Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

They arrived on time, and replaced the horizontal drain pipe that leads into the wall under the kitchen sink. I can always trust Roto-Rooter plumbing to give good service and not rip me off by selling something I don't need.

They responded on a Friday night and it took several hours to open but it has been fine ever since and that was almost Two years ago.

Primary reason for blockage was not immediately evident; two different technicians (_______ and "Super Shawn") spent almost three hours combined working snakes in multiple starting points without success; once cause of problem was identified as corroded lateral line, field supervisor Rob Brady was able to arrange for an excavation and repair team ("Sarg" Robert and "Country Boy" Andrew) to come on site that same afternoon; work went well and proceeded exactly as planned; once line was exposed, further corrosion was identified and an additional change order was written at a very reasonable price; Robert and Andrew stayed until after 10pm to complete the job and clean-up the area. I was vey pleased with the rapid response and manner that was used to diagnose the root cause of the problem and propose solution(s). Each element of the plan was fully explained and executed exactly as described. All four young technicians demonstrated excellent knowledge, skill, and customer relations as did the field supervisor. If plumbing services are needed again at my home, I will be calling this company again and asking for these technicians to be assigned to respond. I am also recommending them to friends and neighbors. Several neighbors observed the R-R trucks in front of my house for over twelve hours. Jim Bowling 559 East Stanton Ave. Columbus, OH 43214

Disappointing experience. Will not use them again. Called them on a Saturday morning, as the toilet had clogged for the second time within a month. The technician came out as scheduled and augered the commode. He was nice, efficient, and cleaned up after himself. It took him about 15 minutes to do the job. He had me sign a waiver about possible scratching from the equipment, but stated that he'd never made scratches before and that I probably wouldn't care about the inside of the toilet anyway. That was fine, I knew that is a possibility. After he left I noticed many scratches in the bottom of the bowl. Not a problem, as I had signed a waiver, but I was a little disappointed that it happened and he didn't mention it. On Sunday morning March 24, the toilet nearly overflowed again. Another technician came out that afternoon; no charge as they have a week-long guarantee. Augered again, never mentioned the possibility of removing and resetting the toilet (he should have at least mentioned that, since clearly the previous day's work did not solve the problem). He assured me it was fixed, and left. Took him about 10 minutes. He was pleasant and courteous as well. On Tuesday morning March 26 the toilet nearly overflowed yet again! I called and asked to speak to a manager. Never did get to speak to one, but did discuss the matter with an office worker. She asked if I had been given the option of them removing, augering, and resetting the toilet for a (around $325, I think). When I informed her I hadn't, she said that they could send someone out to do that and I could pay the difference. I asked if I could use another coupon, since this would be the third visit and the option wasn't offered at the initial visit, but was informed that this was not likely. No acknowledgement of mistakes on the company's part, or the fact that I've had to juggle schedule around due to the job not being done correctly the first time . . . or the second. At first I scheduled a third appointment, but after further reflection decided to cancel and go with another plumbing company that I've used several times in the past (the only reason I didn't contact them in the first place is because it happened on a weekend and I wasn't sure they had emergency services). It may cost me more money in the long run, for sure, but the peace of mind will be worth it. The technicians are nice and courteous, but do not seem very knowledgeable, and the office staff do not seem to care much about the customer. **3/27/14 update: I left my price "grade" at C, but did toy with a "D" after my experience with the other company. Roto Rooter originally quoted me $199 for the 15-minute augering job, but I paid $159 because I had a coupon. My tried and true folks charge $109 (minus a $20 coupon) for the same job, and removing/resetting the commode was over $100 less as well. Bottom line is lower cost for a better job. Just thought it important to share. Thanks.

Overall it was a good experience although a bit expensive for two drains to be snaked. If the kitchen sink could have waited I probably would have waited and used my regular plumber, but in a pinch, on a Sunday, it worked out great. Jared arrived an hour after I called, I explained what was wrong, he asked to look at the pipes in the basement to ensure he knew what he was dealing with. He wrapped up an hour and twenty minutes later with both sinks in working order.

What a relief to see that truck pull up. We had sewage in the basement and we needed help fast ! I called a very nice , sympathetic person answered (Maria). She said they would have someone out within two hours. Our service technichian was on the way in about an hour. He called to let us know he was on the way. (Chris Hammond) Our house is old with narrow doors. He had to take the door off to get his equipment through. He did it with ease !. The old cap was hard to get off, but he kept trying until he got it. He completed this job, with professional skill, great attitude and a smile the whole time. He reassured me (I was so worried about the cost and results). I felt confidence right away. It works great ! Problem solved. I will not hesitate to call them again !

