Mike Stern Plumbing

The company was assigned through my home warranty company. I called, emailed, finally about a week later got a hold of someone, they apologized for not calling me «the paperwork fell through the cracks» sent someone out the next day, great! Plumber came between the scheduled time, looked around, made notes, said they would be getting back to me after the claim was submitted to the insurance company for approval. Two weeks passed by, I called the company, the lady answering the phones said she had no information and that I should call the plumber, their own employee directly! She even gave me his cell phone number, what kind of employer does that? Needless to say I called my insurance company and they said that it was unproffesional and the plumber/​company had never submitted any paperwork.

I had this group of young men at my house numerous times. They are hard workers and do their job professionally. The ladies Ana and Venessa that take the calls are wonderful, and call back if the technician will be little late. We always ask for young man David. Just yesterday and today he was at the house and worked until stubborn problem was solved. Thanks David

Called this company for some plumbing work in our future home. Left work early since their appt. time was the only window they had open… drove an hour, to find no one had showed up, called 3 times, the lady answering the phone assured me all 3 times that the technician was 5 minutes away…
Ended up waiting for 50 minutes, still no one!
I would not trust a company so irresponsible and unreliable to do a plumbing job for a house…
On star is too many!

First, on a New Year’s eve a lot of people said they would call, said they could do it, but then there was no followup.
I called Mike Stern Plumbing, and the experience was professional and perfect.
The person who took my information stayed in touch with me, giving me updates. I wish I had her name, I believe she was Asian, very kind, very thorough. Thank you to her!
Then, it only got better. Ilya was my savior. Here is what I like about Ilya:
PROFESSIONAL!
Dogged determination to get to the root of the issue, and it was much more difficult than I imagined. And the problem is fixed.
He is very nice to be around when he works, he was very kind to my animals. (And they liked him too, dogs have a sixth sense about good people.)
In short, I could not be more pleased with the entire process from start to finish. If I EVER need help again, I will call Mike Stern. And Ilya is THE MAN!
Happy New Year Ilya and very nice phone help!
Great work, great people.

Overall I am very pleased with them. I contacted them to snake the main line that drains rainwater, pool overflow, etc. from my backyard drains. When I called to schedule an appointment, they could accommodate my schedule and provided me with a two hour window (very reasonable). Approximately 30 minutes before the scheduled time, they called to confirm and were able to be more specific as to the time of arrival (and the plumber arrived at the time they said).
Jesus was very personable, reviewed the situation, and quickly and efficiently cleaned the drain of roots and ran water through it to ensure that what he had done resolved the blockage. The entire job took less than 30 minutes.
The reason I gave them four and not five stars is due to the pricing. I learned of them through a booklet of local services distributed through the mail. Their advertisement claimed that they would clean out any drain for $ 49. I also explained this when I made the appointment and was not told anything different. When Jesus determined what needed to be done, he said that the $ 49 was for sewers and not exterior drain lines and that the charge would be $ 89. Given that he was already on site and I didn’t want to deal with the inconvenience of reaching out to another rooter service (with no guarantee that the rates would be any lower), I agreed to the price. Had they explained this on the phone, I very likely would still have used them, but then their rating would have been five star.

Very happy with their service. I had a slow drain at my washing machine which caused me to have to stand at my washing machine and stop it when it was about to spill over. My husband found an ad for $ 49 clean out. I called and a friendly technician was there one hour latter. He snaked the drain and it works much better. Of course he recommended that the line needs hydrojet service to really work properly but that will cost $ 500 minimum. I’ll cross that bridge latter. I felt the tech earned his money today.

Oh Mike Stern Plumbing, I had such high hopes for u. We had a leak in our water main last week and my dad wanted to call Stern because «they’ll come right away». So we did, and they did come out within 30 min. Greg was great: got right to work, fixed the problem, was professional & courteous. Also the price for the work was fair. So far, a 5 star experience… Monday I called because we need rooter service, scheduled for afternoon w Greg. He called to reschedule due to an emergency. Today they were a complete no show. I called to inquire. The office didn’t even know I was scheduled! Two days of moving my day around and still can’t do laundry. They were supposed to call me back — that was an hour ago. I called another plumber instead.

The worst!!! They seem nice but will charge way more than other places. They also lie and say you need to replace something that’s over 10 years old. when you have their paperwork in front of you saying otherwise. Don’t ever use them!!!

Simply the worst home service company I’ve ever done business with. Stay as far away from then as you can.

My mom had the misfortune of having to deal with Mark from this plumbing company. This guy was ridiculous. Shows up acting like he’s the boss, talking to her like he’s doing her a huge favor by allowing her to bask in the wonder that is his plumbing presence, and blowing up her phone with phone calls and texts while she’s at work basically telling her to hurry the hell up and get home to pay him. He also noted that there was a water regulator that needed to be fixed. He writes a threatening letter about how my mom better fix this or else the world will end and the house will blow up then gives her a «special» price for the repair that ended up being twice what another plumber fixed it for. I don’t know how the rest of the people working here are but this Mark guy is unprofessional, rude, and acts like the world revolves around his schedule and whims.

