Reviews

I???m very happy with the service provided by Whitfield Plumbing Heating and Cooling. They came out very promptly to determine the cause of my problem (no hot water and unable to reset boiler), and after determining that I needed a new boiler they were able to schedule the install very quickly. Jove was so thorough in his work, analysing the problem and providing me with good explanations of what was going on and what was needed. He and George let me know when they would arrive, worked efficiently, were so polite and friendly and left everything in a clean and tidy state. I highly recommend Whitfield and will be using them for any future heating and plumbing needs.

Some feedback George on how you spoke to me today following a visit to my house this morning by one of your workers. I sent you a text expressing my disappointment with the service I received. It was not an aggressive message; it simply outlined my concerns. I expected a calm and professional conversation in response, but unfortunately that was not my experience. Instead of a calm rational conversation you were irate and defensive from the moment I picked up the phone to you, you would not let me get a word in but insisted on constantly talking over me so I had to raise my voice to try and be heard. I was not rude to you and expected a calm discussion about an issue I had with your service instead you were persistent in talking over me to get your point across. Not all problems are able to be resolved but the way you handled this unhappy customer was not the way to go. You have been trading as a family business for over 12 years and pride yourself on professionalism and excellent communication apparently so why wasn't I awarded the same courtesy? You have many good reviews so obviously get it right a lot but not on this occasion, it has left me feeling very disrespected. I even had to hang up on you as you were just insistent on talking over me without actually listening. You repeatedly referred to the fact that your employee stayed for three hours rather than the one hour I had initially paid for, as though this somehow meant I should not raise concerns - the worker had gone 'above and beyond apparently'. At no point was I given the option of paying for additional time. Instead, you made assumptions about what I would or would not be willing to pay for rectification works to be carried out, which was both unprofessional and inappropriate. I wonder if I was a man you would have spoken to me in the same way? I highly doubt it. I am a lay person who knows nothing about plumbing hence employing your team to carry out an assessment. A calm discussion around the issues I had was what should have taken place (and what all customers would expect) with you seeking to answer my questions not go on the defence in the irate manner you did. I strongly suggest that you reflect on how you handled this conversation - the art of listening is an important skill especially in a customer facing role. Even when a complaint cannot be resolved, or the customer incorrect they should at the very least be treated with courtesy and respect for a service they have paid for. Unfortunately, that did not happen today instead I was met with a very hostile business owner who had no desire to listen. Very disappointed to say the least and not at all what I expected from such a highly rated company. It goes without saying I would never use again nor recommend.

I was very happy with the boiler service. This is my 2nd year with Whitfield Plumbing and the engineers on both occasions have been excellent. Very friendly, very professional, happy to answer any questions and give advice. I would certainly recommend. I have only given 4 stars because of their booking system. I agreed a date then received a text saying the engineer would arrive some time between 7am - 6pm, but that I would receive another text on the day when the engineer was on his way. Come on Whitfield. I???m sure you can do better than this. I would think there are many people, like myself, who can???t keep an 11 hour day free waiting for a boiler service. I walked my dog at 6am to make sure I was back by 7am! I do hope, if I book next year, you can at least offer me a morning or an afternoon appointment. I was lucky this time, the engineer arrived about 9am and I was able to get on with the rest of my day.

So we purchased a house in the area and wanted Hive installing on an oil powered system. We contacted Whitfield based on reviews etc and they assured it could be done. They came to install the system and on the first visit said it couldn???t be done. They then changed their minds and said it couldn???t be done and installed the system although whilst here the engineer took a long time to get it working and after 2 hours of scratching his head he then called Hive customer service helpline and it was working within 5 minutes (a telephone number we could have called ourselves). Over the bank holiday weekend the heating stopped working (not hot water or heating), we attempted to contact Whitfield on their advertised Emergency Call Out, no answer or response at all. Days later we received a response. They eventually turned up (George) and stated that our heating oil had been stolen and he would possibly need to clean the system once oil had been delivered, here for less than 15 minutes and a ??200 charge. We drained the water and refilled the tank and the heating was still not working. We contacted George and he said he would not come back out to carry out the work he said needed to be done without further charge despite him already receiving payment and not carrying out the required work on his first call out. In a nutshell they have charged almost ??1000 to install Hive and the system doesn???t work properly and they refuse to help unless they get more money. I would avoid avoid avoid if you require anything other than the norm. Money grabbing coupled with incompetence.

Got a very reasonable quote after a personal survey, ok'd the work on a Friday afternoon, new boiler was in stock and installation team arrived 7:30 Monday morning. Very professional and competent team, quietly got on with removing the existing boiler, making the required adjustments and installing the new boiler. Guys were very experienced and skilled. Checked everything thoroughly and left the place impressively clean and tidy when they left. Would not hesitate to recommend.