It went perfect. He was so nice and saved me money!

The purpose of this letter is to report overcharging for a simple plumbing repair by Roto-Rooter in Columbus, Ohio and request your help in obtaining a fair refund. Roto-Rooter charged me $654.85 to replace a broken shut off valve to the refrigerator ice maker. I believe that charge should have been in the neighborhood of $300 based on the $90 per hour rate quoted to me. At 8:00 AM on November 1, 2013 I called Roto-Rooter of Columbus and asked for service to repair a broken shut off valve on the water line serving my refrigerator. When told that the service Could be provided that morning, I asked if the serviceman would arrive with the needed parts and was assured that he would have the parts on his truck. A serviceman arrived at my home at 10:15 AM. After inspecting the valve, located in the basement directly below the refrigerator, the serviceman informed me that the job required replacing the plastic water line to the refrigerator with copper, that he would need to obtain additional supplies, and that his trip for sup[lies would involve a mileage charge plus his hourly rate of ninety dollars an hour. He also called me and my caregiver to the basement to show us a loose furnace duct next to the valve he was to repair. Although he claimed that he had not damaged the duct, my caregiver and I knew that the furnace had been serviced successfully the previous week. The serviceman returned to my home at 11:00 AM. He proceeded to replace the valve and the water line to the refrigerator in approximately 1 and 1/2 hours, leaving my home about 12:30 PM. He had not given me any estimate of the repair cost prior to completing the work. He told me that the cost of the job was $854.85, but that he would give me $200 discount and that I should sign his work order in two places, once next to his estimate, and again next to his final charge of $654.85. I signed as he directed and paid him with my Visa card. In addition to the $654.85 charge by Roto-Rooter, I had to recall the contractor to repair the furnace duct at a cost of an additional $70, making my total cost $724.85. I realized that I had been overcharged and called Roto-Rooter the next day, on November 7, 2013. I asked for a manager to come to my home and evaluate the amount charged for such a small job. After talking with three different managers, Managers John and Jerry did visit my home and inspect the job on November 14 in the presence of my friends Barbara and Sandy as well as my caregiver. Although the job ticket was difficult to read, Manager John Blackford (with the company 2 months with no prior plumbing experience) indicated that the serviceman had charged for 2 jobs, one to replace the valve, and one to replace the water line to the refrigerator...both at $257.00 each. John indicated that he could offer me only $100 adjustment, which I consider inadequate. He indicated that I had signed the estimate giving approval to the cost prior to the work, but my caregiver and I both told him that the estimate was not offered prior to the work being completed. I asked that the lead manager call me to discuss an adjustment, and John said that he would have the lead manager call on Monday, November 18. I have not received any call from the lead manger. I believe that Roto-Rooter overcharged me several hundred dollars for what should have been a very small job and I will appreciate your help in obtaining a refund.

I described the problem to the phone representative and got an appointment for the next day. They gave me a 2 hour window but called half way through to tell me they were behind and ended up coming about 30mins after the window. The technician had only been given part of the problem description (check valve) and couldn't address the main problem - snaking the drain line to the street. He called his dispatch and arranged for another technician to come out another two hours later. He did not perform any service. The second technician told me it would be $375 for an outside drain snake regardless whether he was successful or not. I was feeling desperate (water developing a very large lake right next to my foundation) so I said go ahead. He tried for about 30 minutes with absolutely no success. He did give me $80 off for doing "nothing." I understand the need to charge for coming and trying, but this price was ridiculous. I still have to get a reputable company to fix my problem! ===Update=== A manager called to address the problem I'd had. He stated that they do not like to have unhappy customers. He explained some of the issues that led to my specific service call and offered regrets both for the failure to fix the problem and the amount that was charged. He refunded about 2/3 of the price I'd paid. I received a check within the time stated. I give Roto Rooter credit for addressing customer issues but I would still be reluctant to use them again.

