Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/27/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I hired ***** to replace two faucets--one in the kitchen, and one in the laundry room. (I supplied both fixtures.) The kitchen installation is fine, but I found that the basement connection was leaking the next day. I called him, and he came out to fix it. The faucet still leaked the next day. He came out again and worked on it. The next day, the faucet connection still leaked, and the system now also had a loud water hammer. He came out to fix it again, and it seemed okay at the time. I told him, though, that if this didn't fix the problems, I would ask for a refund of the installation price, minus my 10% senior discount, which amounted to $494. I asked him if that seemed fair to him. He chuckled and said it did. The next day the connection was still leaking. The water hammer was better, but still there. I emailed him asking for a refund by Monday the 19th, but have not heard anything from him. (I did allow a few extra days for slow mail delivery.) I have no confidence in his ability to do a competent job since he has failed four times, and I will to have to hire someone else to fix his mess.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/10/2025

  Thank you for sharing your feedback.

  We remember your faucet installation and the subsequent service calls. We want to provide a more complete picture of the situation.
  As you noted, you supplied both the kitchen and laundry room faucets. While the kitchen installation went smoothly, the laundry room presented additional challenges due to the existing old galvanized water pipes. These types of pipes can often be unpredictable and complicate new installations. To ensure a reliable connection for your new faucet, we took the extra step of installing new copper connections a more robust and dependable solution and you were not charged for this upgrade.
  Despite these efforts to ensure a solid installation with challenging existing plumbing, we experienced recurring issues with the laundry room connection, requiring four service visits. We dedicated time and effort to resolving the problem each time we came out.
  During our conversations, a conditional refund was mentioned. However, considering the complexities of the original plumbing, the uncharged upgrade to copper to ensure a proper connection, and the multiple visits we made in an effort to resolve the persistent issues, a full refund of the installation fee, especially after a senior discount, isn't standard practice.
  We value your business and are always aiming for customer satisfaction. We remain open to discussing a fair resolution that takes all these factors into account. Please reach out to us directly so we can explore this further.
   
  Thank You,
  ***** ****
  CEO & Owner 
  Office: ************
  ************************   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/10/2025

   
  Complaint: 21349435
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I am willing to accept some reasonable compensation. Note that we didn't actually "discuss" compensation. I told him that I wouldn't call him back if the connection continued to leak after four tries and that I would request a refund. He is also neglecting to mention a few things. Yes, this is an old house with old pipes, and I'm sure he has experience with situations like this. However, the leak that he repeatedly failed to fix is between two NEW parts that he installed. He also caused a water hammer that I did not have before. The tubs have the old-fashioned arrestors, but they worked fine in the past. He offered to install new ones, but by this time, I had had enough and didn't care to do business with him or have him perform any more work. Four trips to stop a leak is more than enough for a professional plumber.
  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** (nickname *****) ****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/12/2025

  This was a CUSTOMER provided faucet that was leaking at the union where the gasket and nut meet. The piece was egged not circular causing it to leak. We recommend providing our own faucets for instances like this so we can just replace the fixture. Our reputation speaks for itself if you review our ****** Business profile. I work for myself and do my best to accommodate all my clients with in reason and industry standard practices. 

  Also, when working on old homes and old systems there is always a chance of the system not functioning properly once work beings. The galvanized water pipe is 75 years old and needs to be updated and replaced. It is past its useful life and there would not be a water hammer problem if the piping was updated to copper water pipe and current Illinois plumbing code. 

  Yes, the 4 service calls to try and fix the leak was more than enough for a licensed and professional plumber to take care of the problem. My suggestions were ignored and a refund was demanded. You do not get refunds from the doctor when you have to go back multiple times to diagnose and solve the problem. You still have to pay for those services and I did not charge you for any additional time while trying to work with you to come to a reasonable resolution. The problem was known and the client did not want to pay for additional services and then demanded a refund. I didn't charge her for the 4 additional hours I was there trying to solve the problem. 

  The client then went on 3 other social platforms to make her grievances to be known (well within her rights) but there was no malpractice on Olympian Plumbings end. You need two understanding sides to work together to resolve the problem and she was not very accommodating after the initial work and made it a very combative environment to try and resolve the problem at hand. 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/14/2025

   
  Complaint: 21349435
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Our memories of the situation are different. Yes, this is an old house. I actually told him while he was working that if the plumbing was the problem, then that was on me. I am not unreasonable. Yes, this was a faucet that I supplied, but at NO time during any of this did ***** say that the faucet was the problem. If he thought that the faucet was egged, he would have noticed this after the first leak and informed me instead of trying to fix it repeatedly.
  
  ***** seems to think that I should pay for repeated house calls to fix a problem that he was hired to fix in the first place. His analogy is false. Plumbing is a mechanical system, not a complex biological one like the human body.
  
  I hired him because of the 5-star reviews. The strange thing is that there are a few 1-star reviews, and they are for exactly the same problem I had with himproblem not fixed, things made worse.
  
  Yes, we need two understanding sides to resolve a ********** our last meeting (the fourth attempt), I told ***** that if the leak wasnt fixed I would ask for a refund of the installation cost on the basement faucet.(Yes, he did give me a senior discount, which I appreciated.) When it did leak,I emailed him that day. I waited about two weeks but received no reply. He did not reply to the BBB, either. Here we are a year later.
  
  In his last response, ***** writes, Please reach out to us directly so we can explore this further. I prefer not to deal with him directly,but Id be interested to hear what he has in mind. I am trying to be reasonable and adult about this. I did not appreciate being ignored the first time.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** (nickname *****) ****