SMART Plumbing Hawaii

Daniel T.

If you want to wait literally weeks to NOT have your plumbing problem fixed, they are your guys. One hour response time is either a joke or a lie. I waited several days for an appointment to replace a water heater. It does not work and when I call for service I get the run around. Now a week and a half with no hot water.

Jamie L.

Amazing service every time. Gabe and Lei run an incredible business. They are thoughtful and pay attention to every little detail. I will use their services any time I need plumbing work done and recommend them often to friends and family. The best!

Annee O.

Wow! I love these people. They were quick to answer our calls. The staff was polite, friendly and efficient. We have used their services twice and each time I was pleased with the results. Their prices were reasonable too. I highly recommend them!

Alicia H.

I'm going to make my review simple short and to the point. I called them Monday morning and they came out that day! If your looking for a good plumber that's honest, knows his business and a very fair price look no further if you need a plumber just call Smart Plumbing! Yes I also read all reviews good and not so good. Thank you Smart plumbing!!!!

Christine D.

Smart Plumbing came highly recommended from a fellow mom in a facebook group. Everything was great with the first round. I had issues with my water heater, they sent two guys around who looked up my issues and found a solution. They went above and beyond too, fixing small issues with the sink. But then, about 10 days later, my hot water wouldn't go on. I called them again. This time, Gabriel - who was really, really nice - came around for an estimate. Relying on what the previous guys said, he didn't even open the water heater; he just checked lines. etc. He said I'd be put on high priority, even though pieces in my place would need permits. I'd be on high priority because I'm a single mom with 3 little kids and my mom who is elderly and sick is also staying with me, and the water was COLD. So, 5 days later, still nothing from them in terms of an estimate - total silence. I wrote and asked if the estimate was coming, we were all waiting for it. They said it was a complicated bid they were overwhelmed with work. I said ok, and that I had my little kids and mom taking the freezing showers and washing dishes in cold water, we'd really appreciate it, thanks. They said sure, then 5 days later, contact me to ask me if I STILL WANTED THE BID. I was furious. I'd been waiting 10 days for... what? Since I had a feeling at that point they were not going to pull through, I contacted another plumber who came and opened my heating box and found the switches were incorrectly flipped. THAT WAS ALL. Hot water back on. A couple of days later, Smart Plumbing contacted me to say they were still working on the bid, did I really want it, etc. I wrote back and told them how disappointed I was in their communication. I trusted them and I really liked them and it actually hurt that they just left me like that, when I really needed help. They did not respond, not even to apologize. So... yes, they can be great. Yes, I do think they have a lot of expertise. But that was a simple issue and they made a mountain out of it and left me when it seemed too hard for them to handle.

Derek H.

When I moved into my new house in Hilo in late January, I had a succession of plumbing-related issues stemming from the fact that the house-flippers I bought it from had cheaped out on a few things that hadn't shown up in the home inspection. Among other things, there was a water leak in the line leading to my shower and, most distressingly, a newish but totally crappy water heater that regularly malfunctioned. I tried Smart Plumbing Hawaii based mainly on online reviews, and they were consistently responsive, helpful, and made an effort to keep my costs from getting completely out of control. While I definitely hope not to need a plumber again soon, if I do I'll call them.

Terry G. R.

In checking back through my records, I couldn't find where Smart Plumbing advertised 25 hour service, but it's possible that their advertising was changed after the fact. It's a moot point in any case. Not sure what number they called, but I received no text or voicemail messages from Smart. A service company like this should offer 24 hour service, end of story.

Brad O.

