I've been down the same road as a consumer. A couple of years ago, my deep-well water pump (285 feet) failed. I knew how to do the regular above-ground testing and was praying that it was a fault in the cable feeding it. I'd have thrown a cable above-ground as a temporary feed and been the hero to my wife. No such luck.......No continuity at the well head. This was on the night before Thanksgiving.
I have a buddy who is a plumber and he offered to come over and help, but he didn't have the pump in stock. I checked with several big-box stores and sure enough, Lowe's had one for $379.00 but it wasn't the right horsepower (too small). I came very close to going that route and dragging my buddy out to help me drag that thing up out of the ground. I should note that it failed at about 5:00 PM, so by the time I got the pump across town, got my friend to come over, winched the thing out, it would have easily been midnight at best before we got done.
I took the more logical route and decided to call a pro. The biggest ad in the phone book resulted in a prompt answer and a professional quote being given: $2,100.00 including installation. I was desperate, so I said that they should come on over. A half-hour later, I received a call from their on-call technician who informed me that they aren't really servicing my area yet; that the Yellow Pages ad came out before they had trucks in my area. I say false advertising, but nevertheless I am back to square one. There was no time to argue.
My wife and I keep dialing every other plumbing or well company we could find in the phone book. We left messages on answering machines all over town, even at places that claimed to have 24 hour service. None ever responded (bad business move by the way). Just when we had just about given up hope, my plumber buddy called me and asked if I had found anyone yet. Of course I told him that I hadn't. He gave me the name and number of a plumber who doesn't advertise since 100% of his business is word-of-mouth. I called the guy, explained my situation and he offered to come over that night. Without even asking the cost, I told him that I couldn't afford it.
He then gave me an idea: How about running a garden hose to my neighbor's house connected to their hose bib, then at my house connect it to my hose bib using a washing machine hose to make the male-male transition? That would give me enough water to get through the night. He assured me that he'd be over with the 1 HP pump that I needed at 6:00 AM the next day (Thanksgiving day).
Sure enough, he showed up before sunrise and began winching the old pump out before we awoke. By the time I managed to get some clothes on and make it outside, he and his helper had pulled it up with what seemed like a mile of pipe spread out all over the yard. While he had already started affixing the pump to the end of the pipe, his helper was wiping the pipe down and inspecting it for scrapes or pinholes. He was also replacing the cable feeding the pump, although there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.
I questioned him as to why he replaced the cable too, and his response was that "I want to make sure that it's right the first time. If I have to include the pipe, I'll replace that too". Of course, all I can think of is dollar signs since I have plenty of 10/2 UF in my basement. At this point, I figure that I am his hostage and that I need water, so beggars can't be choosers. I just go ahead and leave him alone while I go inside and check my bank account balance. No doubt, this is going to be expensive for sure.
Two hours later, he's done, the yard is cleaned up, his helper is outside raking the grass where they drove the truck and rolling up our temporary hose while the boss is in the truck preparing the bill. The doorbell rings and with wobbling knees, I answer it. He comes in and we sit down at the kitchen table. He prepared a computer-printed invoice that outlined every aspect of the job. No charge for the advice given the night before. No charge for the pipe inspection. No charge for the replacement of almost 300 feet of 10/2 UF. Cost for pump and materials: $495.00. Cost for labor (two men on a holiday): $600.00.
His invoice terms even allowed A) Cash or check; B) Credit card; C) Financing (approved on-site); or D) NET 30 days. I was only too happy to write the guy a check for $1,500.00 with the extra being out of appreciation for his having put aside his personal holiday to help someone else during theirs. He refused to accept the tip, but allowed me to direct that his helper receives it.
Now I understand why this guy doesn't have to advertise. I later found out that he's the owner of one of the largest plumbing contractors in my area, but just likes to help people out on the holidays. What a guy. He later told me that had it been any other Wednesday night, I would have easily have paid over $2,000.00.
I've now started "putting out the fire" by offering a temporary solution so that the customer can get by until the next day. Usually, once they have made contact and feel comfortable, they can wait until tomorrow. We don't have to drag someone away from their family, and we are assured of the job in the morning. The customers stop dialing once someone puts their mind at ease. Half the time, it's a tripped GFI or breaker anyway.
No real moral to the story, but I did learn that the next time that I receive one of these types of calls, I might approach them with a different mindset. Instead of looking to get rich at the expense of someone else's misfortune, maybe I should look at it from the angle that what goes around comes around.
