ARS / Rescue Rooter Laurel

The job was well done and everyone I spoke with was professional and very polite. The communication between the main office and the service technician could have been better. I had sent the make of the faucet (Eljer) and pictures of the stems in an email to ARS when I first contacted them. When the service technician showed up to assess the problem, pretty much he checked the faucet make and took pictures because he had not received the information I had sent. I don't know if a first visit would have still been needed, though. The only other complaint was that the original appointment was set between 2:00 and 6:00, but the technician didn't come until 7:15. I did get regular updates from ARS about the approximate arrival time. They also did accommodate me for the second visit by narrowing the service window from 4 to 2 hours at my request.

They set it up for same day. The technician was very clean, and professional, a very nice guy. Norita was the scheduler, who was kind and professional as well. I was very pleased with their service.

The service was performed back in December 2010 or January of 2011, so I don't remember the exact details, but since they still keep mailing us advertisements, reminding me of their horrible performance, I figure better a late review than never. This is the best I can recollect: When we purchased our house in 2009, the home inspector told us we should replace our sump pump within a year or so because it was becoming very rusty. Our house came with a warranty, so about a year later when I needed garbage disposal repair, the warranty company sent out ARS. While the plumber was here, I asked him to look at the sump pump. He gave me a good price on a new Zoeller pump and labor, so I had him perform the work. About 3-4 weeks later, the brand new pump failed and our basement flooded (this was around the time of that big snowstorm). I called ARS to replace what I assumed was a faulty pump, but the plumber that came out this time said the pump was fine, and the problem was that there were too many rocks in the pit that were interfering with the float so the pump couldn't figure out the water level (something like that, I'm no expert on sump pumps). I asked him why the first plumber wouldn't have noticed that and vacuumed out the rocks before putting in a new pump. He had no answer, but vacuumed out the rocks with a wet vac and put a mesh screen in place over the hole in the soil where rocks were entering. I was angry that I had to pay another $300 for something the first plumber should have resolved in the first place, so I called ARS and all they did was send me a $100 gift certificate for a future service (which we never used, of course). One week later, the pump failed yet again, and by this time I was furious. The third plumber put in a brand new pump with a different horsepower. The third time was the charm, but I had already spent around $600, not including the insurance deductibles. I called ARS, and after explaining that I did not want more gift certificates for a company I would never use again, they at least sent us a check to cover the insurance deductible for the second basement flooding. This was after a lengthy phone call where the manager would not actually acknowledge any wrongdoing but kept giving me excuses (oh maybe the rocks damaged the first pump, but not right away, blah blah blah). I think they should have also refunded the cost of the second visit since the first plumber didn't do anything about the rocks and the second effectively didn't do anything. Not to mention that our insurance dropped us. You couldn't pay me to use this company again.

I made the crazy mistake of not asking about pricing. Since the was snaking the toilet line I thought it would not cost much more to snake the bathtub line which was going down slow. A simple task that I would have done myself if he had told me how much this simple task would cost me. Turns out he charged $292 to snake the bathtub line which took at best a half hour. My bill came to nearly $200 and hour. The swindle of the fixed pricing is maddening. I think the worker should have forwarned me that he would be chargin such an astronomically high price: $292 dollars for a simple task which comes to $300/hr given that the price goes up if the task takes longer. Who in their right mind would agree to pay $300 for an hours work. The service man was polite and professional. The work was completed to my satisfaction, but the price makes the entire experience worth a full fledged F. Please note that the $200 an hour I paid for this work included an hour he spent going to get a part. I paid a plumber $200 to drive to a store and back. When I called twice to complain, the manager never returned my call.

My mother was recently released from the hospital for a serious illness and while at home she went into cardiac failure and was being treated at home , her breathing also was compromised do to this acute illness.Last night our airconditioner stopped coolling so the next morning I called our regular hvac service man and was told it was unlikely he could get out here today but definitely tomorrow, I explanined the situation regarding my mothers ilness but this did nothing to expedite things.I then called ARS because I could not wait due to the situation with my mother, and thank God I did because ARS recognized my concern and proptly sent out their service tech Adam who was very courteous clean well groomed and impecably dressed in his clean pressed uniform. Adam came in and immeadietly took charge and identified the problem and informed us about the repair and price. Adam also identified that our furnace filter had been improperly installed upside down which our regular guy had done and reccomended that the filter be replaced which we did immediately. I just want to say thank you to Ars and their staff for recognizing a situation that had no room for delay and promptly reacted.

They should definitely include fine print that states there is an additional fee to even come out.

We hired someone else to do the work for less than what they charged to check the meter. They were very expensive. I would not recommend their services. However, they were always on time.

Everything has gone very well. The price is reasonable and I have no complaints.

