Val's Plumbing and Heating

John B.

Val's Plumbing is a first rate business and their customer service is top notch. We use Val's Plumbing for all of our business needs at our small food manufacturing business in Salinas California.

They are always professional and dependable!

Judi M.

There was a stain on the porch after the water heater was replaced. Val's insisted that it could not have been anything connected with the replacement, but came out anyway to check out the stain and supply a cleaner that worked ( removing some of the stain to test it out). They did the replacement promptly too, with no hassle.

R. G.

Bad experience!!! Rude on the phone, then a plumber went to a rental of mine on Wednesday morning, the tenant told me the plumber showed up but nobody ever called me. Thursday at 4pm still no phone call so I call them and the same rude woman reads me the notes ""no leak, just needs caulking around the tub"". A phone call would have been nice, but if the house needed work they may have called $$$$$

Christopher K.

Val's Plumbing: Unethical, Dishonest and Overpriced

I am a Real Estate Broker and Property Manager in business over the past 9 years. I called Val's Plumbing as my 2nd choice after the failure of another plumber. Unfortunately, Val's was unethical and dishonest in their billing and overpriced for the mediocre service they provided.

We had two services set up. One was for two showers that shut off randomly along with the re-installation of a washing machine and dryer that the tenants had disconnected. The showers were an easy fix: as it turned out, all that had to be done was to pull a safety cord on each that prevented too hot of water from going to the shower head. It was an appreciated diagnosis, and it was a 5 minute ""fix.""

The washer and dryer install involved plugging in the washing machine and adding two new lines for hot and cold water. Additionally, the washing machine needed a curved plastic pipe to drain from the machine into the wall. The plumber found that this piece was missing, but he ""didn't have it, so you have to buy one and install it yourself."" The ""fix"" for the dryer involved installing a new air exhaust line. At first, although the plumber came in a huge truck, he said that I would likely need to call an appliance company to reinstall that because he did not think he had the flexible hose to go from the dryer to outside the house. All he had was a rigid hose, which was not the ""right"" thing, per the plumber. But it would work because the length and height worked, so with some appliance tape, he was able to make that line work. We were ok with that because of the simplicity of the fix needed.

These simple fixes took him 3 hours and led to a cost of $534.47. The work was done on 11/30/2017, and I told the plumber that as the property manager, I would send him a check. Because they were uncomfortable with knowing that we would pay them, he held my credit card, which his manager stated ""WOULD NOT BE CHARGED."" I heard his manager say this one the phone, and I confirmed with TWICE with the manager and with the plumber. Val's own invoice states that ""Charges are payable in full by the 10th of each month following the invoice date.""

I called Val's back to the home two days later to replace the gas line that goes from the range to the wall, which PG&E had stated was leaking. A plumber drove from Salinas to Greenfield. No parts were required for this call because the plumber simply diagnosed that PG&E was wrong: the gas line was not leaking but rather an internal ""nipple"" was leaking, and we needed a new range. My cell phone records indicate that the plumber called to let me know he was leaving from Salinas at 1509 hours, he called me with the diagnosis of the problem at 1556 hours (very quickly did he solve the problem, I might add), and then he left, since I needed to buy a new range rather than have him do any work. For this diagnosis, we received a bill for $315.

The total charges for this ""work"" was therefore $849.

I called and spoke with their manager, asking for break in the 2nd service call's pricing because $315. Driving from Salinas to Greenfield takes 30 to 35 minutes, and his total time from leaving Salinas to diagnosing the problem was less than an hour. $315 for drive time and a diagnosis is obscene especially since we had just been billed $534 for other ""work"" that was a simple diagnosis of a need to pull a safety valve and to install a 2nd rate fix on a dryer. The manager stated that the work was worth it citing that ""Unlike most plumbing companies, we carry our own supplies with us, so you don't have to have the supplies on scene.""

Well, this was an untrue statement. The 1st plumber did not have the curved drain pipe, which I fixed myself at a cost of $19.99 in parts at Home Depot. The plumber also did not have the proper flexible exhaust tubing that would have been the proper fix for the dryer.

