Rob West Plumbing

Patrick D.

Not properly staffed to do emergency work. I thought based on the reviews I could count on these guys because they were a small shop and responsive but being a small shop also means that they cannot service their customers in time of emergency. This is the second time they are fixing the same issue that I paid top dollar to fix 4 months ago. I was thinking that would make the difference to have the issue fixed and I am not happy that they were not able to diagnose and fix the issue the first time out. Now I can't get them out here. I get the small business thing but you have to be staffed for emergencies.

Marvin H.

Rob West fixed my clogged drain. Twice. I can't tell you why my drain clogged twice recently, but Rob West can...I will need him to sign plumber-patient confidentiality next time...

Vlad Z.

We had a plumbing issue in an old building with 3 condo units. The drain pipe was leaking somewhere inside the walls. Rob West Plumbing sent two people (plumber and assistant) out to investigate and make the necessary repairs. The project took all day and required opening up walls and replacing a significant amount of the original (rusted out) sewer pipe. Not only did they replace the pipe, but they also did a nice job of sealing where the pipe enters the building's catch basin. They did an excellent job and we are very satisfied with the result. I strongly recommend Rob West Plumbing for their skill and professionalism.

Marisol M.

It pains me to have to give Rob West a bad review, but after today's developments I will never use his services again. Rob replaced our ejector pump about 4 weeks ago. However, yesterday we discovered it was not working properly. Both my husband and I left messages for Rob. Immediately upon calling back, Rob was giving us a hard time about sending someone. I know it's Thanksgiving weekend, but at least get someone out here to check it out. All he kept saying was that he stands by his work and that there are fees associated with the visit. He also insinuated that we most likely clogged the pump. I don't care about paying to get it fixed, but we were on vacation for two weeks after we got the new pump, so technically we've only lived with it for two weeks. Instead of coping a plea, he should have said he'd look into it and that we'd have to pay a fee if we had managed to clog it. So In the end I had to call another plumber to come out here and as it turns out Rob's plumber let a piece of our old pump in the pit. That was what was causing the issue. At least our pump works now and we only had to wait an hour to get it serviced.

Lance K.

I am a real estate broker here in Chicago, and have been using Rob West Plumbing and referring them for several years (actually refer dozens of clients a year). Overall I think that they do top notch work that is worthy of 5 stars, alas they along with every other contractor out there is not perfect.

As mentioned by other reviewers, their scheduling is not the best. Most services can give you a pretty small window, as they give you a big block of time, and say they will call day of. For busy people, this could be problematic where you can't block off 3-4 hours of your day for a 30 minute service call.

Second, they sure are expensive! But if you want good quality service in Chicago you are going to have to pay for it.

At the end of the day their work is very solid, and a reliable plumber is hard to come by, thus they continue to get my business.

anne r.

The difference in our experiences between 2013 and 2014 was remarkable and extraordinarily disappointing. My husband and I truly like to support local business but in the case of Rob West Plumbing we will not be doing so again.
In September 2013, our kitchen sink/garbage disposal clogged. Rob West Plumbing was able to get a guy out to our house quickly for a charge of $140. Simple de-clogging took 30 or 40 minutes and I must say we were pretty satisfied with the process and outcome.
Fast forward to last week when we again had the same problem with our sink/disposal. They provided us with an appointment time of 7AM the next day. 7:25 rolled around and the plumber finally made his way over - no call, no apology for tardiness. Like I have nowhere to be... just standing here in my scrubs waiting on you so I can get to work. They started the job (which we made as easy as possible by having the circuit breaker turned off and the cabinet cleared out in preparation for their arrival) which took all of 18 minutes. At the end of the service call, I asked what I owed. The plumber called Tom, the field supervisor, and notified him of the job's completion and asked the rate which he proceeded to tell me was $250. Sure wish I had referenced my old checkbook register to get my September 2013 charge so I could have inquired why on EARTH the same repair cost $110 more 9 months later, but as I said, I had to get to work and these guys were already making me late with their original tardiness. Also, why do you have to call your field supervisor to get the rate when you supposedly charge $250 for the first hour?
My husband immediately contacted Rob and Tom via email and followed up with Rob via phone. We assumed their had been a miscommunication with Tom thinking the plumbers had ACTUALLY been on the call for 45 minutes (remember, they were 25 minutes late) and $250 was their hourly rate. Needless to say, we were incredibly disappointed to find out they ""do not pro-rate charges."" And not a single apology for tardiness was made- just some excuses about construction on the 2 lane, low-traffic road between our house and their office. Not buying it. I could walk to their office in 25 minutes.
Both Rob and Tom offered us a discount on our next service call. My husband requested written confirmation of this promised discount... still haven't received that but they sure did cash that $250 check the same day it was written! And do you really think we are gonna call you guys again?! Can't imagine what your prices and new policies will be 9 months from now given the rate increase we just experienced. Thanks but no thanks. So much for repeat business. If your business isn't thriving it's not because you don't charge enough, it's because you lack professionalism.

