Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services

Absolutely unbelievably BAD service… they came at 8 in the morning said it was fixed with a snaking… left and the toilet backed up again… the service person was uncommunicative a surly. i called for a reservice and they said between 2 and 6… they called according to my phone at 4:10 and I returned the call at 4:11…then they said I had missed the plumber and they would be here before 6 at 5:58 they call and say it will be 7:00 now… NO TOILET for over 11 hours and when I complained that for $ 300 this was terrible service as it was a call back they said have a nice day and hung up on me,…NEVER USE ROTO ROOTER they are arrogant and no apologies for the need of a do over

Frank from Roto-​Rooter Brooklyn came out to snake the drain in our terrace. He was friendly and professional and did a great job — and the customer service ladies were really nice too. Called ½ hour ahead of time to let us know he was on his way.

I really like Roto Rooter as a customer for many years. They will come to your home any time & hour, your never turned away. We have one favorite fella that we like. We call Roto Rooter often because our house is old. This year 2015 we used Roto Rooter 4 times already. It would have been 3, but one was a do over job. I am a TOUGH reviewer & took away one star. «WHY «I have to agree with the other reviewers, OVER PRICED. I think what the customer has to say matters. We as consumers don’t mind things being a little costly sometimes because the service & plumbing is very important & necessary. The pricing is high enough & very high as of lately.
But does the company have to charge tax? How about giving a flat rate tax included.
A couple of our bills were $ 250 & over $ 300 for simple things even with a coupon. We’ve been a customer for over 10 yrs & recently learned that rewards are given for great customers. All the hard work & credit I give to the great staff of plumbers. I know that they really work hard and deserve a great salary from what the customers are paying. We always tip no matter how high the bill is. Roto Rooter has done all basement pipe work, faucets, drains for kitchen & bath with piping, toilets re positioned & grouting, tubs & sewer drains & more for many years. A plus for the telephone operators & call back phone staff with scheduling. Thanks so much especially Mr. Derr — , your my favorite.

Next time something so basic costs me $ 200 for 20 minutes worth of work, I hope I’m not so desperate or foolish.

Not just overpriced but total liars.
I’ll admit these guys are polite, but after not being able to unclog my sewer the second guy said he’d come 2−4pm and then didn’t show up until 9:30pm.
But that’s not the worst part, after that they told me I had a much larger problem, an «emergency» and the whole front street was going to have to be dug up to fix it. $ 17,000 quote and a 3 days job that «needs to happen immediately.» Then they told me I needed an additional professional clean up job for $ 1,200 asap before the «sewer flies» inevitably show up and reek havoc on the whole building. Didn’t do their cleanup, and that didn’t happen.
But also, a second opinion on the $ 17k job let me know that these guys were FLAT OUT LYING about the kind of job it was, that it would actually barely take a day to fix the pipe if it’s broken, and that they were just taking advantage of me because I clearly didn’t know what they were talking about. I’ll admit that if you don’t care about the money, these guys are polite and will show up and solve your problem, but be prepared to pay WHATEVER THEY DECIDE TO CHARGE YOU because, apparently, they work on commission and that’s their game, scare you into hiring them for emergency work at 3X the price asap.
On the other hand, if you’re in a huge bind and have the money and don’t care about getting ripped off, maybe they’re great! I can only imagine that that’s what all the 5 star reviews here are for.
*****
UPDATE: The message from the customer service rep below is BS, I have not heard from anyone. I did, however, just have a specialist come and take a video documenting that the assessment made by router rooter (that would require a 3 day, $ 17k job) was 100% false. Our pipe is literally fine and doesn’t even need a day of repair (it needs no repair).
I’m reporting this to the Better Business Bureau.

I foolishly dropped a plastic cap down the drain of my tub, where it lodged resolutely in place and turned every shower into a swimming pool experience. After trying to fish the cap out unsuccessfully (instead pushing it even further down the drain), I booked an appointment on the Roto Rooter website for the next day. Kenny, my technician, was courteous, professional and VERY efficient! He arrived, assessed my drain, quoted me a price to fix it, worked with me to find a price I could afford, fixed the drain, and was out the door within the span of 20 minutes. Very pleased!

Overall, we had a good experience with Roto-​Rooter and would call them again. Our small co-​op had a complicated issue of a leaking and then burst pipe. Roto-​Rooters responded incredibly fast to my emergency call and was here within an hour or so. Dave was very pleasant and fixed the problem by snaking the pipes and replacing what had burst. We also called in Roto to do an emergency cleaning of the flooded sewage and to sanitize and mold spray the ceiling in the affected area. Dan came quickly the same day to assess and give an estimate and was again, very professional and easy to deal with. My only complaint would be with the restoration/​water clean up service. The guys were professional and came very quickly in the evening to do the job, but we just didn’t realize that they wouldn’t also clean the walls that had been splattered with sewage. (I guess our oversight more than theirs). The crew also didn’t do a full clean up, and left us with pieces of wet ceiling and other mess to clean ourselves– granted it was very late in the evening, but considering the price of the service we hoped they would have been a little more thorough.

