Plumbing Ethics In Denver, CO
There’s a lot of competition in the plumbing industry. Each plumbing company in Denver wants to make revenue, expand and support their staff. Unfortunately, instead of earning trust with customers and growing an authentic presence, some companies choose to use tactics that are not in the best interest of the customer.
Garvin’s Plumbing & Sewer has been serving the Denver area for over 80 years — so we know a thing or two about these unethical practices. We intentionally choose not to use them because we value transparency and honesty with our customers. Let’s take a look at some of the most common practices that homeowners should be aware of from unethical plumbing companies.
Loss Leaders
Loss leaders are products or services that are advertised at a low price in order to get technicians in your door and sell you on services you don’t need. By incentivizing the price in the beginning, they can upsell you once they’re in your home, often costing homeowners hundreds of extra dollars.
When we tell customers that the $89 drain cleaning price they hear on the radio from a competitor isn’t real, they balk. They think Garvin’s Plumbing is taking advantage of them when we quote an upfront price that is double those low prices they hear on the radio.
The difference is we’re quoting for the entire service. We don’t arrive to your home and make that base price skyrocket for no reason. We advertise the exact price that will cover our costs – and no more.
Big Box Plumbing Companies
Customers often call to tell us that they decided to work with a Big Box Plumbing Company because they heard their ad for low-priced drain cleaning and the guarantee that it would be free if they couldn’t solve the problem.
Unfortunately, once the Big Box Plumbing company arrived, they told the customer they couldn’t clean the line because it was broken. They said they would need to jackhammer the floor and replace the line.
The customer called Garvin’s in a panic for a second opinion. We went out and cleaned the line and charged our normal price.
We have seen other companies replace lines rather than clean them because they either don’t have the skill, or it is their model to generate more profit. We don’t believe in that.
Chain Drain Cleaning Companies
Once, a customer called Garvin’s Plumbing to tell us that a competitor was called out when their line backed up a second time after Garvin’s Plumbing already performed a drain cleaning. The Chain Company that the customer called to re-do the work charged over $300, citing it was an emergency fix.
Sometimes, in the course of cleaning a drain, the clog could be loosened and/or pushed down. This releases the clog but it doesn’t completely get washed away. This could then cause another backup, which is why, unless there is a broken or abused line, we have a guarantee. We will return, for no extra cost, to clean the line again if our first attempt did not solve the problem. Our “go back” rate is under 2% company-wide, so we take these cases seriously.
This was $300 that didn’t need to be spent, if the customer had called us. The competitor also charged double Garvin’s Plumbing’s normal cost because they called it an “emergency”. We have seen other companies use tricky words like “emergency surcharge” to boost the price of a job, and we don’t believe in that.
One Truck Chuck
We had a customer call us once because their plumber told them they needed to have the sewer line repaired. He told them to use a specific restoration company to clean up the sewage and a specific sewer repair company to do the repair.
After talking to the customer and asking about the referred companies, it was clear to us that One Truck Chuck was getting kick-backs for referring both. This was the way that Chuck could make extra money and do less work, whether or not it was needed.
We’ve seen referring companies pay out over $1000 per lead to plumbers for sending them work. We don’t do this because we don’t believe it’s ethical. If you aren’t sure about a quote or are quoted a very large repair, always get a second opinion.
Transparent Plumbing Services In The Denver, CO Area
Through the years, Garvin’s has prioritized being priced fairly and quoting upfront. We do this because it’s the right thing to do to ensure our customers have all the information they need.
For over 84 years, our customers have been our priority. In fact, over 70% of our customers are repeat customers and referrals.
If you’re looking for a fair price for drain cleaning and ethical plumbing practices, contact Garvin’s Plumbing and Sewer and find out why we are one of Denver’s trusted plumbing companies. We’d love to earn your trust and business, and we want to be your go-to plumber.