***Re: Response to Rosalei of Smart Plumbing Comment Below*** Stay very far away from this business. 1. Very shady business practices with lots of unspoken fees and charges 2. After ***FIVE MONTHS*** still no resolution to my plumbing problems 3. Unprofessional customer service (Lance) 4. Horrible communication, very little follow-up 5. Undisclosed protective gear charges (who does this?) The owner Gabriel came to our house to re-diagnose our home after 2.5 months from the first diagnosis which we paid approx $600 for 4 hours of work for. Still no solution. Then a month later they requested we pay $125 for them to do the research for the parts that they were going to up-charge us 30% for and not disclose that initially. A business should not have to be paid for ""research"" if they are professional at what they do. If they can't do the job, they should just admit they don't have the skill or competence to do the job (that includes being able to SOURCE the parts). Money was not the issue with us, the principal of the matter was all 5 issues above. These people will string you along for the ride of your life. Stay away and don't do business with them. ANSWER #1: It doesn't matter what most of your customers say when it comes to our specific situation and dealings with you and your staff. We have not engaged in any libel as per the definition provided below. We have always stuck to facts and have the recordings and writings to prove the things we claim are true. What do you expect us to write in a review? A good review when we had a horribly bad experience? Google definition of libel: a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation ANSWER #2: Good. So you admit that you folks failed to deliver quality service to us. Mistakes were made, yes. You apologized yes. The reality is your apologies doesn't replace the time lost waiting and being taken through the ringer of hidden fees, bad communication, and as you would put it ""dropping the ball"". Just because you apologize doesn't make the situation automatically made RIGHT. You being short staffed is not our problem. If you folks were correctly implementing these improvements and adjustments to customer service then the bad reviews from the past years and those specific topics would not be a problem anymore. Hence a failed execution. ANSWER #3: If that review does exist (which I do not remember) saying good things about you folks, that was previous to the last 6-7 months of failed plumbing service and communication on your company's part. Irrelevant to bring up the past when it is superseded by the future events that eclipse the past. You asked us to provide you with what we wanted to be done and we made a list for you. Then you proceeded to attempt to try to change the narrative by insinuating that it was ""FAIR"" that we take down the review stating that your business operates in a ""SHADY"" way. Just because you refunded the $600 fee to just look at our plumbing doesn't undo the fact that your business has operated in a shady way of hidden ""protective gear"" and ""up-charging parts"" fees etc. THE ONLY REASON WE GOT A REFUND IS BECAUSE I WROTE YOU A DETAILED EMAIL CALLING YOU OUT ON THE FACT THAT YOU WANTED TO CUT TIES WITH US AS CUSTOMERS AND PREVIOUS TO THAT YOU WERE SO QUICK TO TAKE LANCE'S WORD AS TRUTH WITHOUT EVEN SPEAKING TO US. THAT EMAIL HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED. IT WAS ONLY AFTER MY EMAIL TO YOU THAT YOU BEGAN TO BACK PEDAL AND THEN OFFERING UP A REFUND THAT WE NEVER ASKED FOR. ANSWER #4: Just because we don't respond to you when you want us to doesn't mean we are at fault for creating any friction. The very first email regarding fixture replacement you speak of (assuming it was prior to July 2019) we never received. The very first actual quote we got was the first week of July 2019 in which there were no specific fixture pictures/model#/size/etc. Just a price. Then we got that email from you with the links and pictures and prices to the fixtures (the first email we ever received with actual fixtures to make a selection from). We live in 2019, the technology we have allows us to record. Get over it. I've offered to give you copies of these recordings which you never took me up on. Hawaii recording law stipulates that it is a one-party consent state. Yes we have the right.  To us it is a glaring red flag that you would have issue with us recording you or your employees or the owners. Anyone who operates in a truthful manner would have no problem with being recorded. We have done nothing to smear your reputation. All we have done is present the facts as we have evidence to back them up with. We have made it a habit for some time to record all interactions on our property. We have to keep people like you accountable. And we are glad we did. ...Continued ...See Bria808 K's review...

Darren D.

Smart Plumbing has everything: a very competent plumber who shows up as scheduled, does the job very well, conducts himself professionally; and an office manager who is efficient, personable, and ready to help and accommodate to your needs. There is even a website! Gabe fixed the toilet issue I called about originally, and on request, then scheduled another visit to address a separate plumbing issue for which additional material was needed. Total cost for the two jobs was reasonable--very reasonable, in fact. Smart Plumbing has been in Hilo for a year, after years of experience on the mainland, and as is apparent from the other Yelp reviews, is already establishing themselves as the people to go to when you need plumbing help in Hilo. I have told many friends about Smart Plumbing. It's also nice that it is a husband-wife team, the wife Lei being a Hawaii person.

Stryker R.

Gabriel and Akahi were at our house almost every day for two weeks. Gabriel suggested we replace all the plumbing because of a constellation of problems such as a leaky sewage pipe, wrong size pipe connected to hot water heater, a recent burst pipe, high pressure coming into house, 60+ year old galvanized pipes, poor arrangement of pipes related to addition, leak under a concrete slab in one portion of the house, poor hot water pressure to bathtub and kitchen sink. As work progressed, it was discovered that my neighbors sewage connected into my sewage line! Yikes! He has a type of fiber optic scope camera that allows him to see where pipes go which was handy and saved some time. Gabriel's time and $ estimate were accurate. He was grace personified under pressure during some unexpected events during the job, including an incoming ballistic missile false alarm! He kept us informed each step of the process. He and Akahi are very professional.