Business ProfileforFagone Plumbing, Heating & HVAC

Recent Experience with Fagone Plumbing, Heating & HVAC I have had the great misfortune to place confidence in Fagone Plumbing, Heating & HVAC (FPH&H) for a mildly unconventional plumbing problem in an old house. My experience on this project boils down to these observations: FPH&H has no formal scheduling mechanism, FPH&H has very poor internal communications, FPH&H does not communicate well with other contractors on the job, FPH&H does not communicate well with customers, FPH&H has no respect for the customer, FPH&H severely overcharges, and FPH&H does substantially pedestrian work. If you hire this company, be wary. Hire FPH&H if and only if you can execute a contract stating period of performance, work to be accomplished and a written cost estimate based on a defined hourly rate and anticipated cost of materials.The following narrative explains my negative review of Fagone Plumbing, Heating & HVAC.As part of a major renovation of our 160-year-old home, we addressed the second-floor guest bathroom. After removing a vanity in the bathroom, the plumber I had hired (to replace two vanities and a toilet and other small tasks described below) determined that the second-floor guest bathroom was not properly vented and declined to continue working on the job. This left me with a large headache and significant mess on my hands. I checked with the town ************************** and was advised to get a framing contractor to reinforce the bathroom floor in preparation for bringing the bathroom plumbing up to code: which I did.Because FPH&H had serviced our furnace in the past, I asked them to look at the bath on 22 January 2021 and to complete the other tasks that the previous plumber left undone. FPH&H responded positively, gave me a verbal estimate of $5000 and said they would work with the framing contractor I had hired.For reasons unknown to me, FPH&H and the framing contractor didnt get their act together and the bathroom activity stalled.On 5 March 2021, while the bathroom activity was stalled, FPH&H completed some of the ancillary work left incomplete by the prior plumbing contractor. This entailed: disconnecting a second-floor radiator and removing and capping the associated exposed supply/return pipes in the room below; disconnecting and capping 2 non-functioning heat supply/return pipe pairs at the furnace; installing a half bath vanity on the first floor. The work was accomplished in 1 hours by two men. The hot- and cold-water supplies for the vanity were reversed by FPH&Hs plumber and we had to accept the situation until 22 June 2021 when FPH&H plumbers returned to cut pipe in preparation for second floor bathroom floor reinforcement.On 26 April 2021, the framing contractor backed out, claiming he had too much on his plate.I subsequently hired a second framing contractor, finalizing a written contract with him on 5 May 2021 this contractor had also given an on-the-spot verbal estimate, but his contracted price for the job was half his verbal estimate. I still had no written contract from FPH&H, nor a written cost estimate, nor would I ever get one.On 12 May, FPH&H was scheduled to cut and cap pipe in the floor in preparation for framing reinforcement. FPH&H owner **** ********************** arrived but stayed only 10 minutes. No work was performed. FPH&H owner **** ********************** said he needed to have the plumbing inspector come by before cutting anything, and promised hed return next day. He left precipitously and left me hanging until late June: the plumbing inspector did not review this project prior to rough-in. [NB - When I confronted him with this behavior, he blamed his secretary, *****, for not contacting me to say that he wouldnt come by.] This of course meant that I had my second-floor bath torn apart needlessly for 5 weeks before floor reinforcement could proceed. During this period, my framing contractor was unable to get in touch with FPH&H the framing contractor claimed FPH&H didnt return his calls and didnt answer the phone. During this time, I was unable to get FPH&H to schedule work on my house and my texts to FPH&H owner **** ********************** were ignored.Because these delays left the house in disarray, I had to release my painter from our agreed schedule of activity. I didnt get the painter back until mid-September. Later in the job, I had to do the same for my finish *********, though that only lead to a 3-week gap.On 4 June 2021, I sent a text to FPH&H owner **** ********************** requesting a billing statement and complaining about FPH&Hs lack of attention to my job. My text was not answered, nor did I receive a ****.On Tuesday, 22 June 2021, FPH&H sent one man to cut and cap water and waste lines in preparation for framing. The worker arrived at 11:30 and was out the door by noon. I had waited 1 day shy of 6 