Mr. Rooter Corporation - Fremont

They had a better camera system to see where the problem was, and once they discovered where the problem was, they gave us 3 options as to what we could do, and that gave us choices, instead of just telling us to replace the whole thing. They had to do quite a bit of digging, and when they put the digging back, I wasn't able to tell that they had dug up that spot. It looks pretty much the same. They did forget to put the sprinkler back. We thought the price was a little high, but not completely crazy either. At one point they dug up and cut up the pipe, and they left us for 2 days, and the pipe was exposed. We thought it would be done the 2nd day, but it was done the 3rd day. They initially came very fast, and then they didn't come back very much.

In the end I felt that Angie's List was NOT of any help for us because your side somehow used a Northern California location for Mr Rooter. Even after we told you of the error no change was made to respond to our need. In it annoys me that you keep asking me to fill out the form.

At first I thought the problem was taken care of however I had to call them back.  The first team I delt with I would not want to do my work again.  However I was assigned to a gentleman by the name of Ed and his partner was Paul.  Both men were very professional and eager to help solve this problem.  They seemed to have much more knowledge about what they were doing and I was told by Ed that he was not leaving this property until this problem was fixed.  Good to his word the problem was taken care of.  Before I met with the new crew I had spoken to the gentleman who is in charged of all the teams and he seemed concerned that I was not happy and made sure I was given the proper service.You can have the best company in the world but it only takes a couple people who don't care to put a black mark on the business.Knowing Mr Carr and what crew I should ask for...  I would not hesitate to return to this company for more work.  I am a property investor and I will be using them again.Thank you Steve, Ed, and Paul Judy SrpProperty Restorations

In my experience with Mr. Rooter Plumbing Company, over charged me, double billed, used incompetent workers, did not complete the work satisfactorily, did not install and then took paid for items, took some of my personal tools. Their contracts were confusing and not well itemized.  I feel this contributed to misunderstanding about the work to be done and allowed them to add further charges. In good faith I signed a contract that I was told was a revision of the previous contract and it added $9697.18 to my bill, which I thought was already included.    On May 25, 2012, I contracted Mr. Rooter to re-pipe entire one bathroom house with copper.  All work will include all fixtures in house kitchen, laundry, toilet, lavatory sink, bathtub pressure regulator and water heater for $9,703.11.  I stated that I wanted a tank-less water heater.  I was told the tank-less heater was inferior and was ignored.  The job was to be done in 3 days.    Under the impression that the re-pipe included drains we mistakenly signed. On 5-26 we paid $4,000 for drains plus $505.40 deposit.   I insisted on a tank-less water heater, they insisted tank-less heaters were inferior.  I researched it and a found that to be false.  They were very determined to sell me their  40- gallon heater.  Eventually I was told I would have to purchase the tank-less heater myself. I purchased the tank-less from a plumbing supply.   On May 27, I was approached with a plumbing upgrade contract which I was lead to believe was a revision of the original 9,703.11 contract.  The upgrade was for $9,697.18.  The contract stated the installation for the tank-less was $1600.00.  $5,662.08 for 60 ft. of ¾   copper line and fixtures.   Then another $1543.78 for fixtures that were originally included in the previous contract and already included in the $5,662.08.   The electrician hired by Mr. Rooter to install the tank-less, seemed to be incompetent, he was confused and ill-equipped. He had to borrow my cordless drill because he did not have one.  He disappeared for 2 hours at one point saying he needed to go to home depot for electrical wire.  He ended up having to come to my home on three different days, and still left it a mess.  The electrician sent by Mr. Rooter, installed the on/off switch backwards, the control panel for the Tankless does not work, He spent a lot of time on the phone trying to get the panel to work and then said he didn?t know, and left.  After the crew from Mr. Rooter left we discovered these items missing:
· 3 gallon tool bucked
· bathtub spigot
· sink rod for the drain plug ( rod that opens or closes the sink basin)
· all salvageable materials. 
· The toilet was not replaced nor credited.
· The piping underneath the house was incomplete, the
· copper pipes were not level causing stress.
· drain from laundry sink was not replaced.
· heavy duty specially modified extension cord

