Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

Matthew R.

After the first service call the same problem reoccured after 12 hours. The second service call informed that the first had made such a mess that the water heater was unsafe to use and my family was risk. I asked if it was normal procedure to endanger people and the plumber replied," Nope , bad for business ".

Then he refused to fix it because they would have to go buy more parts which they would have to charge me for... i said I had already paid and they said well... then we won't get paid because you already paid the first guy. I said," I thought you guys all worked for the same company ". " Take it up with management ". I had to call the manager ( Victor ) 4 times and he repeatedly had no idea what was going on. When I asked if he could get the parts today he said he would have to order them because you just couldn't buy the parts at any Home depot . I pointed out that the first tech had purchased the parts at Lowes. I also pointed out that it was a Whirlpool hot water heater and Lowes carried all the replacement parts.

Victor realized he was just lying to cover his employees mistakes. Finally he called me and said he could refund my money. I asked how long. When he said it might take a week. WORST PLUMBING SERVICE EVER.

OK 2 days without hot water isn't a horrible hardship but these guys really are terrible. I still have to find a decent plumber, so if anyone has suggestions.

Alba B.

Called them an made an appointment 5 days in advance; I got one from 10 to 12 December 14, 2012 to fix a disposal and unclogged the sink. They called me saying they we are waiting for the plumber to finish some work and to make sure that I stayed by the phone. They called me again at 2 pm and said someone will come over for sure on later; to wait for a call. Well, I walked around the house with the phone in my pocket and no one ever showed up. No one called me even to reschedule or apologize.. All day wasted like my time was not important them. Do not call Roto Rooter; their service is terrible; they make random appointment when they know they are booked and besides they seem to have only one plumber in my area from what I can see.
Customer in the Kyle area 78640.

Richard T.

We discovered our water heater in our attic had been leaking for several days and had leaked through our walls and soaked our carpet in our hallway. We called Roto-rooter in Austin for a plumber to come out the next morning. I was called within the time frame I was told and heard from the plumber about 20 minutes before he and an associate arrived. They were both very courteous, explained things well, repaired the leaking tubing and demonstrated how the pressure valve had previously been installed incorrectly and was not working. They showed me their standard pricing forms before doing their work, gave me a discount and directed me to their website for a $40 off coupon. They met my need and saved me from potentially more problems.
I would call them again. Thank you.

Mixsig C.

These are the guys you want to hire if you want to pay 4x the cost!

I recently had an issue with a backed up drain. They promised (and charged) to run a camera down the clean-out the first time. They didn't. The second time, two weeks later, they did run the camera and found a problem that required removing a section of the 4" waste that was 2' under the front yard. The estimate - $2800. When I started asking him why it was so much he started throwing out lots of interesting numbers of how long it would take to dig, replace and refill. Well, a call to a major, local Austin-based plumbing contractor, who happened to find two problems when they inspected (one completely missed by Roto-rooter), left me with a competing bid of - you guessed it - $700.

Save your time and money - use someone else.

Joanna H.

Roto-Rooter Service 9/17/12
We had a leak outside underground that was creating a huge sink hole in our front yard and wasting a ton of water. I called about 4 different companies before turning to Roto Rooter. Roto Rooter was the only company that could detect AND repair the leak. I first called the company at around 11am and the technician came out the same day and the problem was fixed by 3pm. The technician had to dig up part of the yard where our plumbing transitioned from PVC to copper. The PVC was cracked (he showed me once the repair was made) and needed to be replaced. Total cost for excavation and repair was $750 which was below what I thought we would pay but still painful. Other companies were quoting $500 just to find the leak without excavation or repair. Overall, I am very satisfied with my experience and would not hesitate to use Roto Rooter in the future.

Peter S.

I had a slow shower drain. The plumber who was dispatched arrived on time, looked at the issue, and said it would be $300 to clear out. I told him that sounded expensive. He asked how much I thought it should cost. I said probably less than $100. He said, how about $100 for the job. I agreed.

He completed the work and he said I could pay by credit card over the phone to the main dispatch number. I had a family distraction for 30 minutes after he left so I wasn't able to make the call right then. During those 30 minutes, he called 4 times and left 4 text messages saying he needed payment now. After the distraction ended I paid by phone and the calls stopped.

Though the work was completed on time and the negotiated price seemed fair, his attempt to hose me with (at least) a 3X markup was despicable. And the incessant nagging to pay him was tacky and annoying.

Will not use these guys next time.

Robert G.

