Please Log in to leave a rating or continue as a guest
When leaving feedback for a tradie or business on NoCowboys, you have two options:
The quality of the work was very good and we are very happy with the job. The two plumber who installed the Rinnai heater were very friendly, professional, and tidy. They arrived on time. I would be very happy to have these two do work for us in the future.
However, the owners of the business seemed unreasonable when it came to the invoicing of the job. At the time of getting a quote I thought it was a bit on the high side, $3565, to replace an existing heater and… install a new heater (which can be purchased with a flue for under $2500). So I asked for an explanation ahead of asking them to do the work, and they advised that there were more parts than I anticpated and the job would take most of the day. They said that their hourly labour cost is $70+GST per hour, that seemed reasonable to me. On the basis of this I was led to believe the labour time would be 12-13.5 hours, depending on the exact cost of the extra parts. I was a bit surprised by this, but was happy to take their expert judgement (unfortunately I was slammed at work and didn't have time to get other quotes).
The plumbers arrived at around 8am and had finished the job and left us by 11:50am. Great.
I therefore asked the owners if they would consider reducing the invoice slightly to reflect the actual labour costs. I also asked them to confirm what extra parts had been used, as I could not see them when the job was being done. They did not give me this Information and disputed me that the job had not taken most of the day. But the simple fact is: even if they charged me between the hours of 7:30am to 12:30am which would be more than enough time for travel time, paperwork and picking up the parts that would be only 10 hours of labour. I was told the job would take most of the day, and that was a key factor in accepting the quote, and it didn't take anywhere near that long.
I was disappointed that they didn't think it fair to a small reduction in the invoice price. But was more annoyed that they gave me a series of explanations to try to justify the labour cost that just didn't stack up (e.g. time to dispose of rubbish, there was only one box!; or time to issue the gas certifcate) and refused to acknowledge the job didn't take most off the day (disputing my record of events). I was surprised that they didn't either 1. front up to say they got it wrong about there being "no" extra parts or instead 2. tell me what those mysterious parts were.
They refused to tell me how much they charged me for the heater and mushroom flue - I fact it appears they will never tell you the cost of the parts when you get a quote. Perhaps this is normal, but I found it very uptransparent.
I got the general impression that they were surprised I wasn't happy about being charged for the original amount and wanted to know the costs of the parts, and they didn't really know how to deal with it. They probably dug themselves in a bit of a hole with the explanations that made no sense, and I don't believe they were deliberately being misleading. Perhaps because they are a good business, they don't have much experience at this kind of customer engagement. Perhaps they genuinely thought I was being an unreasonable customer. Or perhaps they think they don't need to care as they have enough happy customers and a successful business. Regardless of what they thought I had some genuine comments and questions that they didn't deal with it well.
I would recommend this business if you are not too worried about the price of the job, have time to get more quotes, or potentially bigger jobs. But the way they quote and charge does not seem very fair for small jobs like mine, so it might be worth clarifying the approach with them upfront. I do think this is an honest business who know how to deliver a good plumbing service, but they could be better at responding to the customer and being willing to front up when they've got something wrong.
They will probably be good for others, but it just didn't work out for me. At the end of the day I can afford the price, it is the principle that really matters, and the fact is there are a lot of people out there on tight budgets who I believe deserve better.
I marked them down a little just on the quality of the job as the eccentrics for the kitchen taps were not mounted symmetrically. A small point I know, but visually, easily seen. I queried this with the plumber who - to his credit - said he could remedy, but that would have involved another appointment etc so I declined. I guess I just thought they could have… spent the extra half hour when they did the job to ensure the new taps presented well.
Otherwise, all good and I would recommend Tasman Plumbers to other people requiring pipe replacement / new tap fittings etc.
Bit of confusion via the text messages between my self and reception. One task forgotten about.
"My appreciation to George who warned me of the possible issues in getting a meter and then tried to help out when his predictions turned into reality in addition to making the time to be on site on and off during the day to drop off things if and as required.
Shirley, the office Manager was… fantastic in handling my frequent calls and making the job happen, specifically fitting the job in at incredibly short notice when the meter was finally installed.
The guys that were on site, Paul and Raymond, were amazing. They arrived early, worked non stop and completed the job even though that meant working late themselves. The electrician brought on by Tasman Plumbing to hook up appliances was great and Scott arriving to help complete the job in one day was greatly appreciated.
Not only was the job done incredibly well but both Paul and Raymond took time to make sure I understood how things worked and things to be mindful of and were just really nice guys. The whole team is just great.
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Tasman Plumbing to anyone going forward.
George came to see us quickly and understood the work we wanted doing -- having our chimney stacks removed to make them earthquake safe, one replaced with a flue, securing our header tank and checking over the rest of our roof. They got us a good quote just a couple of days later and managed to squeeze the job in before Christmas.
The guys who did the job were punctual, friendly and polite, explained what they were going to do clearly… and did a good job.
We couldn\'t recommend them higher: we will definitely use them again.
Primary contact
Scott & Dionne
Phone number
043843463
Website
https://www.wellingtonplumber.co.nz…
Availability
This week/ASAP
Physical address
192a Tasman Street,
Mt Cook Area,
6021
Postal address
192a Tasman Street,
Mt Cook Area,
6021
About us
Welcome to Tasman Plumbers; a family run business providing professional plumbing installations and repairs, gasfitting and drain unblocking services to families and businesses throughout Wellington.
When you work with us, you are working with experienced and friendly plumbers. We have been based in Wellington since 1971, giving us over 45 years in the region, so you can always rest assured that your plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying and roofing jobs are in reliable hands. We ensure quality plumbing solutions at affordable prices.
What we do
Plumbing, Drainlaying, Gasfitting, Roofing
Categories we service
Roofing Contractors, Plumbers / Plumbing Contractors, Gas Installers / Gas Fitters, Drainlayers, Drainage
Areas we service
Wilton, Wellington City, Wellington CBD, Wadestown, Vogeltown, Thorndon, Tawa, Strathmore Park, Southgate, Seatoun, Roseneath (Wellington), Rongotai, Paparangi, Owhiro Bay, Oriental Bay, Ohariu, Ngauranga, Ngaio, Newtown, Newlands, Mt Victoria, Miramar, Melrose, Makara, Lyall Bay, Kilbirnie, Khandallah, Kelburn, Karori, Kaiwharawhara, Johnsonville, Island Bay, Houghton Bay, Hataitai, Happy Valley, Grenada Village, Crofton Downs, Churton Park, Broadmeadows, Berhampore
Communication: 100% | Quality: 100% | Reliability: 100% | Value: 100%