Barrell Plumbing & Heating

36 Spinelli Pl, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Address:	36 Spinelli Pl, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Phone:	+1 617-864-5050
Site:	barrellplumbing.com
Rating:	1.7
Working:	8AM–4:30PM 8AM–4:30PM 8AM–4:30PM 8AM–4:30PM 8AM–4:30PM Closed Closed

Location

Photos 5

Reviews 7

Joan Papendo

Have not written any reviews before but am startled by the negative portrayal of longterm Plumbing and Heating Cambridge firm. I have used other plumbers for emergency and installation jobs and liked them. When it came time to replace our fifty year old furnace we started in researching in spring and chose Barrell. Other plumbers have uniformaly admired their choice of furnace and the workmanship. I would say the reception and scheduling is old school and if you kitchen floor has less than two inches of water ,even charming. No phone tree is a plus to me. That said I think their focus is on contract work. They more than lived up to the job and given our funky house it posed challenges. Crew was professional and they pointed out rebates and helped complete them. They were stellar for the job we needed them for. Only reason I did not give them five is I dont like to gush and they are as New Englanders, not likely to want me to. Note:. They are closed on weekends, not a problem for me but it is a tip off for their focus.

Dan Thsui

Barrell Plumbing is the worst service provider I have ever encountered. The receptionist is so rude and unprofessional. She slammed the phone while I was trying to explain to her that I never received any confirmation of appointment, so they should not charge me as there was never an agreement of order. I got not only excellent services from another provider, but also email confirmation and introduction of the team that would be working on my order. I received further email follow up from that provider to ensure I was satisfied with their service. Its like day and night compared to what I got from Barrell: rude receptionists (a woman and a man), no confirmation of appointment, $165 bill for dispatch fee and labor charge while they did not perform any services. I dont know how they can live with themselves charging people for nothing.

Anonymous User

Their dispatch rate is $45 dollars, the lowest I could find. However, their hourly rate is $95/hour; they also failed to mention it on the phone. The plumber spent an hour and a half to change a simple gas heater ignition (charged $38 for the part!). Three weeks later, a charge for $226 appeared on my card - no bill, no invoice, nothing. I called to see if there is a mistake; the person who answered the phone accused me of not listening! I am 100% sure they never mentioned their hourly rate. Then I pointed out my experience with a different plumber ($75 dispatch that includes one hour) he started laughing! Such short sited businesses should not last too long in a market that demands honesty and integrity.

Christian Symonds

After pricing around for a water heater replacement, I decided to go with Barrell because the price they quoted was pretty much the same as what other companies were charging and they were already familiar with our building. But when I subsequently spoke with the dispatcher to schedule the install, she said the price would actually be $500 higher than the original quote. Obviously I did not go through with this company doing the work. Not sure why they would quote me one price (which I confirmed on a 2nd call) just to have them raise the price by $500 when I go to schedule.

Min Gyo Koo

Not reliable. The plumber didnt show up at all on the scheduled date. I called the office to see if s/he was coming late. The person who answered the phone almost yelled at me that I didnt receive her calls to my home phone. It was unfortunate that I missed her calls, but I was never told that she would make a confirmation call before their crew shows up. I was expecting the plumber, not her call. Dont want to deal with these people again.

William Burke

After a few bad experiences, I stopped using them. They take forever and are always trying to charge for unnecessary work. Im ok with being ripped off a little bit - all workmen do that - but these guys take it to another level.

Walter Fontana

A simple annual maintenance call on a fully functional system, half of which was installed by them the year before: $172 for parts (includes 60 for refrigerant) plus 2.5 hours (!) at $120/hour for a total of $472. Overpriced?