I was surprised to get an appointment the same day. As it had been longer than six months but less than a year since the last work was done, the technician suggested that a pipe may have collapsed or there were roots clogging things up somewhere. If I wanted to have a supervisor come out and run a camera it would be $109 but he could offer me a deal for $80. I told him that a supervisor with the camera was fine with me. The cable got stuck. He and the fellow he was training were unable to remove it so they needed the supervisor's assistance with it and to do the camera. Unfortunately, the supervisor was stuck at another location. All in all, my appointment was five hours long and they were unable to fix the issue. It seemed like a lot of their time was sitting in the van waiting for the supervisor. I was only charged the full price of the camera scope. I was given a verbal quote of $4000 minimum to make repairs that would probably fix it. The supervisor believed the lawn trap was inundated with roots. The city would need to do before and after inspections. The lawn would need to be dug up below the frost line (about 4 feet) in order to find the lawn trap and clear it. It was possible the pipe would need to be replaced (with a 30-year warranty) and at the absolute worst, the pipe would need to be cleared to the city sewage line which might require breaking apart our (new as of July 2014) driveway and putting it back together again. Due to significant loss of income (I lost my job 10 days before the appointment) we're unable to move forward with the repairs immediately and will be getting another quote. Edit: A pleasant gentleman from Roto-Rooter contacted us today thinking this review included a complaint about the quote. I explained that if there was anything I was dissatisfied with it was the length of time it took for the supervisor to come out and that another company was able to resolve the slow drainage problem in an hour using their equipment. He apologized it took so long for the supervisor to come out. Due to the inclement weather the supervisors were dealing with frozen pipes, etc. and it took much longer than the supervisors would've liked to get to all of their calls. The gentleman is going to inquire with the technician regarding the RPMs, etc. that were used in an attempt to clear out the sewage line. He reiterated that the second company who came out was only fixing the symptom and not resolving the issue.

They did needed repair and I was very satisfied.

Called for service because all drains in the house were backing up. Turned out to be roots in main sewer line. Took less than an hour to clear. Professional service. Would definitely use again.

We had an emergency pipe burst that partially flooded the basement. We called Roto-Rooter and they came within 2-3 hours after the mess. The plummer spent 5 hours replacing, fixing, and re-routing the pipes. He also fixed a toilet that had leaked for quite sometime and got to a point where it needed to be replaced. The price was alarming, but what had to be done was done in. I would hire them again.

Contacted Roto-Rooter early in the morning on 1/29 about a pipe that had burst and leaked water all over our laundry room. The dispatcher was very courteous and advised that she could have someone out to my house between 11am & 2pm that day. Given the frigid temps and the number of service calls I know they had coming in, I considered that a very quick response. We were called twice by the dispatcher with updates on the estimated arrival time of our tech [I appreciated them taking the time to notify us], and then our tech [Harley] called approx. 20 minutes in advance as well. Upon arriving, he quickly assessed the situation, and discovered the leak was occurring from a pipe inside the wall. He very carefully removed the paneling on the wall, cut away only the drywall that was necessary to facilitate the repair [which consisted of cutting out the bad piece of pipe and inserting a coupler]. It was definitely not an easy fix due to the location of the pipe inside the wall, but Harley made it look far less difficult than it was, and had a great attitude and sense of humor about it. Needless to say, I was incredibly happy with the level of service we received and would absolutely call them for any future plumbing needs!

It took them 45 minutes to get to my house on a Sunday night.After making me wait all that time, they gouged me with a price of over $300.00 to fix the toilet. I admit, I could have sent them away and gotten another estimate from somebody else, but with a wife and children and guests in the house I didn't feel I could wait. They did fix the toilet but I will never use them again or recommend them to anybody else.

They were responsive. They came out several times to help us with a problem. One was for a truck with a line. Another was for a truck with a camera. Once I came back and left work early to meet them for an appointment and they did not show. We called them back as their line was not long enough to go back to where the blockage was. They came out for a third appointment and they told me it would cost 4000 dollars. We told them we needed to get a 2nd opinion. We went with another company who only charged 300 dollars and fixed the problem. I felt they were taking advantage of us as they knew we needed our washer and dryer. I was glad they came out at the weekend. We did not know it would take so many steps. They cleared the first blockage and showed up when expected. They were good at giving estimates. They did not have the proper equipment to clear the 2nd blockage. I expect it fixed. To find another plumber who had all the equipment - that is who I am calling next time! The price was expensive.

Broke up roots and had water running again in no time...Probably took an hour 1/2 from start to finish. He(Jack Miller) stated that they have 24/7 hours with NO overtime charge. He made suggestions for using his rinse after roots began growing again and said we could call anytime to set up appt for that, which could be done once a year at $150...

Cleaned sewer drain. Also cleaned house drain. The next day we used the washing machine and the drain was plugged. They immediately sent some one out to correct it.

