A customer called last year with a leaking 50 gallon gas water heater. I gave him a price to replace it and never heard back. He called a home improvement center and had a 50 gallon gas Whirlpool water heater installed and saved around $300.00 until they woke up one morning to no hot water. The customer called the home improvement center to report the problem and the response that he got was that he had to call the manufacturer directly. It took several days to have the new part shipped which meant no hot water until the water heater was repaired. I was asked to install the new part which I did with the understanding that I would not warranty the part or the installation and charge accordingly for the labor. I advised the customer that if they had any further problems, to seriously consider replacing the water heater with the brand that I install, AO Smith.

 

Had I done this installation, the part and the labor would have been covered under warranty and this could have been taken care of with one phone call and possibly within the same day.

You get what you pay for.