Benjamin Franklin Plumbing - Novato

Ava M.

I have used other plumbers in the past. BFP came to the rescue a year ago when my sewer line backed up on a Saturday night. Nick came out on Sunday and figured out the problem fairly quickly. The house is old and the line had never been replaced as far as I know. The work was completed in 2 or 3 days. When the dirt was not replaced satisfactorily they sent a workman who brought bags of planting soil to fill it in. When I returned a hose that was left Chad gave me a 2 year membership in their club. Nick was great. The price was steep but average and service was quick. After that I had a kitchen faucet problem that another tech sent out by BFP was not able to resolve and advised replacing the faucet after I supplied the cartridges from the supplier through CTW where I bought the unit. I contacted BFP and asked for Nick again and he came out and was able to replace the cartridge with some effort. But when I had the free inspection included in the club deal the tech found that a toilet was leaking under the house and talked me into re-
placing both toilets which turned out to be unnecessary. The tech who installed the problem toilet thought I needed to have flooring and subfloor replaced around it but when my contractor opened it up all that was needed was an extension on the phalange to bring it up to even with the floor. That seems to have stopped the leak. Another plumber had looked at it before and did not figure it out either, so I cannot completely fault BFP but 2 toilets was a big expense. When Damien recently came out re: a kitchen faucet hose leak and I informed him of the above, He arranged to replace the hose after I obtained it through CTW at no charge. I do appreciate that. Unfortunately The replacemant hose turned out to be defective and has to be replaced too. Jeremy installed that one and was very kind. Plumbing issues have been a headache. At least BFP tries to make things right.

Jan B.

I am writing to thank Benjamin Franklin Plumbing for providing such excellent customer service in SO many ways. I am a Marketing Department Director in another field - and am familiar with the challenges - so I am especially appreciative of your work. Not in order of importance, I love the following things about BFP:

#1 - the first greeter and the dispatchers are such great ambassadors for your company. Kim, who was dispatching today and Ondrea, who was answering the phone were so courteous, responsive, helpful to me today with something so minor compared to other call they must have gotten.

#2 the Home Protection Club is a brilliant concept and so helpful. I feel as if I am in such good hands with an annual inspection.

#3 I have had service from both Adams, Kurt, and Jeremy - and they are ALL so knowledgeable. They ALL have great ""pipe-side-manners"". They are great problem solvers, they come when they say, they can fix anything, and they have a sense of humor. What could be better?

Plumbing is usually a nightmare and headache. You take away the pain, and you make it work, and I appreciate all of you.

To the leadership - Wow! I hope you tell your team how good they are and that you appreciate them. They deserve it!

Leslie F.

Had clogged sink on a Sunday - no time to make an appointment and wanted someone to come and fix it that day. They come and diagnosis, give estimate and fix all in one visit - no leaving to go to a hardware store and buy parts or tools as they come with a big truck carrying parts and tools. The plumber, Mike M, was stellar. Very professional, nice guy -- I felt very comfortable with him in my home. English speaking. My sink is really old -- old narrow pipes -- a plumber could have made things worse/broken the trap --- and he used a delicate, small snake and avoided that -- phew! So, I give Mike M unqualified 5 Stars. Also, I didn't have to clean up anything afterwards. Only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that it seemed overly pricey to me - but honestly, was worth it for the hassle-fee-ness and the peace of mind.

Jerry B.

I used a friends recommended plumber to fix my water main and the manifold leading into the house and irrigation system. I had to be on him constantly to dig the ditches to code depth and had to run to the hardware store for him. In the end the ""manifold"" he put in was an absolute nightmare in appearance, it leaked and part of my house was not getting water.
I then called Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. Ryan Contrera was the plumber who came to the house with an associate. They were both very professional. Ryan is very knowledgeable. He pointed out what he felt needed to be done and gave me a price. The price was at the high end of what I had hoped but since I had such a bad experience and Ryan showed such knowledge of what needed to be done I agreed to schedule the work.
Ryan and Danny showed up and got right to work. The end result was a very clean installation and at the end of the day the entire home was getting water and there are no leaks. Ryan and Danny did great work. Ryan's copper work was very well done and I came away feeling that, although they are not the lowest priced folks on the block they certainly are professional and do very good work. I strongly recommend them and particularly if you can reach Ryan Contrera.

craig a.

First off, this is a review for Benjamin Franklin in Novato, CA. Be mindful that Benjamin Franklin is a franchise operation so the quality of service can vary with the owner of the franchise. When looking through these reviews, if you live in Marin County, look at the reviews IN Marin County. I have found that they are consistently positive. I have also discovered, through my experience with Ben Franklin recently, there is a good reason for these positive reviews..

