $162 charge for a December 2017 service call, and that no plumber would be sent to deal with our emergency until that charge was resolved. Given the situation, we had no choice but to let them run a $162 charge on our credit card and get on with getting us some plumbing assistance. A subsequent review of our credit card records showed that the $162 charge had been paid in December. Wheat eventually agreed that the earlier payment had been made and refunded the second payment. We were amazed and disappointed that in the midst of this emergency, Wheat couldn’t see fit to provide service to us before dealing with this supposed outstanding charge. To us, this represents a serious shortcoming in the treatment of any customer, particularly one who has been with them as long as we have. A secondary issue arose during an unrelated bathroom toilet repair that the plumber addressed after completing the shower repair. His diagnosis was that we needed a toilet rebuild that would cost $430. The price seemed high, but we wanted to be finished with plumbing problems for a while and agreed. Unfortunately, during the repair the plumber dropped the toilet tank and shattered it. He was apologetic and assured us that we would not be charged for a new replacement tank. He was directed by his management to collect payment for the toilet repair, even though the work would not be completed for several days. We declined to pay in advance and were told that we would be called when the new tank was available. We were called in two days (on a Friday morning) and told that the toilet repair could be scheduled the following Monday. We pressed to have the repair done as the priority it should have been, and the work was completed that afternoon. In summary, we have no problem with the technician. He worked hard. Dropping the tank was an accident. Our problem is with a management attitude that we found totally customer unfriendly. Total plumbing costs for services mentioned above, $1,687.00. Paid-in-full.