Olsson Plumbing

Always ready to drive out and help no matter what. Thanks for saving our toilet plenty of times!

It was a great experience dealing with Marcus from Olsson.   He arrived at the beginning of our 4 hour window of time, which saved me from waiting around all day.  He made short work of the annoying leaky faucet and slow draining tub.  And his demeanor was very professional and he seemed very capable.

They performed services, charged us what seemed to be a very large amount, and did not send a bill before they charged us.

you know that you have a winner when your high school kid becomes a fan on facebook of the Center for the Arts theater nerds and comments that ... you know your a CFA nerd when you only use the bathrooms at the center because their nicer  than the the rest of the School.
You can thank Olsson Plumbing for being the Plumbing Contractor responsible for those wonderful bathrooms.
Horray for sensored sinks and toilets :)

Out main line was clogged. Adam came over and helped us to remove the clog from the line. Adam is experienced, honest and great at what he does. His charges where resonable as compared to any other plumber would have charged for the job. I highly recommend Olsson Plumbing for any issues related to plumbing. Kudos to Adam and team

Use at your own risk. 1st day plumber comes over snakes the 1st drain successfully. I say the upstairs drain is still not draining. He looks goes outside on the other side of the house and says, whomever did this it is wrong. The pipe needs to be replaced. It should be a Y not a T I can fix tomorrow. 1st visit $210.
He is here 4 hours the next day and says don't worry I know what I am doing. I've been doing this a long time. The T still looks like a T, not a Y. The upstairs drain has a new P trap and is draining. $700. I call my friend who says I was ripped off. Yes the new pipe should resemble the old one but not like that. I call Olsson Plumbing and tell them and Plumber returns appologizing within an hour or so. I can't sleep tonight knowing I made mistake. I take $350 off the bill. I call my friend who says, you're still being ripped off. I should only pay for the new P trap and nothing more. I was charged for a 2nd snake and was told they CHARGE BY DRAIN not by call out. Had the plumber not tried to rip me off with a new pipe he would have snaked the 2nd drain out the 1st day. I put in a 3rd call to the company and the owner still hasn't called back.

The plumber admitted he made a mistake replacing pipe that didn;t need replacing only after I called the office questioning his work. I was charged for a 2nd snaking when it could have been done on the 1st day. To change a P trap it was over $120. Unless you have money to throw away don't use this company. Shady doesn't even begin to describe their practices. There's still a hole in the side of my house even though he said he would come back and put foam in it. I've waited a week to write this review. I have given them ample time to fix this. Next step credit card dispute and then one of the media outlets. Shame on Olsson Plumbing.

Excellent service, prompt and knowledgeable.  From the time I made call to the office for service to the time James left, I couldn't ask for better service!  Had a leak under my sink, my dishwasher wasn't draining.  James, installed new flex, fixed the dishwasher, even bolting it down, replaced my new faucet and cleaned up the work area.  All the while explaining every step of his work progress.  And was charged a very reasonable price.  We have used Olsson's before, and were lucky to get James then.  I highly recommend Olsson's for your plumbing needs.

Overpriced, won't give you a detailed line item breakdown of the padded expenses and costs on the job.  Charged me $2300 for a $1400 water heater, then wouldn't itemize the additional costs in any detail, and were really defensive about it.  That tells you all you need to know. They had me over a barrel on a job for my rental unit and I paid them promptly for their full billed amount, but I don't think these guys are trustworthy.  Beware.
John Olenchalk

We recently hired Olsson's to work on a major project in our home, and I was happy to find out that they weren't booked, and could technically commit 4 days to our project (did they stay the whole day?  no.  did they drag the project out two weeks longer than necessary?  yes.)

My past experience with plumbers (Roto Rooter type plumbers) have always been horrendous -- rude, gruff, macho men type plumbers -- and so the staff from Olsson's has been surprisingly pleasant, polite, and lovely smelling!  All of their crew seem to know exactly what to do, even with a monster project like mine, and seemed to know what they were talking about...even though they never seemed to sit down and just do the damn work.  When they actually did do the work, they were  considerate in asking me exactly what I wanted them to do, rather than just making guesses based on industry standards -- ex. did I want the shower height at 6'6, or lower?

A typical day:

They are supposed to get here at 8 am.  

8:30 am: Van pulls up outside, plumber curls up for a nap
9:30 am: Plumber wakes up, smokes a cigarette
9:45 am: Walks to get coffee
10:00 am: Smokes more, drinks coffee
10:30 am: Comes in, begins commentary about how much work there is to do, oh what a busy day it will be.

See what I mean?

I wouldn't use the words efficient or on time to describe my experience with Olsson's, but I would call them up if I ever need a small plumbing job around the house (because I am never, ever planning on having so much plumbing done as we did this time!  never!!).  I just don't think they had a lot of time management skills to gear them through a project of our size.  Live and learn.

And no ass cracks!  Anywhere!!  WHERE WERE THE ASS CRACKS?!?

We had a clogged drain issue that I was worried could have been worse. Jimmy from Olsson came by and was one of the nicest and helpful trade technician I have had the pleasure of helping me. Jimmy showed me what the cause of the issues were, how to resolve them myself if they occur again in the future. I feel bad for the folks who have had a negative experience because I had such a good experience with Olsson and Jimmy. Olsson was the company who gave me a next day appointment where everyone else was a week or so away.

Thank you Jimmy and Olsson.

It was not until my husband called to talk to you about the intimidation I felt at being charged $150 more than quoted that the price was reduced to $575. When the plumber left my house he had me sign a charge for $715. The part that was missing was a part he told me HE should have stocked on his truck, but had not.

