Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services

It went terrible. I explained the water was backing up onto the first floor laundry room, the tech said he needs to snake at the main drain in the basement. Wellll...he uncapped my sewer line, broke the actual "y" pipe fitting on the main and spilled roughly 30-40 gallons on sewage onto my finished basement floor. Now my issue is not with the tech, he was polite, professional and accidents happen. My issue is with what happen next. Roto-Rooter said they would fix the pipe they broke(wow, thanks) but I would have to pay for them to clean up the mess($1,600.00) or they would just leave it there. I have 3 small children and the idea of sewage in my home potentially for days till i found another company to clean and disinfect was not an option. Now, my understanding is that Roto-Rooter is suppose to clean up after themselves, I did not break the pipe or have any sewage on my floors prior to their arrival, the entire mess was caused by their tech(again, a great guy). I just dont understand how I am charged for their mistake. To top it all off, they never snaked the line but kept the $600 line cleaning fee, guess to cover the costs of the pipe repair. On top of everything else, their clean up was not exactly the best. Pics included below, show the replace black fitting and yes, the brown on the wall and floors is sewage they never cleaned up. In summation, I am not suggesting to never use Roto, they are fast and mostly reliable. What i AM suggesting is that you ask 1.1 million questions prior to any work, because if there is a loop hole they will find it and use it to have you pay through your sewer pipe.

They are very good, they did more than what I asked for.

very good judgment. unclogged first try, technician listened carefully to everything I decribed to him and was polite and went right to work. Tested drain pipe clog after performing snaking of the pipe, everything was so easy with roto rooter and tech #1392 Steve Wolfer. He even suggested some options to save a little money and future maintenance to prevent the problem from reoccurring. Will call them again for such quick and professional service if needed in the future!

Our basement sink was backing up. After a quick call to roto-rooter, they were able to snake the line and camera inspect it to ensure it was flowing properly again. As always in our past experiences with them, they are always very helpful, professional, efficient, and thorough in both their work and explanation of the problem and their solution.

Saturday the September 15th, we needed emergency plumbing service. We had out-of-town visitors and sewage was backing up into our stationary tubs. We called 2 other plumbing services who had done for work for us before and who offer 24 services, but they had no one available.. We decided to call Roto-Rooter. My husband spoke with Christina who told him that we have a window from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm to get a call regarding our problem and she sent us an email conformation. At around 7:25 pm, she called back and said the plumber was on his way. Terrence arrived at around 8:35 pm and proceeded to study the problem. He got the necessary tools and in about 30 minutes he had our emergency repaired. Terrace was very knowledgeable, efficient, and professional. He answered all our questions to our satisfaction. We would ask for him again. We are grateful their prompt help on that night and we will call Roto-Rooter again.

Everything went great! Doug was excellent and very professional. He worked hard to solve a difficult problem. Would definitely have Doug as the technician again.

The serviceman was great, he did a great job. However, the appointment was supposed to be between 8-10 am. I finally called them at 11:30 to find out what was going on. The technician was sent then and didn't arrive until 1:30 PM. It wasn't the technicians fault, as I said he was great. The price was very high, but I needed it done so I went ahead with it.

