ARS / Rescue Rooter Columbus

The gentleman they sent out went out of his way to fix any issues I had. He was very professional. He took pride in his work. He answered any questions I had.

I just explained above - no more to say except bottom line: I will use them from now on when I have any kind of plumbing issue.

Work was performed by a very capable technician. Work was done on time. Technician did a terrific job with the replacement. Cost was about 50% higher for the same work than other companies I have used. While the work was performed very, very well, the cost will keep me from using this company again.

Three days ago, a call center of Rescue Rooter called and told me that a special for water-heater flush was going on. Since the price was reasonable, actually cheap, I made an appointment today. However, no one called me by an appointment time and I called a main office, and a call center, and found that there is no appointment. To come back home, I need to cut my work for nothing. They even do not try to come today and try to make an appointment at another day. Off course, I did not. Miscommunication and unresponsiveness lose customer.

Sump pump was running continuously with no water in it, so we called AHS (American Home Shield) to have it fixed/replaced as the sump is covered under our warranty. My husband had fiddled with the float as it was close to the valve and thought it might be making it stick open and the float detached and he chose not to reattach it and let the plumber handle it even though it was easily re-attachable. AHS sent out Rescue Rooter plumber. I explained what was wrong and that my husband had accidentally detached the float, but that since the problem was the pump running continuously, that obviously had nothing to do with it since that coming detached would make the pump stop running. Plumber looked at sump and listened to what I said, did not actually test anything himself then went out to his truck to call AHS. Came back and said they had denied the claim because since my husband messed with the float and it came off it was no longer broken as a result of normal wear and tear. I was p***** at AHS as the only reason anyone was messing with the sump was because it was broken. He then gave me an estimate to do the work if we wanted them to of $695 to replace the sump with the option of $95 to clean it. He did suggest we just clean it ourselves if we had a shop vac as it would be easy and save us some money. There was no way I was having the work done anyway as I wanted to argue with AHS first and I knew they wouldn't cover it after the fact if I paid for it, but regardless that price was ridiculously high. I paid the plumber the AHS copay and told him I was going to argue the case further. He was very polite the entire time, but that price is outrageous and I was offended by that though he assured me it was just the flat price in their books. After he left contacted AHS twice, second time they transferred us to someone who agreed with sending a different company out for a second opinion. That plumber came this morning actually tested the sump and listened to us, talked to AHS and explained that yes we fiddled with it but it was obviously broken before that and is 15 years old so yeah it is amazing it hasn't broken before now, and got our claim approved. Before going to talk to them he said if they still denied it he would walk us through how to fix it ourselves at it would only take us 5-10 minutes. Anyway, he did the work and the new pump is working great and is nice and quiet. I know AHS is no saint and has some pretty stupid policies, but I am very unhappy that the plumber from Rescue Rooter did not explain the situation better and make the case for us as the second plumber did. And it makes me wonder if they didn't because they knew they could get a lot more $$ out of us if we agreed to their ridiculous price than AHS would pay.

Anthony attempted to save me money by explaining that the second shut-off valve did not need replaced, etc. He also pointed out that my drain was very slow as he tested my faucet. I appreciated this. However, I was extremely surprised when I found out that drain-stopper was not a part of the job. I had mentioned this up front as being part of the job, and when I brought this to Anthony''s attention after he was finished, he explained that it would have been extra to do this work, and that I could have this done at a later date, and apologized for the misunderstanding, (Previous plumbers had included this work in my other bath-room) I guess my problem is that who pays $350 to have a mismatched faucet and plug?(My old and new faucets also had different finishes). Anthony cited Rescue Rooter's flat fee as being part of the problem. I also was surprised that the faucet was installed over the black grime that had accumulated under my previous faucet. I would have cleaned up prior to new installation after the old faucet was removed had I know this. It just bothered me to spend this amount of money and then to find this out after the fact. (Wouldn't you also put some silicone under the new faucet and need a clean surface to do this?) The base of the new faucet was narrower than the old faucet so the black grime just looked awful. (I took pictures prior to scrubbing around the new faucet). I didn't notice before Anthony left because the dirt was on the backside of the faucet between the faucet and the back splash.

I had disassembled the faucet and took the parts to the hardware store. They looked at my pile of parts and told me I needed a plumber. I called a plumber I had used from Angie's list before, but there would be an up-charge for Saturday. I called Rescue Rooter and they sent someone out within hours. He looked at everything, gave me several options and worked within my budget...all on a Saturday.

They did a good job. They cleaned up afterwards so that was really nice.

They came out to fix it. A supervisor had to come back out a second time because it wasn't fixed properly the first time. I haven't had a problem since and everything worked out fine.

