Roto-Rooter

Jaymie R.

What I have written here is long but I want the story told with all pertinent info. The paragraph directly below summarizes the problem and where it stands. The rest below is the full account. *My mother went onto the corporate Facebook page to comment on this very same experience, and Roto-Rooter's action was to delete the comment and block her from accessing their page. This is how Roto-Rooter handles problems.  Roto-Rooter's ""technician"" left all of our drains and faucets in disrepair. And this was in the wake of him giving us his private number with an offer to come back and do more work on the cheap for ""cash"". We had to do a few dishes in the shower several times & could not use our bathroom sink without mass leakage. This lasted for days while Roto Rooter figured out how they'd handle this. Their grand gesture in the end of all this was a trifling $60 off toward the repairs and replacement of the faucets and pipes their man had left in the state they were in.   Our home's water heater began to leak last month on the 26th. I phoned my local Roto-Rooter apprising them of what was going on and asked if they would be able to send someone out to replace the unit. About an hour and a half later, the ""technician"" in question arrived.  He quoted the price and we signed off on it. We had to have the work done then and there, no question. We did want additional work done on the faucets so my mom enquired what the company would charge for a bathroom faucet replacement. The tech said it would run around $400, but then offered us his private number and said, verbatim, ""I could come back on off hours and do it for less- For ""cash"".  We did not request or imply that we wanted this. We called a big company because we wanted a guarantee of quality work that we also know will be backed up with service should anything go wrong. Or so we thought.  I headed back to my office a few feet away to work. A half hour later when I came back out I noticed the tech with his head under the bathroom sink, (the bathroom is nextdoor to the water heater cabinet), with the faucet turned on above. I had heard that faucet running in the background outside my office, (also adjacent to the area), for at least 7-10 minutes consistently. I assumed there was a reason.   About an hour and a half later the new water heater was in place. We cut the check and he was on his way.   This is when havok ensued. When I went to the bathroom sink, I noticed what sounded like a small waterfall echoing beneath. I opened the cabinet doors and the area was drenched. I turned the top faucet back on and saw the leak coming from the drain clog from above. The faucet worked COMPLETELY fine before the technician was in there fooling around. I asked my mom if she asked him to work on it. She said, ""No"". She was handling everything after I left and she gave no request or permission to start any kind of repair in that area. She also heard him under our kitchen sink. That faucet would now only run at 10-15% of the flow it had had prior to the tech arriving. We were at a loss. We asked Roto-Rooter to replace the water heater and we got two malfunctioning faucets and a 'technician' who offered to come back later and work on the cheap.  What were we to think? We can no longer use the bathroom sink and were barely able to get anything out of the kitchen sink. Was this technician setting himself up for extra side work? We sure know he fooled around with both sets of pipes.   It would be some time before we would hear back from them. The local office said, (also verbatim), ""We'll look into it"" and when asked when we might expect to hear something back they continued, ""Only if we find something.""  This left little in the way of confidence toward the situation being resolved in a timely manner. We rightfully wanted our malfunctioning pipes and faucets returned back to the functionality they had before Roto-Rooter's man did whatever he had done. They sent an assessment technician a couple days. He managed to partially fix what had been done, but stated that we would likely get a discount in light of what we had shared and they could replace the faucets and whatever other work would be needed in the sinks. A little later, after all was said and done, he said an even greater discount for the hardship would probably be on the table due to all the facts. Sixty dollars off for the replacements of our faucets is where it stands. *This is the standard coupon they are offering on their website. I no longer want this company of charlatans near my home. Their man did shoddy work, tried to rip off his own company off, inconvenienced this household, leaving stress & grief in his wake. And the corporate FB page deleted our grievance.  So for that, I will post this review here, tell other folks, friends, and family, and whoever else who happens to mention needing a plumber. It's a small island and word travels.

Rae G.

Today my kitchen and washer area sinks went haywire and started backing up so I called the Roto Rooter company at about 10a. They initially said that they wouldn't have anyone available until about 1-4p which was fine anyway. But half an hour later I got a call back saying that one of their technicians was freed up and on their way to my house! Thankfully my brother was able to unclog the pipes (as that saved a whole chunk of change), but the RR guy still came by and was giving us pointers and double checking to ensure that the clog was in fact gone and everything was draining fine. He didn't have to go under the house or anything to fix the clog (which he seemed happy about). He was informing us of a product that they sell that would help prevent these clogs from occurring in the future but also was telling us about generic brands that was available for purchase from hardware and home stores (their product is $52 whereas generics are roughly in the same ballpark or a little cheaper). Our tech is named Noa and he was very down to earth and had that local vibe to him. He was very friendly and tried to get things done as quick as possible which was nice. All in all it was one of the best experiences I've had with a drainage tech. If you're going to call RR, ask for Noa! :)

Richard M.

I think All Roto Rooter Plumber & Drain Service companies think they are bidding for the city where they think they can charge you 10x the normal rate of what it ""should"" cost. I just got a bid to replace 3 toilets in my house. Take a guess what the bid was? Keep in mind that toilets at Hardware stores run about $100 to $150. Well parts came in $1800, but hey that comes with a handle, the guts, and the hoses. What is that maybe $100 tops more. Lol The real joke is the labor. Typically, a plumber who knows what he's doing should remove and install a toilet in less than one hour. Well this company wanted $6000 for labor. Ok so what's that $2000 per hour. Nice!!!!! Now the grand total cane in at over $8000. Holy shit!!! You may be able to get that money from the corrupted city where we all know that the city over pays venders due to favoritism. But come on, do I have stupid written across my forehead? Stick with our Mayor Caldwell. They'll do it for $3000 per toilet. Lol And it's not just this particular company, it's Roto Rooter in general. These guys are just the messengers. They company itself just rips you off. Get a quote and you'll see. But they may charge you an arm and a leg just for that quote. Lol. But again this is just my experience and my opinion. Good luck if you use them...... Oh by the way, I found another plumber that can do the exact same job for less than $800 per toilet. Just saved myself $5600 Lol

Hoku L.

