Rooter Hero Plumbing & Air

Rachel C.

I think 1 star is pushing it.
I had Chris come out due to a kitchen sink that wouldn't drain, I had a 77$ coupon with a 90 day warranty. So after a few days my husband & I noticed our basement starting to get water in it and we went downstairs and looked at it and a few days later it was flooded, come to find out chris has punctured a hole in a pipe and water along with food from our sink was leaking out. I had multiple things probably worth 300$ or more ruined from this... so obviously I called him back out only to have Chris tell me a 5 foot pipe replacement would cost 3000$. I was in shock. I asked about the warranty and he said it wasn't covered....There is a legit hole the size of a quarter perfectly round that was from the rooter snake that he would/could not fix, anyways. I would not recommend this company to anyone. We called the manager and asked if they took responsibility and they said nope and they won't fix it. So, don't believe the 90 day warranty, and also don't rely on them to fix something or even make it right if they break something.
Also want to say, he said the hydro jet would fix it but it would be very expensive, as I read more reviews I'm not figuring out this is such a scam. Multiple reviews said that they pushed the hydro jet, and also punched holes
In pipes. They do not take responsibility and that is OUTRAGEOUS. horrible company

Shannon M.

All I wanted was a tune-up on my AC unit and the peace of mind that comes with knowing my air conditioning won't fail in the middle of California summer. Really not a complicated service, but apparently it was.

Yesterday, Wednesday, June 22nd, I called Rooter Hero to schedule an AC tune-up. I was initially offered a same-day appointment, but about an hour later I got a call back saying they were unable to make it, and that they had availability from 8:00am-10:00am today, Thursday, June 23rd. I agreed to the change.

I received a call from Wendy at 7:58am to confirm my appointment window, to which I said yes, we still need the service. My appointment window comes and goes without any kind of notification/phone call/text/email as to where our technician is, so I called their office myself at 10:13am to get an ETA. Rosa informed me that Wendy (dispatcher) would be giving me a call back with an ETA, never got a call. An hour passed and I called back for a second time at 11:12am. I let Iris know that I *need* to know a time when our technician would be here because I was already missing work for the day at this point. She insists that Wendy will call me back with an ETA. Wendy finally calls at 11:52am and says ""Our technicians are currently stuck on their jobs"" and that she could not give me an ETA as to when a technician would arrive, but that she would call me the moment she knew someone would be coming.

Fast forward to 3:15pm, I get a call from another very unprofessional, insincere, unapologetic dispatcher (didn't get her name, it was not Wendy) who said that they unfortunately will be unable to come out today and won't be able to reschedule for another 2 weeks.

It took them more than 5 hours past my appointment window, and 2 unnecessary phone calls from me throughout the day for them to be able to say they won't be out today, let alone another few weeks. This sudden large gap in scheduling availability means THEY NEVER HAD THE TIME OR INTENTION OF SHOWING UP FOR MY SERVICE TODAY. 2 weeks is entirely too large of a gap to reschedule if they actually had the time and manpower to send someone to tune-up our AC today.

For an 8:00am-10:00am appointment window, the customer service reps, dispatchers, and technicians all should have had a very clear idea of whether or not they'd be able to make it- for a time this early in the day, there is no excuse for a cancellation notification 5 hours after my window. I do not believe I would've received this cancellation call had it not been for my persistent calls to them.

Turns out, my mother (unbeknownst to me until reading Google Reviews yesterday, Wednesday, June 22nd), had the SAME EXACT ISSUE with this very same company last week, except she had a plumbing issue. No one arrived for her appointment window, she called multiple times to try and get an ETA, and was given the same nonexistent level of customer service as I was given today. I read her review last night and prayed there wouldn't be an issue today, but lo and behold it was the same set of problems. (She then called Roto Rooter for this emergency plumbing issue and they showed up within minutes.)

Word of advice for management: HIRE EMPLOYEES WITH STRONG CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS. This goes for dispatchers and phone staff alike. The way my mother and I were both treated by this company's forefront workers was absolutely horrible, I'd give this company negative stars if I could. I know nothing about their management but if they're allowing inexperienced employees to treat their customers this way, a lot of improvements need to be made from the top of management all the way to the bottom.

