In contacting MFP & asking for a verbal estimate, I was told they couldn't quote over the phone; the plumber would give an on-site quote. When the plumber arrived he quoted $525 to install a customer supplied kitchen faucet set and garbage disposal. He stated that the prices are an established "flat rate" from a MFP pricing chart & they haven't billed using an hourly rate for a few years. So the office should have been able to give me a verbal estimate from their pricing chart. The plumber also stated he couldn't give me a ballpark estimate on how long the job would take. Surmizing no longer than a 2 hour job, I wrote a check for the $48.50 trip charge and asked the plumber to leave. I used McKinley Plumbing Services of The Woodlands, another family owned plumbing business in my area. When called, they quoted me their "flat rate" for the same jobs over the phone and when their plumber arrived he had no difficulty telling me the entire job would take approximately 1.5 hours. Able to calculate the "hourly rate" (which was still high) I agreed to the job and ended up paying $247 for the work. If Milton Frank's plumber would have done the installation in about the same time, they would have made $350/per hour. I had used MFP in the past and according to them I'm a valued customer. I emailed MFP to relate my disappointment and received a response stating they shredded my check for the service call and apologized for my bad experience. Nonetheless, I will not utilize their services in the future. I simply can't afford to pay their rates.
Cons: Over-priced and not forthright
more