Evangelous Plumbing & Heating

Tom has been our plumber for over 30 years. Besides being a decorated veteran of our great military, he is also a very knowledgeable and honest plumber. Thanks for another great job Tom...

I accepted a quote from Thomas Evagangelous before checking with my neighbors, because he was prompt in returning my call and seemed reasonable both on the phone and during an in-person quotation process...nnIn my opinion, Thomas Evangelous has a problem with both honesty and fairness. I should have waited to for the recommendations of my neighbors before asking him to visit. Here is my story...nnEvangelous visited my home to quote a job of swapping out a gas valve on my furnace. He quoted a labor rate of $95 an hour and told me that the job should take an hour. He asked me to buy the part that I needed in advance and then call him when it arrived.nnMy heating system still worked (and it was not yet frigid outside), and so I agreed. I liked knowing that the expense would be all rolled into a clearly defined labor rate and not buried in a material mark up.nnHe visited to check my diagnosis, and agreed that the valve was the problem (not just the thermocouple). Since he could now see the job (and in fact, it was the valve), I asked if we would please give me a more firm quote. He explained that he would charge for 1.5 hours rather than 1, but that he would also remove and sweep out the gas jets. They appeared to be covered in debris.nnI agreed to the firm quote: I buy the part. He charges $95 x 1.5 hours.nnAfter the weekend, I called to inform Tom that the part had arrived. I also texted him a reminder with my address. But the temperature had dropped over the weekend. We now had 2 evenings that reached freezing temperature outside.nnEvagelous now told me that he decided that he could no longer accept a job for $140, and now wanted $250. (Again, he did not dispute that he only need swap in valve and sweep out the jets.nnI have no idea what other plumbers will charge me for this job. I am just now evaluating referrals (as I should have done in the first place). But using Thomas would violate my personal ethics. I expect a contractor to be honest and fair -- regardless of his labor rate. This work ethic certainly doesn't apply to Tom.

This is a referral, call forwarding automated service. Useless