I am writing to you because there is a lack of customer care, a lack of professionalism in the management team, a lack of care about a job not done properly and no responsibility for assisting in getting a timely resolution to damaged caused by the Restoration Team. I initially called Roto-Rooter because they had a good reputation with Angie’s list. I needed them to snake out a drain from my 2nd floor bathtub to the main drain (3 feet away). Initially the clog could not be cleared from the bathtub drain. After many discussions it was determined that the dining room ceiling needed to be opened and the drain cleared from there. While in the cavity I agreed to the replacement of several drain parts. I agreed with Dave Kalenda (Restoration Customer Consultant) that they would remove a 3 foot by 5 foot section of the ceiling adjacent to the South & West walls. The hole was cut out in one day with a minimum of plaster dust sent throughout the house. When the blower was placed on the floor below the opening the blown in insulation was disturbed and I had a gigantic mess within a few seconds. I asked the service men to place some kind of blocking material in the wall cavities above the hole. They explained to me that they had no such material so I gave them some newspaper to block the wall cavities and stop any further mess The plumber followed the next day and replaced the waste and overflow for the bathtub. They snaked the drain toward the main drain and removed several objects placed in the drain by grandchildren. I wanted them to replace the rest of the drain going to the main four inch drain, but they explained the serious work needed (drain in concrete from the bathroom floor) to excavate the concrete (and drain line) and it might have to be done from the bathroom (removing the floor). Since the drain was clear at this time I determined that no further work was really needed. The drain works great. I had a ceiling repair company come to the house to determine the price for repairing and painting the ceiling. He explained to me that additional work was needed because the upper ceiling lath was pulled loose beyond the hole on the South wall. He would need to lift and screw the ceiling back in place in order to remove the slight sag created by restoration team. Then he would restore the two layers of ceiling, patch and prepare for final painting. He also showed me the corner beads torn loose on both walls that might require painting of the entire room to bring it back to pre-restoration work. Explanation Required: The original ceiling was lath and plaster with a popcorn spray on it. Many years ago I attempted to remove the popcorn material but found it easier to install half inch plaster board under it and be done with the job. I called Dave Kalenda and asked him to stop by the house and look at the damage caused by the restoration team. He took pictures and told me that the restoration crew he sent here were new and should have run a utility blade between the ceiling and wall junction. He told me he tells the crews to “slice, slice, slice” before pulling a ceiling down. He did note the slight sag in the ceiling and the lath that was beaten with a hammer (upward) rather than cut to prevent any additional lath from loosing on the ceiling. He agreed with me completely that the job was not their best example of work. After several days I called the restoration manage to determine if he was going to make any adjustment to the bill to help me pay the additional cost I will incur from the ceiling repair. Brian (unknown last name) discussed the job with me and attempted to explain away the perceived damage. 1. He told me that when a wet ceiling is removed there is collateral damage. He had no knowledge that there was absolutely no wet ceiling, that it was one hundred percent dry! 2. He told me that they could not slice the ceiling prior to removal because “you cannot slice through plaster”. Again he did not know that the lower ceiling was drywall and not plaster! And yes to can not cut through plaster, but it can be scored with a utility knife to break the ceiling to wall tape. 3. It appears that there is a lack of communication between Brian and Dave, or that Brian just does not care to stay up with the field work or show any concern for damage left by his crews. Brian did reply to all my calls the following day and was polite at all times, but he just had no knowledge of the job and no concern about taking responsibility for shoddy work. He has not come to examine the site and make a first hand determination. He does still owe me a return call that he promised to make last Thursday. I do plan to post on Angie’s List and any other contractor pages with this letter. I believe this is fair and I shall not communicate with Brian after this date as that seems to be just a waste of time for all involved. Jeffrey Goodstein Kenmore NY 14217

All work was done properly nd cleanup was satisfactory.

Identified the leak but their price was very high

Calling and scheduling an appointment was extremely easy and the staff was friendly. They told me it would be a 2 hour window for a technician to arrive. Doug, our technician, arrived super quick. He identified the problem and was finished within an hour. He was an all star! Super nice guy, very professional, and even gave us a good deal! If I ever have any other plumbing problems in the future, I'm going to ask for Doug. Our overall experience was pleasant and enjoyable.

Well I can't afford to replace the flooring that was down there. They sawed off two feet off of all the drywall. I regret ever hiring them

Was not happy. Ended up costing more money. Broke pipe in half.

They're very good. They're responsible, they come when they say they are. I can't complain, they are fantastic.

They're great.I don't remember the cost.

He had to go in to the finished ceiling of the basement to find where the pipe was disconnected from the outdoor faucet. They did a good job. They arrived when they said they would. It was good communication and good quality work. I was very happy with the work.

Good, it was fine ever since. They are professional, cleaned up after themselves, I was very happy.

Excellent experience. It was expensive. They were excellent. They were very courteous. They cleaned up really well. The work took a day and a half to complete. The area was left very clean. There was just one person.

It went quite well. He was quick and got it unclogged in a matter of minutes. It seemed like it was quite the job too. He listened to what I was telling him and treated me with respect. He gave me the price up front before doing the work so I knew exactly what to expect.

I scheduled my appointment online for 7/24 with a window from 8am - 12pm. I got an email confirming the appointment. The day of, I called around 10am to be sure I was on the list and they confirmed that I was. I got a call around 10:30am stating that they would arrive within 30-45 minutes. At 11:17am, they arrived to tell me that they can't perform the services because they don't service the City of Tonawanda. Considering how many times they had the opportunity to review my address, I would have thought that someone would check this. The plumber who arrived told me that they will service Town of Tonawanda but not City. How would I know this? I wasted my entire morning and missed work in order to be here and now I have to do this all over again. Please be sure you check the addresses or give some form of warning if you accept service scheduling online.

They are very good and I use them all the time. The first time I used them was from a sale on Angie's list. It was fine and now I use them all the time. When you get you something good, you keep using the same people. I wouldn't let just anybody in my house.

Okay! The plumber, Matt G. did an excellent job!

Everything went very well. The technician who came out was Steven and he arrived well within the 2 hour window they originally gave. All of our questions were answered knowledgeably and he told me exactly what I needed to do. He was only working for about an hour and I was given a 6 month warranty, which gave me peace of mind. I would be willing to have this company come back out simply because I felt that Steven was professional, knew what he was talking about, and services were provided quickly and efficiently.

The plumber that came out was honest and explained the likely cause of the sound. He recommended we not do anything.

It was a good experience. They were fine. Insurance covered part of it.