Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

Woke up on NYE to a leak in my basement over the washing machine. It was too much water to wait until Tuesday. It was where the valve and connector led to the hose. I tried calling 7 higher rated Angie's List members, but none got back to me so against my better judgement I called Roto Rooter. 2 big positives, they came out within 40 minutes and did work on NYE. Negatives, I had a very hard time understanding the repairman's english. I really wasn't sure what was going on with the repair. When I asked for a quote, he flipped through a blue binder and seemed to guess at a number. It was $300 and I had a $40 coupon. I didn't have many optons so I approved. He ended up cutting the piple fairly high up the wall and replaced part of the pipe, the valve and the hose. After about 4 hours, including a trip to Home Depot for an hour, the leak was stopped. I was a little nervous when he was using an open flame (blow torch???) on my basement floor to link the pipes. He was about 10 feet from my furnance. It made me nervous. After that leak stopped, the splitter on the other side of the hose leaked into the sink. He didn't seem to think this was an issue until I pointed it out. After jiggling and twisting the handle it stopped, however no water now runs from the sink. I'm not sure if it is fixed or not, but the leak to my floor stopped. I assuming I'll wait for a Big Deal on Angie's List to get a real plumber here to correctly fix the problem including the sink. I would only use Roto Rooter again if I was in an emergency, but for an emergency situation I guess it met my expectations.

Christmas morning 9 a.m., had a family room flood, due to sewage line backup. After frantically blocking water and mopping, called our usual plumbing service who called back and said they could come in the afternoon (with visit fee and hourly rates all doubled for Xmas emergency service). Consulted Angie's list and called several additional reputable plumbers for comparison, but none were providing service on Xmas day. Despite the mixed reviews, called RotoRooter, they answered right away, said they could come within 2 hours and would charge their everyday price, not a holiday premium charge. There was trepidation due to the specific issues mentioned in some of the reviews, but RotoRooter (Dan) came promptly, was cordial, did excellent, efficient, professional work, and we were extremely grateful that we could go back to using the water again.

I used them once and I wasn’t happy with their service at all. I had to completely redo everything they did. They were over priced and they didn’t do a very good job. When I called to complain about the fact that the work wasn’t done right and wanted it to be fixed, they said that they wouldn’t do anything about it. Their responsiveness was pretty good and they were out here quick.

They had a coupon for $40 off the service. I was able to book my appointment online. They were there when they were supposed to be and got it done quickly and gave me the $40 discount so I was definitely satisfied and would use them again.

I had a blockage in an underground drainage pipe and water from my gutters was backing up around the house. Roto Rooter was very professional in setting up the appointment and Jeff, the plumber came out right on time and did a great job in removing a ten foot long tangle of roots and them clearing around the spigot of the pipe. Everything was top notch except the price. The price was on the steep side at $379 per drain with a discount for additional drains. The one with the roots was well worth is but then he also ran a snake down an unclogged drain just to make sure and that ended up costing me an additional $220 even though there was no clog whatsoever. I would highly recommend the company for their scheduling efficiency, follow-up, professionalism and courtesy. But know exactly what you need done if you use them and be prepared for a little bit of sticker shock.

They did a good job. They are always really helpful. We didn’t get the impression that they were trying to upsell anything. They were professional and did a good job.

Had a sewage backup on the main line into our house. Roto-rooter had a guy out to our house. Snaked the line and cleared it out. Seemed to do a good job. My only quibble was the price was high. However, it was an early Saturday evening, so I expected pay premium.

They sent a technician who did the work, but it was not complete. The problem re-occurred shortly after. I phoned them and they weren’t receptive to my complaints. I sent a letter documenting the problem requesting contact, but I never heard anything. Roto-Rooter claims they did the work, so I feel stuck. They also damaged one of the basement stairs while dragging the heavy equipment. This wasn’t discovered until after they left. The technician tried to make me feel guilty about him coming ‘all this way’ to accept his sub-par services.

Awful experience. Called last Friday for a 6 - 8 appointment. After, 8 I received calls from the dispatcher every hour saying he'd be here in the next hour. Midnight rolls around and he still is not here so I had to reschedule for Monday. On Monday, plumber came an hour late and made the repair. 5 days later, I realize that the repair was not made correctly and started experiencing the same problems. Called that night to schedule Sunday appointment between 11 - 1. Get call around 12 saying he's running late but should be there by 1:30. 1;30 comes around and still isn't here, so I call back and they tell me within 30 minutes to an hour more. 2:30 comes and he's still not here, so the dispatcher tells me he's in traffic and ASSURES me he will be here in 20 minutes. 3:45 comes around and he's still not here! Call back and they say 20 mintues more! Do not call Roto Rooter unless you want to waste several days waiting and get shoddy service performed.