I usually do not make reviews as is a waste of my time but this event prompted me to write something in Unilocal to help others be aware.
I have home warranty firstam and they contracted mike stern plumbing as my water heater leaked.
Guess what. The other reviews are correct.
sergie was the technician and was rude.
He was telling us he refused to work on other water heater like mine. In short he was saying, i have to be thankful that he is providing a quote.
They are charges me (non covered charges)
For «modifying» the pan and two flex hoses («extending the tube because too close to cpper pipe»)
Pan they charge $ 130 and $ 225 for two short flex hoses. All of these retail less than $ 50 dollars in lowes. Plus $ 60 service fee. While absolutely nothing wrong with old one and can be used as same size.
I called sergie and vanessa if they can use existing hoses and pan as if these are optional, not covered. I would not need it or i can provide my own. The response i get it is all or nothing. Same response with firstam claims specialist named karen.
This is like a scam they ripped off home owners like us.
While cashout option is just $ 358 from firstam, leaving us no choice to continue with «overcharging» contractors or adding something you do not need.
Per firstam said the charges are «legitimate charges».
I do not recommend this company at all.
I hope someone do class suit with firstam and these contractors if proven that they are doing this across the board. (not isolated but common). Some home owners do not do research so they will not even know this.
See picture.
Becareful home owners. Thanks and i am not the first, see other reviews here.

Bobbie and Jeffrey
You both definitely correct with your comments. I had the same bad experience With this company. They are out there to get your hard earn money. I will write more in a week.

I wanted to take the time to write a review for Mike Stern Plumbing because your crew are beyond professional!!! Our plumbing issue, we thought initially was just a clogged drain in the bathtub, but soon turned into a main sewer line issue to eventually now roots in our pipes underground. To make matters worse our house is on a cement slab without a crawl space, so that meant our beautifully remodeled home had to be a dug up inside! A new home owner’s nightmare! We had only lived in our home for 2 months at this point!
But thankfully our home warranty (First American) sent by my standards, the best plumbers I could have hoped for. They sent Greg initially to survey our clog and he was thorough with his knowledge of what plumbing issues we might anticipate since he was able to tell it was a bigger problem than a simple clog. He showed up on Sunday ⁹⁄₂₀ and didn’t charge us since he wasn’t able to fix the problem and he had to show up the next day with extra help. They charge by the job and not by the day and were punctual, efficient, and very knowledgeable with our plumbing situation. They brought their own tools to dig up the ground, a camera to look into the pipes, tools to cut up the tile, and what impressed me the most was their setup in our hallway. They had to cut up our tiles and wood flooring to get to the pipes so they put up a plastic barricade in our hallway with dirt dug up about 4 feet high. It was definitely a work zone. But the following day after they had finished, it honestly looked like nothing happened! Not only is their work awesome, but so is their clean-​up work too (which is included in the pricing).
Also big kudos to Jonathan who did a lot of the work as well! You are amazing! And Robert came out to help us with filing a claim with our home owners insurance so we could at least get some reimbursement!
My husband and I are so elated! I know it is part of their job, but they are so good at what they do! So please hire them for any of your plumbing needs! Keep them in business!

Oh boy! Home warranty, grumpy old plumber, needs a part, maybe in next week… may come back next week… So negative and such attitude it’s as if you punched their child in the face. Receptionist is rude too not as bad as the plumber but as if you’re a major hassle to her day — now they answer the phone with an upbeat slogan but then the conversation deteriorates.
Reviews are accurate.

Do no use this company and never use their serviceman namer Serge too cause he will rip you off. My home warranty company sent out this company and a service man named Serge came out to look at my broken water heater.
First Serge was late 1 hr and company doesn’t bother to call and let you know either. Communication was horrible with them.
So I turned off the water to the house cause the water to the water heater was flowing out and the valve was broken too. So Serge would not turn on the water to the house to find out what is going on with the water heater. He asked me where the water was coming from and then said your water heater is finished and you need a new one.
Then Serge said I don’t like how all this looks and everything here needs to be replaced and the home warranty only pays for the water heater and I pay for the rest. So also my water heater is outside. Then Serge said your water heater and everything else is not up to code.
I called another plumber out and basically you can say that everything that Serge told me is full of shit and just wanted to make money off of me. The home warranty companies uses shady companies that has workers who try to rip you off

