Roto-Rooter

John B.

I have worked with four staff at Roto-Rooter in the past 2 months to solve my sewer problems. The first crew made a mistake on my problem, which prompted me to bring out a second crew. When a member of the second crew noted the mistake, he was promptly fired. I suppose he was a bit to honest to work at the company. A third staff member called me, committed to offering solutions, and then never followed up. I spoke to the manager at one point, and he was aggressive and refused to take responsibility. Dishonesty, lack of professionalism. Several staff members have now confided in me that they think the management is ""very difficult to work under."" Generally a horrible experience.

Minah S.

TLDR: Roto-rooter created a hole in our pipe which led to thousands of dollars in repairs. Admission of guilt but not taking responsibility.

Be careful with Roto-Rooter. What started off with a clogged kitchen sink and a $116 bill has now turned into a water damage and thousands of dollars in repairs to the pipes, drywall and carpet.

I wish I could say that we enjoyed working with them but it's been a nightmare. Our kitchen sink was clogged and during that process they lost 30+ feet of line. They almost had to cut into our walls. After hours of trying to get out the line, they finally were able to. At the end of the day they were able to clear the line (yay!) but unbeknownst to us, a hole was also created. How do we know that the hole was created by them? Well we have a recording of the tech admitting that their tool created the hole. Why aren't they responsible for the repairs? Well according to them, because they didn't install the pipes, they don't know the integrity of the PVC pipe. (Home built in 2009). But they advised that they would make a few phone calls and call back.

Also to avoid any responsibility, there is a consent and release on the invoice. That's fine and dandy but it's hidden ONLY on their copy so you don't even know you're signing that consent. How is that legal?! They kept telling me that we signed it and I told them that my invoice didn't have it and low and behold, I was right. The invoice that I signed didn't have the consent and release. The copy that they keep (2nd page) has the consent and release. You just don't know it.

Well it's been about three weeks and no one has called back. I've tried to call them multiple times but I'm pretty sure they've blocked my number because I get a busy signal every time but when I use other people's phones it goes right through. I spoke to Tonya (who was short with me and quite rude) and asked to speak to Mike, the person who was ""helping"" me and was advised that a message would be given to him. I asked, do you need my name and she said we know who you are. Its about the scratch on the tile. I wish it was just a scratch on the tile.

We have photos of the hole and it shows the shredding within that hole. We also have an admission that their tool created the hole but no one wants to take full responsibility for the damage.

At the end of the day we're left with 5-6 feet of bare wall with just studs, a broken pipe, thousand dollars of repairs and an unclogged sink. Thanks for nothing Rotor-rooter. Be CAUTIOUS when using this company.

If management would like to talk to me, they know my phone number.

Mike M.

This will be a very short review since I have nothing to report other than the fact they made an appointment and never showed up.

Michael H.

Incredibly rude and unprofessional! When I needed after hour help and was stressed, the tech calls me immediately, attacking me with profanity- no employee had the freedom to attack their potential customers like that. I have options and I will never use roto rooter DSM for any repair or home need.

Kimberly T.

Roto Rooter installed a $160 Badger Garbage Disposal in Dec at my mom's house. They charged another $250 just for the install. My mom is going through chemo. Can't bend to look under her sink/cabinet. Last night, I got under her cabinet. Noticed the entire garbage disposal was hanging down, an excess of plumbers putty rotted out dripping everywhere and frame is bent. Standing water everywhere. Subfloor and cabinet probably ruined-rotted.

The disposal is under warranty for six years. Badger will come to your house and fix it for the first year if it is a manufacturer defect. We have in WRITING from the manufacturer now after seeing the damage that this was negligent install work, and Roto Rooter should cover it. In writing. Please look at photos. A layman can tell this thing was put in wrong. It has barely been used as my mom has been too ill to cook. When it was used my mom thought the vibrating/shaking was normal. Why? She trusted the Roto Rooter name. Her last garbage disposal that my dad installed lasted 40+ years vs a few months due to Roto-Rooter's incompetence.

Mike, the installer, was missing a part during installation. My mom is older, and has had to travel four hours, once a week for chemotherapy during COVID. Yet, she offered to run to Home Depot for him to get the $15 part during COVID. Mike (the plumber) said no, he could use the old part-from the old 1970's Montgomery Ward disposal.

