Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

No one showed up during the scheduled time. No notification that they would not be there. When I called them, no apparent concern over the no-show- just an offer to reschedule.

Response time on a Sunday morning was approximately 2 hours from the time of call to arrival. The plumber identified the problem and resolved it quickly. Based on previous experience needing a basement drain cleaned, I though this price was very reasonable, especially for a Sunday emergency call. I really appreciated the quick response.

Gabe was pleasant and knowledgeable as he cleaned the main line, which had clogged for the second time in a week. He used equipment proportional to the job, replaced a plug whose not sealing properly caused an ongoing sewage leak around the opening, and removed a piece of metal stopper causing a slow bathtub drain. His fee was higher than my neighborhood sewer cleaner's, but Roto Rooter did an excellent, professional job.

We have a very rough line slightly uphill to the street. Roto rooter came in and did a preventative cleaning so the main drain didnt back up. He was very professional and able to answer questions. We will use them again next year.

What should have been an annual cleaning out of our line to the street too longer than usual. The line was cracked or broken and Roto Rooter could not get through it initially. It took longer than expected, but it was not surprise as Roto Rooter was predicting this problem for a few years. I would use this company again because they keep a history of every service performed at a particular address. So they were able to tell us of previous drain cleanings at our home.

Great service. After clearing the drain, he recommended using a lint trap like a nylon instead of what we were using. Reasonably priced.

The Good: Scheduler was pleasant. Plumber arrived in well-marked truck, in uniform. He was professional and did a good job. The Bad: Someone called at 7:15 am the day of my appt asking if it was OK to have the plumber arrive at 8:00. I said it was not, since there was no way I could get to the house, which was why I had made the appointment for 10 am. (I'd explained to the original scheduler that I live in Eagan and the house (my uncle's) was in Mounds View.) Also, someone was supposed to call me 30 min before the plumber was to arrive; I was never called. The Ugly: The price! The labor was $199. Yes, I was told this in advance. I agreed since I didn't want to pay a $39.95 'diagnostic fee' for getting the estimate. Plus I didn't want to have to call others and make another appt. But the plumber was there about an hr. $199/hr!?! That, or they charged for getting to the house--even though I was told there was no truck charge. Either way, it feels like a rip-off.

The guy came quickly and took care of that. The next time my toilet broke and he was going to repair it. He didnt have the right part and told me it would cost $200 to repair. Instead of charging me, he fixed what was broken and didnt charge me anything!

Very prompt, good work, reasonable price, and friendly.

I thought the price was outrageous.

I would never recommend this company. They were very polite when I called (to a call center, not the local place) and scheduled me quickly. They told me that they would send a plumber. They sent a plumber apprentice who told me that he really could not do any plumbing. He was late and very rude. His equipment left a 12" long stain on my driveway. When I called to ask questions about the service and ask them about the stain on my driveway I was told a manager would return my call. When a manager did not call, I called back twice before the man who performed the service called. It was terrible to talk with him again. He was defensive and rude once again. He didn't understand my questions (about the distance that my sewers were cleaned to, 100 ft vs. 130 last service) but did offer to scrub my driveway. He told me that the stain would naturally fade, so I opted to see if that happened. It has not yet so I will need to call again.

Mission accomplished, though I feel like a sucker for paying so much for such a quick job. I signed a form saying that my $139 would cover up to 90 minutes of work. Since I had essentially paid for another 1 hour and 25 minutes, I asked the guy if he could snake another drain for me. He refused, saying that the $139 only covered "one job". I paid the guy, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. I won't use roto-rooter again.

Very professional, knowledgeable, explained everything. Gave us information on prevention/maintenance, pointed out we needed a new garbage disposer, other tips.

For plumbing, their hourly rate is about $200 an hour. I hadn't realized it was that high. The plumber was very helpful in figuring out how to reroute the water pipes so we would not have to tear the wall apart. He went through the floor instead of the wall. He had to make a lot of angles in the basement to get the pipes rerouted.

They were very prompt in scheduling a same day appointment. The person arrived on time and completed the work. He was quite courteous. I was more shocked with the price; initially we were charged $422, yet he was only there an hour and a half. I did call to voice my concern and they mentioned I should have received a certain discount. They deducted $25. At $394 I still felt it was expensive.