I called Roto-Rooter's local office and spoke with a very friendly lady, Linda. I explained that we have an exterior drain that takes rain water away from the house and that it's clogged. She said there was a plumber in the area and that she could send him over for a free quote. An hour later the plumber showed up. He spent a few sec. looking at the drain and said it was clogged with dirt and sand. I should mention that we've had previous quotes on this drain from other handymen (rated highly on Angie's List) and they actually took the drain cap off and spent more than a few seconds looking at it. Anyway, looked at his price list and gave me a quote for $350. I said okay and thanked him for coming to give me a quote. He seemed surprised that all I wanted was a quote and then asked me if I wanted him to snake it out right on the spot. I said no because I had to go over the quote with my husband. He then said he came out all the way from the Columbia area to look at my drain and he would like the job and would do it for $200. I told him that either way I would have to discuss it with my husband. So I went inside, called the hubby, and decided that... A. this was the highest quote we received for this job... B. he didn't spend much of any time looking at it and yet he claims to know what's wrong with it... C. felt lied to about being in the area/not being in the area... who knows... and D. dropped his quote $150 in less than 60 sec. I don't like playing price games and appreciate straight up quotes... I'm more likely to recommend somebody that way. So, we declined his services. 10/31 - UPDATE: Roto-Rooter called and left a message on our home phone a few weeks ago to discuss my Angie's List post. I returned the call days later and left a message. I have not heard back but instead get a letter in the mail. The letter goes on to say "assistant attempt to reach you"... really? I called back, left a message, and never heard from your company again.

I called to get an estimate to have drains cleaned in the back of our house. We had a problem with water in the basement and someone had suggested maybe the drains were clogged. I called on either a Saturday or a Sunday and left a message. I got an immediate response explaining what services the company offered and was told no estimates were given over the phone, some one would call on Monday to set up an appointment for an estimate. A convenient time was arranged. After I made the appointment I realized the day before that I wasn't going to be home all morning as I had originally thought, but had to leave at 10:30. I called the office and told them about the change and they assured me that some one would be there around 9. I waited and around 10:15 someone came. I explained that I would have to leave in about 15 minutes. The person was very nice, but didn't have a clue how to address the problem. When I asked for an estimate he pulled out a standard form so much for this service and so much for that, but the price would be reduced if I became a member for a fee. I found this ridiculice after I had been told there was no way they could give an estimate over the phone due to the individual nature of each job. I called another plumber and they gave me an estimate over the phone, which was less and they did the work.

I discovered my garbage disposal leaking at approximately 8:30pm. I called Roto Rooter and they have someone over by 9:30pm. My garbage disposal was cracked and needed to be replaced. The cost of the garbage disposal was $169, which is about what I would have paid if I had bought it at Home Depot. Labor was $255 to replace the garbage disposal and they gave me a 15% discount for being an Angie's List member. My plumber was very courteous and diligent and had the work done in about an hour. I was pleased with my service.

RotoRooters provided us with an estimate to repair a broken faucet in our bathtub and to replace the faucet in our kitchen. On that date, the technicians informed us that they could complete both repair jobs for between $500 and $600. The tech then explained to my husband that for the bathroom repairs, RotoRooters would need to cut a hole on the outside tile of our bathtub in order to gain access to the pipes, they would then replace the tub faucet (eliminating the need to crack through the tile inside the tub) and then install an access panel over the hole. Based on these key pieces of information we authorized the bathroom work in addition to that of the kitchen. I asked the technicians at least three times throughout the service if the work would cost us anything additional from the quote and the each time they replied that it would not. When the techs left that evening, they had already done most of the work in the bathroom but had not yet installed the access panel to cover the hole in the wall nor had they finished the sink repairs in the kitchen. Upon my inspection of the bathroom that evening, I realized that the technicians significantly damaged several items in the bathroom including deep scratches in the marble floor, chips in the glaze of our cast iron tub, and cracked the tile in the tub next to the replaced faucet. When the technician returned to complete the work the next day, I informed him of the damage and offered to show him. He refused to look at the damage and then informed that time he was not able to find an access panel for the hole in the wall for the bathroom. He stated that we would have to find a tile contractor to repair the damage. We would never have authorized this work to be initiated had we realized the access panel would not be installed or that this level of damage would occur. When all was said and done, RotoRooters charged us $1118.58 for the work for the bath and kitchen. I stated that was well over the quoted price and that they caused significant damage to the bath. I offered to pay for the work in the kitchen, but the tech insisted that could not happen and refused to leave our house until we paid the full price. Ultimately, the technician "discounted" the price to $875.58 for the labor on both the bath and kitchen. The tech said that I needed to contact the company for further customer service issues. My husband and I separately contacted numerous people within RotoRooters and left several messages with extensive info on the damage. Mike Hogan, Production Manager, reached out to us on March 25 asking for photos of the damage which we provided on April 1. At that time Mr. Hogan denied knowing about the damage and said he would contact the tech. Mr. Hogan called us on April 9th and we tried returning his call to no response and emailed him to let him know we would be happy to discuss via email. We are still awaiting a response. In the mean time, we have sought estimates to repair the damage sustained to our property. To date, our 6 estimates have come in between $9,000 and $14,000. I would never recommend using this company.

