We had some serious water damage in our kitchen, which wrecked all the parquet flooring and subfloor (yuck - this may have been a blessing in disguise, as my wife and I have never liked that parquet in the kitchen). We suspected it was the dishwasher leaking, but wanted a professional plumber to inspect, evaluate and possibly confirm our suspicions.
I contacted Water Works due to its stellar reputation on HomeStars. I was not disappointed in the outcome. From initial contact Tuesday, I received a call back within 20 minutes, scheduling an appointment the following day (Wednesday). The person on the phone explained that there would be a service charge for the visit, and we understood that. She was friendly, was not in a rush, and answered all my questions. We appreciated the fast turnaround and scheduling, as we had new flooring that was slated to be installed on the Friday. The Water Works staff understood our time constraints and were easily able to accomodate our urgent request.<p>
What impressed me the following day was not only the fact that the plumber, Michael, showed up on time, but previous to him
showing up, Water Works emailed a photo of him. This to me shows courtesy and also a personal touch. It also is a great
security feature to ensure that you know what the person looks like, who will be showing up. True to form, when Michael arrived, he looked exactly like the photo, complete with company uniform and name tag (which also exudes a professionalism that is missing from many service folks, nowadays.
When Michael showed up, my wife and I took a liking to him right away. He was pleasant, smiling, affable, and genuinely happy to see us. When he came in, he put on slippers to not mar our floors (very thoughtful) and I led him to the kitchen and re-explained the whole scenario to him. He listened attentively and did not interrupt my recounting of the whole dilemma. He then had me turn on the dishwasher and he looked for leaks. As I explained that the leaking was intermittent, he may not find anything. He did not detect any leaks. He took a close look under our sink and piping and did not detect any leaks either, and suggested that I get a new dishwasher, and he even recommended certain brands based on his experience. One thing that I liked about Michael was that even though the culprit appeared to be the dishwasher, he wasn't out to try to hose me on other repairs to pad his time during the visit. He simply said that I should get a new dishwasher and confirmed that the leakage was not caused by anything else. He also answered a number of questions from my wife.
Seeing as he wasn't out to money grab me like a car dealer repair shop, I really felt I could trust him to perform a quick inspection and evaluation of the system. I did mention to him that the water supply line on the dishwasher drips a bit when I first open it and he looked at it and said that wasn't great, and not to mention, the shut off valve is installed incorrectly. No guilt, no fear, just stating a fact. I asked if he would be willing to fix it. He took out his price book and pointed out the cost
to do a replacement. It was a bit higher than I had imagined, but I sensed that he would do it right and so I okayed it. I
then asked him to look at the PVC piping that I installed as well years ago, as the new faucet I just replaced. I mentioned the J trap cap on the drain pipes tends to drip at times and I have to re-tighten it. He said that that technology is old and that they don't install those anymore for that exact reason. As a
result, I asked if he can maybe change it out as well. He said he can and explained what he can do. No pressure, no guilt, just the facts. He showed me his price book and while again it was more than what I had expected, I was comfortable enough with Michael to OK the job.
Michael performed both repairs wonderfully and I am very happy with the work. My wife mentioned a cartridge for outside
water supply and Michael was able to not only look at it, but also replaced it free of charge. Overall I am very happy
with the work. I accepted the fact that I was willing to pay for the job to be done right. I could have had it done cheaper elsewhere but who knows what the quality would have been like (the old adage applies - you get what you pay for). With Michael and WaterWorks, I was able to watch the
meticulous and exacting detail he puts into the work and most of the time I sat there asking him questions while he was
working and he was happy to oblige. Some repairmen (or repairwomen) would be agitated by me sitting there and talking with them and asking a plethora of questions. Michael didn't mind at all, and I realized the breadth of knowledge he had and his experience really showed by his knowledge of plumbing, but also in things like preventative maintenance and other things I should look at. He also has a great sense of humour which made the whole service call very pleasant and personable. Again, no pressure and no guilt (unlike getting your car serviced at the car dealership). Honestly, I could not have asked for a better plumber, a friendlier person, and most importantly, a competent individual. When he was done, cleaned up the area and I was so impressed, I signed up for the home protection plan.
I then asked him what job he has next and he said he has no idea, since his company's philosophy is not to line up jobs for the plumbers in an assembly line fashion. Michael told him his company's philosophy is to get the job done right, without any time constraints, so he does not find out his next job until he completes the current one. Only his office knows what job is next; he does not need to know, so that he can focus on the existing job.
That definitely re-iterated to me that we picked not only the right plumber, but we would wholeheartedly recommend Michael
and Water Works to anyone who needs a plumbing job done right. They will not rush through your job. They will listen to your concerns and most importantly, they will not pressure you to buy anything. My wife and I can now breathe easier that our existing water leak problems are resolved, but more importantly, we were able to mitigate very likely future problems from occurring through having Michael replace the dishwasher shut off value and the drain piping. I have no doubts whatsoever that I will be calling Water Works again should another plumbing problem arise, and I highly recommend their professional and competent service for all of your plumbling needs as well. These guys are truly the best!
