I don't know if the the man I dealt with there was a manager or the owner, but he was one of the rudest and most condescending people I have ever dealt with as a customer.
He treated me like an idiot because he could not figure out to configure the two valve system I wanted for my shower/tub combo. I left in frustration and despite my desire to support a local business, I went to Home Depot. A gentleman (named John, I think) at the Arboretum store is a plumbing guru. He special ordered exactly what I needed and spent considerable time with me to pick the special spout, handles, etc. that I wanted.
I would have been a repeat customer of Austin Plumbing too - I had recently purchased a thousand dollar tub there.
I refuse to give my business to someone who obviously does not want it.
I have had excellent experiences since then, purchasing on the internet. My new kitchen sink came from Kitchens and Pantry (amazingly quick delivery) and the faucet came from Faucet Depot.

I agree. Austin Plumbing Supply's owner, William Sullivan, acts nastily toward customers with problems. He thinks we owe him our loyalty when he treats us condescendingly.

And be careful when buying there. Austin Plumbing's policies are not customer-friendly. Returns are only accepted in the first 48 hours....or else you only get store credit. Even then, Sullivan will treat you with disdain.

I had a bad experience with them last year. They promised delivery of several items within a week, but after a month and a half they still hadn't delivered and they refused to refund my payment. They denied having made any promises about delivery time, refused to provide a written delivery target, and were completely unconcerned about the expensive, unexpected delay they caused in my remodeling project.

Fortunately my VISA provider was able to reverse the charge. The store owner continued hissing, spitting, and spewing bile like a rabid polecat throughout the several week timeline of my chargeback and my BBB complaint.

An online store was able to supply my order within 24 hours, and at a lower price too. I am an Austin resident and I support local independent businesses but I will NEVER do business with Austin Plumbing Supply again. They are an embarrassment to this city.

Is anyone here willing to help expose this supplier's poor customer service to the public? Please contact me ASAP at austinposter at gmail dot com.

Ditto, ditto and ditto! Do NOT do business with Austin Plumbing Supply. There are plenty of other options in town. I also wanted to do business locally, but it is not worth the pain and suffering you must endore to work with Bill Sullivan.

Thank you, thank you for the heads-up! I need to know where to go, and where NOT to go!! Also need to know about all the other stores that I will be going to when building a new home! I must remember this!! Thank you.

I experienced EVERYTHING that you guys did. I didn't bother looking online for reviews of a local business because I thought it was safe. Turns out I ordered a product based on their salesperson's recommendations and when it didn't work, he told me it wasn't his problem. He won't give me my money back and is MORE than RUDE when I try to work it out.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH AUSTIN PLUMBING SUPPLY.

I haven't found any where in Austin as helpful as Austin Plumbing Supply. They were willing to special order me the exact pieces I wanted when no one else would. They had them for me exactly when they said they would and they were helpful throughout the entire process. I would recommend them to anyone working on their kitchen or bathroom.

"I haven't found any where in Austin as helpful as Austin Plumbing Supply. They were willing to special order me the exact pieces I wanted when no one else would. They had them for me exactly when they said they would and they were helpful throughout the entire process. I would recommend them to anyone working on their kitchen or bathroom."

Hi William, Welcome to garden web!

qwertyui, your comment really did make me laugh out loud. :-)

qwertyui beat me to it. Only positive just happened to register on the same day as the coment. lol

"Read your paperwork... Your lack of preparation does not create a crisis for us" is what he said to me when his parts were late one month past their original 7-10 day estimate (and were already 2 weeks late when they finally answered me that it would be another 2 weeks) and he refused to let me cancel so I could order elsewhere-- whole project delayed. also refused to replace the sink ring that his person ordered in the wrong color- when I asked her why I would get nickel finish for a stainless sink, she said it was the one they used for that sink, and silly me I believed her.

wish I'd seen this post BEFORE I shopped there. Worst experience of a one year long remodel.

Aaarrgh!!! I lost $1080 because Austin Plumbing Supply ordered the wrong parts for my antique clawfoot tub and now it won't pass inspection. I gave them photographs and the measurements requested but they said (1) I did not describe the tub to them or provide them any measurements, (2) I did not warn them that the tub would be inspected and so it is not their fault the parts do not meet code for my tub, (3) that *I* made mistakes in ordering that a licensed plumber would not make and so they can't be held responsible. I was then blamed for signing the order form and told that by so doing I took all the risk.

