ARS Rescue Rooter

 

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24

scott s.

Highland Village, TX

My water heater started leaking.  In the olden days, I'd have opened the Yellow Pages and let my fingers do the walking - but hey, this is the 21st century!  So I found a website that promised to get me "up to 3 companies" interested in my business.

One company responded, ARS Rescue Rooter, based in Dallas.  They called me on the phone, and we agreed on a time for them to show-up and give me a no-charge no-obligation quote.  The two hour time slot came and went.  (Bad sign #1.)  They phoned about 15 minutes after the end of the time slot to let me know that they were running late, and told me they'd be there within the next 3 hours.  Actually, they arrived only 45 minutes after that phone call, so things were looking up again.

The technician was polite and professional, and thoroughly checked all the various connections (water, gas, vent, etc.).  He explained to me that my city's building codes had changed over the years, so he'd have to upgrade the shutoff valve and install an expansion tank too.  Then came the moment of truth: "I'll go back to my truck and phone my supervisor to get a price quote."

...I'm not going to reveal the quote here, as this is a family-viewable review!

Suffice it to say, the company is extremely proud of their work, and it is priced accordingly.  After I recovered from my fainting spell, I thanked the man for his time, and sent him on his way.

30 minutes later, I was phoned by "a manager" from the company.  He wanted to know if anything was wrong with their technician, as he was "quite surprised" to hear that I had sent him away after getting a quote for the job.  I reassured him that the technician was fine, it was simply the breathtaking price that was the issue.

The manager told me that if I'd help him out by letting them do the job the next day (Tuesday) -- you see, he didn't have a lot of jobs scheduled, and he needed to keep his techs busy -- he'd sacrifice his margins to the bare minimum and cut my quote by about a third.

I thanked him, but turned him down anyway.  Went to Sears that afternoon, bada bing, bada boom, done.  The Sears-contracted installer arrived the next morning (on time) and had the job done within one hour.  Total price, almost 10% less than ARS' "revised" quote.

So is ARS any good?  I don't know.  But their business practices leave a lot to be desired in my opinion.  I can only imagine how many people have overpaid by an enormous margin, only because they didn't know the prevailing price for the job.

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12

sonewa w.

Plano, TX

We had a leak in 2 of our bathrooms. One was a leak somewhere in an upstairs bathroom. Water stains on ceiling below bathroom was the only evidence, so we did not know what was leaking. I called to ask the price for a plumber (hourly charge) and they said free estimate and no travel charges. They told us they would tell us the cost after evaluation and before repair. Downstairs bathroom problem was the supply line from toilet tank. I had called 4 plumbers and they were the only ones to call back. ARS got a plumber out within 2 hours of my call. The upstairs toilet was flushed several times, sink and tub were checked but could not find any evident leaking. He said could do diagnostics for $65. Mentioned when people take shower could be water coming through floor, there was a small hole around toilet where tile floor was not cut properly around toilet. Husband poured a little water around toilet base and heard a gurgling sound. Plumber said we just needed to re-caulk around toilet base. Plumber  said the supply line fix would be $145, we agreed since water was leaking everywhere and could not get another plumber out. The supply line fix took him 15 minutes to complete. Plumber was there for a total of about 30 minutes, which works out to about $290/hour. Part cost at hardware store I found out later is about $5.00. I gave them a 2 because they were quick to respond and the technician was pleasant. They are extremely expensive, but I guess they count on people really needing their services. If I had not needed the one toilet fixed urgently, I would have found someone more reasonable.

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