George Salet Plumbing

Jiawei Z.

5 stars for the promptness. Gave them a call before noon and the technician showed up within 2 hours.

1 star for the exorbitant prices. The part of the water heater that needed to be replaced was covered by the manufacture warranty, but he still charged me over $300 for labor. I thought it was going to be a long and difficult process but he finished the job within 30 - 40 minutes.

He also charged me over $200 for a strap kit and said it was required by law to have it. When the job was finished I asked him incredulously whether the cheaply made plastic strap was really worth over $200. He said ""yeah, I had to measure and install it. ""

After he left I found out that purchasing the water heater had cost only $400, and now fixing it cost over $500! The landlord actually paid for all of this, so I didn't care that much. But I would avoid them, unless you think you have too much money. They call themselves ""your skilled, clean, honest plumbers"". Skilled and clean, maybe, honest? not really.

Will C.

Called George Salet on Thursday night (4/2/13) regarding a State water heater that had suddenly died 10 days previous. I had called Sears service (they service state water heaters) come out and try to fix a week earlier.

Initially Sears told me that the heater had a broken blower and that it needed replacement -- we did this, and it came four days later for replacement. However the Next sears tech guy (not the same as the one who originally came, which always creates problems of continuity) told me that I was missing a ""sensor"" that would unlock the heater control system, BUT, State doesn't make this part anymore (on a five year old heater???) and he suggested that I replace it with a Kenmore (Do we feel a scam coming on...) More waiting.

I talked to Sears the next morning (4/2) and they offered under the State warranty, a new Kenmore (ok, not so bad) and they would come out the same day and install it. The installer got to my house, took one look at the POWER VENT heater and said, "" I can't replace that with the model I have, it wouldn't even work in your system (power vent). I called Sears, furious (you would think someone would have written down ""CUSTOMER HAS POWER VENT HEATER, REPLACE WITH SAME"". The Sears customer service person gets on and says, ""Oh, no, this is the correct heater, however, since code has changed in your area, you now need to install a new venting system in your house for the Heater and that the tech would install a chimney (I live in a townhome, NO WAY I would get that permit, etc for a heater? Are you kidding me?? - it's a townhome that's 5 years old).

I freaked out and said ""STOP!!""

Still no hot water. I then went online, found a set of plumbers on the State website and started calling. One very nice woman I called, said they had no times to come out until Tuesday (it's Friday) and that I should call George Salet, I called George around 5, and talked to a receptionist, who was very nice, but when I went to setup the appointment for 4/3, she said, ""Oh, no, we don't service Emeryville, let me talk to the Boss, George. She then handed the phone to George.

I told George my story, he listened quietly and never interrupted me once. I pleaded and begged George to help me, since there is only so many cold showers one can take before losing ones mind. He said quietly, OK, I'll help. He said he would call me in the morning and to sit tight, all will be ok. He called the next morning and said that a tech would be out in the morning. I thanked him again, profusely.

The tech came (4/3), Alan, who immediately noticed that the lockout code on the heater hadn't been entered, PROBLEM ONE, and that, GET THIS!! I had a gas leak too BIG PROBLEM TWO!!. The idiot Sears guys never checked for a gas leak and the heater was shutting off as it should have. Considering everything, if these idiots from Sears had managed to turn on the heater through whatever brute force MacGyver jerry-rigging they were trying (they were trying), they would have burned my house down. Thanks Sears, never use them again.

Alan fixed it, turned on the heater, and ALL was GOOD. I thanks them and we have HOT WATER!!

Now, George didn't have to help here, he could have done what the other 4 state certified plumbers did when I called them, ""sorry, out of our service area, call so-and-so"". He went above and beyond the call and helped us and for that I'm very thankful.

I will most definitely recommend him to anyone needing a up and up plumbing company that helps its clients and doesn't attempt to burn down their homes like Sears.

Sasha Y.

I was given a work window of 10am-12pm and Steve showed up at 9:50am. The receptionist had already called about 20 minutes prior saying that he was on his way. I was blown away by such courtesy and he hadn't even walked in the door.

Steve was obviously very knowledgeable about his job and within 60 seconds he found the leak and gave me my options for repair. I decided to go with a whole new garbage disposal even though he said that it wasn't necessary. I appreciated his honesty but felt that I was better off in the long run going with a new unit. He even gave me some very helpful tips for taking care of the disposal. He was done within an hour and I was left a very happy camper.

