Prompt Plumbing Services

E R.

Not a big fan here.

Feeling overbilled.

Got a notice from SFWPS that it looked like I had a leak. I poured some green food coloring into the tank of the most likely suspect and sure enough the toilet was leaking.

My Property Management Company recommended Prompt. I called prompt and they did come right out.

Plumber was friendly but...

The plumber who came out used my green food coloring and then thoughtlessly set it down directly on my cream-colored marble counter instead of back on the carefully folded layers of paper towels he got the bottle off of - and ended up staining a nice chunk of my cream-colored marble counter green. I did eventually get that out after scrubbing and chemical soaks.

He told me the drain valve was leaking and he did not have one in his truck, but he was going to the hardware store (literally 1 residential block away) to see if they had the part.

He calls me from the store a few minutes later. He can't find the part, it's been upgraded on my model from the original valve. He says he probably should have taken the thing with him because without it he does not have the info he needs to identify a replacement.

So I tell him: 'it looks pretty simple, hold on a sec'. I proceed to disassemble and pull the drain valve myself, take pictures of the numbers and info on the part and send it to him via text.

The hardware store does not have it, he does not know how long it will take Prompt to order. He says they've been calling around while he was at the store but can't find it. I ask him if they've tried Excel Plumbing Supply and he says yes, they have. I tell him I'll go to the plumbing supply stores in the city and see if I can find it and I'll let them know what happens. He does not come back to the house.

I take the entire drain valve to my friends at Excel Plumbing Supply. They hand me the replacement valve and in less than 5 minutes I have paid and am on my way home with it.

Since I've already had to pull it out on my own to get their plumber the info he needed - I know how to get it back in and I don't need anything else from them. I go home and install the thing and call Prompt and let them know I don't need them to order the part or come back.

They have absolutely NO idea who I am or what I am talking about. 'They were at my house?, Today?' They are confused, and weird on the phone and they sarcastically say not to worry, 'they won't order the part they have no knowledge of'. I tell them the guy did diagnose what was broken so to send me a bill for the time he spent on it when they figure out who I am.

My entire time with them at the house, on the phone from the hardware store, and including the follow-up phone call took maybe 30 minutes.

A year later (literally this happened in August of 2020, it is now August of 2021) they send me an invoice for 1.5 hours of work. I don't mind paying them for their time - that is only fair - BUT I do mind paying them for my time - which is what 1.5 hours feels like.

I will probably pay the whole fee as it is easier than fighting their disorganization, BUT - I will not recommend them to anyone and I will be sure to share my experience with anyone who asks.

Tammy S.

Weird, scammy, dishonest.

I would have never even reached out about the overcharge had I just been issued a darn receipt!

I reached out to several plumbers for a p trap and faucet replacement. This is how is started out-
Hello Good Morning, I read your request for a plumber, our company has 16 full time plumbers we start work at 8 am. Please call me then, I can coordinate a plumber to come see you and make repairs. Richard (click to see phone number)
Here is my price estimate:
Price Estimate
$150 hourly
6/24/2021, 1:53 PM
How much to put in a new p trap (you provide parts) and to change out the kitchen faucet (we have the new one)
Richard F.
$325 total we will provide p-trap.
Can you come tomorrow at 10?
6/24/2021, 3:31 PM
Between 10 and 130?
Richard F.
HI Disco, YES we can.please call me, I need to get all logistical info . Address phone number please call me. (click to see phone number)

So I call Dick and I swear, had I not been the person to make the phone call I would have sworn that I was on crank yankers. It was like talking to a car salesman who had enjoyed too much coffee, it took forever to give him my info, just all around weird. I was informed that they take cash or check only (inconvenient) and was quoted a $325 estimate. I DID agree to that assuming that the repair would take over an hour.

