Mr. Rooter Plumbing

Steve, the owner of Mr. Rooter in Oakland, showed up on very short notice to fix gas lighting problems at our water heater and floor heater. He did that with great humour and intelligence so that we actually could learn how to help ourselves in future. A week earlier, his son Spencer had installed an automatic gas shut-​off valve as an earthquake safety tool — this also was a very nice experience — he, too, explained the most important things to know in operating this device. We definitely will call them again for any other problems related to plumbing, heating etc.

We called Mr. Rooter to unclog an upstairs bathroom drain (tub, sink, toilet) line on a holiday. The service plumber arrived on time and inspected the situation. He was very careful to use shoe covers while inside the house. Our main sewer drain line had a cleanout half way under the house, but it was only one way which led to the street and not back up to the upstairs bathroom. We agreed that a 2 way cleanout would be best for the long run, so another appointment had to be scheduled for the next day since he had to get all the parts needed to modify our drain line. This was disappointing and we had to endure another day of slow draining tub and toilet. Finally, the work was done and the drain unclogged the next day! The entire job was done neatly and the service plumber was very professional. I will call them again for any plumbing problems that may come up in the future.

Big success. Scott Ferguson of Mr Rooter was prompt, friendly, thoughtful and good. Upstairs tub not draining in 100 year old house. Prior attempts to snake unsuccessfully as would go up vent. Scott checked the roof vent (not easily accessible) then carefully located and accessed /​snaked the separate tub drain line from where entered our main sewer. No walls damaged. Very happy!

I called Mr. Rooter on a Wednesday and told them my daughter put a My Little Pony doll down the toilet and clogged it. Mr. Rooter gave me an arrival time for that same day (1star). Chris the plumber who has over 23 years experience and the nicest man you’ll ever meet who was passionate about his job after speaking with him briefly, shows up earlier then the estimated time (2stars). He pulled the toy out in minutes and was on his way, but not after mentioning to Chris that I had tried myself to unclogged the toilet and felt a blockage in the actual drain and not the toilet. He gave me his word that it was all good and I excepted that.(½star).
However, after serious use on the toilet on the third day on the toilet it was clogged again. When I called the office and told them the situation they wanted to charge me again since the plumber pulled out the toy. After explaining to them that even though he did the issue was still not resolved. (½ star removed).
In conclusion, they told me to call back when the Owner Steve who I might add has 40 years in business and is the other nicest person you’ll ever meet come to my house personally and checked out the situation. He was able to work his magic and showed proof that the problem was resolved at no extra charge (1 ½ star). Half a star was removed because of a misunderstanding with the office on the phone. Would recommend to anyone who needs a plumber.

These guys are the BEST!!! Our sewer clean out, actually both of them, were stopped up and there was raw sewage spilling in our yard. Mr. Rooter came to the rescue! I have used this company for 5 years, on the recommendation of our neighbor, who is a plumber. They are great! Alex came out today with a snake, and when it wouldn’t work after three passes, called his manager Steve, who came out and together they solved the problem. Sludge in the line, in 2 places. Thicker than oatmeal. They finally broke it up enough to clean out the line, and everything is running fine now. Extra kudos to this company for staying on the job and getting it done. I will be calling them again and again. Thanks Alex and Steve and Mr. Rooter! The BEST!

I called Mr Rooter in Sept to fix a root problem that was clogging my toilet. They came out and gave me a price. I had them put me on the schedule. A couple of weeks later I called and they said that they were still aware of my job but still couldn’t do it yet. I said well I hope the roots don’t grow back. She said well it hasn’t been a month has it? No I said but roots grow fast. So its Dec and in the meantime I had a major leak and had to gut my bathroom and do major work so I called BKG Plumbing and they fixed it for about 1000. less than Mr Rooter quoted me. I called them back to see if they were ever going to schedule my work and she said yes I was just looking at that I’ll have to talk to the boss and see whats going on with that. And I said they didn’t have to worry about it, I had it fixed. But what is going on there that you never came to fix it. She said well it might not have been warm enough. It was in Sept I said. Well Im not sure why I will relay the message to the boss. OMG!