Based on camera readings, Roto Rooter estimated that I needed to replace 2' of drain line and would charge $500. They planned to use a device to locate the line before digging. Unfortunately, that device was broken, so they started digging without it. They had over 10 feet of floor dug up before they determined that more than 2' of line was bad, and that their original estimate would no longer be valid. When the job was completed, we settled on a total price of $2900. I feel that Roto Rooter did not provide their service team with adequate equipment. Aren't they supposed to be the experts in this stuff? I would not have authorized starting the job if the original estimate was anywhere near the final price. The service team worked very hard, did quality work, but they were not outfitted with adequate equipment to do the job.

The service call was prompt. Steve arrived within one hour. He was courteous and cleaned up the work area. He estimated $169 for the work including parts. Afterwards, he charged me for the parts and did not take my $25 discount coupon. Though I am happy with his work, but I think he charges me too much. Even though I stated below that I would hire this company for a future job, I would insist on a written estimate.

THEY WERE INCREDIBLY FAST - SENT SOMEONE OVER IN A HALF HOUR. EVERYTHING WENT WELL. HE WAS A REALLY NICE GUY, SNAKED IT TWICE AND GAVE US SOME ADVICE ABOUT PROCEEDING WITH A PLUMBER. VERY REASONABLE IN PRICE. WE KNEW HAVING THIS DONE MIGHT NOT TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM WE HAD (AND HE WARNED US UP FRONT THAT WHAT HE COULD DO MIGHT NOT TAKE CARE OF IT).

THEY WERE MOSTLY PROMPT IN RESPONDING TO ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE WORK. THEY CAME AND WERE PROMPT IN COMPLETING THE WORK AS ORIGINALLY PLANNED.

THE PERSON WHO CAME THE FIRST TIME BROKE HIS CABLE IN THE SEWER AND HAD TO USE A SMALLER TOOL THAN NORMAL TO CLEAN OUR THE ROOTS. HE LEFT A PILE OF ROOTS COVERED IN SEWAGE IN MY GARAGE. THE SECOND PERSON WAS OVER 3 HOURS LATER THAN THE DISPATCHER TOLD ME. I CALLED SEVERAL TIMES, AND THE DISPATCHER ALWAYS SAID ''HE'LL BE THERE IN 1/2 HOUR.'' WHEN HE DID COME, HE WAS PROFESSIONAL AND WAS ABLE TO CLEAN OUT THE SEWER WITH A BIGGER TOOL. HE CLEANED UP THE ROOTS THAT HE EXTRACTED. HE RECOMMENDED GETTING A CAMERA TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. I SCHEDULED A CAMERA. THEY TOLD ME THAT THE CAMERA WOULD COME FROM 8-10 AM AND MOST LIKELY AT 8:30 SINCE I WAS THE FIRST APPOINTMENT. AT 9, I CALLED TO SEE WHEN THEY'D COME. I WAS TOLD THEY'D COME IN 1/2 HOUR. AT 10, I CALLED TO CANCEL BECAUSE I HAD TO GET TO WORK.

Excellent customer service. Knowledgeable and helpful. Would recommend without hesitation. Would definitely call again if service is needed in the future.

They came on time in an emergency. They sold me a drain clean for bathtub that did not work. I don't think it was needed.

THEY WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL AND EASY TO WORK WITH. WHEN WE CALLED ROTO ROOTER, THEY RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY AND WERE ABLE TO GIVE US A GOOD PRICE ESTIMATE OVER THE PHONE.

SCHEDULER WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL. THE TECHNICIAN WHO CLEANED THE DRAIN SEEMED TO BE THOROUGH AND WAS PERSONAL AS WELL.

THE TECH WAS PLEASANT AND DID A FINE JOB. HE ANSWERED ALL OF MY QUESTIONS AND PROVIDED INFORMATION ABOUT FOLLOW UP MAINTENANCE. I CALLED THE COMPANY TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AND HAD A TECH ON SITE WITHIN 2 HOURS!