Laurie F.

OH MY GOSH! So I paid them to install a shower drain when they had the floor jackhammered up from my overhead sewer install. They told me they did it, charged me for it, and marked an X in the concrete where I was to ""tap with a hammer and the drain would be right underneath"". Later, I got a quote from them to do the shower pipes and pan - $2000! where everyone else was between $1k-$1300 (three other plumbers) so I went with someone else*. My new plumber had to rent a jackhammer to go down through 6"" of concrete (hardly a ""tap""), then dig another 10-12"" down to find the horizontal stub out for where the shower drain SHOULD have been. Called Rob, and he said ""oh, we made a mistake with the concrete, why didn't you call me?"" Um, hello, calling you now... ""Well what do you want me to do about it?"" Um, send someone out or refund me? ""Yeah, I'm a contractor, I'm not going to rebate you."" Even for work you said you did, that you didn't do, and you charged me for it? Unbelievable. Said he'd call back, even texted him, no response until 5:30 (after my current plumber left). Talked and talked and talked, would insult me then immediately take it back and say that that's what they always do (even though his employee told me something 100% different and my invoice says ""shower drain"" not ""shower stub""). So basically I had to pay my current plumber to rent a jackhammer and dig for a half a day to find the ""shower drain"".

*Another part of the reason I went with someone else is that I called him back in the fall/winter and told him I had a leak from one of his pipes. He said that I had an old house, how did I know they were his pipes? I told him I was looking at them, it was his work that he installed a year and a half prior, and should not be leaking. He would not come out to look at his work (for free) unless I agreed to have him camera the sewer for tree roots (totall 100% unrelated, he pushes it every time he talks to anyone I know in Oak Park). He talks in circles + a mile a minute which wears you down, so I finally agreed and he said he'd send someone right away since I was going out of town. Never sent anyone. I figured it was a sign. Talking to him always feels like he's talking me into something I don't want to do or don't agree with, feels very scammy. He says he stands behind his work, but he really doesn't (and with leaks and charging me for things he didn't actually do, why would he?). Find someone else, trust me.

Casey C.

I didn't use Rob West for my leaking dishwasher issue but I'm giving him 5 stars for taking the time to talk through my issue and suggested I go with an appliance repair person so I didn't end up paying twice if it ended up being something outside of his expertise (appliances). I'll definitely use him when I do need a plumber.

Molly J.

I have nothing to say but great things about Rob West Plumbing and the person who came to us, Tom. We had something stuck in our garbage disposal and when I called Rob he was very friendly and easy to talk with. I emailed them and within minutes I had an email back saying they would be out the next morning at 8am. At 8am on the dot Tom arrived and fixed our problem in 15 minutes. He was friendly and showed us how he fixed it in case something similar happened again. I will recommend these guys to anyone who ever needs a plummer. Very very happy with their work!

Andrew K.

I had a furnace problem and called on a Sunday night. They took my order and assured me that someone would be out to my apartment first thing Monday morning. They showed up around 1 PM, worked on the furnace for a half hour or so, then told me I needed a new part - which I was welcome to order myself, since they didn't carry it. Here's the bill, bye now!