The plumber showed up the next day, on time, and did the work in under 30 minutes. I was initially happy with it, so I reached out on yelp to thank them and ask for a receipt, which is typically given at the time of payment. Here's the response I got-

Hello! Thank you for getting everything done so quickly today. When you have a moment could you please send an email receipt for the services today? Thanks!
11:34 AM
6/25/2021, 11:47 AM

Richard F.
Hi Disco, I don't think we were at your place today, in-fact I know we weren't. However we can be there today. call me please (click to see phone number)
6/25/2021, 11:57 AM
We made the appointment today from 11-1. Someone came and did the work. We paid them, soooo

Dick didn't apologize for being weird (again) and insisting that he hadn't done the work, despite scheduling with me less that 24 hours prior. He just went onto say that they would mail a receipt the following week. I told him that wasn't acceptable, as a reciepts are issued at the time of service. No response. Monday rolled around and I inquired again, this time mentioning that our water filter had been tweeked during the work and we would like someone to come and adjust it back to normal. I was blown off. On Wed, I inquired again this time threating to share my odd experience on yelp. I was contacted 2 days later by Darlene, who was actually quite nice. She was able to get me a receipt and offered to send someone out to fix the filter. I turned her down on the repair as it had been over a week at that point and I had someone else coming to fix it. Darlene asked me to send screenshots of my conversation with Dick. That's when I noticed that I was originally quoted $150/hr for the work. The work had taken only 1/2 hour if that. Even if with an hour minimum and a huge markup on the ptrap, that still seemed like a heavy overcharge. I asked Darlene if she could give me a cost breakdown as the receipt gave no explanation. I was ignored for 4 days until I inquired again.

This is where Doug came in, who said he would ""make it right"". I asked Doug for an explanation of the charges and for the whole debaucle in general and he passed me off to Mark, who is apparently in charge. Mark said that Dick no longer works for them (super odd seeing as he as listed as the owner) but gave no explanation for why it would take over a week to get a receipt, why my inquiries went unanswered and why Dick had denied doing the work. He justified his charges by saying I was recorded agreeing to the $325 estimate (which is odd because I didn't argue that) and (cut and pasted directly from his email to me) -

Charges: $150/hr
1) .5 hour drive from shop to materials pick-up
2) .5 hour materials gathering and drive to site
a) ptrap replacement
b) elbow replacement
3) 1 hour installation time

So he is charging me for picking up a very common, inexpensive part that any plumbing company would have on hand AND for transit to the worksite. That's one hell of a way to justify charging someone for an extra hour of labor. Even if it were commonplace to charge for travel to the site or shop for common materials (which it isn't), he would still be overcharging me for 1/2 of work. This explanation of charges took 2 weeks to get as well.

Mark just says my complaint has no standing. But you can decide for yourselves if you want to hire a company that has weird people making appointments, denies doing the work, refuses receipts and then takes a full 14 days to give you a BS explanation for their overcharge while giving no explanation for the other problems listed. Beware, folks.

Sumitha P.

Please stay away from this service. Very rude interaction in the call given we did not choose them for installation. The tone of the call was very different from the first time when they tried to earn the business.

The initial visit was quoted 225$ when we already knew the water heater unit had to be replaced (via the plumber sent from home warranty). the diagnostic report says nothing about the issue except the unit needs a replacement. The quote was 4800$$$ and we got 1000$ less from different plumbers who got the work done in no time. Also, the plumber who I went with did not charge a insane diagnostic fee.

Please watch out given they talk very nicely to earn the business and later gets into rude mode.

Deric B.

Worst company I have ever dealt with when it comes to getting a receipt for the over charged work they did. $250.00 to put a seal on my kitchen sink that took less than 10 minutes, the guy Ronny even asked me for a 25.00 dollar tip. bad company don't even bother.

Moira M.

I found this company through Yelp rather than through a friend or neighbor. Jay and Fernando are the best. They fixed a clogged pipe under the kitchen sink. They didn't just clean it, they replaced the part. They also cleared the bathroom sink. This was not the easiest task as I live in a very old home and nothing has been updated. They had to deal with a funky pedestal which provided limited access to the pipe. They managed it nonetheless. I had put off this work as the last time I had a plumber in, it cost me a fortune and the dude only plunged the toilet! Jay and Fernando actually did plumbing and went above and beyond in service, and cleaned beautifully. They did the job and at a reasonable price. No BS with this crowd; just great work by good people. I'm so happy I found them and will use them again. It was just an all round good experience. I give them my highest recommendation.

