Rescue Rooter Bay Area South

Total rip off.
This review is about the estimates and not about their plumbing work. Because I just got estimate and decided not to go ahead with them.
I wanted to do repipe with copper pipes, I asked for estimate. Guy came to my home and spends 3 hours trying to sell me complete repipe of not just plumbing but sewer all the way to street. Inspite of repeated reminders that I am interested only in plumbing repipe he just went on about why I should replace sewer line. For total estimate of over $ 25-​$ 30k WTF!!!
After spending 3 hours finally he gave me estimate for plumbing repipe, which is more than double that of other diamond certified plumbers. Total rip off.
A friendly suggestion to the company is, there are many ethical ways to make money, trying a rip off like this is not good, karma will catch up soon.
And please don’t assume people are stupid to fall for this type of rip off.

Total rip off — slimy business practices.
My experience was very similar to that of Derrick D. on 2÷16÷2016. Same guy Roger — same basic rip-​off.
I had a badly clogged drain (toilet and tub) they came out on a Sunday to root it out — gave me a quote for $ 200 to $ 500 (highest level including camera, etc.). They did the rooting and the camera but never cleared the back-​up.
Then they gave my wife estimates of how much it would be to fix and replace the pipes (she asked why the pipes had to be replaced — he ensured that they did).
They gave 3 estimates for differing levels of work. $ 5K, $ 7K and $ 12K — they also pressured her that she needed to sign it right away, because «the work needed to start right away». She ended up signing (under duress) but they didn’t show up the next morning. Finally next afternoon somebody showed up but he wasn’t ready to do any work. He looked at it (with Roger again) and said something about it taking one day — why the heck am I paying $ 7K+ for one day of work?
This gave me the chance to get another quote — which I did and it came in at $ 1,500 which included putting in a cleanout. This work was done efficiently and easily.
I’m so glad I didn’t go with these guys but I’m still working to get my deposit back — they won’t return my calls.
Avoid at all costs.

This outfit used to be good, but after our last two experiences I strongly recommend against them. We had a leaky sink faucet so my wife bought a new one and called RR to install it. The guy came out Tuesday. It took him 4 hours to change a faucet and replace the s-​shaped sink drain. Above labor he charged $ 250 for what looks like two pieces of plastic pipe. Moreover, he didn’t have any caulk! So the faucet slides around on the sink. He knocked 10% off because of that. I don’t want 10% off. I want competent worksmanship.

Carlo came in record time and cleared my drain pronto! He was very efficient and knew his stuff. I liked the fact if it did not work he would come back.
Mary

So disappointing. Our water heater went out on a Saturday– we couldn’t get the light to stay lit. So, we called and $ 75 later, they were able to relight the unit and off they went. All fine until the next night when yet again — no hot water. Called again and they couldn’t send someone out until the next day. Fast forward $ 275, five days and two hotel stays later and we still don’t have hot water. What a waste. In hindsight, we were too accommodating in letting the tech order additional parts to try again. The tech was trying his best, but nothing seemed to work — he’s a nice guy, just no plumbing skills. Note that our water heater is only 2 years old. We’ve got another plumber coming out this afternoon. Hoping that the repair wasn’t made worse by whatever fixes rescue rooter tried to make.

Don’t even bother. These guys will have to keep coming out to do the simplest of repairs, and then, when it’s time for them to meet with a city inspector to confirm that the work was done properly, they won’t show up – which is exactly when you find out that the problem they «fixed» was made worse!

Although they did not fix the problem, the guy was cool about it. Didn’t charge and he actually busted a sweat working. At least he tried

I called Rescue Rooter because my sewer was partially clogged, and draining slowly. I had seen an advertisement on the internet for $ 88 drain cleaning. I had to take time off work to meet them at the house, and they then wanted $ 275 to snake the drain since I didn’t have a cleanout. Once they ran the snake down the sewer, they clogged it up worse than before. They told me that the blockage had closed up behind the snake, and now I needed to install a cleanout and hydro-​jet the sewer for $ 3,000. I found out later that from another plumber that they would charge $ 650 for the same service. Also, I think their explaination of the blockage closing up behind the snake is BS, they just didn’t use a long enough snake. I would steer clear of this company, call a local plumber instead of a franchise like this.

We called and were given our choice of 3-​hour appointment windows throughout the day. We made our appointment, and the 3-​hour window came and went, no plumber and no phone call came to let us know when they were arriving. So we called them, only to be told it was going to be another 1 – 2 hours before anyone would show up. Now it’s late at night, and we’re left without a working kitchen. Way to treat a new customer. No, thanks. We’ll call someone else.

Excellent! Carlos Z showed up on time, very professional, friendly, explained the estimate, and did the job. I think the price was very reasonable as I had tried to clean out the clog for a few hours without success. Carlos is a great representative for Rescue Rooter.

