Roto -Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services

Arnie H.

Two weeks ago I hired Root Rooter to fix a dripping shower faucet. The tech came out and did not know how to take the shower handle off. In the process he scratched it up.

Then the next day they had a ""senior tech"" come out. He took some pictures and said he would have to order parts.

Over the next few days I heard nothing. I called multiple times asking for status and was told that they would get back to me. That never happened

Now I still have a leaking shower, a handle that is all scratches and very little likelyhood that things will be made right. I just told them not to come back.

I had used Roto Rooter many times over the years, but never again.

Xue Z.

I really regret not reading reviews on yelp before I chose this company. This company is unbelievably OVERPRICED. Don't believe their google reviews. I got an emergent clog in my kitchen sink. The guy came in on time and solve the clog problem and fixed the garbage disposal. It costed him around 1 hour and a half. I was charged $1116. I was told opening up the pipe is $812. Garbage disposal replacement is $900. Unjamming a garbage disposal is 375 if it is successful. If this is a reasonable market price, a plumber might make more money than a medical doctor. So, I came here to double check and finally read all the reviews about OVERPRICING. OK. Today, I am in emergency because I must have that problem solved in time as I need to go to work early tomorrow morning. Would recommend everybody to avoid this company.

Al S.

TLDR: If you love paying premium prices, but hate receiving premium service, call Roto-Rooter. Technician was 45 minute for 1st appointment, 3 hours late for the second. Never received any call to let us know technician was on his way at any point during service. Technician did not have basic equipment required, borrowed ours, left it filthy for us to clean. You will pay almost $500 an hour for labor, the job will be shoddy and incomplete.

Called Roto-Rooter on 18 Dec to make an appointment on the next day or an estimate to replace the sump pump in our basement. Roto-Rooter called the same evening (18th) to say they had a technician available that evening instead. We agree, we were told he would be to our house in 45 minutes. He showed up an hour and a half later.

Estimate was for $1200-$1300. We asked for a breakdown in the pricing, as the average price to replace a sump pump is around $700. He couldn't/wouldn't give a break down. The ""estimate"" was just the price on a paper with no indication as to what service or parts were included.
Technician said he would be at our house at 9am the next day (19 Dec). At 9:50, he had still not arrived. My husband texted to see when he would get there. Technician said ""soon."" At 10:45 I called Roto-Rooter to make sure we actually had an appointment, since it was nearly two hours late and no one had come. Roto-Rooter told me the technician was coming and was about a half hour away. He eventually arrived an hour later at 11:45, just under three hours late.

Asked again for a breakdown in price, as the estimate was so high. Technician only said vague things like the price was labor and parts and that it was a ""flat fee"" for labor (but couldn't/wouldn't tell me what that was, plus parts. I called the office to see exactly what that meant, and to find out what the price was for labor, for parts, and what kind of pump would be put in, etc. They did not have that information, so the customer service agent told me he would get the information and call me back in 5-10 minutes. He called back an hour later. I was told the labor was $521, and parts were ""about $500,"" for a Zoeller 1/3 HP pump (the most expensive place to buy that pump is Lowes, at $249.) The pump had already been purchased and was being installed as we spoke, he should have known the exact price.

Agent also said they would charge extra for removal of water (not flood water, just water from around the pump, mud, etc. The bit of water that had flooded into our basement was not included and not cleaned.) Wouldn't/couldn't tell me what that fee would be.
Technician did not bring a hose to remove water, so asked to use ours. So we disconnected our garden hose and hauled it down to the basement. Basic plumbing equipment should include a hose and the technician had been to our house the night before, so knew he would need a hose to drain the pump. I did not appreciate having to provide basic equipment, especially considering the price Roto-Rooter was charging. Hose was left filthy and clogged with mud, I ran water through it for a while and it eventually cleared up, but I am not sure it is safe to use for filling pools or water play for kids in the summer.

The seal had to be removed to replace the pump, the technician did not reseal it. He poked a hole in the top part of the seal remnants and pushed a hose through, so it looked like it was sealed, until you moved it. We now have to buy sealant and seal it ourselves.

