Midtown Plumbing, LLC — Attraction in Raleigh

I just had a horrible experience with Midtown Plumbing, LLC. They were scheduled for last Friday, which I had to cancel for medical reasons, and rescheduled and later confirmed for Tuesday. They showed up Monday, which the owner insisted wasn’t his fault because computer systems are man-made and make errors (after Amber the scheduler told me earlier that Monday’s appointment was the one I scheduled, despite confirmations for Tuesday).

The technician told me that it seemed to work out well on Monday because we already had the appointment for Tuesday. Amber, the scheduler, called and left a message for me Monday, right as the plumber left, to call to schedule completion of work, which — given that we had confirmed Tuesday already — I assumed was for the second bathroom in our house that was having trouble.

I didn’t get a chance to call her on Monday, because my entire day was messed up by the plumber coming on the wrong day, which the owner said again he was sorry that happened but computers make mistakes, continuing to blame the computer instead of accepting any responsibility for doing anything wrong.

Tuesday morning came and went. No one showed.

I called today and was told by Amber they couldn’t come out until Friday now (as we’ve had two tubs and two toilets clogged for our family of seven). I scheduled that because I knew it would be unlikely to have anyone else out before then because I would be starting fresh with a new plumber instead of simply trying to get work completed that had been scheduled for Tuesday. She said they couldn’t come Tuesday because I didn’t have a clear path to the bathroom for their equipment to pass through, and I explained (again) that I didn’t have that clear on Monday because they weren’t supposed to come on Monday but that the plumber said Tuesday would be fine as long as the path was clear, which I assured him it would be.

The owner insists all conversations were recorded, as a threat that I would be “legally responsible for anything I said” if I wrote a negative review. I hope they are recorded, because they support my record of events. He also said that because I was going to post an honest review about my experiences, he was canceling the already scheduled Friday appointment.

(He did offer to refer to me to a few other places, which I declined because I don’t want to work with anyone he would recommend after the poor service from him. But this indicates that he felt comfortable enough to refer me elsewhere, as he wasn’t comfortable working with me but felt fine connecting me with colleagues.)

I asked, “so you’re refusing to complete my service?” And he said yes because of all the “he said, she said” dismissing that everything I claimed was on record. I began to cry, and he laughed.

I have no doubt I would have been treated with more respect by the owner if I were a man, but my husband has been dead almost two years so having him call wasn’t an option.

Even if I’m misreading the misogyny, steer clear of Midtown. They seem fine at first, but they showed up on the wrong day, didn’t show up on the right day, and then canceled the rescheduled appointment (rescheduled from the day they didn’t come) because I complained.

Edited to add: at roughly the same time, in a seemingly coordinated effort a couple days after my review, several of the owners’ friends and clients left comments on my posts on multiple sites, many insulting and others calling me dramatic, dishonest, “hysterical,” and too emotional to understand plumbing. They’ve also made unfounded accusations of slander, once again threatening legal action where to legal misconduct has occurred. This says a lot about who they...

Tim came to see the leak in our bathroom that two other plumbers couldn't fix. He was prompt, pleasant, respectful of our home and professional enough to say we should hire a leak detection specialist to determine the source of the problem before attempting any invasive repairs. While I wish this problem was over with, I appreciate Tim's honesty and will definitely call him to do the repair after we know what it is. So far, Midtown Plumbing deserves five stars. Update: leak detection revealed that there was no structural damage but that we would need a restoration company to take up the floor tiles and dry up all the water. Thanks, again, Tim!

Update: 9-18-24 Tim was here before so we knew we were in good hands with him in charge of our project. Dave and Matt assisted this time and all three were very pleasant and extremely diligent. They showed up on time, kept us informed at every step, cleaned up, and did a great job. There was some confusion because we hoped to do a pipe replacement at the same time we had our leaky tub replaced, but details about our house made this problematic. As soon as the guys realized they would have to plan on two separate jobs, they apologized for the inconvenience and explained the issues. Tim refigured the estimate as soon as he could so that they could proceed with the tub removal and replacement immediately. At the end of each day, they set up fans to dry out the leaks and gave us instructions on what needed to be done to finish the drying process. Since we need to replace the drywall removed and have the floor tiles reset, Tim capped the shower head and said I could text him when we wanted him to come back and finish installing the shower faucet. He also let me know where he had stashed the baseboard that went behind the shower so the drywall person could replace it when he finished and asked if I wanted to keep my original shower head instead of using the new one. I would have had NO idea about either of these details! I believe I can trust Tim to be honest and generous as well as hard-working. When we do decide to proceed with the repiping project, we will definitely call Midtown Plumbing and ask for Tim.

Update: 9/25/24 We were waiting for the drywall company to come back next week and finish patching the holes when I noticed that the bathroom floor was leaking, AGAIN, in the same places it had been before. I texted Tim and he got back to me that day, asked a few questions and said he thought this leak might be from our toilet. I called Midtown to schedule an appointment with Tim and they were able to send him the next morning (today!) Sure enough, the problem was the toilet that had been badly reseated by another plumber from a different company, using inferior materials. Tim was very sympathetic to the fact that my husband and I have been dealing with bathroom issues for nearly two months. He explained that replacing the flange would be extremely costly and require him to drill down into the concrete floor and the pipes, but that he could solve our problem without doing that. We accepted his suggestion of replacing the uneven plastic ring with a steel one and leaving the toilet off the hole until the floor dried and the drywall people had replaced the tiles, etc. Then, he could return and reseat the toilet when he came back to reconnect the shower head. Tim was, as usual, prompt, skillful, and kind. I cannot say enough good things about Tim and Midtown. I will certainly use them for other projects and recommend them to anyone! 10-3-24 Another great job from Tim & David! Thanks,...

The little plastic piece that regulates the water flow to the tub and shower broke off on a 70s shower fixture. I thought it was going to be an easy fix but the stem where it screws into was cracked so that needed to be replaced as well (also not a major fix). Unfortunately, the temperature control handle was so badly corroded that it was stuck tight and therefore the stem couldn’t be removed. The technician said the solution is to open the wall and replace the plumbing behind the wall and the entire shower fixture. Luckily, I was intending to repair it myself, so I had the parts on hand and watched a couple YouTube videos. Before moving forward with replacing the entire shower fixture, I suggested to the technician to cut off the temperature control handle. It worked and he was able to replace the stem and problem solved. Had I not had the parts on hand or thought to cut it off, it would have turned into an entire shower fixture replacement that would’ve left me with a hole in the wall and a $1079 bill. Whether it be a plumbing company or any company these days, we are living in a world where the bottom line is everything and why fix something when more money can be made replacing it with something new. The existing pipes are old, but copper and work fine. All I needed was a new little plastic piece installed. Overall, I was very relieved it was fixed for a fair price, but something doesn’t feel right when you have to show the repair person a YouTube video so they know how to fix it. That being said, it is a 70s shower and the technician was a younger guy. I have used Midtown Plumbing in the past and they are a reputable business with friendly and knowledgeable employees. But for this job it would’ve been better to find a plumber who’s been around the block a few times and has worked on this particular shower...