UPDATE: The problems I had with this most recent call were dealt with by the company in a professional way and the compromise they came up with was reasonable. I've updated my score to a 7 and will probably use them again.
I tried to post a 10 star rating for Milani based on previous experiences which have all been excellent along with a 0 star rating for the most recent experience which was awful but I'm not allowed to post 2 reviews for the same company. Here is my most recent experience:
Previously I've had nothing but great experiences with Milani plumbing but unfortunately my most recent experience was terrible. I called Milani about an issue with my hot water - the cold water pressure was working fine, the same as it had previously but the hot water would come down at a trickle. The plumber shows up and let's just say he was far from pleasant - this isn't important to the issue but not acknowledging or saying hi to my wife and daughter as you walk by them when you come in with an annoyed look on your face is not the type of service I'm sure Milani expects.
He comes down to the hot water tank and immediately notices the PRV which regulates the pressure. He says our model has too low a setting and that is the problem. I show him how that the cold water pressure is fine. I explain that the pressure has been fine for the 4 years we have lived here. He goes back to the PRV each time. I ask him to try other tests to narrow down the problem. He responds with "Like I've been saying over and over, it is the PRV. If you want I can cut open the hot water tank.". I ask him if he can measure the hot vs cold water pressure in one of the bathrooms and he says he can't without a hose attachment in the sink. I ask him about it being debris or sediment in one of the pipes - "no, you have a water pressure problem". Finally towards the end of the service call he remembers that he does in fact have a tool that can measure pressure in a normal sink, wow how about that. He goes upstairs and then tells me "Like I have been saying all along, the hot and cold water have the same pressure." although he doesn't show me the readings. I grab a glass and go to the sink and fill it with cold water - it fills in 3 seconds. I switch it to the hot water and it takes 10 seconds. I ask him how they could possibly have the same pressure and repeat for the 20th time that the cold water pressure hasn't changed and is fine. Finally I give in and he leaves.
I book my followup appointment for a week later on a Friday not because I wasn't available during the week but because I knew he didn't work on Friday's. The new plumber comes in and wow, a smile and a hello. I try to quickly explain what the initial problem was but he was there it install the new $270 + tax + additional parts PRV so that's what he did. After he was done the pressure improved - cold water was coming down even faster and hot water had a slightly better trickle but as I had fully expected, it was not fixed. I was worried he would try to somehow cover this up but right away he said that the problem wasn't fixed. He decided to check one of the pipes for debris and 10 minutes later, after removing some debris/sediment, I had hot water pressure. My total bill over the 2 visits was over $900...
So to recap, a plumber who ignores everything that goes against his initial flawed theory despite me asking him for the entire hour to look at other possibilities (since his conclusion made no sense to anyone with any sort of problem solving ability) cost me over $350 in parts that I didn't need and about $300 in labour that I didn't need. The remaining $250 is reasonable and includes clearing a plugged toilet, the 10 minutes spent clearing the debris that caused the problem along with replacing a corroded pipe in the exhaust.
I'm hopeful that Milani will resolve this and restore my faith in the company
- Approximate cost of services:
- $900.00
- Company Response
Thanks Roy for bringing this service matter to our attention. Its our goal to provide all of our customers with the highest standard of customer service and your complete satisfaction is our utmost priority. We are happy hear that our customer service department was able to work with you in finding a solution, and that you were satisfied with the reimbursement that we have arranged . We hope the trust and faith that you have given to us through out the years have been restored.