Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services

I wouldn’t call again. I needed an appointment for after 6:30 pm on a Thursday, which is why I chose Roto-​Rooter for the first time for a kitchen sink clog. There was a blizzard coming the next day, so I was thinking that I really didn’t have a choice. They came promptly for the appointment, but I almost passed out when the the tech quoted me $ 405! There was a $ 40 coupon, which took the price to just a mere $ 365. The tech fixed the issue with the snake from the truck, since it turned out to be a routine clogged drain. He was there — and I’m not kidding — for less than 45 minutes. $ 365 for not even one hour’s worth of work. And, now I see there’s a «$ 50 off your next service» coupon here on Unilocal.I would have washed my dishes in the bathroom sink for two days until I could get someone more reasonable. I recommend that Roto-​Rooter offer a much smaller price for routine jobs, since I bet no one says «no» to the free estimate once the tech is inside your home and has told you he can fix it. Absolute highway robbery, and perhaps even a form of gouging. I feel as if I’m owed at least a 50% refund for the price I paid, but I probably won’t get it. I recommend trying to find another local plumber if you can wait a couple days. Save yourself your grocery bill.

Not a fan! The appointment time was 1−3PM, and they didn’t arrive until 9PM. They then proceeded to quote me a price of $ 370.00 for 45 minutes of work.

I dealt with a plumbing issue from 8AM to 4PM this past Saturday. After pulling both toilets, using my own auger on both lines, running an old garden hose down both lines, using a shop-​vac to clean out what I could out of both lines (and constantly putting the toilets back into place to test to see if they clog was freed), my heart was broken by mid-​afternoon.
For the life of me, I could not free the clog.
I must have thrown two dozen buckets of very hot water and liquid soap down into both lines – still nothing.
While, no water was backing up into my lowest drain (a utility tub in the basement), I had to explore the possibility of a septic issue.
So I dug up the lid, too a look… even experimented with switching drain fields (I have two) as I thought one may have stopped perking… we have had some decent wet weather recently.
Still nothing – both toilets continued to overflow.
After walking away from it for a bit, I really hesitated calling a plumber. It was a Saturday. And after all I had done, including dozens of phone calls to my father and a friend in the construction business, I gritted my teeth and called Roto-​Rooter. I already lost an entire day and did not want to lose a second because, quite frankly, I was out of ideas.
The first person I encountered on the phone was very friendly – it was a little after 5PM at this point. She said they had someone on a job in the area and said he could be there within the hour. Their plumber would come and provide a free diagnosis of the problem.
Within 20 minutes, I received a call from Roto-​Rooter stating their plumber was still on the other job and might a bit later than the initial estimate – I came to understand and appreciate why. Every person is professional and courteous and capable of giving you an answer. Even when I called back as the clock ticked past 7:00, the dispatch was able to explain where the plumber was and when he would be by. The way they handled me – someone who had already been through a frustrating day, really eased my anxiety.
At approximately 7:30pm on Saturday night, plumber Mike White arrived at my home.
He greeted me with a smile. It was the first thing I noticed. He was clean, pleasant, and positive. Mike followed me around my home and listened as I described the problem and all of the steps I took to resolve it throughout the day.
I found Mike thoughtful and considerate of my frustrations with the problem as he asked good questions to help him diagnose the possibilities. He did not mind my hanging with him as he went through the paces to diagnose the problem – he welcomed it. We talked plumbing and he answered my questions no matter how rudimentary or basic.
One of the things I though about Mike as he worked with me was that he is the kind of guy you’d love in your business, no matter what you sell, build, or fix. Mike represents himself and his company well. I’d hire him to work with me in any company I owned – there is no doubt in my mind.
Among the steps Mike took with me: we walked the basement and tapped pipes – we went into each bathroom and flushed so he could see how each handled the flush – he let me pull the toilets myself to save a few dollars (and honestly I had pulled each about ten times already, so I was like a Nascar technician by the end of the day)…eventually, he climbed up onto my roof and checked the vent – and at each step of the way he explained what he was thinking, and what certain symptoms could mean.
Never in a rush, Mike spent 2 ½ hours with me and solved the problem – by 10pm we had two running toilets. I came to understand that he truly wanted to solve this issue and was not built on abusing a customer’s wallet.
The issue was that the clog was a bit hefty and was buried in a location that I could not reach with my equipment, and it was rooted within a «Y» in the stack line between the two bathrooms. By checking the vent from the roof, he could see that there was water in it. Since I only had one vent for all of the components of my bathroom, it helped him zero in on the location.
In the end, I found the price very fair and well-​worth the quality service. Roto-​Rooter charged me $ 355.00 and I gladly wrote that check. When I need service again, I will save myself the day of frustration and failure, and will call Roto-​Rooter (and hopefully Mike White) as they have not only earned my business but they have earned my confidence and trust.