Rooters & Plumbing On Time

Jennifer L.

I help my family manage a rental unit in Northridge - and ran into a plumbing emergency. I called Rooters On Time last minute off of a yelp search purely based on the high ratings. I've found in the past that can be a hit or miss...

This time, the reviews were all spot on! Ask for Edgar - he was available within an hour of our call. He came in, courteous, polite, and knowledgable. He attempted the snake the drain - unfortunately he had to come back the next day (no fault of his own). He was flexible with his time, even though it was a Saturday and showed up early to the appt. It was a quick fix from there - and everything is now working great.

The final total was exactly as quoted, even though it took more than one trip and included Saturday work.

Jaime G.

Edgar came to my house within 30-45 minutes of my call, as promised. Was very professional and knowledgeable. The job was done quickly and to my satisfaction. I would definitely recommend using these guys, I know I will if I ever need a plumber again!

Jackie P.

This is not a trustworthy company. Based on the yelp reviews, I called Rooters on Time to schedule a sewer line inspection for a house we had in escrow. Gary came out, and got the camera line partway down, but because there was grease in the pipe, could not complete the camera inspection. He suggested we install a clean-out in front of the house, and wrote an estimate for $550, which would include the cost of the clean-out and the sewer line inspection, which he hadn't been able to do. He billed me $45 for the service call (as opposed to the $150 it would have cost to do the inspection), and said the $45 would be credited toward the clean-out and inspection. So far, so good. I also mentioned that I had printed out the coupon for $15 on the company's yelp page, and he said I could use it, if we went ahead with the service. Gary seemed nice and knowledgeable, so once we had the keys to the house, I gave Rooters on Time a call to complete the job.

I spoke with Gary, and we scheduled the appointment for that Sunday morning, at 9:00. He said the installation and inspection would take about 2 hours, so he should be done by 11:00. Great. Gary left me a message the day before, to say it would be 9:30, instead of 9:00, and to give him a call if that would be a problem. Though I would have preferred 9:00, since my husband had plans at 11:30, I knew he could still make it, if only a little late.

Fast forward: Gary didn't show up until 11:00, and after he completed the service (in a little under two hours), he said that he would not honor the $45 credit, which he and I had agreed upon. My husband called me, since I was no longer at the house (having plans myself, and having waited an hour and a half for Gary to arrive), and told me that Gary was also not going to honor the $15 coupon I had printed, either.

Gary said that I would need to take it up with Leo, the company owner, so I gave Leo a call, to let him know what Gary and I had agreed upon. Leos' response was that unless I had the commitment in writing, they would not honor the $45 credit, and he'd have to call Gary to see whether he would accept the $15 coupon.

I called my husband (while Leo was on the phone with Gary), and was informed that they would give us the $45 credit (which they agreed to, only under duress), but that we couldn't use the $15 coupon, since it was for first-time customers only. They reasoned that since Gary had already come out to do the service call (even though he wasn't able to perform the service!), this would be considered a second appointment.

I'd like to point out that nowhere on their yelp coupon does it say that it's for first-time customers (or even first visits). The coupon states "$15 off any plumbing service. Limit one per customer, not valid with any other offers". That, and the fact that I had been assured I could use it for the clean-out, only to have that commitment denied, left me feeling like $15 was more important to the company than honoring their word.

Gary left my husband with a $7500 estimate to do further work on the pipes, but because of this company's nickle-and-diming and shady dealings (at one point, the excuse they gave for not honoring the $45 credit was because it was Mother's Day), they will not be getting our business.

That $15 cost Rooters on Time $7500. We will be going elsewhere for that service.

An additional suggestion to the company, for any future clients: if you don't want to work on Mother's Day (or any other day, for that matter), I would recommend scheduling the work for another day. Telling your customers (after the work is done) that you won't be honoring a credit because you came out on a "holiday" is a low blow. I can understand not wanting to come out on New Year's Day or Thanksgiving, but the last time I checked, Mother's Day was not a bank holiday, and two other companies came out that morning to provide us with service for work that needed to be done, without batting an eyelash--or any complaints.

Cirley G.

Today was my husbands fathers burial. We were having over 40 of our family and close friends come over our home. We had a plumbing problem since 7 AM, and this was the worse day to have that.

We called in and we got Jose at our house. My husband was so pleased by his service, his professionalism, his quick ability to know where to look for the problem of the matter. Jose did a fantastic and fast job!

