John Baethke & Son Plumbing

3511 N Cicero Ave, Chicago, IL 60641, USA

Address:	3511 N Cicero Ave, Chicago, IL 60641, USA
Phone:	+1 773-570-1720
Site:	emergencyplumberchicagoil.com
Rating:	4.4
Working:	Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours

Location

Photos 28

Reviews 4

Jeremy Abrams

This company is absolutely horrible. Around 11 PM on Friday, I noticed that my bathroom sink was heavily leaking water into the wood cabinet below it. I looked for a 24 hour plumber with good reviews and came across this company. The reviews are wrong. Upon calling the first time, I was told that due to "policy", the company will only speak to the owners of my rental. I contacted my landlord who kindly reached out to the company. Since it was late at night, an answering service was managing the calls. The answering service told my landlord that they were treating my leak as an emergency, and would dispatch someone immediately. They also told my landlord that the plumber would call me directly. I waited a half-hour before calling the answering service again myself and asking for a report. I hadnt heard from the plumber and nobody had arrived. The service said they would reach back out to the person dispatched and have them call me with an ETA immediately. After waiting another 15 minutes I called again, informing them that I never received a called about the ETA. They said, somewhat frustrated, that its only been 15 minutes and I should wait longer. They also said that, since they are only an answering service, there is nothing else they could do to help me. I fell asleep around 12:30 and woke up 1:30, still with no ETA and no plumber. My sink was still leaking profusely and I had soaked two towels (multiple leaks made the water difficult to catch in buckets). I called the company again and a different woman from the answering service picked up. I told her it had been hours and I hadnt been contacted or visited by the plumber. She gave me the same old message: she will contact dispatch and ask them to call me about the ETA, but there was nothing else she could do and she had no other information. I went to sleep. Woke up at 6 AM. A plumber never arrived and I did not have any missed calls from the company or an associated plumber...and my sink was still heavily leaking. I called a different company and they arrived immediately. This is how this company treats "emergencies." Dont use them. They are awful.

Jamie Hegarty

I called John Baethke because I had water coming out of my wall and needed prompt attention. I had previously used his company for routine water heater maintenance, and their work was good, so I figured Id try him again. I called in the evening, and I was told that he would have someone out to my house the next afternoon. At 5pm the next day, I called and asked when I might expect someone to arrive, and I was told that I was not on their service list. I asked to speak with John directly, as I had made the appointment with him, and he called me back five minutes later. I described our previous conversation in detail and told him politely that I expected him to honor his commitment. He told me that he had no memory of the call, that he probably spoke with 100 people yesterday, and the best he could do was get someone out to me 24 hours later (i.e., 48 hours after my original request and 24 hours after his commitment to me). I told him that was not acceptable and that I shouldnt have to go to the back of the line. He then basically told me that I was out of luck. At that point, I told him I thought that was unacceptable and I was thinking about what I would put in a Yelp review. As soon as I brought up Yelp, he started grew hostile and started yelling at me. I never raised my voice with him, despite being very unhappy that he was blowing me off, but the mere mention of the word Yelp set him off. He finished yelling and then hung up on me. He was terribly unprofessional. Bottom line -- he failed to show up and cost me precious time that I wish I had spent finding another plumber. Moreover, he was not the least bit apologetic. People make mistakes, and its pretty clear he just forgot to write this down. But the fact that he made no effort to apologize or otherwise fix the mistake other than put me in the back of the line was terribly disappointing. Anyone who cares about customer service would have at least managed to show some sort of regret. I am giving 1 star only because zero stars is not an option.

Anonymous User

Seriously wish I read reviews before calling them. Not only were they expensive they were very inflexible with payment. It was way more than you would expect and addtionally the job wasnt even successful in solving the problem. Then I get a call the next day stating that they tried to run my card 3 or 4 times and they came back declined (Thats because they were holding an authorization form that specifically stated $89.50 -not $800 something - and additionally I have transaction limits set on my cards). They say that they take check or credit card but demand a credit card at the end of the job. Barry in the office would be really good as a debt collector. Just be aware that he will run whichever card you give him the next morning even if he doesnt have the authorization to do so. His insensitivity rings clear even when setting the appointment... I suppose I should have stopped the process right then and there but I shrugged it off because they were reccomended by a friend. I ended up buying a $142 plumbing service agreement because it saved me $18 in the end... but I asked and did not recieve any document explaining what this entitles me to (The plumber said that there was a check up they do and that it entitles me to their special pricing... even though I really will not use them again). In the end one of the two problems was fixed. (Which involved soldering part of two joints- equaling less than 10 minutes of work for about $400). Call me a sucker or what you wish but I should have taken the $90 destination fee as a loss when I saw the prices. Like others have mentioned the prices are per job and set out in a book that the plumber looks them up in...

Margaret Larkin

They are very expensive, so if you dont want to spend much, go elsewhere. Ive used them a few times and each experience has been fantastic. Its like having a highly educated and trained engineer come to your home. They are super-professional, polite, keep their workspace clean, and do work that doesnt have to be redone. If there are two guys on a job (in one case that I paid hundreds of dollars for a simple dishwasher install, there was a second guy who was training), they stick to talking business with each other as well as with the customer. I especially saw the difference when I had to deal with some other plumbers. A knowledgeable guy I knew did something plumbing-wise that I later learned was unethical. Another guy was loud and cursed often and pretty much handed off most of the work to his less-experienced subordinate. On another occasion, a guy who called himself a plumber hired some clueless people who didnt even know enough to turn off the valve, so water burst out and filled the floor. An individual plumber who was recommended did not explain the situation well and seemed rushed. A couple guys who worked together on a project talked loudly with each other about all non-work issues, worked slowly, and I really didnt trust them. Baethke is trustworthy and definitely a cut above everyone else. Youll just have to pay more for such stellar service. I also recommended them to a neighbor who was going to move and manage her condo from another state, and I warned her about the high prices. She said she didnt care because she wanted to make sure they did a good job so that she wouldnt have to worry about any problems. She used them and was pleased.