My mother and I have both been in Customer Service positions for the entirety of our working lives, 45 years of experience between the both of us, and this was an atrocity from start to finish. To be in a position where you deal with the public so frequently, you need to be able to communicate effectively when things change and most importantly have the necessary de-escalation skills when dealing with frustrated customers. The last gal I spoke with at 3:15pm let me speak, then began to respond with an attitude and excuses, so I hung up the call. I will not let multiple people within the same day, same company, walk all over me and not take accountability for their actions (or lack of).

Do. Not. Waste. Your. Time!

Attached is a screenshot of my mother's Google Review from a week ago.

Beth C.

Stay away from this company! They've had 40 Better Business Bureau complaints,
several lawsuits, and their California Contrators license is in danger. They take advantage of vulnerable people. Here's my story: I called them to fix an outdoor leak on my property that was draining to the street, we lost 50,000 gallons of water in a month and couldn't find the leak. They came out and told me it was actually under my driveway and it would cost $75,000 to fix. They talked to me for hours about how I could refinance my house to get the money, even calling in their closer to put the squeeze on me by saying the same thing happened to his sister and he hates to see good people go through bad times. I was emotionally manipulated, but luckily I have great neighbors. I called another company and they came out and located the leak--- in the front yard where a stump had grown into the pipe. I dug it out and my neighbors helped me replace the pipe for less than $500. Run, don't walk away from this company. I think they paid for high star reviews and arrive fast so that they can keep you from getting a reputable plumber out there.

Brandon G.

I had a great experience with this company. I have old cast iron pipes in my house and the kitchen and bathroom pipes finally gave out and no water was draining when rust broke off inside. They brought out a camera to show me the issues. Gabriel was my tech and he did an awesome job. They gave me a good price and took care of it same day. The job was extensive and required demo-ing out my old pipes and replacing them with ABS into the main under the house. He stayed late and made sure it was done right. They also patched back my drywall under the sink and it looks really good. I will use them again.

Toni D.

Scam. They advertise $77 to snake the drain, as soon as Alejandro looked at it, he said it was a tough one and would cost $250. $250 is about what you would pay, so this is no out of line, but I don't believe they intend that you will only pay their advertised price. It's just to get the business and then they charge what a normal plumber would. Alejandro said he ran 75 foot snake and couldn't fix it and the only option was to do a hydro-scrub at a cost of $2,500. Went with another plumber Joe and Cody from Yolo Plumbing in Woodland. Honest and experienced plumbers. They unclogged our drain at 30 feet.

Ken S.

I thought I posted this last year, but I now realize I did not publish...

Beware of their tag team tactics! If they quote you more than $1,000 to resolve any blocked or slow drainage, get a second opinion. $1600 for hydro jetting/power washing and up to $14k to dig up pipe! I DID NOT sign the agreement to start the job right away! TIP: Consider a mom & pop business and and beware of these larger commercial businesses.

Carla R.

I wish I could post 0 stars or even less.

I rarely write bad reviews because I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. However, I am writing this to warn all other people that are planning on calling them for a HVAC repair. Do not do it.

I can't comment about the workmanship because, well, if you keep reading, you'll see that no work was ever done.

First, I got home on Tuesday after work and AC wasn't working.

I first called the installation company and left a message with an after hours' answering service.

I called a well known company in the area next, but they told me the next availability was July 10th.

Onto the next.

I called Rooter Hero because it popped up in my Google search.

I called; someone answered. He told me they have time tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9 am.

I said great, but isn't there a time window? He told me, no, it opens at 8 but the first appointment starts at 9 to give the technicians time to prepare their trucks for the services. He said the technician would give me a call before coming to my house.

I said great and didn't think anything more of it.

Fast forward to Wednesday morning.

If the appointment was at 9, I was expecting a call around 8:30 or so.

No call, so I decided to call at 9. A lovely person named Carolyn answered and told me it was actually a window of 9 to 11 and apologized that I was told exactly 9.

I told her that I thought it was odd and had explicitly asked if there was a time window when making the appointment.

