When it comes to the plumbing of your house, there are infinitely more pipes, drains, valves and connections than one can possibly imagine, but they all have a purpose, and that purpose is to let the good water into your house and to take all of the bad water out. Each year there is a tremendous amount of water that moves through your house, so it is no wonder that occasionally, there might be a pipe or two that might spring a leak. When you do have difficulties, how do you decide what to call, and do you even want to call a plumber?
Sometimes the situation decides for you and you are forced to call a plumber or you will have a disaster on your hands. It’s best to get ahead of the disaster, and get to know a good plumber ahead of time. That way you won’t be so hesitant to call him if you do have an emergency.
1. Check with your friends and family, get their thoughts on the matter
Most people have had to use a plumber from time to time, so ask your friends, neighbors and family members who they would suggest. You might get a concession on a certain plumber or plumbing company, and a positive one at that. That report would make your decision easy, especially if the glowing reports were really glowing. If your neighbors are raving about a plumber that they have used, it is much easier to make the call.
2. Check out a reference site that lists contractors
There are sites on the internet where contractors, home repair shops, and other trades people list their businesses, and then they get ranked by the consumers who use them. This is a nice service, as it engenders a good service attempt by the contractors, and the consumer finds out who is really good at their business.
3. Go to the Better Business Bureau website in your town.
The Better Business Bureau keeps track of businesses in an area, and if there are any complaints against that business, then the BBB lists those complaints, and whether or not the complaints were taken care of. While this is not a cure-all, it does give an indication of a possible problem. However, if a complaint was promptly taken care of and remedied, then you really could have a very fine contractor to work with. Remember, anyone can make a complaint, but not everyone wants to make it right.
4. Look on the internet for directories, reviews and references
Most local businesses will show up in directories such as Yelp, Manta, Super Pages and similar local directories. Some of the reviews are really silly because it looks like some people are chronic complainers. You should not get too excited about bad reviews, unless it is all bad, or several negative complaints in a row. On the other hand, you might see a trend of many good reports from several different people about an certain contractor, and that could be a good sign.
These are a few of the resources you can use, and you can trust the reports you will get from the people you know, as they have actually used the plumbers, and they will more than likely give you an honest answer.