Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Service

We asked for John (#2723) again, based on our very favorable experience 2 years ago. He took some time to diagnose the problem. He asked what the symptoms where, and took time to figure out what drain lines ran where, and explained what he thought the problem was ( tree roots) and what he wanted to do before writing estimate. He cleaned the drain thoroughly, making (4) passes to make sure it was clean. When he was done you did not know he was there. The person answering the phone was very pleasant. They sent out an e-mail confirmation of my appointment, which is a feature I liked very much. I would definitely use them again.

It took Roto-Rooter longer than the 90 minute window to show up. I was pleased by the detailed report, but not the estimated price. The plumber was able to do the work within a weeks time & said it would take two workers two days to complete the task.

Even the most die hard DIY'ers don't always have the time to do everything themselves with kids sports and work constraints. I noticed a bad leak had developed under the laundry room sink around the valves and joints. I called them up looking for someone to quickly take care of it that day in a very small window from when I got home from work to when I needed to leave to take my kids to sports. They scheduled the appointment for that time and a plumber showed up exactly when expected, and completed the expected work quickly. Super responsive indeed.

They did a good job for the most part. Any issues I brought up that I wasn't happy with were addressed and taken care off.

They showed up on time. Got to work quickly and didn't mess around. John did excellent work and gave great advice. Pipes are working and he saved me a good chunk of change with his advice. I'd ask for him by name again if, God forbid, I need that service done again.

They came out right away. They were very clean and this was a very messy thing to do. I paid a very nominal amount of money because they couldn’t fix what I needed to have fixed.

Our sanitary line was completely blocked (none of our toilets could be flushed). We think the blockage happened because a guest flushed kitty litter doo down the toilet. The blockage was determined to be under the basement floor. Walter, at Roto-Rooter came right out and cleared the sanitary sewer clear to the street. During the process he found that some tree roots were partially blocking the drain near the street.

They showed up at my home within 90 minutes of the time I called them. The technicians were friendly and professional and they were able to unclog the line in short order. Shortly afterward, their supervisor arrived to provide a camera inspection of the line at no cost. He followed up with the suggestion that I allow Roto-Rooter to propose on repair or replacement of the line.

That afternoon I was home and off from work, I could smell sewer gas and followed it down to the basement drain and it was overflowing! It had been raining already for several days and this was the first day Hurricane Sandy was making its way into Ohio. I called several plumbers, and every single one stated that they are so backlogged that they will not make it out until the following morning at 0800 hours. All day I manually scooped buckets of sewer water out to prevent further damaging my finished basement, (so glad I was home!!) and when I called Roto-Rooter, they stated that they can be out between 11 PM and 2 AM. I asked them about the home warranty coverage and they stated that my company will have to fax something to them. I called my warranty company and they had no idea what Roto-Rooter was talking about, so it took about an hour for the two companies and myself to figure it out. Every Roto-Rooter customer service agent was telling me something different, and one (Jessica) became extremely rude with me and talked down to me. Roto-Rooter apparently has a national call center, so communication with them was extremely complicated. The situation was finally figured out, but it was frustrating as I was shoveling sewer water in the meantime. At midnight, a Roto-Rooter rep called me and stated that the manager is suspending further work and sending all technicians home for the evening due to the dangerous conditions of the oncoming hurricane. At that point I just sat in frustration. About 15 minutes later, the same rep called me back and stated that one technician decided to keep doing work and will be over within 20 minutes if I still wanted service. BEST NEWS I EVER HEARD!! John the plumber arrived within 30 minutes, biggest relief ever! John had a tough time with the snake but it finally did the job. The drain was so clogged that the snake broke off in the pipe, but they managed to get it out and I was able to rest for the evening and wash the sewer water off. I signed a contract with Roto-Rooter to replace the entire exterior drain, so I will write another review then. To sum up this one, the actual service was great. However, Roto-Rooter definitely needs to work on the call center and some of their customer service agents's communication skills.

Terrbile servie a 8 months ago, I spent $10000 and now no Hot Water they sell second rate water Heaters, poor quality work, poor follow up, poor warranty service, late, leaveyou waiting without hot water. Do not use Roto Rooter.

Labor Day Weekend........ After a summer without rain, Mother Nature decided to honor us with 12 hours of steady rain. Would't you know, our sump pump failed. We called Roto-Rooter of Cleveland because they had 24 hour service with no extra charges for holidays, nights and weekends. Our plumber, Wes #546 from Roto-Rooter came to our rescue. He was efficient, neat, and pleasant. He gave us all costs before installing. We were more than satisfied. It was the first time using Roto-Rooter, but it won't be the last! Excellent Service!

