Bertussi Contracting

Emmy L.

I see Bertussi's has a very bad rap here. I think three pricing may be a bit high, but these guys have saved our butts more times than I can count. One of the owners, I can't remember his first name, but his last name was definitely Bertussi, came to help up in the middle of the night, when a pipe had burst in our carriage house in the dead of winter. Water was pouring into the garage and he waded in there and stopped the leak. We've used them ever since. They are reliable, do good work and are kind people.

Gill Forensic Services L.

Zero stars is more appropriate. About 3/4 months ago I hired Bertussi's to work on my hvac system which was initially poorly installed by the original contractor and to fix a leak under my kitchen sink. The apprentice for Matt Brown ""fixed"" the sink and Matt tended to the hvac. He was supposed to give an estimate of the cost for the hvac repair since it couldn't all be done in one visit. NEVER HEARD BACK FROM HIM! I called Betussi a dozen times and the secretary always said she gave the message.
Wasn't going to bother giving poor review because they did the sink repair. Fast forward to today.... Had another plumber come over because my sink was leaking again. Found out the apprentice used putty instead of rubber or plastic. Needless to say, glad they didn't fix my basement.

Joseph D.

I just wanted to relate a negative experience we had recently with Bertussi Plumbing. In August of this year the central air conditioning in our home stopped working. We called Bertussi. They fixed the problem (supposedly) billed us and left. The problem happened again the next day. They returned and told us the pan was probably cracked. They told us that since the unit was so old we might want to consider getting a new one. We asked how much this would cost they said they would go back to the office compose an estimate and call us. They never did. In the next few weeks we called three times and were told each time they would call us back but never did. This left my ninety year old mother in a house with no air conditioning in late summer. We finally had to call another company to fix the problem. I then called Bertussi and asked for a refund. They put me off for over two weeks ( at one point they said they were considering billing us for the second visit even though although all they did was advise us to get a completely new unit ) . Finally they stopped responding completely. At this point I know I will not get my money back but I would like to make others aware of their business practices.

Adam K.

DO NOT USE THEM. I wholeheartedly agree with the other reviewer that the billing practices and professionalism as Bertussi's is horrible. The called the police on an 83 year old woman that paid to be transported to their offices because nobody would respond to her calls regarding a thermostat they installed. Absolutely pitiful to say the least. Now they are claiming that they weren't paid in full for the job but we all know that a plumber doesn't leave a job UNTIL they have been paid in full!!!

The behavior at Bertussi's is reprehensible.

PLEASE BEWARE!!!!!!

Sandra d.

Well, I'd love to give a review of their actual service but since I called about 4 times and have yet to get a call back from their estimator I am going to have to leave a review based on their absolutely unprofessional lack of response.

I'm glad I never got a call back because if they are so sloppy with even the initial estimate I can't imagine what they would be like doing the actual work.

Do yourselves a favor and DO NOT BOTHER WITH THIS COMPANY! Plenty of other reputable plumbers out there.

Mike E.

Background:
This unbiased review is necessary since there are currently no reviews on Yelp for Bertussi Plumbing. I was surprised to see this since they are a big name in Pearl River plumbing and frankly, have a bit of a reputation. However, if you are familiar with Pearl River and the age of most residents, I'm not surprised they don't use Yelp.
I hired Bertussi to do a very simple plumbing job. In fact, it's something that can be done by most DIY'ers. That said, I partially hired them for the opportunity of being able to write a review based on my own experience!
This pipe routing job should take no more than an hour plus parts costing under $40 at Lowes. All pipes are threaded. No flames necessary. Like a said, can be done by a DIYer. Now, knowing their reputation and that of plumbers in general, I figured they'd find a way to charge close to $200 for the job. (e.g. 1 hour job minimum, parts markup, etc) Realistically, $175-$200, simply because they are plumbers.
About the experience:
They are ""closed"" on weekends, unless you want to use their ""emergency services"". Lord no!! $$$ I left a message about the job I needed done and they called me promptly Monday morning. Very nice lady on the phone and she booked me for that Monday afternoon. The plumber who showed up eventually gave me a call later that day when he'd arrive in 15 minutes, which was fine. The plumber was very nice, friendly and did a great job handling this simple task. He was mostly honest.
When I showed him the job, he began working and quickly I interrupted and asked, ""so how much do you think this would cost."" He indicated that ""he had no idea"". He said it depends on what the boss charges based on the hourly rate of $132/hr plus parts. hehe ...He did say that this job shouldn't take too long and no, it shouldn't. Now, plumbers charge different rates in different regions and actually, this can vary from $60/hr to upwards of $150/hr. Scary, yes. Don't even think of ever calling for ""emergency services"". At the worst, just have your utility company temporarily cut off whatever line is giving you trouble. ;)
After completing the job in just under an hour, he sat in his van for over 10 minutes on the phone with the boss, drafting the bill. Not an efficient use of time...Continuous Improvement anyone?? After allowing the clock to keep ticking, the bill finally handed to me came in at over $300. I laughed and even the plumber released a mild grin and sigh of understanding.
They charged more than double for parts, which is somewhat expected and consistent across most plumbers. The hourly rate was indeed $132/hr! Additionally, they added an extra half hour to the job. When I questioned the time (based on data I had from an incoming phone call received 15 min prior to arrival and the actual finish time), no realistic explanation could be given other than they charge for time to gather parts at the shop, leave and go to and from the job, plus they ""round up"". :D hahaaa Mind you, these parts are extremely common and likely sitting in his van every day.
Oh my. At my next performance review, I'll be sure and remind my manager about the all extra time I put in. You know, counting the hours I spend each day packing my bag for work, using the bathroom and then commuting to the office. If only I got paid for OT. Oh well.
I am satisfied with the actual plumbing job done, the friendliness of the staff and the plumber assigned to the job. However, the business approach to finances, along with bill drafting tactics are somewhat dishonest. By taking one for the team and writing this review, you can all save yourself some $$$ and try another plumber.
Since they don't seem to provide free estimates, here's a formula you can use.
P = approximate price to pay
X = approximate price of parts at local store
H = approximate job duration, in hours (minimum 1 hr)
P = 2 X + 1.5 H ($132/hr)