George Salet Plumbing holds themselves to very high standards of customer service. I will be referring them to all my friends with plumbing needs. Steve, you're awesome!

John H.

We had an emergency and called a plumber we've worked with before. He wasn't available, so he gave us a strong recommendation that we should call George Salet. I'm very glad we did! Our home is built on a downhill slope, so all our pipes drain to a sewage pump under the house, which kicks everything back up the hill to the main sewer lines on our street. The pump stopped working, and we quickly had a full sewage tank and a nasty problem on our hands. Steven C. from Salet showed up on time, he was straightforward and easy to deal with, he assessed the situation, explained our options and the associated costs, then he got to work solving the problem. He could have pushed us towards replacing the pump entirely, but instead, for half the cost, he did the dirty work necessary to extract, unclog and refit our existing pump. His truck was stocked with all the parts & fittings he needed to do the job, so we were back up and running in just a couple hours instead of waiting through the weekend. Honest, hard working and helpful. What more could you ask? Thanks Steve!

Christine S.

After two plumber visits and three days of not getting hot water to the house, Steve from George Salet Plumbing saved the day. He was was familiar with tankless water heaters (somewhat of a rarity), and promptly got the unit working. He saved us hundreds of dollars by not completely replacing it. He also referred us to another company to get some additional sheet metal work done. They also did a follow up call to rate their work. It shows that they care about their clients, their employees, and their business! Prompt and skilled professionals are not easy to find. Don't waste time your time and money, call the experts at George Salet Plumbing.

Niko F.

Be aware of their estimates. Their estimates were more than twice the most expensive estimate i got. Do your homework before you allow them to touch anything. The worst part is their explanation of the charges. Again, DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST.

Seth S.

Alan and Kevin came out to diagnose our Takagi tankless water heater after PG&E had reported elevated carbon monoxide levels (200 ppm). Alan was honest and transparent about a range of options, from replacing everything with new equipment to simply cleaning the burner. He also suggested that I contact the manufacturer to see what is the normal level of carbon monoxide. I decided to call the manufacturer and discovered that our water heater is operating completely normally (the manufacturer says up to 400 ppm is normal), and we don't have to do anything. There was no pressure to do the cleaning or the replacement. and although their visit didn't generate any business from me this time, I was impressed by their honesty and integrity. My only constructive criticism is that if they carried a carbon monoxide tester on their truck, then they would be able to test these units themselves, but admittedly our situation is rather unusual and it's probably not something they'd use very often.

Janet T.

We contacted George Salet Plumbing for a small plumbing problem. Kevin came shortly after and quickly fixed the problem. He then suggested checking the plumbing throughout the house for possible problems. We have an older 4 bathroom home and he did find problems. He showed and explained them to us, gave us an estimate without any pressure. We decided to have the problems fixed. He began right then, after a quick trip back to the shop. When done, he again showed and explained what he had fixed. Excellent service from beginning to end.

Scott P.

Tuesday night, 9 PM, new home in new town where we don't know much of anyone...kitchen sink clogs. No way to use dishwasher, garbage disposal, or even sink. Unhappy family; unhappy me. So....

First thing Wednesday morning, use Yelp to find plumbers near my zip code. First guy I call can't be here until Friday (!) but recommends George Salet Plumbing, so I call them next. Receptionist is awesome, says someone can be on site by noon...then calls back 15 min later to say the guy is already on his way and should arrive by 10:30. Which is to say, only about 30 minutes after I called!

And, indeed, Steve appears at my door at 10:30. He diagnoses the problem, clearly explains my options, no pressure, etc. I chose which option I wanted, and he took care of it meticulously and professionally--and cleaned up when he was done. Plus he was personable and friendly, the kind of person I don't mind having in my home. Excellent work!

Are they inexpensive? No, they're not. But this is the SF bay area, and their employees have to live in this insanely-expensive place along with the rest of us. I figure I got what I paid for, which makes me a happy customer. I'll gladly do business with them again. Use them with no reservations...highly recommended!

Franz L.

We had an emergency at work and these guys came out to fix it. They were fast, courteous, tidy, and got the job done. Great service. Thank you.