Hetherington Mechanical & Plumbing Contractors

Canary U.

I used these guys to fix my radiator. The dispatcher was professional, as was the plumber. The invoice amount seemed reasonable.

Star off for being late to the job call.

Ross S.

They came for 2.5 hours. They asked for a credit card to keep on file but told me they wouldn't charge me until they sent me an invoice..
Then I get two separate charges on my credit card totaling over $1,300.
The second one was caught by my credit card's fraud filter as it had the wrong address and exp. number on it.
Hmmm.

This is very fishy and smells like fraudulent business tactics.

Jacob G.

I'm really surprised by the negative reviews here - I lived in SF for 10 years in a variety of old buildings and used Hetherington Contractors maybe a dozen times over the years and every time I had a great experience. They had someone out to fix my problems within 24 hours on almost all occasions - a couple times even quicker when I had real emergencies. Their recommendations were always right on point, work was done quickly and professionally, and always seemed to be really high quality (I never had a problem with anything they fixed again). A couple times when I had bigger jobs I shopped around a bit to compare prices and they always came in as the best compared to other reputable companies. Over the past year or two I've recommended them to a number of friends who have also had good experiences. Definitely a great option when you need work done and want to make sure that the people who do it will be honest, courteous, and won't try and cheat you. Office staff has also always been pleasant and easy to work with.

Matt G.

Called them because they apparently had some experience with a particular plumbing problem in our building with the toilets. Told me they'd call me back that afternoon, but didn't call back until the next morning. When I asked whether they could send someone over who had experience with this particular problem, the person I spoke to took umbrage and behaved rudely, stating that all of their plumbers were ""experienced technicians."" When I stated that we chose them because of their experience with this particular problem, and that sending someone with experience with this problem would save us money, he doubled down, and stated that he didn't even know what building I was talking about. We decided not to go with them: why bother when he won't even take the time to send the right person for the job?

Jeanne M.

Bill Hetherington is incredibly loyal to constant customers; I am a member of a SF Coop and Hetherington Plumbing has been our electrical and mechanical contractor for at least 15 years. I did contact him on his cell phone on a Sunday because I had that access as past president of our BOD. Not only did he remember who I was, but told me he had a truck out and would send someone over as soon as that truck was available; it did arrive, our hot water boilers were re-ignited and we were able to have hot water again. He took that extra step.

Jeanne

Petey K.

I have been using Hetherington for years since we first bought a condo in the early 1990's. I still use them. They are knowledgeable and have repaired errors made by other plumbers. Their prices are very reasonable.

Liz K.

Disgusting in lack of ethics. Constant overcharging of owners in my building. We finally had enough and fired them. No one was pleased with their 2-hour bills for stopping by for 15 minutes to shut off and turn back on water. Whenever invoices were questioned, we only received entitled responses that this was the standard. Well, it isn't for us. We should have fired them years ago but our property manager allowed for this to happen. Never rely on your property management company to look out for your HOA's bottom line. You have got to do that.

Missy D.

The worst... my property management company uses them and am pondering hiring my own plumber.

- Customer service has a superiority complex and makes excuses, blaming the customer for their inability to manage time efficiently
- The plumbers are contract hires that, in addition to often being sexually inappro to me, do fixes that require future visits.
- My favorite answer from one of the plumbers regarding a radiator issue: ""just don't turn it on"" (so no heat!)

I long for the days of old when Bill and his wife ran a tight ship. Just a few years ago Hetherington was 4 star, now down to one.

Rich J.

I had a similar experience to all the other negative reviews. The customer service over the telephone deserves more stars, but I would give negative stars for the actual visit if I could. The only reason I used Hetherington was by referral from Citiscape, the company who manages my building's HOA. Citiscape even said they've had both positive and negative experiences with them, but used them because they're relatively cheaper compared to other companies, $85/hour. I should have cancelled the appointment as soon as I read the yelp reviews.

I had a gas leak. I live in a condo. The leak was approximately 2 levels below me and 3 levels above the meter room. PG&E had already shut the gas off days before. I contacted Hetherington to find the exact location so we know where to open the wall. To do this a full pressure test needed to be done. From the person who got it done in the end, the proper procedure is:
1) All appliances need to be disconnected
2) All appliance gas lines need to be capped
3) A full pressure test needs to be performed, i.e. the gas line needs to be pressurized to at least 30 psi's
4) Find the location of the leak by listening for the hiss, even if the pipe is behind a wall (sounds weird, I know, but it really did work)

Hetherington's guy shows up. He takes a look at my stove and gas fireplace, and basically says he has a bad back, and wouldn't be able to pull the stove out nor get down to the fireplace to properly cap the gas lines. HE SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THE CLOCK HERE AND TOLD ME HE COULDN'T HELP ME, AND REFERRED ME TO SOMEONE WHO COULD!!! At this time I only had a very limited understanding of what needed to be done so I didn't know to kick him out.

This is what he does next:
1) disappear for an hour = I HAD A FULL MEAL WHILE WAITING FOR HIM
2) upon returning, he ""light"" pressure tests the line to a few psi's only = POINTLESS
3) confirm I have a leak = NO $HIT
4) rule out a leak in the meter room = I ALREADY TOLD YOU THE APPROXIMATE LOCATION IS 3 FLOORS ABOVE THE METER ROOM (the only gas smell upon the pipe cracking was around the 3rd floor)
5) refer me to a helium test company that ended up costing me $100 for a competent plumber (separate from helium test company) to cap the lines, and another $400 for the test itself

This company was able to narrow it down to within 6 feet of the leak but they didn't know what the next proper step would be. In the end, I had to call around before I was referred to someone who could do it right, then realizing everything the Hetherington guy said, did, and referred me to was POINTLESS!!!

*****EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED AFTER HIM NOT BEING ABLE TO CAP THE LINES WAS BASICALLY MILKING THE CLOCK. EVERYTHING DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY USELESS AND POINTLESS. DON'T KNOW IF THE GUY ACTUALLY THOUGHT HE WAS HELPING ME OR IF HE WAS MILKING IT ON PURPOSE. EITHER WAY, IT'S BAD!!!*****

Hetherington did adjust my bill in the end, but I still paid for something that was USELESS and POINTLESS!!!

dee l.

Used them in the past, since they were recommended by my HOA. Last time, Bill, destroyed a wall while fixing my bathroom and they tried to place the cost to repair the wall on me. This time, they submitted a work proposal for $2500 to fix a ""pipe"" that was leaking. I decided to get a second opinion from a contractor/plumber and the issue was related to something else. I had my own plumber fix the problem under $1000. There seems to be collusion going on between Hetherington and my HOA. I have filed a complaint with the State.