Berkeley Plumbing & Heating Company

Mark F.

They need to get a little more organized over there according to me.....

This is my long drawn out story......

Called Friday morning to get an appointment to have my toilet looked at. Friendly gentleman gave me an appointment between 2PM and 4PM that afternoon - I was relieved that I could find someone to come the same day since I did not want to try and schedule someone to come on Saturday. I asked that they call me when they were 20 minutes away as I do not live at the house - he said fine, and said that it was also possible that they could be available early, and would call me if that were the case as well.

I waited until 4:15PM, and then called to make sure they did not loose my appointment - the person who answered ""transferred me upstairs to dispatch"" where I was put to voice mail. So I left a message, and someone did call me back 15 minutes later (thankfully since now we are getting close to 5PM on a Friday, and did not want my appointment to be lost since I needed my plumbing issue resolved). He said that he had tried to call the plumber, but he was not picking up, but that he left my cell number on the plumber's voice mail - and as soon as he was done, he would call and come over. So I waited another hour (until 5:30PM), but still no word. Thought I better go over to the house so I would be there to meet him exactly when he called. When I got over there, I found they had left a note saying they had ""missed me"" and would be back at 1:50PM.

Hello! - of course you ""missed me"" because as I said when I made the appointment, I need to be called before you come over.
So I waited until 6:30PM assuming that the plumber would get his voice messages after he finished his current job, and give me a call... but no call. And calling the main Berkeley Plumbing Co office after 5PM is of no help - everyone is gone from the office by that time, and they don't have any type of pager service, so no way to contact anybody. I did leave a message, but evidently they don't pick up messages after 5PM on Friday either has I have not heard from them.

So after waiting all day on a Friday, original relieved that I was able to fine someone to come same day, then I end up in need of a plumber at 6:30PM on a Friday because they could not keep themselves organized over at Berkeley Plumbing Co. And they are not open on the weekends (which is fine they have the right to be open when they want - but let me know if it is not going to work so I can find someone else!). My advice: a little bit more communication with customers would go a long way.

So needless to say, I called another company, and had them come on Saturday morning since I had to have this done before Sat afternoon.

So I don't expect I would be using Berkeley Plumbing Co again... They may do great work, but does not look like I will find out.

Anne L.

Scammed also... Changed some pipes under sink and had to make two trips back to store to get parts. Of course you are charged for the time that takes. Also the installation was not done in the best possible manner and makes it more likely that sink will back up in future.

I called to have someone come out and look at the work. He yelled at me! What sort of conflict resolution skills did he use? Received no satisfaction and had to call a second plumbing company as needed use of kitchen sink.

Buyer Beware!

Stephanie S.

These people scammed us. They said we needed a second opinion and charged us for three visits. They told us they were going to be here at a certain time, came early and when no one was home, charged us for the visit. Never gave us an estimate. Took a week to get a simple job done.

Brad N.

I awoke on a cold January day to find no flame in my floor furnace and no pilot light. I crawled under the house, got the pilot light lit, but accomplished nothing more. I called Berkeley Plumbing. The man who answered (Gordon?) was very professional and clear and described what he imagined as the options, given what I could tell him. He said their rate was $154/hr with a one-hour minimum. He estimated it would cost between $200 and $450 to get heat restored -- if a repair was indeed possible, and given what I'd told him, he thought it sounded pretty likely. He had a technician come at the time I specified (actually he came 15 min early, which was just fine by me). The technician (Kurt) was personable, efficient, and the kind of guy who inspired confidence (I never doubted that I'd get a proper diagnosis and a fair estimate). Kurt finished the work in less than an hour at a cost of $215 (this included a new ""generator""). He said that ought to get our old system ""through at least one more year"" -- and I appreciated the honesty. Very satisfied, toasty warm customer here.

Jim L.

Came right on time, worked quickly and efficiently, charged us quite a bit less than quotes we had received on the phone from other plumbers. I think it's a family owned business that's been around for a long time. Very nice guy, seemed very honest and friendly, professional. I told them they should encourage their clients to write about them on Yelp, because they seem to be under-represented in reviews for a company that has been around for so long! Definitely better than my last experience with a different Berkeley plumber, which struck me as a total rip off.

A K.

Berkeley Plumbing is the only place to go if you have old hard to match parts that you want to repair or replace. I have owned two older homes, a Victorian in Oakland, and a single story stucco in North Berkeley, and I've worked as a property manager for two apartment buildings in Berkeley. Now I have a business in Downtown Oakland. Each of these places has had different, non-standard plumbing. Something as simple as finding the correct washer for a strange older faucet could take frustratingly long at OSH, Ace, or Home Depot (all great places for certain things), but at Berkeley Plumbing there has always been a knowledgeable person at the counter who has patiently listened and then has helped me find my part or solution.

Natalie C.

VERY helpful, took extra time to answer my questions and give advice. I highly recommend this place- feels like a small town family business.

Jane B.

Stormy at Berkeley Plumbing is terrific. It's almost impossible to find a plumber that not only knows what he's doing but is actually educated and a professional journeyman plumber! I had a clothes washer that would overflow every time it would drain. I had 3 other plumbers look at the problem and try to fix it. Finally Stormy was able to diagnose the problem and fix it. He also replaced my heater when my daughter and I started getting sick. He came out immediately and tested the heater (it was really really bad and could have killed us!). He replaced the heater and made sure ever thing worked right before he left. He is very efficient, professional and courteous. He will talk you through the fix so you can understand what he's doing. When I call Berkeley Plumbing, he's the plumber I ask for! He is the BEST!!

kesten m.

We've used Berkeley Plumbing and Heating a few other times with no complaints. We recently had them put in a 40 gallon hot water heater for us. For starters, the cost was $1,200 which is ridiculously high, but the guy was here and ready and we were desperate. The installation went fine and they just left a minimal mess. I handed the guy (I think his name was Storm) a $1,200 check and thought that was the end of it. I get an invoice in the mail a few weeks later for the $1,200. I thought it was a mistake, so I ignored it. I get another invoice a few weeks after the first with a late fee. I call up accounts payable and they tell me they never received my check. The A/P person asked Storm and he said I never gave it to him. Ugh. I told her that he obviously lost it, but there was no offer to refund me the cancellation fee. She at least agreed to waive the late fee on the invoice. She couldn't get my credit card to process and said she'll try the next day. My wife told me they called a few days later saying they still couldn't get my credit card to process. In the mean time, I get a third invoice. Frustrated with it all, I waited a few weeks thinking they'll at least try my credit card again, or give me a call personally. That never happened. Instead I get a letter from a collections agency telling me to pay the full $1,200 plus an $83 fee.

Yes, I should have dealt with this a few weeks earlier, but to lose my check, not pay my cancellation fee, and send a collections agency after me with late fee was infuriating.

My recommendation: if you all you care about is quality and not price or customer service then use these guys. Otherwise there are plenty of other plumbers out there.

Marc W.

I needed basic supply cost information from them and the man who answered the phone couldn't have been more annoyed. I guess business is booming. I wouldn't go to them for future services or supply purchases.