Our kitchen garbage disposal/​sink had been leaking so we called Mr. Rooter Plumbing to send someone out. The lady who answered the phone was very friendly and helpful. It was easy to set up an appointment right away– and she also let me know there was no charge for someone to come and look at what the problem was!
Sean came to help us out the next morning, and was very helpful, friendly and honest! He easily identified that my garbage disposal was just loose, and quickly adjusted it. He also took the time to show my sister and I how to catch the problem next time. He was only in the house a few minutes, but was so nice and helpful. I will definitely call Mr Rooter for any problems in the future– and definitely request Sean!

I own a condo near where I live. My tenant called me about a clogged kitchen drain so I called Mr. Rooter because I had a $ 79 coupon. The plumber called me from the condo saying the clog was much more extensive and would cost $ 225. This seemed a little accessive but I agreed. Shortly afterwards, he called again to tell me there was a leak under the sink in the pipe that leads to the main drain under the complex. He would have to break out the wall to get access and that the repair would cost $ 2250, but that would also include the original $ 225. When I told him that was too expensive and was going to get another estimate, he pushed hard to convince me to accept his price,
I then called a plumber I have used in the past who estimated the repair at $ 650. He is doing the work today. The whole experience felt a little like bait and switch. Lure the customer with a low offer, charge more for additional work, then pitch an expensive repair by phone to an owner who is not on the premises.

I messed up and put some really hard stuff (basil stems) down the garbage disposal that jammed up the drain completely (not the GD; it worked). Tried the usual almost useless liquid (Drano); that didn’t even touch the problem. So, even though it was Sunday, I called my usual plumber. The woman who answered (obviously an answering service) was very nice and said someone would call me back in 15 minutes. Half hour later and no call. So i checked the web and found Mr. Rooter.
The woman who answered was very polite, said she would call back. Within 5 minutes she called and said that Chris was just finishing a job in my area and would be over in a half hour. Shortly after that Chris called and said he would be over shortly. Less than 45 minutes later Chris pulls up in front, comes to the door, puts on his booties (not everyone does that), and inspects the situation. He goes back to the truck, pulls out his tools and a bunch of towels (to protect our floor and sink), and gets to work.
In about an hour he has pulled the pipes, snaked the drain, cleaned out the traps, cleaned up the mess in the sink, put his tools away, and handed me a bill. I thought the price was a bit high, but it was Sunday and it was a nasty job. He also gave us some hints on how to take care of the GD and the drains to help keep them cleaned out. So, I’m not unhappy about the price. If (when??) it happens again, Mr Rooter will be the go to outfit.

We are remodeling our kitchen and our contractor noticed dirt in our drain. I looked on Unilocal for businesses and found that Mr. Rooter’s answering service was 24/​7, and set up an appointment the next day after my call. Other businesses listed with Unilocal did not return my calls in a timely manner, but Mr. Rooter was not only able to talk with me about the work we needed, they sent out a technician to give an estimate, with no obligation to pay any fees.
If you get Spencer, you are fortunate because he is knowledgeable, able to communicate effectively about the work needed, and offers options about your needs.
We had Spencer video the main line through the accessible clean out and also ran a cable line to attempt to clear the stoppage. He assured us that the line is currently not backing up, but that we should consider doing a hydro scrub and possibly installing a newer clean out in the sewer line. We would not hesitate to call Mr. Rooter for this work in the future and for other plumbling needs.
Thank you Spencer!

Just want to update, that after several visits for different issues over the years that Mr. Rooter is still our go-​to. We just had them come out for something that turned out to be extremely minor and they would not charge us. They recognize the importance of developing a relationship with repeat customers. I really appreciate that.