My tenant called them, and after a few weeks of having the noisiest pipes whenever the water was run, I realized that it must be something to do with something the repair man had adjusted, either the water pressure, or God knows what else. Also the outside wall where the pipe was removed and reattached looked like a kindergartener has done the job. After a month of being water tortured, I called them and they wanted to charge me for a service call to check out why the pipes were so much louder. Wow, what else can you expect other than shoddy expensive work done in Hawaii, with no pride whatsoever.

Matthew L.

I got very bad experience with Roto Rooter in 3 months ago. I actually very mad for their service and ripping off on the price. My bathroom shower head had the dripping problem, it is annoying during the night. So, I called around to find the plumber to fix it, unluckily, no one response except Roto-Rooter. The first day a guy came to check the problem ( don't know why? Just look without fix it) and saying this is minor, and plumber will come in the afternoon, waiting until 6:00pm no showing and no calling . When I called back , they said they were at EWA and won't be able to make it. Next day is okay, then finally came a plumber, he told me just came from Louisiana , and he is one of the three plumbers in their company with plumber licensed. He told me need to go downstairs to get something, then disappeared for 45 minutes, I called him up and he told me that he went to Lowe's to get the parts, the fixing time only 20 minutes but the total damages cost me $520 . Back and forth all changed on my invoice, I was so mad , the company send someone earlier to check the leaking, and I already send the pictures to them for the brand and model, how come you didn't bring any parts with you to replace it? I was so disappointed for their ripping off and asking the guy, how come you charged back and forth to the customers? If the customer lives in HawaiiKai , the traffic will take couple hours to get the parts , will you do the same? He told me that they don't have customers in HawaiiKai areas. Sighs! My friends are laughing at me and saying same problems cost her $240 , another one told me same leaking costs him $140( just buy parts and replace it) . My 70 minutes job costs me $520. I will never never never use Roto-Rooter again

Karen C.

My experience was the worst customer experience I have every encountered. I asked if they had someone available to unclog by kitchen sink, they said yes, someone would respond and be at my home in 4 hrs. Then 4 hrs later I called again, and the guy was running late on a job, and they would call just as soon as he was free. So I call again, same excuse. 8 hrs later they called to cancel, as their equipment was broken. So they said. They did disclose that they were short staffed, like 1 guy for the whole island. So instead of letting me know, they kept me hanging. I would have gone elsewhere had I known. I don't have a lot of extra time to sit around waiting as just wanted the job done. The dispatcher kept saying she could about a 10% discount. That's pennys on the dollar and I just wanted the job done, not a lousy discount. So then they set up an appt. the next morning for 8 am. Well lo and behold I received no phone call or technician. They called me that afternoon to say we were on the schedule never even acknowledging that I had an 8 am appt. Never ever heard back from them. Save your time and get someone who is responsible and doesn't give you the run around. This company gets an F grade from me.

Christine D.

Try ANYWHERE else before you call Roto Rooter. We have used them MANY times over the years, but today was the last time ever. I called for what appears to be routine issue- a high pitched sound coming from bathroom faucet, tub, and toilet. Roto dispatch said sounded routine, they could take a look and fix. Oh, and need a new hose valve, may as well get that done too. Called Monday, they set up for Wednesday between 12-4. Dispatch is on the continent and did call to say the plumber was going to be more toward 4, and I get that. But when I asked if there were other plumbers, dispatch had no idea about ANYTHING. So 4:30 rolls around. I'm frustrated and call, and nope, cannot help. Gives me the number for the Honolulu corporate office (not the plumbers/ contractor) and they cannot help either. Low and behold, the plumber calls at 4:30 and complains he's on the other side of the island. Asks what the problem is, and when I describe it he says ""I don't know what the problem is, and I cannot fix it""...starts yelling when I ask him why, when dispatch said this is routine, and even Google said it's common. Nope, he cannot do what I'm describing. Yells at me that he's been working 25 years and when I ask him not to yell, he yells at me that he's not yelling. I may have yelled back, so he hangs up on me. I call the number back and he declines the call. Never had a plumber or electrician or anyone hang up on me but this is who Roto Rooter hires, so be advised. I waited the whole day and then got yelled at and hung up on. I called two other plumbers who said they know what the problem probably is etc., so hopefully REAL professionals can resolve. Roto Rooter is not for your plumbing needs, and they either do not have enough staff to serve the island or the staff they have is totally unqualified. DO NOT call them, there are better options out there.

Matt C.

My Tenant calls this company for clearing a kitchen drain clog. Quotes $450 and picks wrong hole to snake even after my suggestion. Works 30 minutes with no progress. Then wants another $150 for snaking the right drain. Worst service, Rip off. Owner is even more nuts after making complaint on their website!

Scott O.

The Roto-Rooter guy came to my house, looked at my problem, seemed to have no interest in helping me, then when I started asking him questions he apparently thought I was questioning his intelligence (which was very little) and threw a fit and stormed out of my house. Circus Clown. Will not use them again.

Lyra A.

I called early in the morning. There was confusion and multiple phone calls about whether I was scheduled or not. A guy finally showed up and told me my sink drain was clogged, which I already knew. He told me after looking at it for 10 seconds that it was going to cost $375 at the minimum. I declined the service sent him away and called another local plumber who charged me $103.