Hillcrest Plumbing & Heating

These guys are customer service wizards!
Ok. Take this review with a grain of salt as I’ve actually never used these guys for ANYTHING even remotely plumbing related but I do have to give a little shout out for some awesome customer service love via Hillcrest last week.
I was working on a project for an upcoming event and found myself down to the wire, and in need of a saw to hack down a plywood sign. Not wanting to drive all the way to Home Depot, I Unilocaled hardware stores and called ahead to these guys.
They had no real reason to help me out. It wasn’t something that they do on a regular basis, but not only did these gents chop down my sign (with a HAND saw… I think… from the sounds of things), but they did so without charging me. No hassle. They were super pleasant on the phone, told me to walk down with my sign and they’d take a look and then saved me from having to drive the distance for a little job.
It was a super sweet gesture and that sort of love always deserves a shout out. Thanks gents for the help!

I’m a DIY’er. I fix things when I can. I can do most sinks, faucets and toilets.
Home Depot is OK, but they guys at this place know things better than most people at Home Depot. Example: electric hot water tanks use thermostats. Upper and lower. I had to replace a couple, on two different occasions. Two times I went to Home Depot because Hillcrest wasn’t open on Sundays. Twice, they didn’t know what a hot water thermostat was, and twice they were sold out when they finally figured out what I was talking about.
They will have most parts for older homes and newer built homes. I will come here for obscure parts. They’ve never failed me.

If you are like me and have lived in lots of old places and ever DIY’ed a plumbing job — Hillcrest’s stores are worth a visit. I’ve gotten free and helpful advice on how to do what I’m trying to do and they stock all sorts of replacement parts like cartridges and faucets for older fixtures that you will NOT find at Home Depot or Rona.
After saving my ass yet again, I want to thank Hillcrest Plumbing Discount Centre and their other parts store across the alley.
I feel compelled to point out the distinction between a service call and a parts store. Sure Hillcrest offers service visits and darn straight plumbers ain’t cheap, but that’s pretty much across the board. As far as the guy complaining about a $ 142.50 for the first hour — I’m not sure what planet they’re living on but that’s pretty reasonable for a plumbing housecall .
As far as a parts store: folks, plumbing parts aren’t cheap (and if they are — they’re crap). Hillcrest sells quality parts at reasonable prices, good selection of hard to find, older parts and helpful advice.
— works for me!

For a discount center, the didn’t do as much of the discounting as one would have hoped…

$ 300.30 to change a faucet!!!
Enough said.
But I will explain.
When contacted about the high bill, the person on the phone told me that they start charging $ 142.5 for the first hour ($ 90+ for subsequent hours) as soon as the plumber leaves his house.
And I quote here «If he stops at McDonalds to get something to eat, you are paying for it».
To begin with, $ 142.50 for the first hour is, in my view, a ridiculous amount to pay someone to change a faucet. That rate is one that I would not even expect to pay for a complicated job. (The only reason I did not change the faucet myself is that I am out of the country. They knew that and I believe they took advantage of this fact). Next, I have a very difficult time believing that it took over an hour to change the faucet. Lastly, I object to paying for someone to eat his McChicken and drink his super sized Coke. Eat lunch on your own time.
Not only did they charge me an exorbitant price for labour, they tacked on another $ 25 for Misc. Shop Supplies Fuel Etc.
This companys business practices are highly objectionable and I would never recommend them to anyone.