Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

Bridget H.

Had Roto-Rooter come out multiple times. Their technicians are always very nice and tolerant of the dogs (who are overly friendly at times). They might be a little more expensive than some smaller companies but they almost always have somebody available to come out right away when we are in need. Pretty much the only time we call is when we have a problem and need some form of ""immediate"" assistance so this is a big plus for us with a company like Roto-Rooter.

The I.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Roto-Rooter attempted to charge me over $1,100 to take care of a slow drain that was fixed by a different company for $98.00. Moreover, I could have had a new garbage disposal installed for around $250.00, but I paid Roto-Rooter $400.00.

THE BACKSTORY: I called the Roto-Rooter that serviced the Overland, MO area. My mom's house had a slow drain in the kitchen sink and a clogged drain outside at the bottom of the basement steps. A technician came out and stated that the slow kitchen drain was due to the garbage disposal needing to be replaced. He advised that the outside drain problem was due to the old metal trap that had rusted and needed to be replaced. Adding, that he would need to send one of their plumbers out in the next day or so to take care of it. I was charged $400.

After he left, I asked myself what was it that we just paid $400 for if nothing had been repaired and neither issue resolved? I attempted to contact a manager to inquire about this concern. It took several phone calls and a couple of days to finally connect with a manager. He agreed to apply the $400 charge towards the garbage disposal replacement when the plumber came out, stating that it was normally around three hundred and something dollars to do.

One of their plumber's came out and told me it would be around $450 to change out the garbage disposal, which was a price even higher than what the manager stated. I said, ""No, I spoke with the manager and we have a credit of $400 to cover the entire cost. He went ahead and did the work and applied the credit.

Nonetheless, I could have purchased the disposal and called a plumber to install it for a total cost of around $250-$275.00. Since, Roto-Rooter already had my $400 and wasn't going to give it back, I went ahead and had them do it, so as to get something for the money instead of being out $400 with nothing in return.

HERE IS WHERE IT GETS REALLY UGLY. The Roto-Rooter plumber that came out advised that the tech couldn't even get the equipment to push through the clog in the outside drain at the bottom of the basement steps. Adding, they have a piece of equipment that has a heavier type of blade, but that wouldn't even be able to work.

The Roto-Rooter plumber said we would have to replace the trap, which involved busting out the concrete, putting in a new trap and replacing the concrete. The ESTIMATED COST for Roto-Rooter to repair the problem started at a minimum of $1,100. Yes, that is one thousand and one hundred dollars. I opted to get a second opinion.

In the following week, my mom happened to find a business card in her files for a plumbing company (Bore's Sewer Services) that had done some work for the house a year or so ago. I called them to come out. I did not advise what Roto-Rooter had informed me. I simply told them that I had a clogged drain outside at the bottom of the basement steps.

The plumber with Bore's Sewer Services came out and fifteen minutes later he walked back into the house and said ""With your $20 coupon the cost is $98.00. I said you were able to unclog it?! He responded that it was no big deal, the drain was clogged with pine needles and muck. Yet, Roto-Rooter attempted to scam my mom and I out of at least $1,100.00. That is shameful, to say the least!

Moreover, if I had called a plumber in the first place and they were unable to resolve either issue at the time of the call as was the case with Roto-Rooter, I would have only been charged for a service call of $100 or less, NOT the $400 Roto-Rooter charged.

CONSUMER BEWARE! For us this has been a lesson learned. We will never use Roto-Rooter again. You are far better off to call an actual plumbing company who sends out licensed plumbers, not technicians. You will not only receive quality service by a skilled plumber, it will save you a great deal of money. In our case, it saved us from being scammed out of more than one thousand dollars!

Bryan N.

I had several items worked on as I had been putting them off for years. Robert kept me updated and informed through every step of the process. I had so many items on my list and so little time that Robert split the work up into two days. I felt well taken care of and will recommend and use them in the future.

Sean R.

Had a leak on my backyard spigot. To get it fixed it had to be brought up to code and a shutoff valve installed. Technician Bob was very nice and professional. The whole process didn't take very long at all and he was friendly when I kept asking questions to try to learn more! First time using RR and would use again (if I can't fix it myself of course).

Michael S.

I will never again call St. Louis Roto-Rooter for plumbing work. I needed an estimate/repair of a burst pipe and was promised that someone would come from 12-4pm the next day. After taking time off work to be there during the time they were scheduled to come, they never came. After they failed to show up I called them (they claimed they were too busy) and they rescheduled me for the next day from 12-3pm. The next day (I had to take more time off work) they failed to show up from 12-3pm so I called them and they said they would be there a little late. After an hour of no Roto Rooter I called again and they just kept transferring me to different dispatchers who said that all plumbers were busy that day. In the end, no one showed for the second day in a row and I found another plumber elsewhere. Again, if you need plumbing repairs (especially time sensitive repairs) DO NOT CALL ROTO ROOTER. Very unreliable.

E B.