Like so many in our older neighborhood with 50 + year sewer lines, we had a recent sewer line back up and called Mr. Rooter after finding their $79.00 ? ?it drains or it?s free? coupon online.  It was getting dark when a technician finally arrived and the first thing he did was place their rate book on the patio table.  (not a good sign given their coupon).  A manager arrived soon after (Why does clearing a backup require 2 people?).  They ran a snake into the line, but said they hit a block and sent a camera to find it.  25 minutes later (and after much ado) they?re ?unable to clear the line? and now it?s dark. 
My options? (their rate book came in handy) a 2-3 hour ?hydro- scrub? -- $1,300 + (no guarantee - most likely destroy the old pipe), dig up the front yard to spot repair the main line -  $3,300 (1 day ? 5 yr guarantee), and finally, replace the main line - $6500.00 (2-3 days - 25 yr guarantee).  Although they were prepared to start right then, I decided to think about it and thanked them for their efforts.   
The next morning I contacted Sean Fry of Bay Area Trenchless, who is highly recommended by our neighbors (like Angie?s List).  When Sean came out and within 15 minutes easily cleared the line, Mr. Rooter?s actions and intentions became glaringly suspicious as predatory sales tactics to upsell their coupon to more expensive and unnecessary services.  Luckily they ?honored? their ?it drains or it?s free? coupon.   Already on the TO DO list, we had Sean replace the line (at less than ½ the price of Mr. Rooter and with a lifetime warranty on parts and labor).  (for more on Bay Area Trenchless, see my review)

Horrible experience.  We called Mr. Rooter to fix a bathtub that wouldn't drain.  We were told that the waste and overflow needed to be replaced, which we agreed to, and the work was performed.  I came home as the technicians were leaving and was told the problem was fixed, but that we may need to address the rest of the drain lines in the future.  They left a $12,000 estimate for replacing all the drain lines and re-piping the water lines.  After they left, I went to the bathroom to find filthy drain water spattered all over the tub, walls, and toilet.  The area rug near the crawlspace was covered in dirt from under the house.  We called the mainline to complain (the operator there was very helpful), but were told the technician couldn't come back that evening to clean up. They offered to refund $50.  So I went to the bathroom to start cleaning, and found as I filled the tub with water, it wouldn't drain.  After a long time on the phone, we were told that we would get a call from a manager the next day, and someone would be out to fix the problem with credit given for money already paid.  No call the next day, so I called them to find out what was going on.  I was told a tech would be there in 15 minutes.  Forty-five minutes later they arrived, crawled under the house, and told me I needed to replace all the drain lines for $6900.  Credit would not be given for the $1100 already spent, but would be used toward additional labor for "digging".  Turns out the tech initially  started working on the overflow before he knew what the problem was, then never bothered to put water in the tub to see if the problem was corrected.  It was explained to me that this was an inexperienced technician.  So, essentially, I paid $1100 for them to dirty my bathroom and soil my rug.

Mr. Rooter staff pulled the permits, organized all the work, and coordinated all the inspections.  This HUGE project was completed in 4 days!!  4 days!!  At the end of each work day, I was updated with what the next step would be the following day.  The men completely cleaned up the work site at the end of each day.  They even rinsed out my wheel barrow they had borrowed.  The job went smoothly.  Safety protocols were put in place and stictly followed.  Mr. Rooter is licensed, bonded and carries workers' compensation insurance.  These were all requirements before  I hire a company to do such difficult and expensive work.  I would hire them again.  Additionally, the work came with a 25 year guarantee. 

I would also like to point out that the project manager, Keith Shannon, did an outstanding job.  The site manager, Francisco Orellana, kept the pace of work moving in some intense heat and under difficult traffic control.  The original plumber, Mason Reynolds, did a heck of a job by replacing the old sewar line underneath the house and replaced all of the connections in 1 1/2 days.  He did this by himself.  That is an enormouse amount of work done quickly. I give this organization my highest rating for being organized, competent, neat, hard working, and trustworthy.