Genteel Plumbers

We have used Genteel Plumbers more than once and they have been absolutely stellar! They are now our go-to plumber.

tldr; Weirdly hostile employee interaction, and accusations of extortion toward a customer when they were asked to provide cost of service explanation. Company pays for 5 star reviews. I'm the same Molly Rose who wrote the review 2 days ago about being charged $3114 to replace a p-trap and disposal and do a standard drain snake. I wanted to update my prior review but couldn't figure out how on this device so I'll post again here. I'll leave a two star review this time because the work was good but the interaction with the company was really bad. Pros: the technician on site was very nice and experienced, the problem was fixed, and I did 'OK' the job after being quoted the price, because otherwise my family would not have a working kitchen sink that had already been broken for two months, which is hard to do in a house with little kids...but the price hurt. And the manager did reach out to me on email to offer a full refund after I left a 1 star review, very promptly and politely, at first... Cons: I found out after the fact through multiple credible 2nd opinions that I had been overcharged for the work. The customer service interaction also went downhill very quickly. After the manager initially offered a full refund, which I did not accept, I asked them to please provide a detailed invoice, and I gave them my explanation of what I thought the cost adjustment should be based on market rates. I did not think a full refund was warranted, though it was very nice of them to offer. I just wanted an adjustment to fair pricing and more clarity on their charges, and left the refund amount to their discretion. Manager declined to provide detailed invoice of parts and labor, referencing their "flat rate policy." He also asked me twice to reconsider my 1 star review, and even offered a $250 credit. In an odd turn of the tables, he then said that I was trying to extort the company by leaving bad reviews in exchange for refunds...Taking down a review is like, a normal thing to do after a company fixes an issue for you. Really disappointed overall. Good plumbing work I guess, nice technicians, but negative customer service. Won't be returning. Also they aren't listed on BBB, which should've been a red flag. Receipts attached. Yes this is really petty, but they made it weird, so I'm going to make it petty, and hope this review helps someone else.

Overpriced and super annoying service - keep calling and sending spam offers.

My 80 + year old dad needed a new water heater. Installation area has super Easy access, No major replacement of plumbing lines. The water heater he had installed is listed at $900 or less several places online. Genteel came out, drained old heater and installed new heater. Took them 2-3 hours. The tech capped off the "recirculating" line which makes hot water get to the bathroom faster. The charge was $4920 - when my dad told him the water took 3+ minutes to get hot in the upper bathroom (it took 20 seconds before the repair) the tech charged him $520 to reinstall the recirculating pipe (less than 5 ft of copper and a few press connections (no solder) I have had several water heater replacements in the last few years (I'm a realtor) that were all similar and only cost $2000-$3000 - I get the feeling that Genteel took advantage of an older client. I emailed them to ask their hourly rate and they never responded. $1000 per hour seems pretty opportunistic. Regardless of whether they quoted this extremely high price once they were on site and it was accepted before the work was done- I suggest getting multiple bids and not from Genteel.

They charged me $3,114.00 to replace a garbage disposal, snake the pipe, and replace a p-trap. The technician was maybe here an hour. This cost is over three times what I expected it to cost based on my research. Their policy says they will not issue itemized bills, and prices are “tailored to each customer” which to me, feels like predatory charging based on whims and vibes instead of market costs. They also sent an email after the job saying that if I left them a 5 star review online I’d get $60 refunded to me… if they can afford to pay every customer $60 for a 5 star review, they can afford to not price gauge.