SOUZA AND VIVIANI PLUMBING CO

It was a great experience. From john immediately returning my call to the excellent work by Brian. John was able to get us an appt within two hours of calling. Brian did an excellent job of installing and advising what I needed to do to keep the water heater good working order for years to come. Just a pleasant company to work with.

We had no hot water and PG&E concluded the issue was with the tank - not gas service. After calling a few A-rated plumbers - all of whom couldn't fit us in for several days - the team at Souza was able to fix the problem within HOURS of my call! The technician, Brian, called with his estimated arrival time and came with the parts he thought we needed - based on what PG&E told us. Brian was courteous, prompt, quick, and cleaned up the area when he was done. I'd use - and recommend - Souza & Viviani without hesitation! Thanks to the Souza team for providing quick, dependable, and reasonably priced service!

unknown

I am happy to do business with a bricks and mortar company, rather than an anonymous independent contractor sent out from one of those big ads for plumbers in the Yellow Pages. The plumber who has done the work, Alfredo, is the sweetest guy I have ever had do work in my house. Very considerate, and he works very hard hard. I had an estimate of about $450 to install the clean out, provided that I dig the hole myself, removing a rose bush. I dug the hole, and found a maze of pipes 3 to 4 feet down that I couldn't figure out at all. There were old pipes that were no longer in use, or were they attached to other pipes. When Alfredo got here, he needed to do a lot more digging in clay soil to figure out the maze and install the clean out. He spent several hours there, working very hard and fast, with the office calling to say the other clients were impatient. I asked him to leave the hole open in case there were problems that came up after installation. The following day we found the clean out pipe overflowed when the clothes washer drained. Also, one of the pipes was not completely sealed at it's base. So, he came out the day after that and fixed the seal and cabled the sewer for an additional charge ($148 for about 15 minutes work). Now, he is recommending I spend another $250 to put a camera down the sewer because the clog is under the street. I think this is mostly my bad luck with an old house, but I do feel stung about how much money I have had to spend.

The search for a great plumber does not end with Souza and Viviani. The guys seem nice enough and I actually hired them twice. These are two brothers and when they gave me the bid they told me one of them would be on the job. Both times they sent an employee. The gentleman for the first bath was adequate. The guy they sent out on for the second bath was not up to any standards. He must have mismeasured the length of the drain pipe for the shower because instead of having a nice smooth cut he chipped the pipe away until it fit. I spent $650 for a beautiful in wall sink faucet which has its own valve and when I installed the trim package I discovered he set the valve unlevel which caused the whole faucet to sit unlevel. When he installed the shower valve which sat on an exterior wall the screws he used drilled all the way through and stuck through to the outside. When testing the water lines, it took him three attempts to have no leaks. Not a great job and NO SUPERVISION by the owners, just want the check. Their pricing seems to bid high and see what you say. They will negotiate but I recommend passing on their services.

In the shower, he took apart the faucet and again said it was corroded and a part needed replacing. He went to get the part, and I managed to find the paperwork on the installation and called the parts shop to give them the make and model number. Apparently, the part had to be ordered from the East coast, so he did a temporary fix with the original part and a new washer, and said it would work until the part arrived. This is where it started to go bad. I tried to have a shower, but the handle would not turn beyond tepid. When I got out of the shower, it dripped. It drips about 1 gallon/hour which is a lot. I called the office who called the parts place and determined that the part would not arrive for 10 days or more. When I complained that the drip was driving me mad, they basically said "too bad."

The hourly rate quoted was 50% higher than the person we eventually hired. Also this company recommended purchasing the fixtures from them, rather than providing/buying our own, due to warranty reasons. Also said that the trap would be replaced for the bathroom installation. I was pretty sure the trap was fine since it'd been replaced only a few years ago. We chose to go with a smaller company, which was fine for our needs this time and better on our budget/peace of mind. The other guy did what we wanted, with no unneeded add-ons, for a much better rate.

I am calling the company tomorrow to find out why they did not show up at all when they were suppose to show up between 12 and 4. No phone call, no explanation. All I wanted was someone to give an estimate on how much it will cost to replace my cracked bathtub. I was so desperate, I probably would have taken their estimate and used them but what kind of characters are working at this company to treat someone like this. How can a company be in business since 1955 and keep someone in their home for 5 hours waiting for them to show up?

I called at 11:30 am on a Friday. The scheduler was very pleasant. The plumber was at my house within 30 minutes. The plumber was done within another 30 to 40 minutes. He found the source of the leak, tightened the hose connection, vacuumed the water, and replaced the dishwasher. He was very courteous. I would definitely use this company again.

I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE PROFESSIONALISM OF NOT ONLY THE PERSON PROVIDING THE ESTIMATE, BUT THE TWO MEN WHO PERFORMED THE WORK. A TRENCH OF APPROX. 50' BY 1' BY 2' HAD TO BE DUG. IT WAS ON A DOWNSLOPE, WITH MANY MANY ROOTS, IT WAS AND HAD BEEN RAINING SO WAS VERY MUDDY. THEY THEN LAID A FLEXIBLE COPPER PIPE TO ALLOW FOR FURTHER MOVEMENT OF THE GROUND AND GROWTH OF THE TREE ROOTS. THESE GUYS WORKED HARD AND GOT THE JOB COMPLETED IN THREE HOURS. EXCELLENT JOB ALL AROUND. EVEN WHEN MY GRUMPY NEIGHBOR WRONGLY ACCUSED THEM OF BEING ON HIS PROPERTY, THE TWO WORKERS HANDLED THE SITUATION COURTEOUSLY AND PROFESSIONALLY. THEY THEN LET ME KNOW THEY THOUGHT THE NEIGHBOR COULD BE TROUBLE. DUE TO THEIR WARNING I WAS ABLE TO DIRECT MY NEIGHBOR'S CONCERNS TO ME AND AWAY FROM THEM PREVENTING A POTENTIAL UGLY SITUATION.