Homebound,

Thanks for your perspective. I think you're right about my apprehensiveness about being cheated, which essentially increased by the plumber's unprofessional manners.

As to professionally done work, I can't be sure that it would have been, as I just learned from someone who recently used the same guy that he did a bad job on a sink install for them and wouldn't come back to fix it.

Drive time, professionally done work and having proper parts all mean something to me and are greatly appreciated. However in this case, a)he told me he was giving a free estimate so drive time is irrelevant, and b)there were no parts necessary according to him. I do feel grateful for his responsiveness, and had we agreed to a diagnostic fee I would have been happy to reward him for it, regardless of his attitude.

Quick response may indicate a lack of work rather than consideration for the customer.

Volunteering a free on-site estimate is at the risk of the plumber not the customer.

It costs the plumber nothing to act professional and instill confidence in the customer and it pays off big at the end of the day and in repeat sales.

If it were me I'd have stopped him at the door when he failed to introduce himself (and his helper) and act like he appreciated the opportunity to do the work you required.

On your question of gouging....regardless of a free estimate, drive time is part of the reason $88 bucks isn't an unreasonable charge (whether parts were needed or not).

Justalurker - Thanks for your comments. This is the same conclusion I'm coming to, now that I've had two hours since the plumber's departure to think about it.

Homebound - Point taken - I think I can safely say now that it was not the cost that was bothering me but everything else. In the end, I'd have done the whole thing differently - more research and recommendations on plumbers before inviting anyone to my home for an estimate.

I'm living and learning, that's for sure!

Okay, here's the deal: I would say that you were over apprehensive about being cheated. It should have been an easy fix that didn't require two trips.

That said, many service people want to be treated like professionals - and want to charge like professionals - but don't have the soft skills (and often not the hard skills) to warrant that.

Would it have been so difficult to say, "Hey, I know I said I would give you a quote on this... but it's a really small job and I'd rather not make two trips. Here's what needs to be done, here's what it will cost if I don't have to come back out."

I don't know what the exact problem was, but I don't like the sound of "pulling out a plastic washer and replacing it with caulk".

Look, I know that there are plenty of stories about customers who don't want to pay for all of the expenses that are involved in providing a good service - such as inventory, vehicles, training, etc. But the industry has a long way to go before customers get consistently well-trained and professional service techs also.

Plumbers and other tradespeople often get a bum rap... sometimes they bring it on themselves and sometimes they don't deserve it.

Every business(person) has the right to set their price and the customer either accepts or declines... simple as that.

The time to consider the yea or nea is before the job is done and not second guess the decision after the job is done.

The price usually seems acceptable with water leaking on the floor and it sometimes seems that they charged too much after they fixed it.

In the OP's instance it was the demeanor of the plumber that cost him the job not so much the price.

Thanks, Jake2007, for your thoughts - I think you're exactly right. I was definitely apprehensive about being cheated or gauged, because you hear so much about that happening. I've got no problem paying for good work - our HVAC guys are not cheap by any stretch, but they're nice, responsive, efficient, and explain what they're up to clearly and without condescension. In the end, I feel like I'm paying both for good work and good customer service, which makes the price tag much easier to swallow.

So, I've learned three things - first, I should do more research before inviting anyone to come to my home for work or an estimate - I think when we as customers hear "free estimate" we get a false sense of security. Second, I should be a bit tougher and less concerned with expecting "soft skills" and third, there's nothing wrong with saying no to someone whose estimate/manner/etc. I don't feel comfortable with as long as we've been up front with each other from the start.

Bottom line is your agreement was for a free estimate and not for work. As soon as he started working (ordering assistant, removing washer) he was being dishonest. I think you did the right thing. Be glad his rudeness alerted you to the problem right away.

Dishonest? Nonsense. How was he going to know the ring was bad/cracked/wrong one (whatever) if he didn't do a bit of work?

People-skills aside, I would have assumed you wanted the thing fixed more than a how-to repair discussion on a leaky nut and questioning the cost after a quote...which he did, by the way, as he simultaneously kept everything moving. Although his demeanor was an issue, it's time for a reality check on small job repair expectations. One more thing, telling someone how it's going to be fixed is training. You should have tipped him for that, since he was straightforward in the repair description. (Bet you've considered doing the repair yourself, haven't you? I would.)

Homebound - I think that it's time to move on. The point in me asking for perspectives was not to continually debate what I should have done (I can't go back), but rather to determine why I reacted as I did, so that in the future, I can be a better consumer, customer, and person. I like to think that hearing from all of you folks contributes to that, but I'm not interested in causing a controversy or beating a dead horse.

an educated decison is best. There are times when emergency's arise and you sort of have to take a chance on who ever you can get in a short period of time. This was not the case. It was an annoyance that you wanted fixed once and for all. I'd want two estimates; especially if the first involved throwing away a washer and putting some sealant in place!

Yes they have expenses that need to be built into there price but he did say 'free estimate'. This why many places charge $50 for a service call either way. He was likely in the area and thought he could get it done in between jobs and make some quick $$$$...nothing wrong with that; especially if all went well...your problem would be quickly solved.

Still....it sounds like he did the job twice in a period of minutes with the old washer so that $88 might be high. Get another estimate and see if the guilt goes away.

Of course. But let's not conclude with calling the guy dishonest when he he was mainly guilty of bad people skills.

I'm not a plumber but the $88 fee seems reasonable for someone to drive out to your house and fix something, even if it takes them 10 minutes to actually fix it. Remember that cost also includes driving not only to your repair but also to jobs that he bids on but does not get (that is why placing good bids in the first place maximizes one's efficiency).

However, judging your overall experience and assuming you stated all the facts correctly, I think you can find better than that. If it were me, I'd rank his overall performance (again assuming the all the facts were accurately stated) as below average.

Well, I still think 88 smackeroos was high for 10 minutes work...especially since he was no doubt going past her home and tried to squeeze a quickie repair in..WHEN SHE SAID SHE JUST WANTED AN ESTIMATE. Nothing wrong with that, in fact if his charge was maybe $50 she may have been happy even given his demeanor. It tough out there for all of us right now!