The technician arrived, took one look at the drain and said there was nothing he could do????????. He wouldn't even attempt to clean the drain or pipes leading to the sump pump but rather told me I would need to have the entire basement floor burst-ed up and have new pipe laid. I told him that this was in no way a viable option. The other suggestion was for him to quote me a price of $3,900 for a new sump pump to be added to the basement. Also, not an option. The tech never took a tool off the truck, never attempted any repair, tied my evening up and collected $217.00 I am furious over this! I provided all details of what I wanted done, what the problem was and what was involved. Had this been nothing this company was suited to do, or had they told me they would likely not be able to even try I would have forgone the call and saved myself $217. They have "rooting" in their name, it should be what they do. It was truly a trip to my house to try to sell me something far more expensive than I needed. I am an experienced individual, not a rube. I have built homes, repaired motors, wired houses, done most everything you can do with your hands, and I am not stupid. I cleaned three feet of very soft mud from the pipe. Professional rooters can cut hard tree roots from pipes that have become clogged over time. This should have been a walk in the park for a seasoned company and skilled technician. I called the next day to complain and was told I would be called back. Hours later a manager called me and offered up nothing of value to me and had no intention of waiving or reducing the fee for the call. I do not think NOTHING could have been done. Had the tech tried to clear the pipe and failed, that would have been fine and would have justified the fee. But to show up, and not even attempt to do anything and charge me the full rate was a major rip off. The first red flag was that it was the end of the day and the plumber shows up spotlessly clean. Makes me feel like I wasn't the only person that got taken for a ride that day. Be very careful of calling this company. After the fact I have heard other stories involving ARS Rooter. Only wish I heard them beforehand.

They fixed the issue- the thing I didn't like is that they wanted to charge me an extra 200 $ to fix a part inside my toilet which costs about $10 at Home Depot. Not sure I'd call again.

I scheduled ARS to do a Spring checkup on my HVAC unit. They were supposed to come today between 2 and 6 PM. They called me at around 3 to tell me I was next up on the technician's list, and once he finished with his current job he'd be on his way to my home. They told me the technician would call once he was on his way. At around 5, I called back to request an ETA; they told me they would page the tech, and he'd give me a call with his ETA. 6:00 rolls around, still nothing heard. I just got a call from him at 9:00 PM--3 hours after their 4 hour window had passed--to tell me they had to reschedule, that they had 4 people with out A/C today, and my appointment was not an emergency. Fair enough. However, would it kill them to call and let me know? What if I had taken the afternoon off of work to wait for a no-show? Incredibly unprofessional, and they were completely unapologetic on the phone. I wouldn't recommend these amateurs to anyone. Stay far away.

I found that ARS had a deal with Angie's List and that I could pay $50 for $100 worth of plumbing work. I paid the bill via paypal, then called ARS to make my appointment (coupon code 691640). The woman on the phone didn't seem too familiar with the Angie's List deal, and started talking about having to pay $59.95 for a service call. After some discussion, she went offline and came back and told me that I would have to pay whatever the balance of the repair was over $100. I agreed so we made an appointment for May 21 between 2 - 6 PM. I appreciated the fact that I received a call from ARS advising me that the repair person would not be out before 6. The at 4 PM, I received a call saying that the repair person was on his way. Russell arrived between 5 - 6 pm and found the problem immediately. Then he told me that the cost of the repair was $124.84. I asked him if I then had to pay $24.84 which was the amount over $100 because of my coupon. He didn't know what I was talking about and called the office. After some discussion with them, they told him to waive the $59.95 fee and reduce the total by $50 and charge me $74.84. I was not happy and told him that if the total charge was $124.84 then I should only be paying $24.84. I gave him a copy of my coupon. He called his boss again who told him that since they didn't get anything from Angie's list that I would have to pay $74.84. I paid it but told him that I would report this discrepancy to Angie's List and that I wasn't happy with having to pay the total amount. I think this is subterfuge and I would not use this company again.

Purchased a new home and knew going into it that a new HVAC unit (furnace and AC) were needed. Got a quote from ARS and F.H. Furr (via Costco). Both firms competitive in price, I went with ARS since I'd used in the past (good job then) and slightly lower price. The unit they installed was Carrier, which is still a good and well-known brand. The thermostat was higher end - thee one they normally install was not in stock, so they upgraded me. Quoted on Wed 4/30, installed on Fri 5/2. Professional installers, timely install and decent (expected) price - not trying to necessarily go with the cheapest. Satisfied, and will continue to use them.

The service was through home warranty. The guy arrived on time. After analyzing the problem, he went out to get a new flapper for the leaky toilet tank. He came back saying he had to visit a couple of different suppliers to get the right one, for which I appreciate. He cleaned up pretty well. He said he would come back to replace some other parts in the toilet tank, but he never did, and no one answered my phone calls even though I left two voice messages. But since the new flapper fixed the problem, I never pursued this further. At one point, I glanced at the invoice and saw him charging the insurance $200+, which seems a bit excessive for replacing one flapper that costs $15 at most.

