ComplaintsforGrizzly Plumbing LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Met with the owner to move a shower drain in my basement, installing a shower base/walls, moving associated vanity and sink plumbing, installing a double vanity, and installing a hose bib. The first day they were meant to start, the team was nearly 2 hours late. I didn't receive a phone call or explanation as to why until asking. After starting, they took a 2-hour lunch. I sent the owner, ***** a text asking if I was paying for their lunchtime, in which he responded "they don't take lunch". However, prior to leaving, ***** told me they were going to lunch and brought a fast food drink cup back with him. The shower walls are meant to have <1/32" gap between them and the pan. I noticed that the walls were not level after they had left. When I mentioned it to *****, they came back out to "reinstall them correctly". After their departure, the shower walls were level, however, the gaps between the pan and walls were wildly over the 1/32" specification. After further investigation, *****'s team installed the pan out of level causing the walls to subsequently not sit flush and out of level. They attempted to level the pan after installation by using shims, this should have been done prior to setting it in mortar and installing the drain. The pan was not secured to the studs as specified in instructions.The nail guards were nearly falling off.The shower walls were cracked and s**** holes were bored out.Used untreated screws.Stained my carpets and left a mess.When I addressed issues with the owner he said, paraphrasing "its within tolerance" and "it'll never be perfect".I asked for an itemized receipt and stated I would paid for the work accomplished correctly. Approximately 45 days later received a "notice of construction lien". I was forced to pay for unfinished, horrible quality work.I hired another company to re-accomplish work.

  Business response

  06/21/2024

  If there was ever a job I wish I didn't take it was Mr. ********* From the very beginning I was sent text message after text message of the progress of the job. Many questions of how to proceed, do it yourself type with no idea what they are doing 98 texts I received from him over a period of two week. I should have walked away when he began tattling on my employees. The job was based on an estimate, I do not deviate from the estimate price if possible. If something unforeseen occurs we address it with the customer before we proceed. The lead on the project was another master plumber who I have nothing but the highest praise for. He is a skilled tradesman of twenty years experience. We were hired to add plumbing for a double vanity and install a four piece 32X60 shower pan with surround. New shower valve. We also installed a hose bib on the back side of the house. Once we finished the shower pan and walls, we always set the shower pan in mortar as per manufacturers requirements, we showed **************** the wall were not perfectly level do to the framing, but they were with in tolerance. Less than 1/8" over four feet. Remodels are impossible to get perfect. **************** said he was okay with the walls. Later that evening he text me again and asked if I could come by the next day to look at something. His words "Something I thought I was okay with when your guys left. But, now that I look closer I don't know if I am." I replied Yes I can, it will be toward the end of the day. I will text you when I can make it over. He replied, "I'm going to fix it. I'll have to take the walls of the shower off and notch out the studs behind the back wall. The leaning of the back wall caused the side wall to protrude heavily at the top compared to the bottom. Therefore, when we installed the doors, they would look crooked. So to get the walls off I have to take off the shower head stem." Which the stem was a ****** and a cap to test the new shower valve for leaks. Once he decided to touch my work without permission I am not responsible for anything he does. He was removing the walls before the mortar for the pan was set up. I will come and fix an issue, I have no problem with that. Once he touches my work I am no longer responsible. This project was permitted with the City and inspected. The day of the inspection we were back over to Mr. ******* residence to check the shower pan he said was no longer level, it was within tolerance, we removed the surround, checked the pan for level, which was fine. Not perfect but for a remodel it was good. We told **************** we had to run to another job but we would be back to meet the city plumbing inspector. When we returned with the inspector, **************** had removed the wall surround again. Our inspector passed the job when we told him what we had been dealing with. We have a very good relationship with our inspector. We permit all work requiring a permit and we fix all issues that *** arise. We work extremely hard to have a high standard of workmanship so when people call that into question we take it seriously. In ******************** case we did everything the same as we always do. I did not over charge him, I knocked four hundred dollars for him since he did all of the demo, except for the concrete removal for the new shower drain location. The old shower drain was draining into an old floor drain. 

  Customer response

  06/23/2024

   
  Complaint: 21868487
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  The response fails to acknowledge critical issues. Initially, the owner assured me that installing the shower would pose no difficulties. However, his team's prior missteps,notably stepping on the pan prematurely and failure to notice/fix the backwall's studs out of plumb, likely contributed to its unevenness,necessitating their subsequent actions. It is impossible to install the wall surrounds without stepping on the pan. How did his team do it? I witnessed them stepping in the pan far prior to me. Subsequent discussions with the owner revealed his regret, acknowledging a misjudgment in his team's experience.
  Efforts were made to rectify the situation by sending a different team to reinstall the wall surrounds, but unfortunately, the outcome was unsatisfactory. Upon returning home, I discovered the walls in worse condition, cracked, and still unlevel. Additionally, during the reinstallation, shims were visibly protruding from underneath the pan, contradicting claims that the installation was within tolerance. As outlined in my initial complaint, the installation specifications from the manufacturer require the walls to align within 1/32" of the shower pan. Despite sharing videos highlighting substantial gaps between the walls and pan, which could potentially lead to water infiltration, the corrective measures fell short. Further inspection revealed the pan had not been securely fastened to the studs as per manufacturer guidelines, and crucial components such as the drain cover plate were overlooked. Despite an inspection by the authorities, which seemed cursory and overlooked critical issues beyond missing nail plates, it appeared evident that the company had established a favorable rapport with the inspector.

