Able & Willing Plumbing & Sewer in Manteno, IL

Response from the owner

First off, the video does a pretty good job of telling the story without much help from either of us. It shows you approaching our van already agitated and behaving aggressively toward our technicians. It was early in the morning, you appeared to be intoxicated, and somehow two technicians simply showing up at the wrong address became an event worthy of this level of outrage. As for the claims you’ve made about our company, Able & Willing Plumbing is an Illinois-licensed plumbing contractor and has been serving this area since 1950. That’s an easily verifiable fact. I’m not sure whether your statements come from dishonesty, confusion, or simply a habit of speaking confidently about things you haven’t bothered to verify, but none of those possibilities reflect particularly well on you. Our technicians told me they called you a moron during the confrontation. Ordinarily, I’d expect our employees to choose their words more carefully. Having now seen your behavior and read the things you’ve claimed publicly, however, I’m having a difficult time arguing that their description was inaccurate. You weren’t dealing with scammers, criminals, or unlicensed contractors. You were dealing with two working men who made the remarkably sinister mistake of pulling up to the wrong address. A reasonable adult would have said, “You’ve got the wrong house,” and gone about his morning. You chose to turn it into a confrontation and then apparently decided the truth needed a little assistance afterward. Fortunately, our reputation doesn’t depend on the imagination of an angry stranger at 20227 Stoney Island Avenue in Chicago Heights, IL. We’ve been licensed, established, and serving this community for more than 75 years. Your behavior is on video, our credentials are public record, and people are perfectly capable of deciding for themselves who appears credible here.

Response from the owner

We normally do not respond publicly to customer disputes, but because this review contains numerous false and misleading statements, we feel compelled to. First, the work performed was not simply a “patch.” We excavated and repaired the buried water service and hydro-jetted the main sewer. The $3,500 price was well below our normal rate for this type of excavation because we understood your financial situation and chose to help. In fact, payment came through an assistance program because you had explained you could not afford the repair. Your home was in an extremely distressed condition before we ever arrived. The basement contained significant sewage contamination, extensive mold (which was evident it had been a severe problem for months if not years) and multiple deteriorated plumbing systems. The galvanized water service was at the end of its service life, and there were numerous pre-existing issues unrelated to the repair we performed. The property was dangerous in that state and was not suitable for occupancy. When another plumbing failure occurred weeks later, our technicians returned, despite having already completed the contracted repair on a failing system. After diagnosing, re-excavating and repairing the leak again (on a very old and deteriorated galvanized water service line) we explained that additional failures elsewhere in the home’s aging plumbing system would require further work. Unfortunately, we cannot rebuild an entire plumbing system for the price of a single heavily discounted repair. We did not charge for the second repair. Your statements regarding “illegal repairs” and electrical grounding are simply not accurate. We stand behind our workmanship. We have detailed documentation of the condition of the property before, during, and after our work. If legal counsel has been retained, we welcome the opportunity to present that documentation through the appropriate channels rather than debating misinformation on Google. We genuinely tried to help you by discounting a difficult job because we believed you needed assistance. It’s unfortunate that our efforts have been repaid with a review that misrepresents both the work performed and the condition of the property.

Response from the owner

Thank you so much Martin! It was a pleasure working with you. We appreciate your kind review!

Response from the owner

Robert, we’re confused by this review. You chose not to hire us, yet you’re reviewing our company as though we performed work. Our estimate reflected the proper repair after inspecting your drain. You’re absolutely entitled to decline it, just as we’re entitled to refuse repairs we know are inadequate or likely to fail. We don’t determine pricing on what someone hopes to spend. Whether a price fits your budget is one thing; whether it’s an accurate estimate for the work required is another. We appreciate the compliment to our technician and wish you success with your repair.