Having used ARS in the past, we received a phone call offering us their A/C inspection for $59 (normally $129 I think). We scheduled them for two appointments, one at the house where we live and one at the house we're renting. At both locations the actual inspection went well, with personable technicians who were polite and efficient. They explained what they were doing through the whole process and didn't pressure us to have costly work done on the spot for things that are okay waiting a few months. When making the appointments, I was told that they would call when their technician was about 30-45 minutes out from arriving, and this was done both times a technician showed up. We really appreciated this as other companies have made this same promise in the past without following through. The one problem we had was with the first appointment we made for the rental property. As we wanted to be there for the work but didn't want to hang around there for the full 4-hour window, the appointment was scheduled at a time later in the day when my husband could leave from work to meet the technician using that 30 minute phone call for timing. At the end of the 4-hour window, he still hadn't received a call and therefore contacted ARS on his own. He was informed that the technician was still at least an hour out from arriving at the house and they subsequently worked with him to reschedule the appointment. While we were happy with the outcome, with the technician running that behind, we would have appreciated a heads-up earlier in the appointment window so instead of waiting around the office the whole time he could have come home. The quote for the new outdoor unit went well with the salesman explaining our different options and laying out the benefits of each in an easy to understand manner. We feel that the price quoted is a little high, but were told that financing is available. Also, when we mentioned that we'd be getting quotes from other companies, no pressure was applied for us to sign on the spot which was greatly appreciated.

We had a water main break and a lot of companies won't do that kind of work. ARS / Rescue Rooter Laurel - 8551 replaced the pipe from the road to the house. They also installed a new water heater. Out of several companies that came ARS Rescue Rooter had the lowest estimate. The actual work that was done was fine. I didn't like everything that they did. They dug up the yard and when I said something about fixing it, I was told "Oh, don't worry, it'll be alright." Of course here it is nine months later and I've got to go out and buy dirt and fix all the places, which is going to cost me some money to re-seed and all of that. The pipe is guaranteed for 30 years or something, so I know that isn't going to break.

Went great. Showed up RIGHT on time and did the work. In and out in 15 minutes.

Very pleased with the prompt and professional attention and services provided. A plumber was scheduled the same day I called and came out that afternoon. The office staff called to let me know about thirty minutes ahead of arrival time. Plumber was very courteous and clearly knew how to handle the problem quickly and effectively. I especially appreciated the fact that he worked quickly and didn't slow down to try to 'pad' the time needed for the job. He was careful during his work and cleaned up thoroughly afterwards. Very good value for services provided vs cost. I look forward to using this company for any future plumbing problems and am happy to recommend them strongly.

Don't call ARS. Call someone reliable who treats you with some dignity.

Answered phone right away, friendly customer service rep Company came out on same day during the promised window (with a 45 minute heads up call) My biggest concern with this company was price. They pulled out their price book and quoted me $450 for what was a fairly straightforward repair (which I ended up getting done for $250). They are a "flat rate" plumber which seems to generally be a great deal more expensive. In all fairness, I imagine their price is in line with other companies that work this way, however, the lack of flexibility in pricing and the high starting point is enough for me to bypass them in the future. Plumber was nice enough and understood my concern about pricing. He also mentioned a fee for coming out which had not been quoted to me and for whatever reason, the message they had sent to his phone said "free estimate." Not sure if that is normal or not, but should you call them, check for an estimate fee.

I have been using them for ten years and they have done a wonderful job each time they have come out. The $170 contract amount covers the spring and fall service. They are pretty prompt. They give me a timeframe and normally they are here within that timeframe. At times, if they are late or if they have to cancel, they give me a discount with my next visit. They call me prior to coming so I can be prepared for them to come. They are very courteous. They put in little slippers on their feet so they don’t dirty up my carpets and things like that. The people are very professional, very friendly, they come in, do their job like they are supposed to and they check out everything carefully. I really pretty much follow them around to see what they are doing, not because I don’t trust them but I like to keep on tab with what they are doing so that if something happens, I can do it myself.

They were absolutely very nice. They went through everything until they found the problem.

Called Blue Dot (our usual plumber) for help with blocked drain and they referred us to ARS. They could not come that day (so much for 24 hour service). They made an appt for the next afternoon. In the morning they called and said the technician could come earlier; he showed up at the specified time. He had some trouble finding the blockage but eventually cleared a root blockage. He was very pleasant and informative. the whole process took less than an hour. He was on his own to manage a fairly heavy piece of equipment. he did not use a drop cloth or shoe covers and some cleaning up was needed. Later i realized there were some nicks in the stair railing. He recommended considering a sewer line replacement. The company's licensed plumber came that day and gave us an estimate. He also said we might want to try a root remover first. Since our pipe is apparently still intact we are going to try quarterly use of root killer first. We would obtain additional estimates before we moved ahead with the sewer replacement. Looking at reviews of other companies it seems that the prices were a bit high.

Victor advised me to replace the faucet to avoid any future problems and it made sense to me too. He installed the faucet perfectly and very fast, I will use this company again.

After several calls with American Home Shield, a second contractor was sent to my house for a second opinion, explained that compressors fail all the time for a variety of reasons, and it was not possible to determine what the cause of the failure was. The new contractor ultimately replaced the compressor as part of my warranty.