Had to come back to get the valve right.

I really enjoy working with Roto Rooter. They provide a great service at reasonable prices. However, the last time they were here, they forgot to turn the toilet's water supply back on.

It was excellent. The customer service, the quality of the work and the time it took to get it done was within what they promised. I was really happy with them. They gave me and accurate cost estimate. They got it done. They did drill through three or four feet of concrete, but they got it done and replaced the pipe. They went in through the basement. They were just very knowledgeable about what needed to be done.

After trying to fix this myself with no success, I went online and scheduled an appt with Roto Rooter. They gave me a 2 hour window, they sent a confirmation email that showed how you can track your status for the service call. The technician was out within 1 hour. He was polite, explained the costs involved and got right to work. It took him about 30 minutes and everything was fixed. He cleaned up after himself. I had a Angies List coupon that I used as well. It was a positive experience.

This was a horrible experience!!! Our basement toilet was over flowing and flooding our basement due to a backed up sewer line. Apparently, tree roots over time, grew and obstructed our main sewer line to the house. We placed an emergency call into Roto Rooter Sunday afternoon. They finally showed up Sunday evening. The gentleman was here for several hours trying to snake the line. His equipment ended up getting stuck. Eventually he decided to leave all of his equipment and try to get it out the next day. It was getting quite late by this point and his calls for assistance to the company were never answered. The same tech came back the next morning with another tech. They came 1 1/2 hours after the window they gave me the night before. Then spent another few hours here, needless to say my entire day was shot. Eventually they cut their equipment and got it out, however I was just told they cut their equipment. At this point I was also told that I need to have them install a Clean Out pipe because I didn't have one. They said that my line looks OK, but they need to install this pipe so the county will check their end. They also told me that the county would not respond to me at all until I had this pipe installed. They wanted me to pay $4,018.00 for this pipe. That evening, my husband and I decided to call the county anyway. We explained to them that Roto Rooter informed us that we did not have the clean out pipe that the county needed in order to come out. The county said that was rediculous and based on the age of our house, we absolutely had this pipe. The county came out immeditealy and were able to locate the pipe in under 3 minutes. They removed the tree roots for free.... (A big thanks to Howard County, for not only saving me $4,018.00, but reassuring me throughout the process). At this point all we wanted was a letter from Roto Rooter on their letter head stating that the equipment they cut was actually removed and not left in our sewer line. My husband and myself left numerous voice mails at the "main line" for Harry, the manager. NONE of these were returned. I still do not understand if the equipment was truly removed, then why they just wouldn't draft this letter, let alone return a phone call! Finally, five days after this ordeal began, the original tech indicated that he left behind additional equipment in our house that he needed! If he did not forget his tools, I do not think we would have ever received the letter. I do have to say that I feel this tech (Tesleem) was a victim of circumstance between us and Roto Rooter. All in all is was polite enough. The same cannot be said of the other tech, who I really feel took advantage of me as my husband was not home when he came out. My final complaint, would be how discustingly filthy all of the tech's were. I know that we had a sewage flood, which is truly discusting, but the tech's shoes were just as bad! It is a good thing that all of the basement carpet had to be removed due to the flood, beacuse if not, all of it would have to be removed due to their filthy "brown" foot prints absolutely everywhere. They even helped themselves to a bottle of my Tide he detergent and poured it down my utility drain to try to lubricate their equipment in the pipe. Then they put the bottle of detergent back in my laundry room covered in brown "stuff" Thanks guys! It is worth paying much more to have any company besides Roto Rooter come out on an emergency, after hours call. Unfortuantely, we learned this the hard way. I hope that this letter can help someone else learn from our mistakes. I would just like to add an update to this report. Harry, the manager, finally called me back after my husband left 6 messages for him and his assistant and I left 2 messages. He told me that neither one of us ever requested a letter from Roto Rooter stating that their equipment had been removed from our pipe! The conversation was extremely insulting as that was the sole purpose of us tryin to reach these people! All we wanted was this letter. When Harry started raising his voice to me and telling me that I needed to listen to him, I told him I would not waist my time being insulted by him telling me my husband never left any of these messages and lied. I had to hang up on him to end the verbal attack. Please, please, please do not subject yourself of anyone you care about to Roto Rooter, ESPECIALLY the Jessup office.