The manager also stated that his crews charge from door to door and that his 2nd plumber ""had completely took apart the range to diagnose the problem."" That was either a lie or a misrepresentation, since my cell phone records indicate that the time that he left Salinas to when he diagnosed the problem took less than 1 hour. He then stated that the price was fair because his workers are unionized.

Well, what did we get for unionized labor? We got three very expensive diagnoses (two showers, one range), we got an incomplete re-installation of a washing machine, that I had to complete myself, and we got a 2nd rate fix on the dryer.

I would not have written this review, however, if Val's been ethical. When I called Val's on December 2nd and spoke to Billing, Billing confirmed that MY CREDIT CARD WOULD NOT BE CHARGED because I was going to pay in full, from the property owners account, for the total of BOTH service calls AFTER I spoke to her manager about billing. Well, guess whose credit card ended up being charged. DISHONEST and UNETHICAL.

Kevin M.

Worth every penny! On time, friendly, knowledgeable, diagnosed and fixed the problem ASAP. Very professional, highly recommended.

Wendy A.

I was charged for two hours for a plumbing problem which was fixed in 5 minutes because I was told the drive time was one hour here and back in his truck, which I was told ""can only go very slowly"". Another plumber who came from the same area to my home a few months ago and spent 20-30 minutes here charged me 100.00 less. Will not be calling Val's again.

Phillip F.

Good Grief I read the whole enchilada about the Italian immigrant that started the business and who could not love that story. Unfortunately the owner isn't working there anymore and the people he entrusts to run the business could care less. I am a property manager with a 26 unit building and I need a good sized company to help with our plumbing needs. They won't even give me the time of day and I have called them multiple times. NO not going to recommend this outfit..... find a better choice. One that I talked to Scott Grider Plumbing took the time to even suggest that since he is a one truck company I try them. Call SCOTT you will be far better off. Complete Plumbing too is a nice guy on the phone. I just need a larger co due to after hours needs.

Veronica S.

This company charges a 129 for diagnosis then, per hour. Sounds Reasonable Unless You Are Dealing With ""Shady Unethical Milk-iNG crooks"". I had it diagnosed with a malfunctioning fan by another. When the Val plumbing technician came out to see it, he agreed and said it would take no more than 15 minutes. When the bill came it was for this price of the part PLUS $$500+ dollars!! The technician said the hours took so long because he tried to use another company and after we had already agreed on the part from the maker of my brand. I probably paid for his lunch break but oh well i paid for it because i didn't want any problems and at least i thought the job was done. Now it blows cold air out. I call them back and I get the ""129 then hourly"" talk again. I asked IF I COULD HAVE an estimate ahead of time and David the manager laughs at me. Honest to God Crooks. NOW I see see why they charge per hour and not by job. GET A SECOND OPINION AND DON'T TRUST THESE PEOPLE.

Jeff J.

I have used these guys three times in the past year. Two water heaters and one furnace. Each job was done well and no issues. This type of work is not cheap, but you get what you pay for. I felt they did a great job and were very responsive. Thank you.

Elizabeth P.

I needed a part for my shower and went to the usual ""retail"" places, Home Depot, Ace Hardware...all very pleasant and helpful but I did not find the part I needed. I decided to call Val's Plumbing and was told they had a retail front. I found the ""retail"" door and went in. No one was there and I had to ring a bell for service.. as soon as I turned around a man was standing there just staring at me... no ""good morning"", no ""how can I help you"" no nothing! So I told him what I was looking for a ""positive shut off adapter for a shower"", I told him that I had found them online but couldn't find one at the other stores, he said there was no such thing. I asked if he was sure... and he said yes he was. I again asked him and reminded him that they had to exist because they were sold online and he said that the only adapter that could shut off water had to have a ball in them and they didn't make them for showers. I said that the online adapters did have a ball in it, at which time he reluctantly told me that he ""may' have one that might work. He went to the back and came back in seconds with the exact adapter I needed... he then told me it would be expensive, $21 and I said I'd take it. Long story short, very rude, obviously did not want to wait on me, much less help or even sell me the part, which by the way, worked GREAT! Val's Plumbing needs to train all of their staff some basic human relations techniques. Home Depot and the local Ace Hardware may not have had the part I needed but they had the smile and the ""Good morning, how can I help you?"". Get with it Val's... in today's world, personal service is what keeps businesses in business!