Smelly Mel's Plumbing

Dave L.

I called, they answered and said can you hold for a minute, I said sure and waited 5 plus minutes then hung up. Perhaps customer service isn't a top priority here.

Donald Q.

I'm remiss in not posting this review sooner, but I do like to wait a bit after using someone's service to let the dust settle and see how everything works out. Last fall (Oct. 2015), we were planning our front yard landscaping project (tear out the lawns, put in low maintenance, drought tolerant plantings and rock gardens, etc.) and because of our local sewer lateral replacement ordinance, we decided to pro-actively replace the sewer lateral as a first step, rather than have to tear up our new landscaping to do it at a later time.

We got three referrals from the city for plumbing companies pre-qualified to do the work (we were seeking a city-sponsored rebate check) and Smelly Mel's was among them. Turns out one of the 3 wasn't even properly licensed by the CSLB to do sewer plumbing, so really it came down to only two. But of those two, Smelly Mel's, though not the lowest bidder, was hands-down the better choice. Their price was reasonable, as was their contract. The low bidder gave us a ""firm estimate"" and when it came time to sign a contract, it was stamped with some language about the estimate being ""tentative"" and ""not based on actual field conditions"" (despite their having surveyed the job onsite) and that the work would be done on a time-and-materials basis! No way.

Smelly Mel's, on the other hand, said ""Look, this is how much it will be, and if it's not, it'll be because of this or that (with very specific details) and in those cases, it'll be this___."" Everything was spelled out in writing in their contract and they stood by it. End of discussion. I hired Smelly Mel's and I don't regret it. They showed up when the said they would. Everything was done on schedule and on budget. Travis was available to us by phone throughout, and on several occasions answered our questions and allayed our concerns. The office manager, Joyce, was prompt, professional, and a pleasure to work with. We couldn't have been happier with the outcome.

Chorale P.

Estimate over $800 for two hour job just to replace two bathroom faucets and handheld shower head. Seriously?? Refused.

Doug B.

They did a fine job for us some months ago, unclogging and doing a scope (at our request) of our kitchen drain line, to inspect the old iron pipes under our house. I had no problem with the service level or the price. Just thought I'd provide a counter-example from what I'm seeing here on Yelp.

Kathy L.

Our situation was forced upon us by the City of Belmont. An ordinance was passed last year that stated any sewer lateral work that needed to be done would now be the responsibility of the homeowner. This ordinance was passed AFTER the City had inspected the main sewer line and found a lot of laterals offset.

So, needless to say, we were all caught off guard and only given 45 days to get the work done! The City did provide a list of plumbing companies and Smelly Mel's was on that list. After going back and forth with the City we were able to get them to extend the deadline in order to allow time to gather bids and to figure out how we were going to pay for this work.

I called several companies on the list and were given quotes anywhere from $6,000 on up to $12,000! We felt as if we were being screwed twice, once by the City and then again by these plumbing companies! We were determined to get the best price since this was NOT something we were doing voluntarily.

Travis with Smelly Mel's was the most professional out of all the other people at the other companies I spoke with. He came out within in a couple of days of my initial call and was on time. He then provided a quote within the timeframe he said he would. He also was willing to work with us on the price. Smelly Mel's was the lowest quote we received and very reasonable compared to all the other companies who just wanted to rip us off.

Smelly Mel's ended up doing the work for several of our other neighbors. It made good business sense for them by not being the highest priced but that got them more business instead of just trying to get the most out of one job.

The job passed inspection with no issues and we are glad to have it done and out of our lives. Thanks!!!

Susan W.

This crew was contracted by the seller's agent for my Pacifica house to do the required sewer lateral work. They had to return twice at my request to repair the collapsed line that was flowing water for over a week. The front was sauturated and a few months later the vegetation is dying.

I sent them my first, as expected exhorbinant, water bill through my agent. They have the chutzpah to ask for the subsequent bill, in essence challenging my claim that they wasted my water that is now on my bill. This outfit has no shame.

~ They damaged my property
~ They didn't do a routine job right the first time, or the second time
~ They are quibbling over a few hundred dollars on a contract in which they took $8-10K

As if this is no one's problem but mine. And yet reputation is priceless for a small business owner.

My response:
~ Negative reviews on Angie's List and on Yelp
~ Potentially a lawsuit for the water bill and the sustained damages

Let's see...think of something funny...

A horse goes into a bar. The bartender asks, ""Why the long face?""

J K.

These guys are thieves and they will rip you off in a second. I was overcharged 9,000 dollars over my estimate and I don't think they did anything much less what they were supposed to do. I will never ever call this company again. Do not use this company you will be ripped off. I think the guys name was Travis and he was nothing but a con man thief. I will never do business with them again. They have no care for the customer whatsoever.

My whole experience is this: I called them cause I saw them working on my neighbors one day. I was having trouble with the pipe out to the street. The city won't clean it out unless you have a clean out 3 feet from the sidewalk. I hired Smelly Mels to put in a clean out by the street so I could have the city come if any trouble occurred. I was given an estimate of 3400 or something like that. I called my insurance and they sent a check. They dug a giant hole in my yard and then proceeded to vanish for a month. After calling several times they finally showed up and fixed the hole. Low and behold no clean out. Travis the thief came and told me they put in a sleeve to the street and that above the 3400 previously estimated I needed to pay another 9000 dollars. Granted my insurance was covering the cost so I called and I told the insurance company I think they are ripping me off. They payed anyway. I know legally I could have not payed but I didn't think of that then. I even hired a guy to put a camera down the pipe with my own money to see if a sleeve was actually present. There wasn't a way to determine this with a camera. It is a good many years later and I still stress on this experience and I wish I would of handled the whole thing differently, Like not giving that thief a single dime. The company did nothing so I blame the whole chain of Smelly Mel's Plumbing. They hire thieves and sit back and collect the money and say nothing.

DO NOT USE SMELLY MEL'S PLUMBING. THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF.

Xavier B.

Make sure that if there is a change order with extra charges you have it in writing.... I would avoid them.

jesse h.

Wrong camera for the job wrong prognosis when finished ..will finish review with correct ..?..later

Don B.

A water heater that they installed less than 2 years ago had a pilot light that stopped lighting. It was covered under the manufacturer's warranty, but this company wants to charge almost $300 to replace the part. $300/hr for labor?! Are you kidding me. A brand new water heater cost around $350.

AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!