We had a water heater problem. Todd from Roto Rooter in Arcata came out promptly. He was very courteous and did an excellent job. Todd was thorough and conscientious. read more

We initially called Roto-rooter because all of our drains were backing up into the house, and as you can imagine, it was pretty gross. They came out, snaked from the outside drain and told us we needed our septic tanked pumped. He charged us $298 and gave a 90 day warranty. He looked me right in the eye and said "If you still have an issue after your tank is pumped, let us know. It's warrantied." It took some time for someone to come pump our tank as there are only 3 pump trucks in Humboldt County. And at the time, Roto-rooter didn't have a truck. So that leaves two operational trucks. Eventually, Steve's Septic (*****) came out and pumped the tank. Fabulous. The toilets flushed, the drains cleared and we thought we were back in business. Two weeks went by and the drains were backing up again. We called Roto-rooter, because, ya know, warranty... they came back out, snaked some more and it worked. The drains cleared and once again we thought everything was fine. Two more weeks go by and once again I feel like I'm living in Shit City. We call Roto-rooter, again because it's warrantied. They send a third guy out who immediately tells me "this isn't on the warranty." I pass that information along to my landlord. The plumber and I decide to let the Roto-rooter office and my landlord work that out and again, he snakes the outside drain, it clears. We think this time we must have got it! Then last week it started again. Drains gurgling and backing up. The landlord tells me to call Roto-rooter, which I did. I spoke with a woman named Cheryl who informs me that this trip will not be covered under warranty because "we've already been out there twice on that warranty." I responded "but it's still not fixed." She informs me that she'll do some research and let my landlord know. She was incredible rude and made it seem as if my plumbing issues were a big inconvenience to her. After arguing with Roto-rooter on the phone my landlord gave up and called Wycoff's. They sent a plumber out who found the problem and had it fixed in about an hour. He never even got a snake out. There was a broken pipe between the house and the septic tank and dirt and rocks were clogging it up. In summary: Roto-rooter sucks and does not stand by their "work" if you can even call it that. Wycoff's rules, in particular, Ryan. He's my poopy hero. **** additional note: Wycoff's charges less too! read more

This review is in two parts: the excellent service I received from the actual workers who came to our home: and the snotty woman in their office who answers my phone calls. We had a backed up septic drain to our tenants home and I called them, the woman on the phone was abrupt and treated me like I was an idiot as I did not know exactly what was wrong with our line- isn't that why you call these guys? Jeez. Anyway the worker dude came out was super nice and quickly ascertained that our septic tank was full and backed up- and quickly got the pumper truck out to pump our tank and he did not charge us for his visit! So he calls the woman to arrange the pumping and I could hear her yelling at him about " why didn't he check that out first?" The worker apologized profusely for her attitude. Then the boss comes out and pumps our tank - this is within an hour of finding out the tank was full- which I found was amazing.!they were great! So five stars for the pumpers and the boss but no stars for the snotty woman in the office who tries to make people feel like idiots. I asked the worker dude "why do you even have her?". He of course couldn't answer that one. Just beware of her. The workers and the service were above and beyond. Great and competitive price for pumping the tank also- I did call Steve's real quick and their price was the same but they couldn't come out right away. read more

I had a service from roto roooter and was very dissatisfied with the services performed by the tech. I left a comment on the website and was called the next morning by a local representative who went out of her way to correct the problem to 100% satisfaction. The customer service here is awesome, and as for the services, it seemed to be that specific tech and not the whole organization, so definitely consider for your next plumbing need. read more

If the Roto Rooter in Fortuna is still in business do not ever ever use them! The woman who answers the phones and makes appointments is the rudest person I have ever met. They were late for my appointment and showed up with a child in tow - seriously the technician was baby sitting his son. Then he couldn't even locate my septic tank and then proceeded to send me a bill. read more

Avoid this company. I had a guy come over to fix a leak, he told me it was a big job and charged 300. I needed it fixed bad so I payed. It took him 20 minutes to fix it with a 4 inch piece of copper pipe. My contractor friend told me I had just been ripped off. I called rotorooter and asked for some money back. The service guy came back to my house yelled at me and tried to physically intimidate me. I thought I was going to get my butt kicked by this huge guy. He ended up giving me 90 back on the fix. Stay away from this company. Find a good local person to help you instead. read more

Real ass holes. My hot water heater stopped working out of no where and it's been giving me issues throughout the week, halfway through a shower it would just turn off. We called mad river plumbing to come and service the heater. They never said a thing about showing up, and just randomly appeared at the door. Started working around the heater. The older Austrian guy was just talking shit the whole time on my dad that owns the house. The younger guy was keeping it cool and trying to tell us why he couldn't fix it when the older assistant guy was just shit talking. Couldn't even figure out the problem in the end. When we asked for names they just stayed quiet and left. Do not suggest these guys unless you want to experience the worse customer service as they talk shit on you the whole time and leave. Nothing got fixed. .. we currently are still taking cold showers. read more

I called because of a stubborn clogged toilet, and, within an hour, Abraham came to save the day. The service was quick, friendly, and professional. I will be calling again in the future. read more

