alternative to john hlad?
he comes so highly recommended on this site, but i’ve had nothing but bad experiences with him. he was scheduled to come to our home inspection walkthrough, and never showed. when we called-the annoying lady on the phone said “i’ll have him call you and we never heard back. what gives? i need a GOOD…
he comes so highly recommended on this site, but i’ve had nothing but bad experiences with him. he was scheduled to come to our home inspection walkthrough, and never showed. when we called-the annoying lady on the phone said “i’ll have him call you and we never heard back. what gives? i need a GOOD plumber, please.
aqnother John Hlad fan here. We’ve used him for 10+ years and never had a problem
John Hlad came to my house to do a basic inspection (flushing toilets, running faucets, checking seals, etc.). When he left, I went back down to the garden floor and forgot all about him… until the following morning when I woke up to what I thought was rain but was actually a brand new (first time) leak from my forth floor toilet that ran down three stories causing serious plaster damage and floor and pocket door warping (still can’t get those doors to open). He came back that morning after a panicked phone call and shut the water off, recommended that we buy a new toilet through him (which we ended up buying online and having another company install) and said to take pictures and send them to my insurance company. He said that the same thing happened in his own home recently and that insurance would take care of it as it had for him. This was two days after I moved in and had already had an inspector come in and give the plumbing, etc. a clean bill of health. I don’t know to this day if it’s something that Hlad did or if it was just coincidence but the whole experience left a funny taste in my mouth. Since then, we are Gateway, all the way.
I’m a John Hlad supporter..just used him as recent last week, and he came through 100%. In fact, I’d go as far as saying John is terrific with time mgmt..in all my interaction with him, he’s arrived on time if not early, and stayed in contact with me via cell phone. People do have bad days, and when rare I don’t think their names should be bashed on a blog. my .02
PS I should also say though that I have used John Hlad and think he is a very good guy, though he doesn’t seem to use a cell phone.
That’s strange — I have used Hlad for at least five years and he’s always been completely reliable and always returned my phone calls. I found him after working with two very unreliable plumbers before him. I had that problem with Martin Plumbing, actually — didn’t show up for a scheduled appointment and couldn’t be reached by phone.
there is nothing worse than people who don’t show up or call you back. when i was taking bids for my kitchen and bath renovation, and trying to decide who to go with, one of guys i eventually went with scored higher b/c he always showed up when he said he would. it sounds simple, but it’s not.
You are right. I have spent way to much time foaming at the mouth, spending my scant disposible free time waiting for people who don’t manage time well and don’t communicate. What can you do but not use the offenders again and report them on this forum.
This is something I never understand with plumbers, electricians, contractors, and the like. Even if they are the most wonderful and popular folks out there, why can’t they have the common courtesy to simply call you and tell you they got hung up on another job and won’t be showing up. I can understand that — what I can’t understand it simply not showing up, when someone is waiting for you all day, and thinking you don’t even have to call them to let them know.
People on this board always say “that’s just the way it is”, but it’s not the way anyone I know who runs a business actually behaves. So we enable this kind of behavior when we put up with it. It takes one minute to call your office person and ask them to call the next client to tell them you can’t show up. And acting in such a manner breeds so much good will. Please, people, just practice common courtesy and call if you can’t show up, or plan to be 2, 3 or 7 hours late.