Reliable Plumbing & Heating Services

Dolores B.

The fan on my furnace stopped working over the weekend. On Monday morning I called Reliable Plumbing and Heating around 8:30 AM for an appointment for a service call. The telephone was answered promptly by a very courteous person, I believe her name was Shellie (sorry if that is spelled wrong), who promised to have a technician to us by the afternoon. Good to her word she called mid afternoon and said that Technician Brandon was on the way.

Brandon diagnosed the problem and said he needed to order a part, but the part should be in within a few days and he would come right out and fix the problem. He was very polite and courteous, even apologized when he gave us the quote, which was reasonable by the way, we signed the contract. He did not ask for the service call fee when he left.

First thing Thursday morning Reliable called and said Brandon was on the way with the part for our furnace. He not only did the repair but he cleaned the furnace and filters and included the initial visit fee within the final bill so we only had to pay once.

Reliable Plumbing and Heating was fast, courteous, reasonably priced and as I live in Seaside I was happy to support a local business. I will definitely call them for any needs in the future.

Edsel C.

Steve was very knowledgeable, extremely helpful and patient.
Brandon was dignified and professional. These are outstanding people.
What a relief it was for us to do business with them!

rosemary v.

I have had Jason come out to my residence on two separate occasions. Each time he has been professional and very knowledgeable. Jason installed a water softener tank for me within a timely manner and had every tool he needed on his truck. Customer service gave us a 2 hour time frame but came at the time we wanted. Making their customers happy is their goal! Give these guys a call when you need work done!

Kevin S.

Let me first start this off by saying I've never written a review for Yelp or any other site on the Internet before. As a matter of fact, I didn't even have a Yelp account before today. I'm the type of person who generally realizes that anyone can have a bad day, and that includes people and companies in the trade service industry. I provide a similar service and realize that I am not always at my best. When this happens, I try to make amends however I can. What compelled me to write this review was my unacceptably bad experience with this company, particularly after I called one of the owners in an attempt for them to rectify the issue.

OK, so here's my story: I have a rental property in Monterey whose tenant is a recently widowed senior female. She was unable to reach me to let me know that the furnace was not working and took it upon herself to contact Ben Franklin Plumbing and Heating (picked out of the phone book because they had a large ad) as there was a significant storm forecast in the next couple days. When we spoke a day later she let me know that the technician came out and said the furnace was ""burned up"" and ""furnace is no hope to be fixed. Needs replacing"" (Total cost of service call - $59). Since the estimated replacement cost is around $2500 I set out to get two additional quotes to replace the furnace prior to the storm arrival. I took time off from work to meet with these technicians. The next company to come out, who will be the subject of my second Yelp, (this one a very positive review), spent five minutes looking at the furnace, bypassed the thermostat trip in the furnace and got it working immediately. He told me it needed some cleaning of the inductor motor and fan, but otherwise there was no problem with the furnace. After cleaning the interior and lubing the fan bearings (Total cost of service call - $127), he asked me to go into the house and see if the thermostat switch was in the ""off"" position or the ""heat"" position. It was in the ""off"" position. As soon as I turned it to ""heat"" the furnace kicked on. After my tenant came home I explained to her she needed to make sure the thermostat is switched from ""Off"" to ""Heat"" or the heat would not come on. I asked her if the Ben Franklin technician ever came into the house to check whether or not the thermostat was even turned on and she said no, he had not.

After getting great news from the second technician that I didn't need to replace my furnace (at least not yet), I called Ben Franklin's Plumbing and Heating and asked to speak to a manager. No one was available, but I was told someone would call me back shortly. I got a call from the same technician who visited my tenant, and he seemed in awe that the furnace was not ""burned up"" and was working again. I told him that he should tear up the check my tenant had given him because the information provided was wrong and useless. He told me he did not have that decision making authority, but that he would have the owner call me back.

After two hours of waiting with no call back, I called the company again and asked to speak to the owner. When I got him on the phone, I told him the same story and he made the case that different companies have different opinions and they are very conservative and would recommend replacing that furnace because it's old, and that he didn't like the brand of furnace that I had. I referred back to the invoice that my tenant received and tried to explain that nowhere did that invoice indicate this. Long story short, he refused to tear up the check. I told him I would be warning others of this example of incompetence and horrible customer service through Yelp as a result of my and my tenant's experience.

To sum up, be careful because I think you get what you pay for. At a minimum, the way this was handled was irresponsible. If my furnace breaks down in the next six months, I may consider rewriting this review slightly but to make a judgment call without even investigating the thermostat is negligent and hasty.

Matt C.

Ray in the South Bay is a life saving something was caught in my disposal and found which was a small screw and did not charge me great service and great dude. Top marks

Matt, Santa Clara, CA

Kathy F.

Matthew Hopkins was courteous, articulate, professional and efficient. Thank you Matthew, now the flushing toilette won't scare off the trick or treaters! It will be nice to be back in the fully functioning shower in the Master Bath. I appreciated how Matthew gave me several options for repair and thought outside the box looking for potential hazards. Thank you Matthew! I have your card!

Howard F.

This review addresses my original one of 4/29/13 wherein I reported my experience with Ben Franklin Plumbing.
The Better Business Bureau, of which Franklin Plumbing is not a member, declined to get involved and closed the case administratively. Lena Palacio said the company does not belong to the BBB which means they are not required to respond to BBB complaints.
The Contractors State License Board's Casey Coleman disclaimed jurisdiction because a complaint must be received within four years of the date the violation took place for there to be any legal action on their part. My claim did not fall within their parameters.
The issue was also presented to the Monterey County Small Claims Court and on 10/3/13 Commissioner Martin ruled for the Defendant, Mr Etter, owner of Franklin Plumbing, based on the evidence as well as the applicable statutes of limitation.
Mr Etter had filed a cross claim against me for ""false accusations"". The court found the damages alleged were not evidenced with sufficient certainty and issued the verdict for the Plaintiff, me.

Elizabeth B.

We had a slightly dripping outdoor faucet that suddenly went bonkers and was running water big time. We called and had efficient, prompt service. Steve our plumber was as helpful and friendly as could be. He left us with a great informational packet of all the services that this business offers and it is extensive. When we need a new hot water heater (soon) they will get a call and an order from us without hesitation! Couldn't recommend this business any higher than 5 stars or they would get more. Very very satisfied customer.

Bahar D.

Excellent customer service and knowledgeable plumbers. Called them after another plumbing company flaked on me on the day of service. BF fit me right in and plumbers showed up on time to install my washer, dryer and water softener. When they didn't have a required part, someone else drove out to deliver it. The job was successfully completed and in a
satisfactory amount of time. Very pleased.

Susan H.

We've been using Benjamin Franklin Plumbing for years. They did the plumbing work when we had our kitchen and bathrooms remodeled. Steve always has simple recommendations about how to keep things in good working order along with a sense of humor and friendly personality.