weeks for hour of FPH&Hs precious time. So had my framing contractor, who completed his framing the next day. I immediately contacted FPH&H and to say we were ready for them to return. As usual, FPH&H secretary ***** said she would have to check with **** ********************** regarding scheduling. On 24 June 2021, ***** called to say that they would be by on 2 July 2021 between **** and **** to do rough-in. I explained to ***** that work had to cease at **** so that I would be able to meet my commitments elsewhere.On Friday, 2 July 2021, ***, an FPH&H plumber, arrived at ****. *** immediately called owner **** ********************** who arrived about 20 minutes later. *** said the floor reinforcement performed by my framing contractor was not to code and owner **** ********************** agreed. I immediately called the framing contractor at ****, and he arrived at about ****, and demonstrated to FPH&H that their assertion was incorrect: actual work commenced at ****. After the framing contractor left, owner **** ********************** told me that he had scheduled my job for the entire day. I informed him about my instructions to his office: he said he was not informed. Owner **** ********************** said that *** would do what he could, but he was not certain when *** could get back to finish. *** did partial rough-in of tub, and full rough-in of sink and toilet. *** asked me to have my ********* cut a large hole in the library ceiling to allow easier access to the tub. *** left at **** claiming he had done all he could do until my ********* cut a hole in the library ceiling so that he would have access to the tub trap. So there was obviously no plan in place for *** to accomplish the entire job that day.My ********* cut the hole the following Monday, and I called FPH&H on Tuesday to schedule completion of their work. The FPH&H secretary, *****, said she had to leave immediately for physical therapy and would check with owner **** ********************** in the AM about scheduling.On 13 July 2021, FPH&H was scheduled to arrive between **** and ****. One or two people parked on the street from **** until **** when owner **** ********************** arrived. FPH&H owner **** ********************** installed PEX water lines. I asked FPH&H owner **** ********************** if I could close up the library ceiling in order to commence library remodeling activities - he said I should leave it open for inspector but did not mention that the tub drum trap had not been removed, which was the reason *** asked me to cut the hole in the ceiling. FPH&H owner **** ********************** said he would try to schedule inspection for the next week, but no promises. [NB. The two extra people did not do any work. They were being trained by FPH&H owner **** ********************** on the installation of PEX.]On 22 July 2021, FPH&H owner **** ********************** arrived at **** to prep for plumbing rough-in inspection. He removed the drum trap and (I presume but do not know for sure) put in the new trap. He also installed a retainer plate for water pipes to the vanity. He walked the plumbing inspector through to sign-off. Then entire operation took 1 hour and 15 minutes: most of FPH&H owner **** **********************s time was spent in his truck waiting for the inspector.I see absolutely no reason why I should have had to wait from the 12th of May until the 22nd of July, or 72 calendar days, for a total of 15? manhours of presence and 11? manhours of work to be accomplished. This is an example of total managerial incompetence on the part of FPH&H owner **** **********************. But notice, the job is not done at this point.On Monday, 2 August 2021, a single FPH&H plumber arrived at **** and worked until ****. The tasks the plumber accomplished in 1? hours were to tie in the tub and vent and finally take away the refuse FPH&H had been storing in my tub since May. The total time on my job at that point was 12? manhours.On Tuesday, 10 August 2021, I received a **** from FPH&H dated 3 August 2021. The **** stated that the value of the job was $5800 ($800 more than the verbal estimate), and PAY REQUESTED FOR WORK COMPLETED TO DATE: $3800. Thats $296.10/hour. Their work is not worth $296.10/hour.On 11 August 2021, I called the FPH&H office and complained about the ****. For the first time during the project, FPH&H owner **** ********************** called me back immediately. He denied giving me the smaller estimate and said he uses an area-wide standard for costing a job. This is an area-wide standard that is not on any piece of information FPH&H supplied to me before, during or following the completion of the entire job. FPH&H owner **** ********************** did offer to reduce the cost to $5400, but I decided to avoid further potential misinformation and go with what I had on paper.By the way, the job was not completed at