It turned out wonderfully. They are very personable and very professional.

They were pricey, but there was a lot of effort involved. It was a top-of-the-line water heater. They were excellent, prompt, and thorough. They were willing to explain things. They explained how to turn the hot water heater off and turn the water off, which is a lesson we should have learned twenty years ago.

They came out when they said they would. They snaked out the main line and everything has been fine since. I did not write this until 3/19/12 and am doing so because I am now recommending them to my mother-in-law.

They were terrible. They told me I needed my yard dug up to keep the tree roots out of the drain, which I didn't need done to fix it. The drain they just worked on backed up again the very next day. The price was outrageous, and I had to call someone else to fix it properly for a much cheaper price.

One evening, approximately 8:30 pm, my 86 year old mother called to tell me that her basement was flooded and she didn't know why. I went over and quickly discovered that her sewer line had backed up into her basement, flooding it with approximately 3-4 inches of water. I called Rescue Rooter (because my son and his wife had used them in the past). A technician came out that night and cleared the drain of the worst of the root clogs, allowing the basement to drain very quickly. He told me that another technician would be out in a day or two to inspect the line with the camera to tell us what, if anything, needed to be done. The house is fifty years old and had never had a line inspection or backup before. Rescue Rooter did not call me to set up the inspection; after a week, I called them. They promptly gave me an appointment, but the technician failed to show up. They eventually called to tell me he wouldn't be coming and set a time for the next day. He came, but not within the original time window. He performed a line inspection, which I watched. Starting very early (20 ft), he was showing me what he said was evidence that the line was collapsing. At approximately 80-85 feet, he stated that the line had completely collapsed and had to be replaced immediately. This was Friday evening, and he said that they could come do it starting Monday. His original estimate was $9,100. He started writing up a proposal, but when I told him we would not sign it that night, he put it away and stated that he could only give me an "invoice." When I made it clear I expected a proposal that I could carefully review, he eventually said that he would "break company policy" and give me one. He also eventually reduced the estimate to $8,400. Because I was uncomfortable with the tactics used by the Rescue Rooter "technician" in his efforts to sell us a total line replacement, I used Angie's List to find a highly rated company for a second opinion. I called WaterWorks, who came on Monday, December 12, 2011, performed a line inspection and said that the "collapsing" areas were actually just cement that oozed in when the line was originally laid. This technician cleared the root clog that was what Rescue Rooter said was a total collapse, and performed a second video inspection which clearly shows a clean line all the way (127 ft) to the main, with no sign whatever of any collapse. My mother has that videotape.

He did a good job. We haven't had any problems since he fixed it. He was very professional and courteous, he covered his feet when he entered. He even gave us options instead of just sticking with one thing. He took time to talk to us about it. One of the options was knocking out a wall to reach the pipe, instead he got to the pipes from outside. We appreciated him giving us the options.

Overall it went OK. unfortunately this process was also affiliated with our home warranty on our recently purchased home. the backup occurred sunday night, I looked on Angie's list for a highly rated contractor to clear the line, the one I chose was not this company but anyway I called the other company and they were scheduled to come the next morning. after thinking about us having a home warranty I thought to call them (American Home Shield) they set it up with Rescue Rooter, so I canceled my original appointment with the other company. Rescue Rooter came out on Monday afternoon, the cleaning tech was knowledgable and clean, he did a good job and cleaned up after himself. My only complaint was not really with Rescue Rooter but the agreement with American Home Shield, they charged a trip charge of $60 since it was a warranty job, when it was determined that the tree root stoppage was not covered by the warranty they offered to clean the drain anyway for the full amount, not deducting the $60 trip charge. I can understand paying a trip charge if they would have come out on behalf of AHS, determined it was not covered under warranty, then I refused to have the drain cleaned... then they need to be compensated for their time, but that is not the case. I could have saved myself some money had I just contacted a contractor directly and set the appointment. But like I said earlier, Rescue Rooter did a fine job with the work done, I do think they are a little on the highside for their standard rates, but when a guy is already in your basement ready to clear a sewer line and fix the problem and there for we would not have to clean up raw sewage again, I am not going to send him away so I could save a couple bucks with another company.

Was told tech would arrive between 9:00 and 10:00. Arrived at 9:05. Got quickly to work and finished in under an hour. Took old parts and did an excellent clean up. A very efficient installation. Update: My report for the services rendered should stand, along with the specific ratings. I would drop OVERALL EXPERIENCE to a C due to the phone calls. The technician's service was excellent, and I don't want to discredit his work. My complaints have happened after the service. We have 3 times asked the company to stop calling us, and we still are getting calls.

