Based on some negative reviews, I initially had some trepidation about contacting Payless Water Heaters for a third quote on replacing our 12-year-old 75-gallon Bradford-White gas water heater, which was very near the end of its life, evidencing a slow tank leak. But it was going to a straightforward installation, especially since the original installer (Better Water Heaters) did a fine job including unions at critical joints to make the eventual swap-out easy.
As an experienced homeowner and handyman, I know what I'm doing even if I'm paying someone else to do it. So when Joel from Payless came out (less than two hours after I made the call), I could see that he knew his trade and we had a nice discussion about the job requirements. As I'm sure he's instructed to, he started to explain their different offerings starting with the most "deluxe" package which includes an extended warranty and some extra devices (such as leak detection). I never take those things and asked Joel to skip right to the "basic" economy installation package, which he did without hesitation. He gave me the price and much to my surprise it was several hundred dollars less than the two preliminary competing quotes I had, and it included the exact same Bradford-White URG275H6N unit and 6-year factory limited warranty, as well as a couple of not strictly necessary but prudent plumbing upgrades, like replacing the 12-year-old old flexible water inlet and outlet hoses with brand-new, custom-bent solid copper pipe.
Joel quickly and competently answered a few questions. As is my habit, I told him that I would evaluate the competing quotes and get back to them soon. He left, and I started double checking my other quotes. But 5 minutes later Joel was back at my front door to inform me that he would not be leaving for a while. An unrelated vehicle breakdown had just occurred in front of our driveway, and he would not be able to get out until after a tow truck arrived and cleared it, perhaps up to an hour. At that point, after phoning his office, he was able to offer a further discount if I would accept the discounted price and let him start immediately. I'm happy that I did. An hour later, Joel had removed the old water heater, the disabled vehicle had been towed away, and his colleague arrived with the new unit. After a total of about two hours, the job was done. No problems at all.
I was impressed with Joel's professional manner throughout the process. At the very end, when it came time to pay, the card-swipe unit tethered to his tablet would not read my credit card. He offered that we could enter the card number and other info directly on his tablet. I agreed and he handed me the tablet, opened to the payment-entry page, and backed up two steps so that he was no longer in a position to see me enter my credit card number etc. He may be very sensitive to and considerate of customer privacy and security issues, or this may be part of his training, but either way I thought it was very good and it gave me the sense that I was dealing with a very reputable company.
No hot water in your shower? You shouldn’t have to go another moment without the warm water you need. 