I called Roto-Rooter today to see what they could do. Stevie, the receptionist, told me too bad, the 30-day warranty is up. Wouldn't even hear me out. Nowhere on the receipt (which I have) does it say there's only a 30-day warranty. A one-year warranty is industry standard w/garbage disposal installs. Roto Rooter charges more than industry standard. Still thinking of hiring them? Stevie essentially said, I'm out of luck unless I want to pay to have it installed again. I'd have to pay to have someone come out and even look at the damage. She said I couldn't even talk to anyone else, but her without being charged. I asked for a manager. Stevie smartly replied, ""I'm the manager"". There was no reasoning with her. I strongly advise to NEVER hire Roto-Rooter. They likely did thousands of dollars worth of damage if the water got to the subflooring. Yet, I only asked they come and fix the disposal itself. Stevie shouldn't answer phones. It is blatantly obvious they were negligent, plus we professionals stating in writing they're negligent and are responsible for the repairs.

I offered Stevie to get the aforementioned in writing from another three licensed plumbers. Stevie said it wouldn't matter, Asked condescendingly why my mom didn't call within 30 days (even after I explained cancer limiting mobility). But more importantly, nowhere on the receipt does it state 30-day warranty. I don't say things I can't prove. She paid $250 for a garbage disposal INSTALL (another $160 for the disposal) that has a six-year warranty and industry standard is one-year install guarantee. Second, Mike slapped so much plumber's putty on that the leak was not apparent immediately. Nonetheless, it's apparent this guy shouldn't be sent out on service calls. If we want anything done guess we'll be seeing Larry Hunt (the owner-whom Stevie sneered I'd never get to talk to) in court. This company is not only incompetent but the customer service is the worst I've encountered-ever. I've been in customer service and owned a small business.

Steve D.

You do business with a company because of their people, and having had such a great experience the last time we had a stopped up drain, we called Roto-Rooter when we needed them again. Couldn't be more pleased with the response time and that we got Conner Hunt again. Conner's experience and knowledge allowed him to complete the work in no time and his friendly personality reminded me again why we'd called Roto-Rooter. Hope we don't need them again, but if we ever do I know who we'll be calling, and I hope we're sent Connor.

Megan T.

Called on a Friday afternoon due to a blockage in my main drain line, they had someone out within a few hours who did an excellent job! Dave Lundberg was my technician and was very helpful and answered all my questions. Would 100% recommend using him, very professional and knows what he's doing!

Joey D.

We have used this Roto Rooter location numerous times over the past 3+ years of living in Waukee. We have always had amazing, quality, and friendly service from these Plumbing Professionals and at a reasonable price. Ask for ROME, he is Amazing with dogs and little children if they're at home during the service visit. We highly recommend these great folks for your home plumbing needs!!

Steve B.

called the company to disconnect a water line going to my fridge and have it capped off. tech was here for 20 minutes in total including the time to write out the bill. $101.00 for the call. He did not cap the water line after he disconnected it and I asked and was told it ""shouldn't leak since the water was shut off and he drained the water line"" and he did not cap it. @ 1145 I noticed a water leak in my basement called roto rooter back and they said they would get him back to my house. After dumping a water bowl full of water At 2:45. I went to the hardware store and got the part to cap it myself (which is why I called them in the first place). After 3pm I still had not heard from them.

Kelli S.

I will never use Roto-Rooter again - beyond horrible customer service! We had them come out and do some major work in August of this year. They had to dig huge holes in our basement to replace old pipes. Due to the amount of work the job ran late into the night. Our service techs advised that since it was getting so late they would be back first thing in the morning to fill the holes for us. They never showed up the next day. We had to call the office 8 times that day to try and get a status of when they'd be coming to finish the job. We continuously got voicemail and no calls back. Finally at 5:00 pm I ended up calling the service tech himself that had been there the day before to see when they'd be completing our job. Apparently another job was deemed more important than ours and they didn't show up until the following business day.
To continue our wonderful experience, the bill we received was in the name of the previous home owner who'd moved out over 4 years ago. I guess it's not important for them to know who their actual customer is. When I called to correct the error and ask for a bill in our name the front desk staff was extremely rude and advised they changed the information in their system, but would not send a new bill. I physically went to the office location to pay the bill in person on September 20th. (I wanted to make sure I had receipt in hand). The staff was again rude, acting annoyed that they had to service me in person.
Much to my surprise, I get a bill from Roto-Rooter (now in my name), with the exact same invoice number as the previous statement, dated 10/31/19. This bill told me the exact same amount was due and 61-90 Days past due! When I called to find out why I'd received the bill, I again received a less than pleasant customer service experience. I was told it was paid and what I received was just a statement telling me that. When I asked why it would have been received over a month after payment and showing the amount due not being $0.00, all I got was our records show it's paid, so I don't know why you received that. No apology at all!
Overall, our experience with the service techs was not bad, but the customer service staff is less than desirable.