The sales staff is courteous and nice but if they make an error, the owner comes out to challenge every concern and insults you with every breath, asserting knowledge about your transaction process that he could not know. And he goes from one excuse to the next in order to blame you. At one point, he said that he would not take back $1080 in parts because one subset did not have one of the original boxes the pipes were shipped in. The "box" was just corrugated cardboard taped around them with my name written in magic marker.

If my experience is typical, this place should not be in business. I left in a complete rage. Use any company but this.

My mom purchased a toilet there and had problems with the original purchase - they gave her the wrong toilet and weren't very nice about fixing their mistake. Almost a year later and she is having problems with it. I called to try and get some help, but the owner, Bill Sullivan, was angry, rude and defensive. He didn't want to be helpful and didn't care that he was out of line. I was caught off guard by his attitude, until I did some online research and found out that he is this way with most everyone. The reviews are unbelieveable, as the majority all say the same thing - he is a poor businessman. Why is he is business if he doesn't want to help people? Being in business only to make money will come back to him - a thing called karma - what goes around, comes around. I am sorry that we didn't read about him and his business before we did business with him. We are sorry now, but know better and surely won't refer anyone to him in the future. I talked to the manufactuer of the product and they were very helpful and informative. They were also very sorry about my experience with Bill Sullivan. They said they would look into the matter. Maybe they can help; I sure hope so!

Seems to me that rudeness and cockiness are two traits of many plumbing suppliers. We had one in DC that was particularly known for foul language, etc., and when they sold their spot to developers, the Washington Post wrote glowingly and lovingly about that joint.

BTW, there's one in Falls Church, VA that may need some Prozac or something to lighten them up a bit.

On the off chance you are *still* considering shopping there, go look at the reviews on Austin's yelp page - pretty much story after story about Bill Sullivan's poor treatment of his customers. I happened upon it after reading a complaint on the neighborhood list serve.
I'm just amazed that they are still in business.

Austin Plumbing Supply and its owner Bill Sullivan are bad news beyond all description. A year and a half after my encounter with him, just thinking about that episode, summons something close to PTSD, except in this case PTSD now stands for Post Traumatic Sullivan Disorder. I thought he was going to take after me with a brickbat just for asking him to return goods he sold but which did not fit the application.

Whew! Just stay away...far away.....maybe don't even get on Burnet Rd there south of Koenig.

"BTW, there's one in Falls Church, VA that may need some Prozac or something to lighten them up a bit."

A long time ago (and across the street from the present location) they were actually VERY good.

Since the original owner retired and sold out they have become not worth a stop.

Ferguson out near Chantilly gets my business now (since Nowlin closed up also).

The manager, Bill Sullivan, is a rude and condescending person. When I walked into the store, he was the only salesman at the front desk and he did not even look up to acknowledge me. Although I made a large purchase (4 toilets) he was very terse when loading them into my van. He never once thanked me for my business.

I called after 2 days to explain that one of the toilets was too long for my bathroom and he said I could return it for store credit. I asked why he could not refund my money and said that it was store policy. He was short and rude and claimed to be behaving professionally. He was anything but professional. All those testimonials posted on their website have to have been created by him...they are all too similar and way too complimentary. Even my plumber thinks he is the worst! What a jerk!

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT AUSTIN PLUMBING SUPPLY FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND CAN NOT GET A EMAIL REPLY BACK NOR ANYONE TO ANSWER THE PHONE. DOES ANYONE LOCALLY KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS COMPANY?

We agree. BE AWARE --- THIS BUSINESS IS BANKRUPTED and CLOSED as of 05/25/11. The owner, Bill Sullivan, and a team of his family members are UNETHICALLY WRONG for not delivering our promised goods which we have paid for. We paid them 15K worth of merchandise from Feb. 2011 through May 2011 . Bill Sullivan told us all our items were in his warehouse ready for delivery. On 05/25/11, he emailed us to come pick up our items. When he arrived, he said his business was shut down and he was bankrupted. He delivered only 9K worth of merchandise to us and OWED us $5500.00 for the Undelivered Items (which he promised he had. LIES) But he said he couldn't refund our money because all his accounts were seized and shut down by the banks. When asked what he did with the rest of our money that we paid him for, he couldn't tell us. STAY AWAY FROM THIS MAN AND HIS FAMILY. Worst Unethical Business Practices we've experienced. He's left us in a difficult situation because we need our money back to buy these items to build our house. He's refused to refund and replace the items we owes us. Unbelievable !!