Mike Counsil Plumbing and Rooter

Natasha N.

Please note that this review is NOT for the quality of service, but for the multiple rescheduled appointments.
They answer the phone saying ""how can we make you smile?""
Well, I am NOT a happy customer. I kept spending time waiting for their technicians with my storm drain clogged and backyard flooding. NO courtesy call to inform me that their technician will be late or may not even make it today! When I called 2 hours past the appointment time, they apologized saying something like ooops, he is stuck doing some unscheduled work. Yeah, it happens, I understand, but phone call wouldn't hurt, would it?
Next they reschedule for next day in the morning, re-ensuring me that they are ""wide-open tomorrow"". 15 minutes prior to technician arrival I get a phone call saying that ""we do not have a technician to send to you, can we reschedule for tomorrow"".
Really, you still want my business? I don't think so. Again, my yard is FLOODING and it's a stormy day.
I am sure your technicians are professional and are doing a great job, but business practices could use some improvement.

Teresa G.

Today Cornelious Pringle saved the day for me!!!

I had kitchen a sink stoppage and it was just gross. And it was part of the Thanksgiving holiday, so I am grateful that I got service the morning that I called.

First, he explained to me what the problem was, and then he did not give up, and snaked it three times, so he is amazing! I appreciated his positive attitude, his excellent work ethic and how I can finally use the sink.

I will always be grateful to Cornelius and Mike Counsil plumbing. I would highly recommend them. The cost was fair, and I also enjoyed speaking with the dispatch lady this morning.

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a F.

We did not use Mike Counsil, but had them come out to give us an estimate for electrical work and plumbing. They were the most thorough plumbers and electricians I've ever seen and spent about 3 hours crawling under the house and in the attics. My house is tiny and was told that the estimate was more than $20k for work that ended up costing me about half of that with more work done than their estimate included. They get 5 stars for thoroughness, but dinged them for the crazy prices and the high pressure sales person that kept calling to get the business afterward.

Rob H.

Summary: EXPENSIVE! Some sketchy price changing that left me feeling taken advantage of.

Our bathtub drain stopped draining, and a weekend of unclogging products didn't fix it, so I called Mike Council Plumbing and Electric. Shame on me for not doing research, because I ended up paying $300 to get some hair removed from the drain pipe. When the two(!) plumbers showed up, an estimate was written up for $248 which gave me pause, but there is a $69 minimum for them to just show up, and being a Monday with a full calendar I didn't have time to do the correct research and wait for another plumber to come. Lesson learned. The sketchy part came after the work was done. The plumber informed me he forgot to tell me about the $69 minimum charge, which he then *added* to the original estimate. Ouch. He said he ""found a $20 off coupon"" in his truck, so instead of $317, I ""only"" had to pay $297. Lucky me. They were in the bathroom working on the drain for 45 minutes, tops. After doing some research it looks like the average cost of this job should have been closer to $100.

I gave them two stars because the other aspects of the job were acceptable. They were on time, polite and didn't leave a mess in the bathroom.

Ricardo S.

I got the contact information from Magic service website, which pointed Mike Pumbling as a certified contractor. First time they called me twice to schedule, they didnt even know if they have called me. But that didnt help me much, because at the end they canceled on 3 different times at short notice.
It is increditble how people can be unprofessional.

Mark P.

Pricey, but professional. You have to negotiate your price, and if you're a well-informed consumer, this isn't so hard, especially if you can show them exactly what's wrong. The trouble is that if you're not sure what kind of work they're going to have to do, you will get sticker shock. The plumbers themselves that I have had are skilled and explain things pretty well. They stand behind their work, even if they aren't the cheapest by far. Pluses than those mentioned is that they are always clean and reasonably prompt.

KP P.

Worst experience ever!

I am a single mom of college kids. I called Mike Cousil after a referral from another company. The man that came out was nice but saying ""uh oh"" and ""oh no, I've never seen anything this bad."" He had to use the camera (extra charge) & then call in the ""reinforcements"" since he couldn't clear the drain. I was told my pipes were collapsing and it was critical to replace the entire plumbing system. They came back 2 days later to quote me. As one man wrote up the estimate, he began to chuckle. When I asked him why he was laughing, he shook his head and said he had never seen a problem so big and that it was going to cost a lot of money. The estimate was just under $25,000. When I caught my breath, he asked me how much did I think it would cost and I said not more than $10k to replace all pipes. He then gave me a revised estimate closer to the $10k. Needless to say, I called other plumbers for 2nd opinions. Not one said I had collapsed pipes and indicated the repairs were slight at best. The actual cost to repair was only $1100. How sad to take advantage of people and cause so much stress.