I live in Rocky River so I don't know that this is the same Roto Rooter coming out of Solon. Disaster doesnt begin to describe the disrespect and arrogance of the Roto Rooter team.....No protection of surfaces. Shoe guards they wore apeared more to be neede to keep their shoes clean as they ground concrete dust into our carpets (no floor or wall protection provided). In busting out the old floor and preventer they destroyed all the concrete beyond what they needed cracking up and destroying the integrity of whatever vapor barrier was below it.The "finish" they put on the new concrete was either rough or had holes making it impossible to reglue doen the carpet squares that were always thereWhen I had a meeting to discuss the laundry list of issues.....the local boss-man Rob didn't like my " attitude" and suggested I shouldn't be venting....I thanked him for his "life coach" skills and continued to vent......My anger and his arrogance are both duly noted.The final touch was when I asked if the installation had been inspected by the City of Rocky River.....they said that wasnt required..When I called the City they said....."yes, it IS required". I suspect Roto Rooter doesn't likie their attitude either.I now have to find someone to rip out what they did and redo everything (including the inspection). I do not want to see Roto Rooter on my preoperty ever again.......

Roto-Rooter was at my house within one hour of my call and cleared the blockage from the storm drain in an efficient and professional manner. This was not an easy job. Our house is almost 90 years old with clay tiles lining the storm drain running under the house. (Yeah, who was the genius that designed that)! It was tricky to get the through, but they did not give up. Actually, I must say, they are one of the most professional plumbing companies I?ve encountered in my 13 years in Cleveland.

It went very well. They were able to come out within an hour of my call. He explained everything he was doing and gave me suggestions as to things to look for to prevent problems in the future and what might indicate if we were having a bigger problem.

Our bathroom tub water line – going from the house to the outside, was plugged. We were 90% convinced that the line outside our home was either broken or was plugged with tree roots or other debris, but wanted to make sure. We called Roto Rooter and asked them to snake out the line to see exactly what the problem was. Joe (tech 3219) came on a Friday night (June 22), ran the snake, and yes, indeed, the line was broken. Joe explained to me that we had 2 options…dig outside and put in a new water line, or do the work inside our home and connect the tub line to the toilet/sink line. He wasn’t able to give me a quote for either job, so he called his Supervisor who said that he’d come take a look at the problem the next week. I paid the $69 for the snake-out. The following Tuesday, (June 26) Robert Harris – Field Supervisor - came to look at the situation and give us a quote (per Joe explaining the situation to him on Friday) for the new bathtub line. What should have been a 20-30 minutes (tops) visit/quote ended up being a 2-½ hour stay! Taking his sweet time, opening (again) and snaking out the same line that Joe just did a few days prior, he proceeded to open and look, with his camera, at 4 other clean-outs in and around our property. There was absolutely no reason for Rob to look at every clean-out in our yard, the only thing I requested was for him to tell us what it would cost to fix that 1 line, either by digging outside or fixing it inside. He kept walking around our property, using a scanner, and spray painting marks on our grass where he “thought” lines might be crossing or connecting….I’m not really sure why he was doing this since the line that is broken was on the side of the house and he was walking all over the front of my yard, in the driveway, and down to the street. First, I have to say I have a strong feeling Rob was doing all this to try to kill time, at my expense. (because he told me he as “on call” and that his bosses would want to see where he was at). Second, and most importantly, I am 100% confident that Rob was doing all this to try to sell me a bill of goods that I didn’t ask for, want, or need at this time. I believe this was his whole intention before he even got to my house that Tuesday, to try to sell me something other than what I actually needed done! I was alone the entire time Rob was there, until my husband came home, and I honestly feel he tried to take advantage of that fact, show me pipes and line in my yard with his camera that would “possibly, some day need repair” (his words) – I believe he was showing me this to try to scare me, and then I’d tell my husband what we needed to have done, per Rob’s suggestions. All the while costing us TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars, I’m assuming. (Ladies, be advised if you are alone when the guys visit, don’t let them talk, or scare, you into stuff you do not need, get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th estimate) !! Finally, after (gasp!) 2 ½ hours and some harsh words from my husband, Rob gave me a quote of (another gasp!) $4,000 to replace 1 line – last year we had ½ of our basement waterproofed/excavated for only $5000 - so I’m not sure where he got this high price or if he just said that (he didn’t have an actual written quote to give me, go figure!). He told me that if it were up to him, he’d have our main water line (which is working) replaced first because that one will “eventually” break and back up – even though we haven’t have 1 issue with that line in 6 years. This “major” project was going to take 2-3 days and I’m sure cost us TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars. Again, here was where he was trying to sell me bill of good I didn’t need. I also asked Rob to give me an estimate on what it would cost to fix the problem from inside the house. When he first got to my house and I asked him, he brushed me off and didn’t even discuss this as an option. When I asked him again, he said he’d have to get back to me on a quote for that because he needed to work up some numbers…well it’s been a week and I have yet to hear from him!! So, believe me, Rob and this company wanted no part of selling me a job that would probably only cost a few hundred dollars, they wanted no part of that. They’d only be happy with the job that costs THOUSANDS. Needless to say, after this experience, I’d NEVER use Roto Rooter for any plumbing issues and will gladly tell my family and friends to not use them as well. Beware of them over selling you stuff you don’t need, and using scare tactics to get you to sign on the dotted line. Oh, and wasting your time as well – wasting 2 ½ hours of my day – with no concern whatsoever that he was doing that. I am giving this company an “F” grade here on Angie’s List.