It was good. They were available. It was a Holiday weekend. They came within an the hour and got the job done. It was after hours.

We used Roto-rooter for a few issues in July and August 2010; we had just moved into an older home and had multiple plumbing backups that occurred either after-hours or on weekends. Roto-rooter responded quickly and the service technicians were prompt. However, after the first service, we had a repeat of the same backup. So we called them back to correct the problem. The tech said the problem was a new one, and therefore would cost additional money. We were also told that because we had been given a senior discount on the first service, there would be no guarantee! Again, because this pumbing problem occurred either after-hours or on a weekend, we paid to have the "new" problem corrected. I honestly can't remember how many times we had to have them come to the house over a 2-week time-span....but each time it ended up costing us money. One of the services performed was to unclog the laundry tub drain for $249. Within a day or two, it clogged again. The service tech who responded the second time said there must have been a misdiagnosis, as the problem was not with that drain, but another. He recommended that we call the manager and ask for a refund. The technician recommended a camera test of the main plumbing line to see if there was a crack or other damage. We agreed. The tester came that afternoon and completed the test but could not give us a printout of the results as his printer was not working correctly. On Monday, my husband called the main office in Jessup and was told that if he wanted a printout and a CD of the test results, it would cost an additional $25.(We understood this to be part of the fee we paind.) Eleven phone calls over the next few days to the manager and the office manager were not returned. We finally wrote to the head of customer service at Roto-Rooter's corporate offices and complained. Within a day, the manager from Jessup finally returned a phone call. He agreed to re-do the camera test and to give us a printout and CD. He also agreed to refund the $249 for the misdiagnosed drain cleaning. He could offer no satisfactory explanation of why our earlier calls were not returned. Nor could he explain the misinformation we had received concerning guarantees or the printout of the test results. We definitely do not recommend this plumbing company. My husband was really persistent in trying to get this issue resolved; we firmly believe that if we had not contacted the corporate office, we would not have gotten results. Some final comments: when we called for repeat appointments we asked each time that the tech who had responded to the previous call return. Each time we were told that tech was not available. So for each call, we had to explain to the new tech what had been done. It was very time consuming and exhausting. I'm exhausted just writing this report and re-living the whole experience!

Went as well as it could. It's a bit trying when you're home goes through this kind of thing. After changing out my water line all of the sediment clogged my faucets and toilets. One of the plumbers stayed late and got my toilet working again. It did take over a month for them to reseed my front lawn.

It went so badly that I will never call Roto Rooter again. The plumber showed up over three hours late and then misdiagnosed the problem, and tried to charge me for it.

It was about 40 feet of piping. They used a new piece of equipment, a pipe blaster, which was a big help because my sewage pipes go through my neighbor's property. The bad news was that it took 24 hours to get a response from them. Once the man came out for the estimate, it took another 48 hours to get the written estimate and have them come-out to do the work. Waiting those four days was frustrating, but once they did the work, they did a good job.

The majority of the work was done over a single day, with the finishing of rerouting pipes in the basement done on the second, as well as backfill of the hole outside. They were careful to not do excessive damage during the work and overall I was pleased with the service. I'm an intelligent and inquisitive person and all of the workmen were open to answering each of the questions I had during the entire project.

They removed the blockage and then had guys with a camera come out and give me an estimate to replace the real issue which is a nest of roots that are coming in through a seam in the terracotta pipe. All of the professionals who I met with where business like and were easily able to tell me what each issue was and laid out what my options were. They were able to show me the curtain of roots that is causing the blockages and were also able to show how they could easily push through sed curtain and how far it was from my house.