I can't give 5 stars as the price is high ($264 for the service call and drain clean, this is the flat rate - found a coupon on here and saved $50 so it came out to $214 for an hour of work) but when it's a Sunday and you have a backed up mainline and can't flush or shower and nothing you have tried yourself works, then call Roto Rooter. I had called around to various companies to see if I could get some one out today to fix the clog in the pipe and was either told no, too busy, would have to come out Monday or possibly in a few hours or later in the evening (no guarantees or even a decent timeframe) or like one unnamed local company who offers a $75 service but was completely rude and actually hung up on me, I was getting to my wits end. I didn't want to just hire some random person, I wanted a reputable company in case anything went wrong. I've only lived in my older 40's built home for about 2 months and this happens. I had yuck backing up into my basement and really couldn't afford to wait. Finally I just called Roto Rooter knowing that they would likely be the most expensive but for this particular problem, the speed of service, helpfulness and nice technician made up for the cost. I called at 11:30am, was told sometime between 12-3:30pm, received a call back about 8 mins later, was told technician would be there in 30-40mins and he arrived at 12:45pm. Gave me the overview and spiel plus price quote and I just said, go for it. I needed it clear. He snaked the pipes from the road through the house, it took awhile (it was pretty backed up) but he cleared it out so the water was running again, cleared a couple small roots and gave some suggestions (water seems to be running slow so it could likely use a high pressure flush but it would have to be another service call as he did not have the machine for that on his truck) He had me run the water, flush the toilets, etc and everything seems to be working fine now. Technician was named Steve #3152 and he was pleasant, answered the questions I had and explained where/how the pipes run, what he would be doing, in and out in just a little over an hour and while he offered suggestions and additional services, he in no way pressured me or made it seem like those services were desperately needed. I'll just keep an eye on the lines and if I have to have it flushed or snaked again, I will likely call Roto Rooter. Quick and personable service, even the two people I spoke to in their office/call center were pleasant to deal with unlike all the other companies I called!

Rachel G.

Had a slow drain in the basement, and I knew it was likely due to roots growing though the clay lateral tiles. Contacted Roto Rooter since they took care of our kitchen sink problems less than 6 months ago. I have a pretty crazy schedule, so I thought getting an appointment on short notice was going to be a problem, but it wasn't. They were able to set up a time exactly fitting my needs.

They sent out Maurice to provide out service, and we received a call informing us that he was on his way. The entire time he was here, we has very cordial and polite. He explained everything that he was doing and answered all of my questions. He quickly worked to open up the line and had us back in order in a short amount of time. He even spent time cleaning up the mess left from our backup in the basement which is more than I was honestly expecting of him.

I would definitely recommend them to others and would contact them for further needed problems in the future. They even have coupons available on the website for discounts.

Kevin B.

First I want to say that Roto-Rooter is a company that will solve the problem, they are rather friendly and professional, but it will cost you. Roto-Rooter is extremely expensive and you can get the same service from a small business for half of what they charge.

We had 5 backups in just a matter of months. It took Roto-Rooter 5 trips to finally do something more than just snake the line and find the problem. We live in a older house and our pipes under the house were compromised to the extent that they needed to be replaced. Roto-Rooter did cut us a break on the jet out because they missed it so often, but I already paid close to 1 thousand dollars getting the lines scoped just for them to miss it and snake it, then have to come back out and do it again and again and again.

To replace the pipes they were going to charge 8 thousand dollars. This was for 11 feet of pipe and some digging. They would have destroyed my foundational wall, side walk, and basement floor and not replaced any of it, that was my problem. Also, all the dirt left over, would have also been my problem.

I called another company and got the same service, plus all my concrete replaced for only 4 thousand. Half of what roto-rooter wanted. I understand that companies are in the business of making money, but this is close to robbery. Even with additional overhead, why do they charge double what a small company does, is the small company doing it for free? I doubt it.

Anyway, Roto-Rooter will solve your problem, they will be friendly and honestly they are professional and patient, but the cost is just too high. They are also very willing to lower their prices given a little pressure, which just screams that they jack their prices up for those people who don't know any better.

Also, their technicians must be on a commission basis. It's insulting to get a quote for 8 thousand dollars to tear up your yard and basement and have the technician stress that we needed to call him first before we called anyone else. Just added insult to injury that these people profit from stabbing you in the back with a bill you can't afford for work that has to be done.



Call a small business plumber, get the same results for half the cost.

Update** I decided to upgrade my review from 2 stars to 3 stars. Since my complaint really deals with pricing, I felt it unfair to only give two stars when the employees, at the least, are professional. It isn't the employees fault that corporate over charges.

Michael T.

The water was starting to back up in the pipe from my washing machine and spilling on to my basement floor. Had a similar issue a few years ago. Also had a curious odor coming from my bathroom sink. The customer service rep was very friendly. Offering to send someone out within two hours of the request. The service technician was on time. I didn't have to wait around all morning for him. He was friendly and he knew exactly what to do quickly and efficiently. He took my web coupon and suggested using the Roto Rooter product for my smelly sink. Worked like a charm. Would recommend for all my South St Louis neighbors and will use Roto-Rooter again.

karen b.

The best part about Roto Rooter is that I called at 9am and they came and left by 9:45am. No two hour window, no real advanced scheduling. The only downside at all was that it was a bit more expensive than I was anticipating. I found a $40 off coupon their website which helped, but it was still over $200 for 20 minutes of de-clogging!