Welcome To Plumbers Santa Barbara, a site that provides you with valuable tips on how to chose a reliable plumber in the Santa Barbara area.
Your first tip: companies that can be weeded out as potential hirees right away are those that insist on sending someone out to assess your situation rather than giving you a quote over the phone. A professional, experienced plumber should be able to give you an idea of price over the phone for standard repairs and services.
Leaky FaucetUnfortunately, from the consumers point of view, it has become a common practice for plumbing and heating companies to insist on first sending a “technician” to your home to have a look-see. In most cases your technician will be a glorified salesman better versed in marketing techniques than in copper piping, pvc fittings or PEX plumbing; an employee who is better trained in the art of getting you to spring for extra plumbing repairs – the necessity for which may be dubious – than the basic plumbing techniques involved in fixing a leaky faucet or unclogging a blocked drain or clogged toilet. To put it bluntly, he is probably not a journeyman plumber by any stretch of the imagination and would be hard pressed to explain the difference between a French drain and a French fry.
Another way to assess a company’s professionalism is to check whether or not they belong to professional plumbing organizations like the ASPE (American Society of Plumbing Engineers) the PHCC (Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors Association) or the IAPMO (International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials).
Another avenue of investigation to pursue is checking whether there have been any complaints lodged against the company with the California Department of Consumer Affairs. You can also check what rating they have with the Santa Barbara Better Business Bureau, and whether there have been any complaints lodged against them. A word of warning though, I wouldn’t base the decision of whether or not to use a particular plumbing company solely on what the BBB has to say about them. Despite their official sounding name, the Better Business Bureau is not actually a government agency, but rather a private entity that earns its revenue by charging the companies that register with it an annual fee. They therefore have an apparent conflict of interest that Consumer Reports magazine, for example, does not because Consumer Reports doesn’t depend on the companies it’s rating for its income, whereas the BBB does. Some people even go so far as to say that the Better Business Bureau is a scam (click on the link to read about one small business owner’s experience with the Better Business Bureau).
For plumbing tips from an experienced, licensed plumber, check out Plumbers Santa Barbara’s articles:
Choosing Your Next Plumber – How to Pick the Right Plumber for the Job
Over the years the traditional time and material, plus travel, method of pricing plumbing service has been gradually replaced by the flat rate system…click on the link to continue reading How to Pick the Right Plumber for the Job
Do Tankless Water Heaters Save Money?
When a representative from one of the major tank-less water heater companies came down from Orange County to show me how to get rich selling their products, I was admittedly skeptical…click on the link to continue reading Do Tankless Water Heaters Save Money?
Tags: plumbers, plumbing and heating, plumbing repair, reliable plumber, Santa Barbara
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