Customer update: Roto-Rooter made good on its original estimate of $175. We feel better about our experience given this resolution. We were overcharged and we were the victim of a bait and switch. On 6/21/12 Scott gave us a verbal quote of $175 to install BOTH a kitchen faucet and a disposal gasket. Scott could not return the next day as scheduled and so was rescheduled to come on 6/26/12. That morning we were told he had a family emergency and so another plumber was sent, Anthony. Anthony told us that the quote we received was not valid, that often when Roto Rooter thinks a customer is getting multiple quotes, it will quote a lower rate. In addition, because they had to come back, the cost is $277 to install a kitchen faucet and another $96 to install a disposal gasket. Customer note: The "come back" was because the initial call was made to determine if the kitchen faucet could be salvaged. It could not, so we needed to purchase a new one. We negotiated the use of a $40 Angie's List coupon, and after a bit of conversation, Anthony eliminated the $96 charge for the gasket. And so our total was $258. We are left with a bad feeling about this. We feel we're owed $75.

I came home from work late last Thursday night to find water leaking from my ceiling on the carpet in my living room from a broken pipe. It was 10 pm on a Thursday night and I called 5 different companies and Roto Rooter was only one of two companies who had a liver person answer the phone for an emergency.They said they could get someone out in 2 hours and the plumber, John, was there in less than an hour and spent 2 hours to find and fix the problem. Although he had to come back the next day to fully finish the job, it was done at a convenient time for me. Great, friendly service! Some other reviews on here say they cost more, but I don't have anything to compare it to. Definitely would use them again, especially in an emergency.

The service was fast and professional. They are probably more expensive than an independent plumber, but a reliable resource in a situation that requires immediate attention.

Overall we were very satisfied with their services.

The plumber was at the house for less than 1 hour. Actual work time was around 45 minutes. He was very cordial. He replaced the hoses, and replaced the shut off valve and tightened the other valve in less than 30 minutes. He spent a lot of time telling me about his water bill etc. He forgot to reconnect the hose to the dryer, so now I cannot use my "refresh" cycle on the dryer. I just feel that $440.00 for time and material on such a small job is way over priced. I will never use them again.

The experience was fine. They did have to come back again because the clean-out wasn’t done properly, but they did not charge me. Overall, they did a good job.

The technician called me personally to discuss the repairs needed before proceeding and then called to report what he found and what repairs were done. The tenant was very happy with the service as well

I called to schedule an appointment and they came over within 45 minutes! This was a preventative storm drain cleaning. Our tech was very professional and thorough. He took time to understand our drain system and devise a way to snake it.

I originally called to have my main line cleaned because I got a flooded basement most times when it rained. Jason, the roto rooter repairman, originally spent 8 hours trying to clean out the line to make sure there was nothing he could do without replacing the main line. He used the cutter and camera, and in the end it became apparent there were major issues that couldn't be fixed without major work. He recommended replacing the entire mainline, which I agreed to. When he went to the city, he discovered that there were actually two separate lines, one for the storm drains, and the normal one. It was obvious we should just replace both while they were at it. After replacing the lines, he recommended having all the downspouts cleaned because they were obviously clogged. The excavation and replacement was scheduled immediately and took place within three days. The work went smoothly, and they did a good job. They showed me many sections of the pipe, and I saw that they were completely clogged with roots along with many sections being broken. It was very obvious the work was necessary. After this, a day later Jason came back out to clean out all of the downspouts. It took a long time still because they were very backed up, but in the end he was able to clear all the lines out. After this, he came out another week later to replace a collapsed part of the line that was under the basement. He did it quickly, cleanly, and well. In the end, I don't have complaints with the work. They did everything they could to avoid major work, but in the end took care of everything extensively and made sure it was done right. They were very professional and got everything done in a timely basis. My only complaint was that I spent a lot of money, but I don't know if that could've been avoided with all the work that needed to be done.

They were courtious and fast. They were able to clear my downspouts with relative ease. I was not real pleased with their pricing. Their first "quote" was about $950. After I told them I was not interested in paying that price for 3 downsputs, they came back and we settled on $450 or so. Why not give a fair price up front? Aside from the price negotiations, they where fine.