Customer ReviewsforGene Johnson Plumbing & Heating

I paid $495 for emergency service when one of two cast iron Taco circ pumps on my hydronic wall sprang a pinhole leak. I shut the system down. The plumber checked and admired the system, esp. the installed flanges holding the pumps. He hinted at $5k parts and labor to replace it, and said that I should replace the smaller working pump because it's the same age as the broken one. I said okay. Later, I looked at online suppliers for prices. Even with a 40% markup, both pumps would come to around $800. I also called the engineer who designed the system. He sold me a new Taco pump for $400 and would coach me via text to install it myself. As for the working pump, he said don't bother. Then I opened the email bid from Gene *********************** They wanted $6,577 for "preferred plus recirculating pump renovation, with possible "membership" a/o "senior discount." When the plumber called about the bid I learned his rate is $595/hr. Assuming $800 for pumps plus $1,800 for 3 hours plus tax is $2,870. What's the other $3,710 for? He said he didn't set prices and to call the manager. Instead I waited for my new pump and installed it with kind text help from the engineer. I'm 74 and it took about 3 hours to cover GJ's estimate steps like "shut down and drain system..remove existing circ device...isolation control system renovation...circulating pump ****** kit [recall my system came with flanges]...install new circulating pump...purge and test system." My cost was $400 + 3 hours. I've used Gene ********************** before and found them overpriced but this is an all-time high. I am posting this review because I worry about others, especially seniors, who might overpay by thousands for a job worth maybe $1,650 by a pro (assuming $400/pump + 40% markup = $560 + $940/ labor + $150 tax.)

The technician who came out for the leak detection was wildly unskilled. No customer service communication skills (he informed me the charge would be more than the $60 service call because he had to go buy waders and had to crawl under my house). Is looking for a broken pipe in the crawl space of a house not par for the course with plumbing? After returning from his shopping trip, he (maybe) crawled under the house but eventually came out whining about how hard it would be to get his tools in there, and I would need to hire another company to pump out the standing water (ok, so your plumbing company doesnt do that?) and then produced an $1800 quote with random charge codes and generic language. I kept assuring him that the standing water was not from a leak (the water had been off for days) and was a result of recent heavy rains and ground water behavior. He offered no knowledge or understanding of hydrology or the behavior groundwaters, surface waters, water tables, etc. And his estimate containing random charge codes, included No narrative, no discussion of the standing water, no description of the break, type of pipe, length of pipe, etc. I certainly did not book with this company and was fortunate to get another plumber out on Friday. Wouldnt you know it? The pipe break was in my detached shop; some pvc couplings had cracked. It wasnt even under the house! This company charged me $343 for a leak detection service they did not provide and produced an $1800 quote for something that wasnt broken! After days of waiting for a call back, I finally got an email from the guys supervisor saying that he reviewed the notes, and the techs performance wasnt in line with company process and procedure, and he would issue the refund. And I still continue to get impersonal and generic marketing outreach from the company owner welcoming me to the family and giving me a $20 gift card to refer others. Never would I refer someone to this company!

Gene ********************** did a faulty water heater installation from 2019 that was discovered in 2022 by a handy person who said it was a fire hazard.Gene ********************** refused to take responsibility and said it was beyond the two-year warranty, and wanted to charge over $550 to fix it.

The total cost for replacing a couple of outside hose bibs that had been damaged due to freezing was quoted over $3100 including 4+ hours of labor. This does not include the drywall repair that had to be cut to gain access to problem area.My online research shows the exact same hose bib sells for roughly $50 at Amazon but the invoice said $670 each.Enough said. I'll let you do the math and decide for yourself if this is whom you want to work with.