Most of the times you need a plumber you are probably having a bad day. I needed a plumber at 10pm and they sent out M. Martinez 1767. He was prompt courteous and professional all the way. If I need a plumber in the future Roto Rooter is my company. Roto Rooter Austin. 06/06/12

Negative N.

I called to get a free estimate thinking I would schedule the plumber to come out in the next couple days. Much to my surprise, the lady I spoke with said she could have someone out within the hour! She even put in my request to have the plumber call on arrival since I was only a minute away from the property. I was thinking lots of positive things at this point.
Roto rooter likes to have some poor dispatcher call every few hours to update you to let you know that the plumber hasn't quite made it in your direction yet. This is okay if you like a few phone calls a day for no real reason other than to remind you they haven't gotten to you yet.

The best part about all of this is that TWO WHOLE DAYS LATER, the dispatcher calls to tell me he's 30min away. I waited all day long for two whole days waiting for someone to come out. What the hell kind of customer service is this???? Don't tell me within the hour and then be ready to roll 48 hours later.

Needless to say, I told her waiting 2 whole days for a quote and then being 30min away when I've finally gotten home for the day across town was the last straw and I wouldn't be doing business with them at all.
I'm shocked they have any good reviews simply because I'm amazed that they ever arrived at any job at all.

Annie D.

I got a phone call and was told someone would arrive within the hour and Jose wasn't too far off his time. He was very pleasant and explained everything to me. We had a pressure valve that needed to be replaced and I got the estimate on the valve and labor, and then as he was fixing things, he told me he needed to replace the spring tension valve as well, so that added another $50, which was fine. At least he was nice enough to waive the $80 that they charge to go pick up a nonstock item. He was explaining to me how Cedar Park uses certain types of spring tension valves b/c of what happens when firefighters use the city's water, but I won't go into the details on that. Our main issue was low water pressure and just normal maintenance on the water heater. Jose was able to get our water pressure up and he had me look at the water pressure in the kitchen and bathrooms with him to show me the difference. So far so good. I was happy with his service. Price wasn't cheap so hopefully there won't be any issues. We used them 2 yrs ago for the same water pressure issue and on the old receipt, it turned out that Jose had fixed our problem that time too! He actually read what he had written and it said that if the water pressure went low again, that we may have to replace the pressure valve next time around, so that's what we ended up doing today.

My only gripe, like one other reviewer mentioned, is that I wish they did wear some coverings over their shoes when they walk around the house so as not to track dirt everywhere. Luckily, it was a nice, clear day. I wish I could ask them to remove their shoes, but I understand how tedious that would be. That's really my biggest suggestion for now. But thank you, Jose, for helping us out!

Livia A.

It's 10:10 PM and the plumber just left. I made the first call at 3:56 PM and was told someone would be at my house "within the hour." Guess I should have asked her to specify exactly WHICH "hour"...

I'd been needing my master bath's tank parts and main water valve replaced for a couple months, as well as a leaky outside faucet. No rush to fix either, as I have another bathroom to use and was making the most of the outside faucet leak by keeping a hose connected and collecting the water for plants and the bird bath. However, last night, my broken toilet became possessed and without any warning whatsoever, began shooting out water, much like Linda Blair's pea green soup fountain. The top piece of the valve had broken off and I had a nice little flood to clean up. Good thing it happened while I was home to take care of it immediately. Consequently, I thought it would be best to not leave the house again until I got it fixed.

I emailed and called a recommended local plumber who was supposed to be available from 9 AM 'til noon on Saturdays. After I didn't hear a peep from them, I had to find someone else. At 5:19 PM, I received a call from dispatch, saying "the tech is on another job and we will call you again when he is on the way." There's only one tech available in all of Austin? Really? I called them at 7:30 PM and they seemed genuinely concerned that no one had arrived yet. I was put on hold and then told that the tech was replacing a main sewer line and that he was the only one available in my area. I was put on hold again while she called "the manager," and was then told the next available tech nearby would be dispatched to my house, and I would receive a 15% discount for having to wait so long.

At 8:08 PM, I received a call that the tech was on his way, and to allow him 20-30 minutes to arrive. He showed up about 35 minutes later - fixed everything - did a great job and was a super nice guy. He was frustrated about the Baltimore call center giving customers false arrival times, and with them being unfamiliar with the Austin area, that San Marcos and Austin are not "that" close (i.e., just down the street). I have no problem with being told there is a 4-hour window (Time Warner, Home Depot, etc.). But if "within the hour" turns out to be nearly 5 hours later, I'm going to be understandably annoyed. But like I said, the plumber did a great job, though it was expensive, even with the 15% discount...