Patrick L.

I have been researching water softener and filter for a while before deciding to go with the Pelican System which I've heard lots of good reviews and most importantly is maintenance free and salt-free. So when looking for an authorized dealer in the Bay Area, Pelican Systems recommend Mike Counsil Plumbing.

At first I was a little apprehensive when I read some of the reviews on Yelp, but thought what the heck, they do have a full refund warranty for an entire year.

So I called them one late Thursday afternoon and they were able to arrange a technician to come out to my home first thing tomorrow morning. I met Abel and he was very friendly and helpful. He answered all my 'dumb' questions patiently and explained the entire installation process thoroughly. Abel and his partner, Jeremiah, both showed up on time on the day of the install. Mike Counsil actually came out together with them to look at the water pipes in my garage to make sure everything will work smoothly and not affect the water sprinkler in the garage.

Abel and Jeremiah worked hard throughout the day, even skipping lunch (and I offered twice to go out and buy something for them) in order to complete the job before I had to leave to pick up my kids from school. They were very professional and did a very good job. It has been almost a month now since the systems have been installed and I am very impressed with the combo softener/filter systems. I'm practically bathing in 'mineral' water! I am happy with the work that Abel and Jeremiah has done and will definitely use them again in future.

John G.

My wife and I recently used MCE to install landscape lighting in our Scotts Valley home's back yard. MCE's representative, Kim H., was friendly, approachable, knowledgable, confident, detailed, patient and above all, professional. He worked around my/spouse's schedules from the very beginning: the consulting/quoting phase.

There was no ambiguity throughout the entire process, from quoting to finishing. The contract had *SPECIFIC* details of what was going to be done and when.

I'm a Technical Professional, so I asked Kim lots of questions. He was patiently able to answer my questions in specific detail.

Kim ended up being the person that actually did the work, too. We did a low-votage system consisting of approximately 18 lights on 3 circuits. Low voltage lighting has an advantage of not needing to be buried very deeply and there being no city codes/ordinances for running wires. For this reason, there are many yahoos out there that sell their installation services but deliver a marginal (at best) finished product. Kim was the polar opposite of this. His work was superlative, not because that's what's required, but because it's what's right. Wires were buried 6-8 inches - not required, but ""right"". Three transformers: not required, but right. New circuit from panel (rather than tap into existing line under house: again, not required, just ""right"".

Kim's work ethic is one that is a dying breed these days.

Yes, MCE cost more than other competing quotes. But not that much more and I had the peace of mind of having no ambiguities in the quote or the scope of work. Other competing quotes were vague and I felt like I had an episode of ""Holmes on Homes"" in the making.

Good results do not come cheap, but the work is done. ONCE. And it will not need to be redone.

Gina B.

We're happy as a clam, with the service and professionalism of Mike Counsil Plumbing. Paul, the service tech arrived at our house at 9 a.m and didn't leave till approx. 3 p.m. Saturday, May 26, working on our old plumbing. We've had major clots throughout the entire house. From the kitchen to the laundry room to both bathrooms, where water was backing up into the bath tub in one bathroom. We really appreciate Paul for being so patient.

I was at work and my husband was home to meet Paul. First he explained everything to my husband, then to me on the phone, and when I arrived home from work he made sure I understood everything that was wrong and what needed to be done right away and what can be done in the future.

As for the work, WOW! Paul had to crawl under the house several times. Fixed our leak, cleaned and fixed our clots, replace the clean out cap that was missing from the previous plumber, fixed the sink in one the bathroom and the most impressive of all...he CLEANED UP after he as done.

The cost...Well, I think it depends on the job and the previous plumber. In some jobs Mike Counsil is a little more expensive than others but in some their less expensive than others. We are very satisfied with the job Paul did and what they charged. I think it's worth having a company be professional, helpful, trust worthy, and stands behind their work. We will be call them back for the electrical work to be done.

Thank you Paul and Mike Counsil Plumbing,
Regina B