The fact that Jose was a down to earth guy and was open enough through small talk with my husband to share about who he was and what he's been through, was amazing.

My husband Gus and i have always been skeptics about plumbing services, this was the greatest exception, and recommend Jose and rooters on time.

loved it. family gathering at our home was a success.

Sincerely,
Gus & Cirley R.

Marvin M.

I tend to trust most of the Yelp reviews and so when I was in need of some plumbing service I opted to call the people at Rooters On Time in Northridge. The gentleman who took my call had a very thick accent and my old ears (I'm 87) had trouble understanding him. I nearly gave up on doing business with him but the reviews were so impressive, I made the effort to try to communicate my needs. When I called a second time there was only an answering machine and my request to call me back went unheeded for 24 hours. Calling again finally got me to a woman who I also had trouble speaking to. I still stuck it out and asked for their serviceman to come and fix the overflowing kitchen and washing machine problem. I'm glad I persevered because I had no problem communicating with Geary, the employee they sent out. He explained every step he was taking to try to fix the problem and went to extra pains to show me my options for repairs when a simple rooting job didn't fix the problem. He returned a second and then a third time in a matter of 24 hours without charge. All in all, it was a good experience working with this company though, unfortunately, I am still in need of an expensive solution to this plumbing mishap. I'll most likely use them when I have no choice but to invest in the proper solution. Until they hire a sweet-voiced receptionist to answer the phones, don't give up on them and be sure to ask for Geary.

Jesus A.

I called Rooters on Time to get an estimate on a potential problem and they arrived at my house the same morning within the time frame specified. Garry (or Gerry if you go by his name tag) was really helpful and explained what the problem was, although I opted to fix it at a later date since it didn't require immediate attention (planning to remodel later). Garry also provided estimates on other jobs I had in mind. He didn't charge for coming out since no work was performed. Garry seemed honest and carried himself professionally. I will definitely be using Rooters on Time again in the future.

Hong V.

Good job. Recomment for choosing rooters on time services.
Gary is the excellent technician I ever meet.
Did diagnosis the hot water tank problem right away. I will call rooters on time next time.
John
Reseda

Arie S.

We ha a problem with our clothes washer not draining correctly, so after trying all of the usual home solutions and a handyman I knew it was time to call a professional.

I sent an email out to two companies and only one responded within minutes, which I was not expecting since it was in the evening. Leo was very polite and professional on the phone explaining the different possibilities of what might be causing the problems and what the costs might be. Before I had the chance to ask about a free estimate, Leo was already asking me when they could come out the problem for a free estimate.

From the beginning, Rooters On Time was pleasure to work with and deal with. Edgar was very honest and knowledgeable. He was extremely good at explaining what was wrong and the options for solution. His attempt did not work as he hoped and told my wife that since he told me that he was 99% sure that this would work, he was not going to charge us for the work.

Edger than explained about hydro-jet solution and we agreed to do it. Edgar and the owner Leo were great working together trying to resolve our plumbing problem and accurately. Edgar and Leo worked great together and communicated every step of the way.

After all was said and done Leo used the camera to check the main sewer line while I was there and found dome issues that could cause a problem. His explanation was very clear as he was moving the camera. He explained about trench-less pipe replacement and that just cleaning the roots out now will just prolong the issue and end up costing more in the long run, which made sense to us. My wife and I agreed to get this taken care of the following weekend. Both my wife and I felt that they truly looked out for what was best for us.

I felt very comfortable with the process, the people and the pricing was very reasonable. They came out when they said they would, did the job that they said they would do and cleaned up after themselves.

Edgar, Leo and their staff truly did a superb job for us. I will definitely call them again with all the plumbing needs and recommend them to my friends and others that may have plumbing issues.

My only regret was that I did not call them sooner.

Jodie M.

We like the owner who is usually nice and helpful whenever possible, but several times the guys he sent out say the job is bigger than it actually is so they can charge more . We've tried them for a while now and the guys who come out for the first time are usually really nice, acting all friendly and helpful the first time they come over and then almost rude when they come out again. Perhaps because they've been "questioned" and we've always been right they say things are wrong that aren't and had it verified. It's happened a few times now so we won't be calling this company again. Not worth taking a chance.

Siouxe D.

Edgar and his crew replaced all the drains in the crawl space of our house back in December. They did a fantastic job! They were very friendly, quick, efficient and reasonably priced. I will use them again in a heartbeat!