Tom T.

My condo HOA uses Prompt Plumbing. We had a clogged in our unit's laundry room again so Prompt Plumbing was assigned the work to clear the clog. Once my HOA authorized Prompt Plumbing, I called and spoke with Darlene and requested Fernando Marquez because he came in April to unclogged the same pipe in the laundry room. Darlene was so understanding of the situation and made sure Fernando Marquez was the one to come to do the job.

Fernando communicated with me before he arrived. He and and his partner actually was able to come earlier than the appointment time range. Similar to last time, he did a great job in clearing the clog. He also explained to me in detail of what he did to unclogged the pipe. He was able to used a 50 feet snake twice to get out a lot of slush with grease out of the pipe.

I find Fernando trustworthy and has great work ethic. Hopefully the clogging issue goes away, but if it does come back again, I will most definitely hope my HOA reach out to Prompt Plumbing so I can request Fernando to do the work.

Glenn L.

My home water heater unexpectedly cracked on a week day evening last week. It was a large, 18 year old heater tied to our Jacuzzi tub, not necessarily a size easily in stock. I texted Prompt Plumbing, as I had their number from a small repair they had done for us last year. I got a call back the evening within the hour. By a day later, around 24 hours to be exact, Prompt had checked out the heater and installed a brand new one. Wow!

Zhen Y.

The HOA in my building uses Prompt Plumbing Services. I have worked with Ronys personally 2 times. I cannot say enough good things.

Last time Ronys came after a previous plumber could not clear the clog which was stuck in between 2 units in my building. Ronys had to go to the building garage to undo some of the pipes and clear the clog from the bottom. I thought it was going to be a huge deal, but with Ronys it was a walk in the park.

Afterwards he also cleaned everything up in the garage and in my apartment like nothing even happened. Each step of the way he was able to explain exactly what he was doing.

Would def. recommend Ronys and Prompt Plumbing Services!

D S.

My apartment property managers put in a work order with Prompt Plumbing because my kitchen sink was plugged and not draining correctly. Within a few hours Jay and Ishmael showed up at my front door. They immediately got to work in diagnosing the issue and fixing it. Apparently the clog was pretty far down (25+ feet) which required them to get additional equipment from their truck but overall it was still a very quick and painless process. After they had tested to make sure there was proper drainage they began cleaning the area in the kitchen where they were working - above and beyond service in my opinion.

Both members of Prompt Plumbing were very friendly and professional throughout the entire experience. I can't comment on price because my apartment property managers handled that aspect, but from a quality of service perspective I would highly recommend them and use them for any future jobs.

Hrag B.

Alright, so let me get started by thanking all of you for the amazing service and the superb actions taken in consideration with the pandemic with regard to health and safety. This team demonstrates the top of their game at every service call they go to. I first spoke to Darleen and she was the nicest Customer Service Rep I've ever spoken too and she made me feel comfortable with the service I was about to receive from Prompt. Trust me, we don't get that usually anymore these days.

Initially, we had Fernando show up to the house in Concord and he was very kind and down earth and furthermore very professional. He appraised us for the new water heater unit and after a lengthy confirmation by my management company, the management company finally approved the work to begin by Prompt's technicians. Unfortunately at this point, Fernando had to switch out due to scheduling with another technician. Not his fault though, just took a long time to approve.

The new technician arrived and his name was Ronny. He was very friendly and his skill level is above exceptional. I highly recommend him to service anyone in any similar situation. He worked rigorously and even helped me learn a few new things about my new water heater. He works very hard and put in a lot of effort to get the job done in a very timely manner. A brand new water heater is now installed because of this highly skilled service and professionalism. And even after the service, Ronny even called us back just to make sure everything was OK. And as far I now everything is still great! This is what I call quality control in service and installation; keep up with the great work and be safe!!