this point of the saga. I mailed a check for $3800 on 25 August and it cleared my bank on 31 August no flies on this kid where money is concerned.On Monday, 30 August 2021, I called the FPH&H office requesting that the work be completed. No one got back to me.On Friday, 17 September 2021, I called the FPH&H office and spoke with *****. I told her I was displeased and that I wanted the job finished without excuses. As usual, she told me that the guys in the field don't tell her anything, so she has trouble scheduling. She had no office notes defining the job or its scope.At **** that same day, FPH&H owner **** ********************** called me. We spoke, not civilly at first, for 18 minutes. Here are my raw notes from that conversation:**** called me and we had a shouting match because he kept talking over me at first. We calmed down, at his suggestion, I made my case, he listened and made his case. My point was simple - that he and his company were not responsive - he blamed his secretary and *** for not informing him (I reminded him that it's his name on the side of the truck). But (see above), I overheard ***** conversations with **** for the furnace problem and for the discussion about cutting the manufactured joists - it is clear that no one makes a decision other than ****, even though he claims otherwise. Also, ***** has never scheduled anything for me without calling **** ******* also felt it necessary to remind **** that he was working for me, and that not returning my calls is poor business practice.As a side note, neither ***** nor **** knows the job, where it stands or what remains to be done.At the end of this extremely disagreeable discussion, FPH&H owner **** ********************** offered to come at 8 the next day, Saturday, to complete the job. He and another, I failed to note who in my notes, arrived at **** and completed vanity and toilet install, and repaired shower valve. He said he would try to schedule final review for the following Tuesday: he was successful. So, finally, after 9 months of stonewalling and staff bashing, the job was finished. FPH&H charged me $500/hour to install a sink and a toilet and repair a shower valve.

We are sorry to hear that **************** had such issues with our service. We try to provide the best service for all projects.As you can see there were many subcontractors on this project, and many were let go or left project due to issues with how it was being handled by homeowner and or general contractor.Some let due to personal issues as well.I will say that yes at the time there were some issues we were working out due to being understaffed in our office. As my office assistant had been in a major accident and I was allowing her to work part time as she recovered. This also meant that she had to leave 30 min early a few days a week to get to therapy appointments during her recovery.Although there was miscommunication between the staff and the homeowner, we did our best to get the proper information to him and get the project completed. We take all complaints seriously and want to resolve issues quickly so we can be more effective in the field. Could there have been better communication yes. Can we work to make things better yes, always. However, the customer was given a rough verbal quote that was not a set number he was told that this is rough and would change if there were any issues or extras that needed to be added to the job. This entire project from start to finish was not handled properly in our eyes as sometimes can happen where there are too many people involved. This instance sounds as if there were too many contractors on this project and too many people coming and going. The other issues on the project were that the customer contacted us with no notice on jobs no time frames when subcontractors would be finished, which did not allow for us to schedule in a manageable time frame. We are a busy plumbing and heating company, and many had other projects going on. We stepped into a project with *************** that was a mess to start with.Regarding billing, he was billed $5800 in total and was asked to pay $3800 as a progress payment. This bill included labor and materials in a bulk total. Which was reasonably understood when a rough estimate was given in bulk that it was not itemized. So, at that time he had the final cost in total in hand. If there were issue with billing, he could have stopped the work at that time and asked for a detailed bill or got another plumber to finish if he was that unhappy with the work thus far.We would have graciously stepped away. However, that was not the case he continued to use our service and we finished the project. We have taken his concerns and complaints seriously and taken steps to make our scheduling and communication better. We hope his future projects are done better to his liking and wish him all the best.