I’ve been a member of Angie’s List for several years. I’ve used it to find and fetch cleaners, carpenters, rock deliverers, and even dentists. During our recent holiday season I found myself in dire need of a plumber. Is there any occasion where the need for a plumber isn’t reasonably dire?Plumbing problems and holidays seem to gravitate together. Maybe it’s the company I keep, but my house pipes backed up. I also had an “outflow” problem. Sewage smells were wafting up through the lower cabinets of a bathroom. I thought I had a break in the line under my house.
I fired up the Mac and logged onto Angie’s List. A quick search for plumbers in my area yielded a list of names and contact numbers, they’re ratings, customer reviews, and the distances their businesses were from my address. My eye landed on an A-rated provider named MT Dunn Plumbing in Hillsboro. I read some of the testimonials: “Replaced a toilet, fixed a leak, snaked a tub and fixed a faucet. Was prompt and very professional, explaining everything he did along the way. Very nice, pleasant conversation while he was here. Good, quality work. Would recommend him to others;” and “Mike is a true plumber. Knowledgeable, professionally trained and hard working. We wanted to install a new bathroom and shower in our basement and Mike was a true genius with installation, ventilation, of all lines, and drain…”
I called MT Dunn Plumbing. “Sure, I can make it out today,” Mike said. The “M” in MT Dunn stands for Mike. He arrived 30 minutes earlier than he estimated. I related my problem, stating that I feared a sewage line had broken under my house. Mike popped the lower bathroom cupboards open and said “It’s not a broken line. You have the wrong vent valves installed on your sinks, and the gases are escaping. I don’t have the ones you need, but can get them and be back tomorrow.” “Wonderful,” I said.
Back Mike came the next day, new valves in hand. In under a half hour he had replaced all the sink drain valves in my house. Problem solved. That done, Mike an I chatted a bit. He came out to Oregon from Maryland in 2005, where he had been a plumber and boiler repairman since 1982. He has a 20 year-old son in the Army infantry currently stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Mike is an avid guitar player. “I own seven guitars,” he said with a smile. That’s avid.
“How long have you been on Angie’s List?” I asked.
“About one and a half years,” Mike replied. He noted: “I was on Craigslist, but there I got mostly text messages and calls looking for deals, but not much actual business. I got on Angie’s List, and business has been booming.”
For me, my plumbing nightmare was honestly and efficiently solved. That’s another Angie’s “A” for MT Dunn Plumbing in Hillsboro. It is also a fine example of how Angie’s List has married web-based technology with customers and business, to cut through the muddle. It might be observed that Angie’s List is a cyber plumber; and a good one.
