Roto-Rooter

I couldn't find anybody else to do it. It was an emergency call but I wouldn't use them again because it was quite expensive. I think they over charged me but I had no choice. I could have asked them a head of time how much it would cost but I didn't. They fixed it and told me what what I needed in the future. The quality was okay. Responsiveness was good. If I had a choice, I probably would look at the Angie's List and see if I could do better.  I called other people and no body was willing to even come until Monday and I couldn't have that mess for three days.

This provider was called on a holiday weekend, and online services were responsive and easy to use.  Plumber arrived within the time stated, did his job easily, gave me an accurate overview of pricing and fixed the problem quickly.  
I thought the price was a little high for the time and effort, but bottom line is the issue was resolved comletely and in a professional and stressless manner.

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My husband called the Roto Rooter 800 number to schedule the work. We had a short timeline to get it done as our contractor discovered the pipes needed to be cleaned out when bathroom vanities and sinks were removed for a remodel. My husband described the work (not complicated) and was told they do not quote prices over the phone.

The technician who arrived had limited English skills, which made discussing the pricing and work more difficult (this is not a statement about people who are not native English speakers). My husband asked what the price would be if all drains in the house rather than just the two for the sinks, assuming there is a basic service charge for showing up. He does not remember the price for all the drains, but it was very high. So he back tracked and said to do only the two drains, and what would that cost be?

The price quoted was $838. Which is obviously an obscene price. Of course my husband protested. Personally, had I been there, I would have called the 800 number again, and I would have been tempted to insert my boot in an unpleasant place as I kicked the guy out. I am not tolerant of obvious shakedowns.

My husband eventually negotiated the total price to be $440, slightly more than half the original quote. It took about 30 minutes to do the work. Seriously? Who would pay over $800 for that? We wonder if the technicians are incented to inflate the prices and get paid accordingly. Who knows.

I used Roto Rooter multiple times when I lived in another state. The prices were always reasonable. We will never use them again.  To quote outrageous prices is unprofessional. Sure, companies do this every day, but when they do, they should be held accountable for it. Had we not had a tight timeline, Roto Rooter would not have done the work.

I must qualify my comments with the fact that we do not know from which of the multiple locations for Roto Rooter offices near us the technical was dispatched. The receipt does not have that information. I had to select one, and picked the closest one. There are 410 areas codes for two numbers on the receipt. Technician number is 1146. They are welcome to contact us. Will be glad to correct the specific office selected if it is incorrect we are contacted.

Technician Arrived on time. Discussed the issue with me and the only solution. Then spent over an hour snaking the drain, multiple times. Was clean and very courteous.

They did not make it out to the first service call that we were scheduled for. They rescheduled for the following day and arrived in the alloted time window and performed the work quickly. A little pricey for the amount of time spent on the job, but did a very professional job.