After our house (Eichler in Terra Linda, San Rafael) flooded around midnight, Ben Franklin was the only plumber my wife could get in touch with. They ended up dealing with the problem professionally, thoroughly, and their prices were in line with other professional plumbers in the area. Yes, they have a ""rate book"" that is ostensibly ""expensive"", however, as I looked at it, I had seen those same rates at other professional plumbers, and I verified w/ my contractor that those were standard rates. I don't know if you've heard, but plumbers are expensive, period.

I ended up spending almost $7,000 at Benjamin Franklin, and I was happy to do it. I did my due diligence before they went to work, and their prices were in line. I have also come to understand that the problems in my 1950s era house are very common in the neighborhood. Many neighbors have had the same work done. Nobody got it done cheaper with different plumbers, and nobody had a better experience than I had. In fact, someone across the street had the same problem SIMULTANEOUSLY that I had. Their plumber had to come over and borrow equipment (and knowledge) from my guys. It was like a funny reality show contrasting incompetence w/ competence. Benjamin Franklin, was extremely professional, and honest through every step of the process (which included guys hanging around our house, breaking concrete etc. Believe me, you want the right guys involved. And you want them to be polite and professional).

I want to give a special shout out to the employee who was in charge of our job, Cree Kliegel. Cree was knowledgeable, honest and professional to the point where it reflected very positively on the entire franchise. Absolutely loved this guy. And believe me, ""plumbers"" and ""love"" have never gone hand in hand with me before. I would hire Cree again in a heartbeat, and will request him if I ever have another plumbing job.

j b.

very expensive. Beware their fancy advertising, this is a National Franchise. They bill by JOB (a flat fee), so changing a seal, or washing machine hose, etc. might be $200.00, whereas a plumbing billing by the hour would be between $80.-- $100.00. I have a fantastic young, plumbing contractor to maintain my buildings and he charges $80.00/hr - and he is GOOD!! I would put his name down but I don't want him to get too busy or I won't be able to get for my jobs...

I got estimates from Ben Franklin a while ago for a job, and by the time they added up all costs it was about $500.00 more than the other contractors, on a $2,500 water heater replacement!!

Plumbing ain't brain surgery, so SHOP around - beware of the big ads in the YELLOW PAGES, those are the sharks aiming for suckers and old ladies in desperation. Plus, they have employment turnover so often you are getting a guy with minimal experience.
That advice applies not just to Ben Franklin but any of the big picture ads (usually franchises).....Remember the bigger and bolder the ad (and claims to go with it), the MORE you gonna Pay.

Margaret f.

I called BF to fix a seroius leak in the toilet -they came within 4 hours. I waited for another plumber who said it would be 3 days. Job done-they had to return for a minor alteration-but I was satisfied with their work.

Cindy S.

Sprung a leak in outdoor pipe. No water. They know they have you. Ridiculous charge for small fix. Signed contract. At end of day, they wanted $559 more for ""access charge"" and $500 for going to Home Depot for part. Found out BF is known in plumbing biz for trying to eek out every dollar. Company gets set fee. Anything extra goes to site mgr. Avoid like the plague!

Micah I.

Excellent service. Professional staff and competitive pricing. I recommend them to my friends and family.

Denise L.

Dear Benjamin Franklin Plumbing (BFP),

Taking good care of me is kind of important. But you act as if it isn't a big deal. And you're super incompetent. You've failed multiple times and your performance is terrible! I feel like my time has gone to waste -- time spent wishing and hoping you and I could work things out.

I strongly wish to never see you again. Please don't call.

Regards,
Dopesauce
____________________

Here are 4 incidents that highlight why I would recommend NOT hiring this company to replace your water heater. Note that in each of these cases, one of my roommates or myself had to take time off work to accommodate the chaos.

INCIDENT 1:
A technician checks out our broken water heater. The unit is 30 years old. Water heaters are supposed to be replaced every 10-12 years, so this one is well past its limit. Instead of recommending replacement, the technician installs a thermacoupler (new part) on the old water heater. It doesn't work.

INCIDENT 2:
The Big Bad BFP sends out a brand new inexperienced employee to replace our old water heater. The employee removes the old water heater on his own with much difficulty and installs the new one.

Wrong water heater. BFP actually sent the poor employee with a water heater that did not accommodate the central heating. Clearly training is ineffective or non-existent. BFP refunds the money to our landlord, which is great, but at this point we end up having to stay home yet again for the reinstallation.

INCIDENT 3:
The incorrect heater is swapped out for the correct one, but now our water pressure is terrible. It's so low it takes a really long time to wash dishes, as it trickles in a thin stream.

INCIDENT 4:
Also, the water heater installation did NOT pass the City inspection and they will have to come back to adjust per the City's requirements. I guess this means I will have to see them again after all.

Sigh.