I recently called roto rooter to clean out a gutter drain. The technician dug up one of my bushes and left it… then he left all the mud, dirt and mess that was blown out all over my sidewalk. When i called to complain, i was told all they do is blow out the clog. They dont clean up the mess. I would never recommend them.

This review is all about Steve. My man. His number is 288. He came to my apartment on St Johns Ave on June 7^th.
He was kind, courteous, smart, hard working and a miracle worker. He deserves all the praise. Give him a raise!!! Seriously I have never had a better experience ever. And on a Sunday! Thanks again Steve

We had a clogged drain line to our bathroom sink. I’m pretty handy and went and bought an auger and tried cleaning it out. The auger broke and the sink drain was still clogged. Roger came and diagnose the problem quickly. We agreed on a price and he took care of everything. It was certainly beyond the scope of anything I could have done and the peace of mind of knowing it was done right was worth every penny.

Needed help with a bathroom tub that wasn’t draining. The plumber arrived about an hour and a half after my phone call. He really went above and beyond — actually wound up fixing our leaky toilet (for free!) after noticing it while dealing with the tub.
Wish this hadn’t been so expensive, but really have nothing to complain about besides that — we received fast, competent, excellent service.

My sewer started backing up this morning. I set an appt online for the same afternoon and problem was taken care of. Quick, reliable and affordable.

Don’t bother with these people. Hubby and I just called to get a plumber to come fix our toilet and the receptionist said they are backed up and if we can wait in the morning. Seriously!!! They advertise 24 hour service. Don’t advertise that if u don’t have enough people to cover. No I can’t wait! I’m pregnant and need to potty every half hour to an hour. Ridiculous

Terrible we called at 2pm and were told they would be there 5 – 7 now they just called back and said 9 – 1030 I left work early to have to deal with this. I have read other reviews where people had to wait extra time. I’m ok just let me know and I will call someone else or plan around the later time really blows

Its super easy to book online then they called me the minute I booked 9pm Friday night but I missed the call so I called back and they sent someone immediately which took about an hour (10pm) but I had made the appointment for 10pm so it was actually perfect the guy was nice and professional gave me two options and two prices which I thought were way too high but I ended up paying 225 for the removal of a small bobby pin. Definitely overpriced but since I couldn’t fix it myself I decided oh well my fault for flushing that dmn bobby pin. If the technician hadn’t been so cool I probably but would cared more so yea good for him

Overlooked these guys in the initial search because I figured they didn’t serve Manhattan because it felt like such a suburban brand. However, after getting stood up twice by Columbus Plumbing I gave them a try.
Glad I did.
Aris came and gave a free estimate. He was extremely friendly, and offered a number of options to address my problem (new sink, plumbing didn’t line up). He did a fantastic job. I watched every step of the way and asked questions with regard to code; he was never annoyed.
It was pricey, but I feel like I paid for piece of mind that it’s not a fly-​by-​night setup.
I will absolutely use these guys again and ask for Aris directly.

I had a sewer back up in my house on a Sunday 2 hours before a guests were arriving for a party. Rotor-​Rooter answered the phone promptly and had a plumber at my house within an hour. During that time they called me twice to give me an estimate on their arrival. Once he showed up he went to work and quickly solved the problem and my party went on without a hitch. They aren’t cheap but when you need emergency service and a job well done I would recommend them highly. Ask for Steve he’s terrific — polite, efficient and cleaned up after the work.

Hard to find an excellent plumber in Manhattan today. As a dweller here for over forty years, it was my good fortune to have discovered ‘Roto-​Rooter’ when I was about to throw in the towel. Called the above to make an appointment: clear, concise and courteous staff on the phone.
A Sunday visit from a skilled professional for an estimate. It was moderate, and Steve was able on site at once to fix the problem of the old bathroom tank in less than an hour. Made my day. Asked him for further advice on other drain issues as well, such as old taps and leaks. He was patient, thoughtful and thorough.
Planning to call ‘Roto-​Rooter’ again shortly for further projects, and appreciate their fine business and integrity. Will be highly recommending their service to other friends in the City.

Great service. Very professional, timely and honest. Gave me pricing before getting started (which was a bit high) but when it’s late at night and you need to use the bathroom — worth it. Would definitely use again.

I have a very troublesome bathroom sink that for years hasn’t drained well. I don’t know whether this is a ventilation issue or clogged line issue. I’m a typical white collar dummy who doesn’t know much about plumbing.
Pros
–Responded on weekend. Good luck getting anyone to answer their phones on a weekend and late at night. This is pretty incredible.
–Guy showed up to the second on time. Awesome
–Guy offered me huge discount on (what I maybe naively consider huge price)
–Guy drove all the way out and I told him no. Clearly I screwed up his day. Yet he didn’t curse me out or yell. I used to work as an electrician and it’s a different social environment so I appreciate that
–He explained the work and showed me a chart of prices which he said (not sure if it’s true) are binding estimates
Cons
–estimate was $ 439 before tax to unclog 1 sink w/​6 month guarantee. Maybe that’s normal? I dunno. That’s a plane ticket out west to visit my in-​laws. Maybe that’s a reasonable price for what you get. I don’t know but it’s too much for me. Gonna try to snake it myself. Of course I could end up with a mess on my hands but that’s on me.