No stars — they continued to either not show or called to say they were delayed. What part of «no we can’t do the job» can they not fess up to? Thanks for a waste of time.

Totally tried to rip me off. I am renting out my home while I’m back in school in another state and I get a call from my tenant about a sewage problem. He calls rescue rooter and Roger comes to take a look. They want to do a video test to see what the problem is since I don’t have a cleanout.
He asked for $ 360 for the video test and I’m thinking that seems high. So I negotiate with him down to $ 180. He takes a look and gives me three options.
1. Add a property line cleanout for $ 65xx
2. Add a two-​way at the house for $ 12 500
3. Do a building cleanout for $ 2300
To take this into perspective, this is a two story house that was build in the 50’s so it really might be more expensive.
I am not falling for it yet, and I decide I want a second opinion. I call a couple of very highly rated Unilocal plumbing companies and they give me the low down. I then have one come out and they decide to just do the cleanout. Guess how much? Closer to $ 200 and definitely not $ 2300 that Roger quoted me.
To put things further into perspective. The other companies that I talked with stated that the city of San Jose will add the property line cleanout for me for $ 2700. Which mean contractors should do it for WAY less than that and Rescue Rooter/​Roger wanted $ 65XX. WHAT THE HELL?
He must think that since I’m out of town he can charge me whatever he wants. Complete BS and NO ONE should hire him ever! If you want to hire someone with any integrity at all, do not hire Rescue Rooter or Roger.

Very disappointed with his company. I had hired them before and they sent me a $ 50 card to use in the future. So Monday I filled out their online request for appointment form and submitted. The clean out was leaking water. I had no response. So Wednesday I communicated with their online customer service through a chat window — he apologized and said he would make sure someone contacted me. So Thursday after I still hadn’t heard anything, I called and they sent someone out with within two hours. He told me that the backup was on the «city» side and if I called them they wouldn’t come out for at least two days and that he could snake it right now for me for $ 250. I believed him and told him to please fix it. Not ten minutes later he knocked on my door and told me that he snaked it and the water is flowing but he would have to order another machine to clean out the pipe up to the house. He said it would cost $ 1500 at a minimum (for 15 ft of pipe) I told him I would call the city first to see what they said. The city sent someone out in thirty minutes — he cleaned it out — cleaned the mess the rooter guy left and ran water through the pipes from my house until it ran free and with no blockage. No charge — took maybe twenty minutes total and now it’s done. If I would of trusted the guy who told me they would not respond or would not help me with the pipes in my yard — I would of paid the rescue rooter company at least another $ 1500 on top of the $ 250. Dishonest. The city guy even told me that rescue rooter were the worst. And to call them first from now on.
***I was contacted by the office who not only apologized, they refunded my bill. I do appreciate a company that will go the extra mile to make things right. I am amending my review.

Had a clogged drain last night. Called a few places they wanted $ 200 just to come to my house, called these guys, they showed up in an hour for a FREE estimate. The price was great and they fixed so quickly! I highly recommend them!

Beware. Made appt 3 days in advance and now are 90 minutes late with a «promise» to be here 2 hours past our «window» of service. No call to let us know they are running behind, we had to call twice to be given a time of service. Simple drain clean out should not be this arduous with a 3 day notice. Very disappointed.

This company really is as good as it gets! Best price, friendly staff, and came back with no charge when we had a problem. We will definitely use them from now on

They would not give me a price over the phone to clear my kitchen drain. They arrived promptly. The first quote was for $ 250. I said no. Dropped price price to $ 225. No again. How about $ 175?. Called Fifteen Dollar Drain. Got it done for $ 88.

Late-​night call. They made a reasonable promise of arrival, kept me informed, showed up and fixed the system at 2am. Nice to have working toilets and to deal with people making a go at honest customer service.
Armando R. was pleasant and competent. Thanks.

Called them at 7:40pm on a Sunday. Their phone person spoke very clearly and the phone connection was excellent. They gave me a time range of 8 to 11pm for a plumber to show up. One did arrive at 9pm and used a power snake to clear out the blockage in my kitchen sink clean-​out line that I was unable to reach with a manual snake. Line was clear and plumber all packed up by 9:30pm. Admittedly the issue was pretty straightforward as we have this happen every 3 – 4 years but the fellow was professional, courteous, clear, and quick.

Scheduled an appointment the day before and they gave a 4 hour appointment window. That is very acceptable. Was told they would call 30 minutes before they would arrive. However, waited 4.5 hours, and still no call they were even «on the way».
Basically if an appointment window is quoted stick with it. If there is an unforeseen issue at another job update the customer with an honest appointment time.
I will not do business with a company that can’t even schedule an appointment correctly. Utter lack of respect for people’s time. An apology just does not cut it, actions do. I canceled the appointment and will not use this company now or in the future.