The main shut-off valve to our house was leaking more (we had to have a bucket under it). We knew that a plumber would need to shut off the service to the house but there was a small issue. The location to shut off the valve in the ground was covered over by several inches of ice. Nevertheless, the plumber patiently chipped away at the ice until he could access the shut-off. He was then able to replace the leaking shut-off value in the house. We appreciated the length he went to gain access to the service shut-off. There was no telling how long that valve in the house would last since it was leaking more and more. The plumber also found quite a bit of tree roots in the location of the ground shut-off as well as alot of water (problems that we did not realize we had).

They don't want to continue coming out for no charge, stating that they have to charge something. I just want the problem I hired them to fix taken care of. If they can't fix it, I want them to do something further.

The service by this company is good every time we call them. Office staff is responsive when I call in and the technicians are well within the arrival window time frame. The technicians come in and get right to work.

We had a leak from our upstairs bathroom that came through the kitchen ceiling. Our home warranty company (AHS) contacted Rescue Rooter to schedule a time for repair. The first visit was prompt and (relatively) quick, at which point the service man refused to cut any further into the ceiling/ wall/ cabinetry because it was not covered by AHS. This is the end of any sort of positive experience we had. What followed was a complete comedy of errors, except for the fact that it was more sad and infuriating than funny. The next technician who came to our house to do the repair job spent four hours trying to patch an old copper pipe with small sections of PVC. Every leak he found he cut out the pipe and added PVC which proceeded to leak from two places instead of just one. We had another company there waiting for him to finish the repair so they could tear out the cabinets, ceiling and anything else that got wet, only to watch him create more places that leaked. Eventually after several tries our plumbing looked like Frankenstein's Monster, with various sections of crudely installed clamps, mismatching PVC and sections of the old copper. Still leaking. There was a blockage and the pipes were old so they split from the pressure. I understand that Rescue Rooter is paid a flat rate and subsequently want to do the least work possible, but this was ridiculous. Instead of just spending an hour removing all the old pipe and replacing all of it with PVC they insisted on doing a patch job, only to watch it not take over and over again. They spent way more time, energy and money on supplies than if they had just done it right the first time. NOT TO MENTION MY TIME!!!! Finally on the third visit (and my third day missed from work to get this fixed!) we were told everything was fixed. Literally 5 minutes after turning on the water it was leaking again. We were paying out of pocket to replace our entire ceiling and cabinetry and this is the work we were given? Are we supposed to trust the job done here? Needless to say I was not happy. I called Rescue Rooter and insisted that someone else finish the job. So now a 3rd person came to the house, for the 4th attempt at fixing (fifth visit!) and he removed more of the old copper, reworked the other shoddy work and pronounced everything good to go. guess what? still leaking!!!! During this time I also had to fight with rescue rooter about what they would cover. Clearly they were upset about spending so much time on one job that they get a flat rate from AHS for. Clearly this is why I continued to get substandard work the whole time. I will give them credit that they only tried half heartedly to get me to pay for their repair job and to replace everything in PVC, but seriously? I am sorry you are getting less than market value from AHS, but that is not my problem. It is a simple equation: I pay AHS to fix problems. AHS pays Rescue Rooter to make water not come out of my ceiling. Rescue Rooter did NOT make water stop coming out of my ceiling. If they don't like the set up get out of the contract with AHS. Don't get testy with me. Don't give me totally substandard work. don't ask me to pay for what you are paid by another company to do! The second technician also installed a garbage disposal. The 2nd time we ran water through the sink I noticed a torrent coming from under the sink. The "technician" simply stuck one end of straight PVC into an angled pipe and left it that way. No clamp, so cement, no sealant. So it is of no surprise that the pipe immediately became dislodged from only the force of the water and proceeded to empty all over the floor. Shocking at the level of effort here. I am not handy but I could have done better myself. So what is the end result? Five days, numerous phone calls, four days of missed work and it is still leaking. I will now pay out of pocket for a professional to come in and complete a job they were paid to do so that I can be sure that it is done right. I really don't care if they feel like they got a raw deal with this. We are the ones who are trully suffering!

don't use this company. they just do not get down and get the work done correctly

I have used them before and they have always known what they are doing. They came back, cleaned up, and planted grass seed and straw.

They do good work, were quick to respond, and their prices were as reasonable as plumbing work can be. They were fairly good with the sewer cleaning, and I have no complaints with their work, but I had to go beyond what they could do and get some excavation work done.

It was scary. I walked into our bathroom and was standing in water. I called Rescue Rooter and they came out right away. They even came at night. They came with in two hours of my call. One of the seals gave way and caused the leak. They fixed the problem right away. They were very nice and polite.