Yesterday we had a plumber try to clear our clogged sewer line without success, we finished up getting a referral to Mr. Rooter as it appeared the line needed to be hydro pressure cleaned which is a scary and expensive process and they would have the equipment to tackle the job.
Today, we had the good fortune of having Spencer and Steve come out to deal with the problem. Spencer assured me that they could probably clear the line without the use of the water jet but if not that would be the back up plan. Spencer really seemed to know his stuff and was very convincing, both Spencer and Steve were highly professional. Anyway, to cut a long story short, they were successful and had the line cleared in a relatively short time using some sort of paddle snake which is designed to handle what they call ‘soft blockages”. They then put a camera through the length of the line to show that it was clear, the camera went as far as our lateral and we could see the blockage was gone, everything clean as a whistle!
Not only did we deal with two great guys but we saved money as well which we can put toward replacing some buckled floor boards. Our hats are off to Spencer and Steve for a great job done.
We would also like to commend the office staff, Melody and another young lady (didn’t write her name down, sorry) both of them could not have been nicer and more concerned.
I’ve read a lot of negative feedback’s for Mr. Rooter but I have to say they are totally the opposite of my experience, we would use their service again with no qualms if ever there was a need.
Five big stars well earned, many many thanks

Here’s a letter I just wrote to the manager of Mr. Rooter in Oakland:
Hi Steve,
I just wanted to give you some feedback about the job we had Carl come out for yesterday. We needed a gas line capped from a defunct hot tub (left behind from the previous owners of our house). Carl came for a free estimate yesterday. He pointed out that the part of the pipe that was visible and above ground was PVC, totally illegal and dangerous. He said he couldn’t see where the PVC connected to a main gas line, whether under the deck or under the house. We suggested he look under the house. He said he couldn’t see anything and was too big to crawl into the crawl space so instead he told me to hire someone to pull up the boards of the deck to see where the pipes lead. Carl told me that it would cost $ 400+ for him to come back after the deck had been opened up and he left. He left a job that he said was «the most dangerous he’s seen in 9 years» but was unwilling to go into our crawl space to look around and figure out how to deal with it.
It immediately got someone over to pull up the boards that Carl recommended. This handyman arrived before Carl even left, but he wouldn’t wait till the boards had been pulled up (obviously didn’t care at all about getting the job done, keeping my home safe or anything like that). First of all, the area he recommended we pull up the boards wasn’t where the pipe actually was. And when we found the pipe, it just went underground and there was nothing to see or do under the deck.
Through a personal recommendation, I got another plumber, the one I will certainly be employing from now on, named Andrew Carothers-​Liske, to come to the house that evening. The minute he walked in the door he said that the place to cut off the gas to that pipe would be under the house. He shut off the gas to the house, went into the crawl space and in less than an hour, he had cut the gas line to the hot tub and capped it. The whole job cost me $ 132. This plumber was courteous, smart (he knew right away where to find the gas line and it DIDN’T require cutting open our deck) and was willing to do what it took to fix this very dangerous situation while he was here.
On the most basic level, I wouldn’t recommend sending plumbers out to jobs if they aren’t willing to go into the crawl space of a house. Furthermore, he didn’t know what he was doing, and wasn’t willing to do what it took to find and fix the problem. And he wanted to charge 4x what another plumber charged.
Your telephone hold message has a whole spiel about how your plumbers are courteous. I have worked with several plumbers in your firm and there is a similar attitude amongst them: flippant, rude, zero customer service and frankly, somewhat incompetent. They are not responsive to what the client wants and needs, and don’t take any pride in getting the job done right. We’ve met you and worked with you and this didn’t seem to be the type of attitude you would want from your employees. And yet, it is very consistently what they are like.
We certainly won’t be coming back and I thought you’d like to know. I’m glad I at least have found a good plumber to work with in the future.

We had a drain back up emergency and with all of the recent storming, every place I called was booked for at least the day or two. They were able to get a technician out to me same day and give me a very reasonable quote!
The technician (Scott) was very pleasant and helpful. They made my day!
Thanks!

Called and Sergio was here in under 20 minutes to replace a broken sump pump. Basement was flooding fast and he just came on over and took care of business. I will definitely call again when I have plumbing needs.

I am a property owner in oakland and need occasional work done on rentals. …I only wish the proffesionalism of the plumbers was as good as the office staff.
Not quite sure I will be using this service again.

