Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Rick R.

My first experience with Ben Franklin went a little awry, but after sharing my experience on yelp the manager promptly messaged me, apologized, and asked how he could make it up to me. I was impressed with his efforts and his sincerity. The manager, Ron, is an honorable guy, and when I did have another issue, he dispatched a tech named Daniel to my home to help get me sorted out. Daniel arrived promptly and got me up and running again with utmost professionalism.

Goes to show that everyone deserves a second chance. Give Ben Franklin of Concord a chance - you won't regret it.

Roscoe C.

hot water heater control unit went out on a install BF did 1.5 years ago. Called at 715am, guy was there by 8am, had part in stock, fixed it under warranty and flushed tank and was on his way.

Susan L.

My sewer line was broken in three places. It was a big, hard and nasty job but the guys were cheerful through out. They installed my tankless water heater some years back. I would not hesitate to call them for any future plumbing needs.

Laura F.

After writing this review, I was contacted by the new management of Benjamin Franklin. Ron, reached out to me to address my concerns and to assure me that this is not how the company will be operating in the future under new management. I was very impressed with not only the written apology and follow up but I was also sent a check to pay me for my wasted time. This was unexpected and appreciated. I will continue to use them in the future!

Michelle O.

Extremely disappointed!!!! The hot water stopped working one bright Saturday morning, we immediately contacted PG&E to come out and fix the problem. In short , the PG&E technician informed that we would need a plumber due to an issue with the water heater & that this problem was not a pilot or gas problem. We finally scheduled an appointment the following Saturday with Ben Franklin company from Concord. A plumber by the name of John (a tall goofy fella) came out to assist. He talked us into to purchasing costly (thousands) tankless water heater which is considered an upgrade from the standard water heaters that are in most homes. The tankless water heater is flat and is to be installed on the wall. He began that Saturday, but informed that he had to come back Sunday day to complete the job. He said it would be after he goes to church. We were expecting him early to mid afternoon at the latest. This guy finally shows up after 5pm gave us all this jazz about a broken down truck and worked until 12:00am the next morning which was Monday. He did not complete the job and we agreed to let him come back the next day to finish. We left work early to meet at the agreed time which was 4:30 he did not get there until after 6:00pm (maybe closer to seven). He gave an excuse as to why he was late. He showed up with his dog as well who sat in the truck for several hours because this time he didn't stop working until nearly 1:00am. He says that he needed to come back the following day to complete the job due to not having a latter. He agreed to come at 5:30 did not show up until 8:00pm gave some bs story blah, blah, blah. He stayed until the next morning. I have my days a little mixed up but each day he stayed until some ungodly hour always until the wee housr of the morning. This morning he stayed until 3:00am!!!!! There are two working adults and small child in the house. All the while we are without hot water and gas to cook. He came yesterday after 8:00pm. He came with an excuse since he was much later than the agreed time. We got up for work and school this morning and the entire 1st level of our town home was permeated with gas!!!! He left the gas leaking while we were upstairs sleeping!!!! Immediately, we called PG&E they shut out gas off and says it will be off until further notice of the problem being corrected followed by another inspection of PG&E to confirm for safety purposes. In short the PG&E tech that came out this morning says that the plumber had some really ""shotty work"" and spotted serveral mistakes. John mad drilled several holes in the walls. The PG&E tech says John's patch work looked like 'pancake mix'. Ben Franklin sent someone out this morning to correct the problem . They vouched for this guy saying he was one of the best and wanted to show him how to install the tankless heater since it was his first time. They wanted John to stand around and watch how the job should be done. I don't want him near the house! He could've cost us our lives!!! Basically he came and f*%ked a bunch of stuff up.Much time, sleep and wages have been lost in this most horrific experience. I began to feel unsafe knowing this weirdo was in our home extremely late not having a clue as to what he was doing but we tried to keep good faith as we are forgiving people. This new installation is costly and unexpected, they have not agreed to waive any fees due to inconvience or damage of the property. I am out done!!!!!!!!!!!

Shiny K.

DON'T. Go get competitive bids and chose another company. This company recommends work that doesn't need to be done and severely over charges for it. This is especially true when they have someone gullible and trusting. I may not know plumbing but when speaking with the local manager I recognized sewage when I heard it. Go elsewhere.

Martha B.

Follow-up: Two weeks later I've received a refund of $100 from B. Franklin, which is certainly an improvement. Not sure I'd want to go through that experience again though.

Sean G.

Had Benjamin Franklin plumbing out (on an emergency call) to unclog our main sewer drain, right after we moved into our newly remodeled house.

The tech arrived on time (Sames day!) and soon was rooting out the problem (bad pun I know)...

The tech got everything finished and then showed me the pipe and the roots he had cut out to free the line via a camera mounted at the end of a long retractable cord.
Satisfied I was ready to pay for the service and was a happy customer (Full 5 stars at this point). Final bill $265

However then the tech took the opportunity to suggest I get the problem taken care of once and for all. I then started getting the hard sell to ""fix"" the problem inherent in my line by bursting and replacing the sewer feeder all the way to the street.

Now I will say that the line leaving my house is not in the best shape (as seen via free video monitor). At some point I'll probably have to do exactly what the tech suggested, however the approach was really what floored me...

The Tech told me that he'd be happy to schedule the service right then and there to be completed in the next couple days for,... ""Oh,... hmm,.. say $23K!"" ""I'm sorry"" I said?! ""Like $23 with three 000's?!??"" After telling him NO WAY he graciously got on the horn with the central office and offered to drop it to just $20K since he was already here..
As a fellow Sales person I was immensely impressed with his ""go for the gold"" upsell approach. However not to be one to drop $20K on a whim I politely declined his generous offer and told him I'd need to do some further investigation myself =)

Had another (Great) company out the following week and the guy suggested I roll with the current fix for awhile and see if there were any repeats before I did anything drastic. Looking for a comp I asked him what he's need to do the job and he stated that it shouldn't be anything north of $13K. (This individual is a reputable contractor who could quote all the regs in my town and wasn't trying to sell me at all).

Needless to say, BF's good for the immediate need but be careful of any ""additional"" items they might identify!.

Tim P.

I scheduled an appointment with them to repar my water heater. They told me they would be at the house between 3:00 and 5:00. They called at noon to say that they didn't have a technician avialable and suggested that I call another company.

C G.

5 stars for this recent appointment, which went off without a hitch. Let me say that I do not appreciate being asked by email and then by telephone to submit a Yelp review. The best reviews, good or bad, should be unsolicited.

The brand new toilet that I had installed in May 2014 started leaking water into the subfloor by November 2014, which is why I called Benjamin Franklin again. They came out and fixed it within 2 days without charging me. The work was under warranty, which was a relief.

They have done quite a bit of work for me in the past, sometimes with scheduling confusion and frustration. They do try to resolve issues of concern.