The maintenance of your home is one of the most important responsibilities you have. Our homes are not merely our castles, but they are a conglomerate of electrical wires, water pipes, walls, floors and ceilings.
In order to live in our castles, we need the right tools for each job to make our lives in the castle the most cost effective and efficient. Ideally, knowing what service you will use for each part of your home before an emergency pops up is the best plan. In order to accomplish this with your plumbing, the first rule of thumb is to check with friends and relatives to find out about their experiences with the plumbers they have used. Your friends and family will tell you if the technicians were respectful and attentive to keeping their homes as clean as possible. They will also be able to let you know if the service technician came prepared with all the necessary equipment and if they were knowledgeable and pleasant.
Another way to choose the right plumber would be to look in the yellow pages or online to find plumbers in your area. When you call them and leave a message, an important characteristic of a good plumber is how quickly they return your call. Once you get someone on the phone, it will help you make a decision to ask specific questions to determine if:
- They are licensed
- They are insured
- They have emergency service and if they charge extra for it
- If their service technicians are licensed plumbers
- If they belong to the Better Business Bureau
- What their service rates are
- Whether there are travel charges
- Will they provide references
Another important method to aid you with the decision of choosing a plumber is checking with the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana (SPBLA). This will allow you to see if there are any complaints against the plumber and whether they are in good standing with the board.
If the plumber you are thinking of employing has a website, it would be to your advantage to visit it and see what services they provide and their policies and guidelines. You especially want to know their policies about estimates, timelines, guarantees and warranties.
Knowledge is power and as an informed consumer, the more you know about the service technicians you allow in your home to keep your castle in tiptop shape, the more likely the relationship will bring you complete satisfaction when the job is done.