We were impressed that Greg quickly came to our house Thursday, July 23, because all our drains were clogged and water was backing up in the bathroom. However, when they attempted to ‘snake’ the line, they ran into a large obstruction. They gave us a quote on what work needed to be done and promised to return the next morning at 8 am to replace the pipe. They were on time, efficient and cleaned up the job site. We were so elated that the work was done so quickly that we gladly paid $ 750.00 for this 2 – 3 hour job. The pipe had been replaced and the major root ball was gone!
However, after they left, we realized that our main sewer line was not ‘snaked’ after the new pipe had been installed. We called the office and spoke with the receptionist who said she would check with Greg. The receptionist called back and said Greg said he had done it. We are sure it wasn’t done as we had seen the equipment on Thursday and that equipment was not in use Friday after the new pipe was installed. We were fully prepared to pay the $ 49.00 for the snake to ensure the pipe was cleared all the way to the street as we were not savvy enough to question if the $ 750.00 included the pipe cleaning after the root was removed.
Since our original call was for a sewer clean out — we just want to be sure we have had all the preventive maintenance done. We are not relishing the thought of calling another plumbing service. We would appreciate a call from Greg so we can be assured our plumbing headaches are over.
We appreciated Greg calling Mark as we had unexplained leaks from the slab and our carpet had wet spots in areas nowhere near a water source. Mark checked out possible causes and advised us not to rip out the carpeting until we had a ‘leak’ specialist determine where the leak might be coming from. Mark charged us $ 189.00 for his advice — again, well worth the money (especially since other plumbers in the area were not available anytime soon). As it turned out, once the sewer line was cleared of the rootball, the overflow from a nearby bathroom stopped, the carpet did not acquire any more wet spots and our problems were over.
We would use this service again — in an emergency, they are responsive and reliable. We were not in a position to shop around — we may have paid more than the going rate but all in all, it is good to know that someone was available to help us during this time.

Mike Stern plumbing came out twice on two separate issues. First issue they diagnosed that I needed a new pipe under the toilet and that would be $ 450. I got another opinion and It turned out to be a wax seal issue that was $ 120.
The second issue was a cracked and leaking pipe under the house. They refused to fix it because the ‘insurance company would only pay them $ 100″. Yes, they actually said that to me. But, they wrote up an excuse (our guys are too big) that has delayed my repair for weeks — all just to cover their tracks.

This company is awful. Do not use them. A grumpy old man showed up and refused to fix my two toilets. He claimed he knocked on my front door and when it was not opened he proceeded to walk in my home. I had contractors working in my house on something else so my front door was unlocked bug it was not opened. There are so many other plumbing companies, so please use someone else. This company was sent to me from my home warranty company; First American.

Jesus from Mike Stern plumbing came-​in yesterday to do a snake job on my home in Granada Hills. He was extremely nice, & informative. He relentlessly worked on the problem for 4 hours (Because my clean-​out was too damn small even for the little blade). Right away, he informed me that because of this, he won’t be able to do a proper job. Whereas most companies won’t tell you that upfront or at all. HONESTY! He proved right away that he’s not going to screw me out of my money
After all efforts have been done to fix whatever he could given that our home doesn’t have proper access to the pipes, he took his time explaining to me what needs to be done, & how much it’s going to cost. He guaranteed that he’s offering the lowest price and even suggested to contact other companies for quotes
Today, Jesus and his crew showed up bright and early ready to rock and roll. They’re installing a proper 4 inch wash-​out now as I’m typing this
I’ve dealt with a few plumbing companies before, and if I’m honest, Mike Stern has been the best. They’re friendly, honest, very professional, and have been more than patient in entertaining all of my plumbing inquiries. They really want you to fully understand what’s going on in your home, and doesn’t pressure you into hiring them to do the job. That’s one of the things I really like about them
There’s no doubt in my mind that I will be doing business with them again
If you want quality work that doesn’t rip your pockets into shreds, definitely do business w/​the Stern company

We bought an older home (1955) on a raised foundation that had mostly galvanized service that produced brown & murky water; this just needed to be re-​piped with copper.
I spent about 3 weeks getting quotes from four different companies. Learned a lot more about this process then I had ever thought… Steve and his son came out to the house several times during the estimate phase to explain and go over options with us.
I selected Stern Plumbing because of their personal touch and attention to detail. Since I was committed to going through this, I had a pretty big ‘wish list’. They were not the cheapest of the bunch but really wanted our business and made us feel the most comfortable in moving forward.
If you have never gone through a re-​pipe, then you should know it is probably a lot more involved and invasive then you think. There is a lot of sawing, cutting, pounding & soldering going on for several days as pipes are traced, replaced, connected and secured.
Steve and his crew spend about 5 days at my particular job which consisted of a complete re-​pipe (removal of two old water heaters out of the house and replace with one tankless & hot water recirculating system on side of house, new laundry service which including gas line and venting in garage, raising water valves and shower heads, ice maker service, faucets, water filtration and more…)
They were focused on the job and kept me apprised of progress and issues that needed remediation. They communicated well with each other as well as worked well with other contractors I had in the house. They were meticulous and clean as you could possibly imagine during a major project as this.
The job is done now and our family is very happy to have clean and plentiful hot water…
I highly recommend Stern Plumbing and will definitely be calling on them for all my plumbing needs from this point forward.