Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

Joe C.

James came out late on Friday and got the drain clear - 137' out.
Very pleased with his service, information and help!

Jill P.

For my Columbia, MO house, I used the Jefferson City-based franchise group, and Derrick arrived when scheduled as an emergency. The work was superior and price fair for the work performed late on a week-end.

Rob B.

I've been using them for ten years. In the past 2-3 years their prices have skyrocketed (on he order of 50% increase), at least for routine maintenance that I use them for, and I will likely be looking for a lower priced alternative for this service. However, they are efficient and friendly, do a good job, and and I have no complaints about their service.

Lexy B.

Roto Rooter got the job done, so I have to give them more than one star in that regard. They also had the forethought to not only fix the clog in my sewer line, but to test for moisture under my carpet. I was disappointed in other ways, however. The technician came across as unfriendly with my sister when she forgot he was downstairs and used the kitchen sink. When I was informed that there was moisture under the carpet in two of the closets, I was quoted $1,000 for them to remove the carpet and padding, dry the area, and replace the carpet and padding. That's a lot of money, so I decided to check it out myself. The technician was right, but the water damage was much less extensive than the way he made it sound. I removed the soaked carpet padding altogether (since they're in closets, I'm not going to replace them), and left the carpet propped up next to box fans to dry overnight. It cost me $0 instead of $1,000, and I have complete peace of mind that there is no longer any moisture in or under my carpet. That part of the whole experience felt kind of shady. Other than those two red flags, the technicians were friendly and professional. I'll probably try a different plumbing company next time, though.

Deidra L.

Roto-Rooter did a good job taking care of our problem. They were able to fit us in quickly, and did what we needed them to do. We called them based on the recommendation of a reliable plumber friend of ours, so we know they can be trusted.

The only reason they are ranked at three stars instead of four or five is that they are so very expensive. They are obviously the most expensive plumbers in town, but it is very possible that you get what you pay for.

AJ B.

Positives: 1) Technicians show up on time. 2) Technicians have fixed both of the drain issues I have had in the past 6 months. 3) Technician are polite and explain the issues well.

Negatives: 1) When you schedule via the web form, they don't call you to confirm the booking. I consider this a major negative, because who knows if your booking request has been seen or if it disappeared into the ether. If I have to take time off of work to meet a plumber, I want to be sure he/she is going to show up. 2) On most recent visit, technician showed up in shirt with about a dozen holes in it.

Neutral: It is expensive to have the work done (they quote ~$180 as the starting cost for snaking a drain), but having drains that work is pretty important and they seem to get things fixed right.

Karen W.

Professionals who walk the talk and get the job done on time and on budget - with a great attitude. Seems like just common sense that a company would do all these things - but few do these days. These gentlemen were a breath of fresh air - no pun intended.

Kelsey F.

I was shocked that I was able to request a job (online which was awesome) for the same day and they called and said they were sending someone over exactly when I requested. Dave, our plumber was awesome, informative, prompt, polite, and explained things every step of the way so we knew what he was doing. Having dealt with a number of different contractors while we've been renovating our house, Roto-Rooter was by FAR the best experience we've had with any of them, and now everything is working perfectly. Highly recommended.

Tubby C.

The plumber comes quick. We don't live in Columbia, but he showed up in less then 2 hours.

Joey R.

I have used them twice, both on weekends. For any real or difficult plumbing job I would absolutely hire a self-employed plumber; if in the Columbia area try Bob Lawrence. The skill and competence of a private plumber vs. the random guy rotor rooter will send is no comparison. The rotor rooter guys seemed competent enough at doing something like clearing a drain or replacing a heating element in a water heater but I would not trust them beyond that. The two times I hired them: one I obviously had roots clogging a water line so water was backing up into my basement. This was on Saturday so I could not get my regular plumber as he only works during the week. Not wanting to wait til Monday I thought I would drop the hundred bucks or whatever to have them clear the line. They sent someone out very quickly though he was rude and kept making snide remarks about how bad our plumbing setup was. It took him 10 minutes to clear the line, he was at our home about 30 minutes, and he gave us a bill for $194.00. Seemed very high but whatever. The second time is what motivated this review. I had a tenant that was without hot water; I was suspicious that it was the electric heating element in the water heater so I had the tenant check the element with a multimeter (I was out of town so could not check it myself). The multimeter showed it was the heating element having gone bad. This was on a sunday so I called rotor rooter to see if they could stop by and swap out the element. I expected it would take about the same amount of time, plus the heating element to cost me around 200 again. This is what the estimate was once the rotor rooter guy got there and looked at the situation. He called me about 45 minutes later saying ""it was SLIGHTLY more expensive"" the new price was $380.00 and the work was already done. To me that is almost doubling your estimate without checking with me! I was pissed and told him I needed to see the work; he can leave me an invoice and I will speak with his manager on Monday. He said ""No, payment must be made now"" but because I am pissed he can magically give me 10% off.......shady. I told him no, and he said he would take the water heater apart and leave it if I didn't pay......so I paid.... Based on these experiences I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND USING THEM. 2 bad things......they are poorly skilled plumbers and they are not trustworthy....IF YOU MUST USE TELL THEM THEY MUST STICK TO THEIR ESTIMATE OR SPEAK WITH YOU FIRST!