Are you searching for a plumber in the North Shore?
When something goes wrong with your plumbing, you want to know that you are in safe hands. The only way to get top quality results is by hiring top quality professionals. But it can sometimes be difficult to find the best plumber in your local area.
We are here to help. Read on for our guide on how to choose a local plumbing business.
Check Whether They’re Licensed
All plumbers in New South Wales must be licensed for the work they are carrying out. Without this they are not legally allowed to take on work.
Getting a licence isn’t just about filling out some paperwork. To qualify a plumber needs to go thorough certifications to prove that they know exactly what they are doing for each area of plumbing they are involved in.
A licences plumber will know all the relevant best practices and have demonstrated all the skills they need to carry out your job. You can rest easy knowing that if the job turns out to be more difficult that you originally thought, your plumber will be able to deal with it.
Check Whether They’re Insured
A quality plumber will take every step to ensure that their work is to the highest calibre and that they are solving problems rather than making them worse”
However, accidents do happen, which is why any good plumber is fully insured. This insurance protects you if the plumber is injured in your home and from any damages your home may suffer.
Using an uninsured plumber means that you will have to pay for any repairs out of pocket and take the plumber to court if you want to get your money back. This is not a situation anyone wants to be in.
Always ask about the insurance coverage a plumber has before committing to anything. Water can cause a lot of costly damage to your home, so it is never worth the risk to go with an uninsured plumber.
Choose an Established Plumbing Company
When looking for plumbers, it is always best to go with an established company. That doesn’t mean the biggest national provider in your area. It means a plumber that has been trading for several years.
Although any licenced plumber should have the technical knowledge to do their job, newly qualified plumbers often lack the real-world experience to diagnose an issue and provide the best fix. Any plumber will quickly learn that few homes are built following the plumbing best practices that they are taught. This is especially true for older homes.
What may stump a new plumber is nothing new to an experienced one, who has likely seen the issue hundreds of times. This is even more likely with a local plumber, who is familiar with plumbing in the North Shore.
A bad plumber doesn’t stay in business long, particularly a local one. All it takes is a few bad jobs for their reputation to be ruined and their work to dry up. So, you know that any local plumber that is well established will do a good job.
Check out their website to find how long they have been in business and for customer testimonials.
Upfront Quotes and Transparent Pricing
Unless you are given clear and accurate pricing by a plumber before they start the job, it is impossible to tell if they provide good value for money.
A common tactic from unreliable plumbers is the bait and switch. They offer a great price before they take a job, but as soon as they start the price creeps up. Hidden fees, service charges and sometimes just completely different prices show up on the invoice.
When hiring a plumber, you should be told upfront how much you can expect to pay. If not, look for someone else.
Every plumber has a slightly different fee structure, but any good plumber will be transparent and accurate when quoting you. Any additional fees on top of the call-out and time charges should be clearly shown on your quote. You should never be in a situation where the cost changes after you have accepted a quote and the plumber has got to work.
Customer Service
As we have said, a plumber won't last long if they don't leave a positive impression on their customers. But this is more than just doing a good job on repair and installation work. A good plumber will make you feel like a valued customer, rather than an inconvenience or just another job in their day.
You can tell how much respect they have for their customers by how much they live up to thier word. Whenever a plumber makes you promise, they should stand by it, whether that is about response time, quotes, or anything else.
Another thing to watch out for is plumbers that don't provide advice. A good plumber will be able to provide you with information about maintenance you can take yourself to see whether an issue requires a plumber or not.
Check out reviews for a plumber before contacting them. The one off unhappy customer isn't a big deal, but if you see a pattern of negative reviews, you may want to look elsewhere.
Finding the Right Local Plumbing Business
So, there you have it. Finding a quality local plumbing business doesn't need to be hard if you follow our guide. You need a plumber that you can trust, that knows what they are doing, will protect your home. If a plumber doesn't offer all that, then they aren't the right fit for your job.
If you need a local plumber in the North Shore, contact us today at STS Plumbing. With 18 years on the job, you can be sure that we have seen, and fixed, it all! We value our local customers, providing a prompt, professional and reliable service.
So, whether you have an emergency, need advice or anything else, STS Plumbing are the local plumbers on the North Shore that you can trust.