The technician was late for the initial quoted window of time. But I was contacted well ahead of time and told that he would be late, so that was good. I understand that you can't accurately estimate how long it takes to do a job based solely on information given over the phone. I already had the bathroom sink pulled out and set out of the way because I had been attempting to unclog the pipe myself using snakes and chemicals. The technician arrived and used booties whenever he came into the house. I appreciated this, since I had just steam-cleaned the carpet a few days prior. We both examined the pipe coming out of the wall and also examined where it extended into the basement. He was very efficient at setting up his equipment. He answered all of my questions and I was satisfied with the answers. He informed me ahead of time what the cost would be to fix the problem and I agreed to it. He went to work on the clog and eventually removed it. He demonstrated to me that water would now flow freely down the pipe and also demonstrated that by listening to the pipe while the toilet was flushed you could tell that the obstruction (a rust clog) had been removed. He offered to hook the sink back up, but I declined, preferring to do it myself. All in all, I was very happy with the work done, The technician was knowledgeable, courteous, and professional. But I was surprised that this type of work would cost this much for about an hour and a half's worth of work. This is the first time that I have had to use this type of service, so I did not know what to expect. I was assuming that it would be in the range of $100 - 200. I did not shop around for prices, since I was anxious to get the bathroom back in working order and Roto-Rooter is well-known.

They were very fast almost in about a half hour. The were courteous and explained to me things that couldn't go down drains and what I should do to prevent this happening again. Thanks

It went badly. They just had to put on a new shut off valve and did all this stuff that wasn't necessary. He finished the job and then presented me with they estimate and the cost. I signed the estimate and cost at the same time. I called twice after the installation for a manager to come check the work. But it wasn't until the 14th of November that 2 came to look at it and they told me they couldn't do a thing and that the lead manager would call on the 18th and they never did. That really irritated me.

Prompt arrival, knowledgeable service man, quick solution

It was fine. It worked well. I've used them in the past. I used them again because they are well known and they are fairly responsive. They had the equipment necessary to do the job that needed to be done. It took longer than I wanted but they did come the same day.

Background: My wife just had major foot surgery and is non-weight bearing for 6 weeks. Bathroom use for her is very critical and difficult. We needed use of the toilet quickly. Both toilets backed up at about 8:30 PM on Sunday night. I called my regular plumbing service and they could not help me as it was not a service they did. They recommended a couple plumbers, Rotorooter being one of them. Because I needed it done quickly, I decided to go with the biggest name thinking they would be able to get someone out ASAP. By 10 PM I had a technician on site. He quickly assessed the situation and began to snake the drain through a shower. He then managed to get his line stuck and in the process of trying to get it out, broke the pipe. He responded quickly to catch the flooding water, averting a much larger disaster. However, he did not have the parts to repair the pipe so I was stuck waiting until 7 AM after the stores opened. He promised to return at 7 AM and said that we could use the toilet, just could not flush it. At 11:30, he left. I arranged for my wife to go over to her sister's for the following day. It was very inconvenient and was something I was trying to avoid. However, I felt that after the assurance that once the line was freed from the pipe, the clog would come with it, therefore not difficult to fix and they should be out of there by 9 AM. At 10:30 AM the next day I was still waiting for the plumber to come back. I called the dispatch office 4 times, each time being promised that I would get a call back. When I finally did get a call, I was told that they had sent the wrong type of plumber out the night before and they were going to get the right guy out there and he would be at my house shortly. He arrived at 11:30 and began working. He got the line freed immediately but that did not fix the problem. He was forced to go outside and dig down to the septic, just recently drained, fortunately. He took a much larger line and snaked back through the main drain through the septic and shortly had the clog freed. He then repaired the broken pipe and left by 1:45 PM. I felt overall they were very professional and initially responded quickly. I was very frustrated by the 4 1/2 hour delay the next morning and their failure to respond to my calls with any information about what they were trying to do. They just left me hanging out and uninformed. That was my main complaint. I felt they were a little pricey but given the emergency situation, it was within reason.

John Blackman was my contact person with Roto Rooter. He contacted and after I explained what was going on set up an appointment for me. I received a courtesy call reminding me of the appointment, then another call letting me know they were on their way. The worker was very pleasant an courteous. He asked me to show him were the problem was. He looked at the pipe in the basement and then went upstairs to look at the bath tub. Then after he did that he began to tell me what was wrong. I ask about the pipes in my basement and he explained what had been there since the house was built and explained why there was a leak. He explained everything, He then gave me two options and reviewed the effect both options would have on the home in the future. I understand plumbing issues are expensive and he explained the price. I am so happy to have the repair done and use my shower. I am completely satisfied with the work performed. I will definitely use Roto Rooter in the future.