Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services

Address:	2600 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121, USA
Phone:	+1 206-935-6600
Site:	rotorooter.com
Rating:	4.6
Working:	Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Vic Hardy

My mothers drains were clogged up so she called RR. They were supposed to come in the afternoon but arrived at 8:30AM. My mother (who is 90) let them in and they ran a video where they said it stopped at the foundation and that the pipe had shifted; it could be roots but likely the pipe had shifter and that they needed to dig outside. They gave her an estimate of $8,800 and had her initial a work order (Im assuming since I was not there). My sister was sleeping though all of the and when she called I got ahold of RR and cancelled the work. They had already sent out a worker to mark for gas lines and the excavation crew was on their way. Needless to say they wanted to start digging ASAP. The work order also said they would dig a hold 5 long and 7 deep. If there was more damage they would likely have to replace the entire sewer line to the street at considerably higher cost. I then called the person who had come over and asked why he did not first try to snake it out? At first he said he couldnt see clearly in the video because of the sewage, then said that he could not get his 200 pound machine down the basement stairs. I asked if they had a smaller machine and he said no, that maybe somebody else did. I called another plumber right after that and he came to the house and cleared the blockage with his snake/machine. (+1 for Gene Johnson Plumbing...) This borders on fraud by taking advantage of somebody who doesnt know any better. I would stay away from Roto Rooter with a 10 foot pole. I reached out to roto-rooter customer service had have yet to get a response. Update: 6/15/17 Lance Shippy, the Commercial manager of the Seattle office reached out to me to explain their procedures and we had a civil conversation. While he explained the policy of safety when moving a 300 pound snake machine down the stairs, its not clear that the technician called for a 2nd man to assist. In any event, Gene Johnson Plumbing had no problem (might have been a smaller machine). Lance will have a heart to heart talk with the technician when the tech returns from vacation and will report to me what comes of it. Even though Im still unhappy with the leap from a $500 roto job to a $9,000 excavation, Im pleased that Lance took the time to talk with me about it.

Erika Snyder

Technician tried jetting drainage pipes from our gutters (water was pooling near our foundation) and he wasnt able to clear them. We paid for the full hour of jetting ($600!), but he only spent 15-20 minutes trying to clear pipes. Shouldnt this be pro-rated? Called to complain about an hour after he left because I was stewing. Roto Rooter said a dispatcher would be calling and they would send another technician to try again when they became available. Didnt hear anything for 4 hours and called back to check. The dispatcher I talked to said that the soonest he could get somebody out would be Monday, but changes are it could be even Tuesday (it was Saturday....). I told him no matter how many days it took, I still wanted to somebody to come out and try again. He kept repeating himself, almost like he was trying to convince me to give up. Sorry, but for $580 I am not going to give up. Sunday - dispatch calls at 11 and says they can have someone out momentarily. The technician shows up and I explain the situation (nobody filled him in on anything). He says he needs to talk to his supervisor before trying the jetting again. Goes to his van for awhile and makes the phone call. Comes back out and says that he has been granted permission to work for free (sorry, but I already paid...this isnt "free"). He actually works for a full 45 minutes and manages to clear one of the 4 problem areas. Woohoo! Finally some progress. If I was just reviewing the 2nd technician, I would probably give a 3 star rating. However, overall I couldnt believe: 1) The price for an hour of jetting ($580.00 including tax for an hour) - that is crazy! 2) The first technicians lack of service and professionalism - I felt more unsatisfied with this visit than any other service Ive ever requested in my life 3) The service and attitude from the dispatcher - he literally was trying to get me to give up on getting something for the large amount of money I dished out.

1945bill3

We called Roto-Rooter to help unclog a slow draining toilet and sink. After several hours, the crew discovered that there was also blockage outside the house. This blockage necessitated digging up a small part of a flower bed adjacent to the house foundation, cutting into the sewer line and installing another line in order to flush the sewer line. This process took about 4-5 hours, at night time. The crew was responsive, professional and friendly and did a commendable job. However: In order to reach the main sewer line the crew also had to cut out a block of concrete and remove a small concrete/brick trim wall around the outside flower bed. Although the crew refilled the hole they dug with soil and concrete the crew failed to replace the concrete/brick trim wall; the crew failed to remove the concrete forms; the crew failed to clean up the dirt and sludge that was deposited against the foundation of the house. Bottom line: the last part of the service, e.g., replacing the small trim wall and cleaning-up was not completed --- a task we have finally completed. Also, at every major step of the process, the crew attempted to upsell me to additional services claiming that more work had to be done; one quote for one small project was $12.5k but the crew said they would do the work for $4k. Something stinks (pardon the pun). Bottom line: the overall rating is disappointing not because of the work but because of the crews neglect in cleaning up after their work. A follow-up: we made final payment for services on one credit card but Roto Rooter charged two credit cards the exact same amount for the final payment. In other words, we were double charged.

Katherine Sidener

If there can be a rating for Zero star, I would give them that. I had a leaked toilet and a shower drain back up at the same time. They came and snaked clean out the pipe by opening a hole in the wall to access the pipe instead of removing the toilet to do so. I asked them why and they said once the pipe is cleaned out it will be all good. They proceeded to do the work and charged me $800 for it. The toilet continues to leak after they left and I had to call another company to fix it. It turns out the toilet flange was broken and needs replacement and the section of the pipe between the toilet and where they cleaned out needs to be cleaned out so major $$ to bring in equipment etc. Not only was the work done wrong, the attitude of the employees were not professional. Dont ever hire Roto-Rooter. The other company I got to fix the whole thing was Beacon Plumbing and they did a terrific job. They were very professional: explained the whole problem, what needs to be done, why and cost and had my agreement before they proceed. They even alerted me to print out the coupons from the website to get me a better pricing. They rock. If you have drainage problems, call Beacon Plumbing. Also, they found out the branch pipe from the house to the street sewer cracked in a number of places and needed replacement. They did the whole job including getting city permit and inspection etc all within a couple of days. Terrific guys. The plumber who helped me is Diontea and his apprentice Sam. Very professional, efficient and had my best interest at heart!