Birnie Thos R & Sons Ltd

After reading client testimonials on this site, chose this place to do my repair. At first, I believed this was a very costly mistake, but the company made good on an error.

The plumber arrived on time. He went through the diagnostic work of cutting the pipe and determining that indeed the sump pump was broken. He explained to me that it would cost about $600 to install a sump pump that they supplied or have me get a sump pump and pay $300. I thought this was reasonable (and it was nice for him to allow me to run out and get a cheaper replacement pump), so I headed out to Lowes to get materials while he did some prep work and prepared paperwork. When I got back with the pump, he said that he would also need to replace "a little pipe". I thought "obviously", since the pump type was switching from a pedestal to a submersible, and he cut the pipe to see what the problem was. He then presented me with the estimate for $640 + taxes -- $292 for the sump pump replacement and $348 for the pipe work.

At this point, I had a decision to make: sign the estimate (well after the work was done) or have a confrontation over the charges that may end up in shoddy workmanship or leaving me to call someone else to do the repair. This is why a company must always present an estimate up front and abide by that estimate. Both the customer and the vendor are at risk when the statement of work isn't provided "up front".

So, all in all, I felt deceived. I was told it would be $300 to replace the pump, and when I got back with the pump, there was an additional charge of $350 to replace pipe that should be part of the sump pump replacement work.

All in all, the plumber spent 75 minutes of work and charged $640 of labour to replace this and a $10 piece of pipe. I felt ripped off.

I received a followup call from the company to ask about their service, which was a nice surprise. I told them that the cost was too high and they informed me that someone would call me back.

Someone did. We talked about the job that was performed and my experience with the plumber. Although the work done was quite satisfactory, I expressed my view that there was an error with the charge. The company asked me what I felt would make things right. I asked them to remove the charge for the pipe installation as I felt like the charge for that was dishonest.

The company respresentative agreed and removed the charge the pipe replacement charge ($348).

Because the company was willing to reason and admitted that the billing was a mistake, I can now recommend them to my friends and family. Thanks for restoring my faith in the industry.

My toilet and bathtub were plugged due to my renovation project, so I called Birnie Thos R & Son, they showed up within 2 hours, which is very good. they managed to make the water drain through, however it is very slow. Plumber suggested to use camera to confirm the reason of slow drainage, it is very expensive but I thought they already on site should be a good idea to find out. They found out cause and agreed to leave a CD for me to review. However the next day the office informed me that machine did not work properly so did not record the video, they need to come in again to rearrange the video part. I work during the regular week, so I have to ask half day off to arrange him to come in. I guess their computer is not working properly again, so they have to call the office to arrange another computer to be dropped off. It end up an half day work. The technican has a good attitude, however not familar with new technology plus very expensive bill, for the work of making water running through and locate the problem area cost over $1000, without really fixing the real problem. I have to call another company to dig out and remove the plug debris. I do not recommend this company.

I called and was greeted by a friendly and professional rep.
I was given an appointment for the next day.
Worker was pleasant and very efficient in his work.
Problem solved in no time.

We had a guy in because of blocked draines but found that it was more a problem with the pipes in the house..he was very good to explaine to us what was needed to be done and and did a very good job. We will definately call again if anyone is needed.

Even for a small job these guys were great! Very professional and quick! I will definitely be recommending these guys to anyone that has a plumbing need. Thanks for everything!

The service man was very respectful and kind. He did the repair in under 90 minutes. The serviceman arrived on time. I really liked that they wore shoe covers. That is a customer care feature that really stood out in my mind.

We noticed water and sewage coming up the laundry room drain so we called them and they came within a day to fix the problem. Very hospitibal men and humourous too. I would call them again if I had a problem.

Water was coming out of our basement shower. Birnie & Sons staff came within short time after call and performed video inspection. Located the blockage and removed tree roots in efficient manner. Problem solved and fixed in a short time.

The plumber arrived on time. He snaked out the toilet and cleaned up any mess that he had made. The cost was reasonable, and he was polite and able to describe what he had done and any forthcoming issues.