Final breakdown was $425 labor to replace the pump, $280 to replace the check-valve and PVC, $280 to clean the pump pit, and $312.94 for the pump, for a total $1297.94. The agent I spoke to either 1. Blatantly lied to me about the pricing (there is no way I would have agreed to the prices if they had told me in advance) or 2. Is completely incompetent and knows nothing about the pricing, equipment, or services provided by Roto-Rooter.

Overall: terrible service, terrible price. Would not recommend and will not use again.

Kim W.

My hot water heater died and I called Roto Rooterfor an estimate. I had used them several years before to clear a main sewer line and was very pleased with their service. In this scenario, I had a couple of problems which bothered me. The salesperson (Chan) who came out acted professional but not friendly and seemed almost arrogant/cocky. It seemed as though my questions annoyed him. I had to keep asking him to repeat himself due to the accent with a mask covering his mouth. I was originally going to supply the water heater and just needed an installation price. All of a sudden, I was also supposed to supply the drip pan, expansion tank and a 10 foot copper pipe--WTH? I am a senior citizen who hadn't had a shower for 3 days and I am going to go running around to home improvement stores to find these items! So I also asked for price for them to supply everything and just get it taken care of. The estimate was not detailed at all (very generic) and the price was over $3000+ (more than $1200 higher than other estimates). I asked for specifics about the price such as what did it include. One of the items was county permit(s). Being familiar with the county permit office, I asked cost of permit and was told $200. The electrical permit for an electric water heater is $55. I understand markups, but really!

He honestly acted like he could care less about me or my situation. He even said to me that any estimate I get will be within the same range and it didn't matter whether I had them do it or someone else. Terrible experience! Would look elsewhere if you find yourself in need of a water heater.

Richard D.

Update on email response and subsequent phone call from Andrew

This is the email i sent

Mr. Swanson

Our utility line from our sink to utility room backs up every 2 to 3 years and needs to be snaked out. I usually do it myself with my son but my son is away at college, I have a hernia and needed to finish some work. So we decided to pay to have it snaked this time. We made an appointment the night before for early in the next morning. We received phone calls and the plumber arrived at the right time.

I explained that I usually do it myself but physically I didn't want to drag the auger down the stairs and shove the line down right now. After looking at the layout and having me flush a toilet to ensure what line we needed cleared he quoted my $600 and said it would ensure a 6 month guarantee. I was appalled and insulted and asked him to leave. I called back the line that called us and asked to speak to someone about the quote. Of course they didn't want to even give me a range of normal charges until I insisted and was told $900 was normal. They knew about the incident in my home and I felt they were covering for the plumber who we allowed into our house.

I went and rented a 25 foot line hand drill instead of the heavy duty machine (which can be bought for $500). Within 15 minutes my line was clear and I assume it will be another 2 to 3 years before it needs to be done again.

After sending email:

I then got a phone call from Andrew at Roto Rooter who told me that they always use camera to see the clog and that $680 was the normal charge.

I have done it for myself by renting the heavy duty machine for $50 and its a heavy machine and takes some muscle to push it down the drain but I have always been able to clear it myself.

I have seen online that the usual charge is between $150 and $250. My wife and I talked and said we were willing to pay $300 this one time because of the circumstances.

Since I got the quote of $680 ""before"" they looked at drain with a camera i would suggest that if you believe its a serious problem that will require them to have multiple plumbers, backhoes and multiple days to complete you run for the $680 because it's the deal of a lifetime! But if your kids got lazy while doing dishes and put eggshells and pasta down sink one to many times you call someone else or watch a youtube video get a workout and do it for $50 yourself.
Response from the owner23 hours ago
We appreciate your feedback and are very sorry our service did not satisfy your expectations. Please email me your full-service address, including the zip code, so that I can look into this issue as soon as possible. My email is Pat.Swanson@rrsc.com. Please also include a copy of this review. Thank you, Pat Swanson Customer Satisfaction Manager