I didn’t even get to the plumbers because the woman representative who answered the call was so horrible. If I could give these guys a zero I would.
I called a competitive company after and got the best customer service!
It doesn’t take a lot to be nice to people calling to give you business. Train your representatives who initially answer the phone to treat people like human beings.

You’re lucky just to get 1 star… This all started back on May 30^th 2013 when my garbage disposal was not working. I told my building manager Asset Property to fix it thinking they would send over the maintenance guy but instead Carl S. from Mr. Rooter Plumping knocks on my door. I told him the garbage disposal was not working and that I inspected it myself but found nothing inside the drain and that I pushed the reset button but not luck. In less than 2 minutes, Carl looks and checks in the drain and tells me do I have the garbage disposal key. I said No, so he jammed a screw driver inside the disposal to reset the button and then it was fixed. Carl gave me his card and said if I need anything to call him.
Thinking everything was good for a quick fix, I get a letter in the mail from Asset Property demanding I reimburse them $ 182.50 for the diagnostics job because Carl (Mr.Rooter) falsely stated on the invoice that broken glass was the problem; «#8 Arrive to find the garbage disposal not working due to broken glass. Clean out glass and reset. Test the unit; now working properly. Recommend using strainer to prevent anything from falling down.»
1^st: there was NO BROKEN GLASS inside the drain, nor did he ever talk about it or show me that glass was the problem. 2^nd: he never mentioned anything about using a strainer. Why should I pay for a job that he falsely claimed he did? Carl S. is a crook and a liar.
I called the office and spoke with the front desk lady and left the manager Steve a voicemail about this situation and warned him I would rip them a new hole on Unilocal if this isn’t fixed but he never called me back. So after a month of thinking I would hear from the manager, I call Carl and told him what was up. He says, «I don’t remember that job, just give me the invoice number and I’ll look at my notes and call you back.» Well, after calling him back 5 times and leaving voicemails over a month, he still to this day never called me back. All they had to do was admit there there was no broken glass to Asset Property and I wouldn’t have to pay back the money.
But No, now having to pay back $ 182.50 to Asset Property for something that never was the cause, really makes me angry. All he did was reset the garbage disposal and now I have to pay for his mistake. If only Carl was truthful in his invoice none of this would have happened. Only to falsify in his report really makes Mr. Rooter a horrible plumbing company and DO NOT do business with them because they are crooks and employee lairs.
For the future, I advise video recording your visits with Mr. Rooter because you never know what false claims their plumbers will report they did. Mr. Rooter has horrible customer service and is bad at calling customers back. Who needs Mr. Rooter Plumbing when I could have learned to reset the garbage disposal with a screwdriver myself by looking on Youtube. Avoid Mr. Rooter Plumbing at all cost!

A few years back we spent nearly $ 20,000 for a trenchless sewer line, basically plastic pipe, that was «guaranteed» to solve our root problems. Within months the line started backing up and I was so mad I refused to call them. I just rented a snake and did it myself. This happened twice since then.
This morning, yet another backup. I called and asked for service, and the tech called me back and said he’d arrive in a couple of hours. Five hours later, I called back. This company apparently has no way for the tech to communicate with their answering service. The tech called back and said he couldn’t make it after all. Great.
At the exorbitant prices this company charges you’d think service just might be decent, if not great. They’ve definitely lost a customer.

We had used Mr. Rooter a few years back for a clogged kitchen sink and was impressed with their plastic booties that they slip over their shoes when they came in. Yes, it may seem like a small thing but it’s nice that they think about these small details. When we had issues with the guest bathroom toilet and sink this time, we knew who to call. Although they give you a two hour window when you make the appointment, they give you a call when they are on the way.
Although I had a typed up a list of about 8 issues (some small like replacing a washer), Spencer was very knowledgeable and within a few minutes of going through it, was able to give me a price estimate before starting. He was super efficient and very patient in explaining what the issues were, what he had done to fix it, and what the next steps would be if unresolved.
As for pricing, not sure if it is more than others but it’s better to get it done right and there is a reason why this place averages 4 stars while others are 2 and yes, I am still impressed with those plastic booties!