  I sought expert advice from a seasoned master *******, who assessed the work as substandard and recommended withholding payment until satisfactory corrections were made. 
  Regrettably, efforts to communicate these ongoing concerns directly to the owner, *****, were met with unresponsiveness despite numerous attempts via calls, messages, and texts. This lack of engagement was deeply disappointing and reflects poorly on the company's commitment to customer satisfaction and quality work.
  I trust that these issues will be addressed promptly and comprehensively to achieve a resolution that aligns with my initial complaint, contractual obligations, and industry standards.
  
  Sincerely,
  *************************
   

  Business response

  07/12/2024

  I am responding to the Mr. ******* newest list of allegations. He is accusing us of sub par work, we do not do that kind of work. We treat our customers like we would like to be treated, but when we answer issues and the customer tries another issue immediately it is very clear the customer is just trying to complain about work to get out of paying for the job we did. Then he accuses us of using our city inspector of playing favorites. That is really low. It is hard for our inspector to see the work when the customer has removed the walls off the shower just before he shows up. *************** was obviously trying to make my team look bad. Once he touched our work and removed anything or adjusted anything I will no longer fix the issue. He also does not know how shims work. I will not work with someone who takes matters into his own hands after he inspected our work and told my team he was happy with the work done. Nothing would be good enough for ****************. If he is looking to find fault he should look at his work. The master plumber he claims looked at it his version of the shower not ours. If he wanted have it fixed he needed to keep his hands off. I regret how this interaction happened but I do not need to fix his mistakes.

• Initial Complaint

  04/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 6/9/2023 staff came out to replaced worn parts on a tub/shower handles. I described and showed what was wrong with the tub/shower and already had it taken apart for them to see so I could explain it. The issue was, I could not find replacement parts due to this being a prefab/modular home. They said they could get and replace the correct part. I showed them what I had already purchased that did not work. They claimed to repair, packed up and left, after which I went and check the bathtub/shower handles. Immediately upon touching the handle, I knew that something was wrong due to the looseness. I quickly unscrewed the handle and found that he had put on the incorrect part. I called them and told them to turn around to come fix. They came back and tried for 15 minutes before saying it was the best they could do which was to leave it so that I had to find the perfect spot on the handle to shut it off. This was significantly worse than how it was when they arrived and still dripped every second. I called the office and explained what had happened to a a woman on the other line, stating that if they sent someone else I would be willing to let the job get finished to which she sympathized and said someone would get back to me. I never heard back. I received an invoice in the mail on 6/16/23 for payment of $483 and I called the office immediately and spoke to what sounded the same lady that said she would have management get back to me. I never received a call from anyone. After a month I figured they dropped all the costs and it was over. I received the same invoice 10 months later on 4/6/2024, I called and emailed getting an answer by phone on 4/15/2024 when I called. I received a call back and they offered to cut the bill in half $241.50, I discussed how this was not acceptable but they responded with its all they can do.

  Business response

  04/19/2024

  Grizzly Plumbing was contacted by the named individual. We got him on our schedule on the next available spot being June 9th of 2023 at 1:00pm. The call was for a delta shower valve that the home owner tried to fix on his own but the part he purchased was not the correct cartridge. Arriving on site, found the home to be a modular home. We do not work on modular homes that are not already our customers. Modular homes use inferior products to cut costs. We send two individuals on almost every call, a lead and an apprentice. The guys noticed the valve was not in fact a delta shower valve but some off brand they had never encountered before. Both of them wanted to help the customer get the valve to work. We also loosened a drain on his master tub. We did get the shower valve to stop leaking and advised the customer to not touch the handle. The stop was missing on the valve, and the only position the valve would not leak is were we left the handle. The customer was pleased and said he was removing the tub/shower anyway. My crew picked up their tools and left the job site. Once we were down the road the customer called again and said it started to leak again. My crew turned around to go back and stop the drip again. When we arrived we saw the handle had been moved from were we left it. They adjusted handle again and got the drip to stop with more labor. We ended up leaving at 4:30 for a total of three and half hours. We do not charge for both individuals, but for only the lead plumber. The return trip was not because of our workmanship. I did offer to cut his bill do to the delinquency in payment, just to get something out of the job that was nearly a year late. We removed all late charges. We also have to record of him contacting us prior to a couple weeks ago. We have done our best to rectify the situation with no action on the part of the customer. 

  Customer response

  04/20/2024

   
  Complaint: 21579031
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Summary, Grizzly Plumbing showed up to a working shower/tub handle that was tight. I literally showed them the correct part and they lied, installing the incorrect part that made the shower/tub effectively unusable. Since they lost the original part and could not replace back to working order with a tight handle, and I never received a call to resolve the issue, I had to hire another plumbing company to fix the issues and correct the actual problem. If the Grizzly employees would have said they could not find the correct part, or followed their own company policy not to work on modular homes that are not already their customers (stated by Grizzly in the previous response), this would have all been avoided in less than one hour. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Customer response

  04/23/2024

  The owner of Grizzly Plumbing, ***** and I were able to take care of this case. It is considered closed as of 4/23/2024.

  Thank you. 

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