Mr. Rooter Plumbing
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“Free” service call by Mr. Rooter Plumbing
We called Mr. Rooter Plumbing because our water heater pilot wouldn’t stay lit. After doing some research, I figured it was probably the igniter or thermocouple, but I didn’t want to mess with it myself. My wife scheduled a free service call, knowing of course there would be a catch. The next day, a tech named Tom (goes by “Tommy”) showed up. Within 5 minutes of looking at the unit, he told us the entire water heater had to be replaced—for $2,500. On top of that, he claimed the pan and placement didn’t meet code and insisted it needed to be reinstalled 18 inches off the ground, which would cost another $2,000. That’s a total of $4,300 plus tax. When my wife called me to discuss, I tried speaking with him directly, but he constantly talked over me and wouldn’t listen. That was enough for me; I told him thanks but we’ll be taking our business elsewhere. We ended up ordering a brand-new water heater through Home Depot. With installation by Fast Water Heater, it cost us $1,800 plus tax. It was done the next day, and everything passed city code exactly where the old one sat. I don’t think everyone at Mr. Rooter operates like Mr Tommy, but my experience felt like a sales pitch disguised as a service call. Instead of actually diagnosing the issue, it was straight to an overpriced replacement and scare tactics about code compliance. The customer service was rude, and the upselling was not ethical. Do yourself a favor and get quotes from other vendors before signing with Mr. Rooter.