08/08/09

A very pleasant experience

by jaycagey

I called them to unblock a sewer line that was clogged with tree roots. I couldn't get through using my landline - it kept going straight to voicemail. Apparently their phone system does this if it thinks the call is from out-of-state. What's odd is that my number has the same local prefix as theirs - only the last four digits are different. In any case, I tried again using my cell phone and they answered right away.

They scheduled a tech to come visit between 11 and noon and he showed up at 11:10. He was able to use the vent on my roof so no equipment needed to come through my house. He was very friendly and answered my many questions about sewer lines and roof vents.

The job did not take very long (he was gone before noon), the drains all work great and PDS provided a 5-month guarantee.

As an aside - I also asked about toilet replacements. I had a toilet replaced last year by another company and their plumber pressured me to let him pick out a toilet model - one which he assured me I'd like. I don't - its flush is exceptionally weak. The PDS tech told me they encourage the customer to buy the toilet they want and then let PDS do the actual replacement (for a flat fee). That's exactly how I want it to work. When I decide to swap out the one I got last year, I will absolutely call PDS to do the work.

• Pros: Friendly, prompt & professional
• Cons: Calls they think are out-of-state calls go -> voicemail

08/07/09

Quick and courteous

by Golden22

I called someone else and their next opening was Monday "before noon." But I called these guys Friday afternoon and they had a fellow on my doorstep within a half hour. Within an hour, they were able to fix the problem I've struggled to fix most of the day. My fix-it guy was courteous and knowledgable and he gave me a 90-day guarantee. I wish I had called sooner!

• Pros: Arrived within half hour
• Cons: I still had to pay 81 bucks

11/17/08

Unprofessional -- Professional Drain Service

by izetip

I called Professional Drain Service based on the high recommendations on citysearch. I set up an appointment with them for the earliest available opening, which was a week away. Having to wait 7 days to get something fixed was the first problem, but for good service I was willing to wait. Unfortunately, when my appointment came, I ended up waiting 3 hours and they never showed up. I tried calling and leaving a message asking what the status was, but they never replied back. Later that day when I was at work, I finally managed to get a hold of them and was told that they wouldn't service my house (in salt lake city), answer my cell phone calls, or even call me to let me know they wouldn't be there, because I had an out of state phone number. Wow! I moved to SLC four years ago and not once did I have issues with using an out of state phone number for my cell phone.

Unfortunately, I never got a chance to find out whether they are good plumbers. But based on how rude and unprofessional they were to me, I wouldn't be surprised if that were to carry over to the rest of their service. I definitely won't recommend them to most people that I know for two reasons: 1) Most people I know that live in SLC have out of state phone numbers and never bothered changing them. 2) The unprofessional manner Professional Drain Service operates in.

• Pros: none
• Cons: unprofessional attitude