She apologized again but I asked if she could confirm that I was on the books. She said that I was for 9 to 11 and said the technician would reach out to me before coming.

My fiancé was staying home for this appointment, so I updated him on the time window.

At around 10:45 am, the dispatcher (who I later found out is named Rachel) called to tell me the technician was finishing up his last job and was on his way.

I asked for an ETA, and she said she didn't have one but would have the technician reach out to me.

I waited and waited.

11:45 rolls around and no call, so I call back.

This time, I spoke with a guy named Art.

I explained what happened, and he told me that he would reach out to the technician.

Art puts me hold, and I wait for a minute or two. He finally comes back and tells me the window is 2 to 4.

I tell him woah, that is not what I was told.

He said that they were running behind on a prior job.

I told him, well why was I told an hour ago that they were finishing up the prior job and we're on their way?!

He said he wasn't sure and things can take longer than planned. I said that's fine and understandable, but the fact that NOBODY called me and I have to call (yet again) to be told this was unacceptable.

I told him, quite frankly, I read the reviews on Yelp and saw other people's complaints about not respecting time windows and sometimes not showing up at all. So I asked, so is the technician actually going to show up today?

He told me adamantly yes.

I update my fiancé, and he is understandably upset while he was waiting at home in the heat.

Well the 2 to 4 time window rolls around, and no call.

So at about 3:50 pm, I call again.

This time I talk to a nice person named Oscar. He tells me that he sees all my calls and would reach out to the dispatcher about what was happening.

He tries but didn't get an answer.

He told me that he would take a message and send along to the dispatcher about how upset I was and wanted/needed an update. He was very pleasant. However, he told me he would make note of everything. I told him that if they weren't making it today, it needed to be cancelled.

Still nothing, so I call again at around 4:50 - another hour later.

This time I spoke with Jaguar, and she told me she saw all the notes and how the dispatcher still hasn't called me back so she would reach out to Rachel again.

I waited on hold, and Jaguar came back to tell me that Rachel was on a call but would call me back as soon as she was done. Jaguar also understood how upset and frustrated I was.

I knew their office closes at 5 and services stop at 5, but since they told me they would call, I called again - another hour later at around 5:50.

I didn't get the name of the woman I spoke to, but she apologized and told me there was a technician assigned (Colby) and that he was running late on the prior job. It came out during this call that HVAC is new to them so things are still taking time.

This made more sense.

**I went over the text limit so I posted screenshots of my entire review**

Er R.

Total ripoff.

Called them for drain cleaning for $77. Guy who came attempted once (one go) with an industrial auger and basically said it's not working and suggested some hydro cleaning that costs $2000+. Spent more time talking than actually doing something.

I bought my own auger and spent around half an hour, trying multiple times. I've cleared the clog with a handheld one. Considering asking for a refund since they wasted my time and did not resolve the issue that I was able to resolve on my own.

X B.

Awful business. Stay away. Charges are arbitrary and gouging. Business office is disorganized and harassing. Plenty of other plumbers out there.

Jordi W.

This company is THE ABSOLUTE WORST plumbing company I've ever dealt with. I made the worst mistake of not getting multiple quotes for a problem that started by installing a new toilet. It wasn't flushing correctly. They showed up and said they would need to put a camera down the outside sewer drain. They didn't mention that I would have to pay for this diagnostic process. By the way, I'm a single senior woman. After these preliminary results, the Regional Manager showed up and told me I had a three day option to cancel their services, so I agreed and signed the paperwork with the idea that they would honor my choice to seek other plumbing companies charges. RooterHero determined that all my sewer pipes needed to be replaced for $35,000!!!! Then, when I called the Regional Manager (RM) he told me that I would owe @$9,000 for the diagnostic work they had completed. The RM then said he he had explained all this to me when I signed the 3 day cancellation policy. He showed me his phone with at least 35 jobs for 20K-100K that their company had completed in the last month. I have sent a voicemail and text message to the owner of the company and have not heard back from him yet. This is a a classic bait and switch routine to scare clients into spending vast amounts of money after you have signed their document. NOTHING IS FREE; even though they claim they will come out to determine what the problem is. Don't even consider hiring this plumbing company.