They were 2 hours late and did not even have the courtesy to call. Finally showed and completed the job in 15 min. Charged me $135. I asked if all plumbing companies charged like that. By the hour or job. His reply was "hour and that is why they call us the best as well as the big boys". I was appalled. I was curious if they were a chain that any ass could buy into. Skip forward 2 weeks later same sink, same problem. Took 19 min. Charged for a 19 minute price and the plumber was kind and fair. Please support local businesses. They obviously appreciate it far better than a corporate chain. If there were a minus star rating I would give minus 5 read more

I called Mad River Plumbing needing immediate assistance as my sewer was backed up. They were at my house within the hour. It was quite a mess and they were able to clear it out within 2 hours. I was very impressed and will call them in the future. read more

I gave rotor rooter 1 star because I had to give a star in order to give a review . Recently we called to have some one to come and check out our sewer line . We suspected that we were having problems with root growth through the sewer pipe. The line was not plugged but we thought we'd head off the problem before it became a problem . The woman that answered the phone said there would be a service charge of 39.00 to have a plumber come take a look . Once the plumber took a look , he would give us a cost for the project . So the plumber comes out on time , takes a look and says the job will be an additional 260.00 to snake the line. Now bare in mind we had ran an electrical line and did additional prep work to make sure the job would be quick and easy . I guess what my beef with this company is is that most people wait until there is a problem . Your pretty much held hostage to what ever this company wants to change. Your are at their mercy and pay. This company doesn't charge by the hour . They give you an base price (apparently 39.00 plus 260.00) and tell you that their may be additional charges . Now we are senior citizens but I'm willing to bet that most people can't afford that cost. AGAIN YOU ARE AT THIS COMPANIES MERCY. It would be nice if you were given a service charge (39.00) and an hourly rate instead of some arbitrary number this company decides throw at you. Many people are on fixed incomes and need to know how much a service will cost . Now we were lucky that we could tell this company to take a hike. We will call someone else or do the work ourselves . Just know that the company Rotor Rooter is in the business (we feel ) of taking advantage of people in crisis . read more

Really disappointing... I had a broken wax seal on my toilet, so I called mad river plumbing. They showed up and were done quickly, the bill was well over $300, and they left a big smear of glue on the bathroom floor that wouldn't come off. After a couple of weeks it was obvious that the seal was broken again- only worse this time. I called them back and was treated rudely by the receptionist, only to have them show up, spit in my front yard, and demand to be paid again! I said "you were just here and did it wrong", and he gave me some nonsense implying that we must shake the toilet when we wipe? The toilet doesn't shake at all. Not even a little. I politely declined paying twice for bad work, called their office- again treated rudely by the receptionist, and asked to speak with the owner/manager who was "at lunch". Did I ever get a call back? Nope. I called Maples Plumbing to fix the toilet, and they were awesome! Just over $200... They were kind, efficient, and did great work! I would never call mad river plumbing for anything ever, if I were you. read more

Had work done by the Arcata, CA, Roto-rooter business. The plumber did not have a card reader and instead wrote down all my debit card information on his invoice. The Arcata franchise owner's nephew, Malik, was with the plumber that day at my house. That same night Malik tried to charge over $100.00 in computer games to my debit card. It took me several hours to straighten it all out with my bank. I am still waiting for my new debit card. The plumber fixed my clogged drain in about 15 to 30 min. total. They just called me demanding payment and offering $18.00 discount for the inconvenience. I said I did not feel that I owed them anything after the attempted fraud by Malik, who they sent into my home, (He did nothing but stand and watch the entire time). I thought we should consider everything even considering the attempted theft. I told them I would never give them a card number again, who would??. They told me I was not a nice person!! (In very loud tones) and to never call Roto-rooter again. I did not swear once and I did not even raise my voice, though their office assistant did quite a bit of yelling. Most of it about how I was much nicer before I mentioned that I could still file a police report, about the misuse of my card information and Malik's attempted theft. Very unprofessional and very emotional. I would never use them again. read more

We have used the services of Roto-Rooter twice in the last year (2016). First was a draining issue, they completed the job in a timely and efficient manner at a responsible charge. The job was done correctly because the water still continues flow perfectly. Today Roto-Rooter installed a new gas line. The two men worked in harmony with each other, job was completed, and our home and yard was left very clean. My husband approved the cost estimate before the work began. There were no hidden charges, and the men were very nice and polite. read more

The people in the office are very helpful. Also a Uhaul rental location.

What you don't want to do with this company is call them on a weekend.....they charged me $368 to come and snake my drains. I can understand the extra charge for Sunday, but I really don't believe working on a Saturday is considered a non-work day.......many many people have to work on Saturday's. there was some miscommunication with the dispatcher and I waited 4 hours for someone to call me. When I called back they said they didn't have me down for a service call. So I had to go through the whole thing again. I did get a call a short time later that I almost didn't answer because the caller I'd said " no caller ID " ...... ever saw that one before.......he barely spoke English and I had a hard time understanding him. He got to the house and did the job.....but I am still upset about the charges. You just can't pick a right time for your drain to plug up. Companies really take advantage of people in need. read more

After Graham sold this business to Roto Rooter it has gone seriously downhill and we won't be able to use them anymore as a result. Very unfortunate. Very poor service. Unprofessional. Very unsatisfactory. And their pricing structure has gone through the roof. Unfortunate. read more