Don't bother calling if you have an emergency on a weekend. Their answering service will tell you that you'll get a return phone call ASAP, but you will wait all day and you will call several times and the answering service will apologize and empathize with you, and they will leave multiple messages, but no. No one will even give you the courtesy of a phone call to let you know that they are too busy to come out and make that emergency repair. You are not worth that brief phone call. So don't bother with this place if it's an emergency. It really is a waste of your time. Literally.

I have used them before and been satisfied, but I had them install a new low flow toilet which started leaking within a week.  When they came to fix it they said the box ring and failed and put in a new one.  Sounds OK.  They also said me flange was loose and if (or when) this box ring failed, the flange would have to be replaced.  Why not fix it now?  He also said that the caulking around the outside edge of the toilet would stop the leak.  Right, that means the water is going to accumulate under the toilet and it will be leaking only I won't know it.  Since they were have to fix this for free, I guess I shouldn't complain, but the guy was pretty unhelpful.  I'm going to try someone else when the flange fails.

I had an emergency water heater failure and called Adam.  He arranged to have a professional technician come up within a couple of hours and replaced my water heater.  Happy Wife! Happy Life!

We've used Olsson many times over the years and have been satisfied. Jimmie is the person we have had and he is very capable. But, it seems lately that they are trying to unsell us on additional work vs. focusing on the work at hand. Not sure if it's new ownership, but they have taken on a Big O Tire approach, which is using additional items at you, for additional charges. The last two times we have had Olsson here, we have experiences this tactic, while their hourly rate has gone up as well. It just seems like they are focused on the wrong thins these days, thus we had to move on after 15 years or so. I won't say who we are now using, because we don't want them to get too busy to respond to our needs.

Thank you so much James, and Olsson Plumbing I have been using these guys for over 10 yrs. I have never had any problems with them, on time, quick and gets the job done right the 1st time. Love the fact that when I call the lady who takes the calls knows who I am, very nice plumbers all of them.... and I will be using them over and over again. you all are  WONDERFUL! thank you so so much.... :)

Called at 10 pm with a water leak waited 90 minutes no driver yet ?
so i call dispatch and they say we cant get a hold of the driver ? so when were you going to call me and let me know ?

I never got Olsson plumbing to show up just Flake out big time.

I can't help but think that some of these weaker Yelp reviews are perhaps actually for another very similarly-named company...especially since they are either Five-Star or One-Star (with no ratings in-between.)  We personally have had a Five-Star experience...most recently (today) in the installation of a plumbing and Faucet Fixture throughout the entire house. Adam and Jimmy  were on-time, professional, pleasant, and completed the job in half the time that I expected, for a price also less than expected (particularly pleasing since I had been busy and had not requested an estimate.) These guys rock.

I was looking  for a business to change our water heater. Looking at Olsson Plumbing about 50 % of the reviews are negative  and then there are very positive  reviews. What gives?.

DO NOT USE THIS BUSINESS!!!! Long story short, the plumber never came in the 4 hour window I was given, nor called me to let me know if he was running late.  After waiting for 3 hours and 45 minutes, I called the business to see if he was on his way, and the receptionist, who was very rude, informed he had called my phone twice, and left messages.  After I informed her that I had no missed calls, nor any voice mails, I suggested she might not have the right phone number for my cell.  But, she confirmed it was the number I gave her, after which I told her again I had received no calls nor messages.  So, either her plumber was untruthful, or they're incredibly disorganized.  Then she checked on the situation as to where her plumber was, and informed me it was going to be another 35 to 45 minutes till he was to arrive, which would have been past the 4 hour window, and make me late for work.  So, I told her that wouldn't work, and that if they couldn't arrive within the time frame I was given, I would take my business elsewhere.  She then called me an a**hole, and hung up the phone.  I called back to inquire what and why she said that to me, after which she denied it was her with whom I spoke.  I then asked to speak to the manager, who called me back and told me she said that because I was being abrupt with her.  I asked if he was the manager, after which he said he was the owner!  I then asked if that's the way he lets his employees speak to customers, and he said he's been running the business for 40 years, and basically excused her behavior and words without apologizing one bit.  UNBELIEVABLE!!! This is not a professional business in any sense, and from the other reviews I've read about Olsson Plumbing, it seems I'm not the only one who has had a negative experience with them.

Jimmy is amazing. Every time he comes out he quickly diagnoses and fixes the problem. Even when I've had others who have tried and failed!  Knowledgeable and thoughtful. Olsson needs to be your first call every time!

I have used Olsson plumbing for my last few plumbing issues.  Each time the plumber came, that evening or the next day the problem reappeared...he did not repair it correctly.  The second plumber was able to fix the matter adequately however the time spent waiting for a second appointment was very annoying.  This last time I specified that I did not want a specific plumber as the repeat repairs required was annoying.  They did not seem to care or even act surprised that I was experiencing this.   Also, they do not itemize any costs on their bill. This last time I called to question the bill and was told they don't itemize.  It is a shame as a few of the plumbers at this company are very nice and competent however a couple are not and the company does not seem to be very customer oriented.

I've reviewed the response by Olsson Plumbing to my post.  

My criticism was not that Olsson charged too much and I went to someone else for the repair, but that they misdiagnosed the problem.  Olsson determined that the disconnection was somewhere between the thermostat and the water heater, but since they didn't know exactly where, the only alternatives were a $400 wireless thermostat, or a $100 thermostat on the wall on the other side of the garage - which was unacceptable.  

The other plumber I called determined that the disconnection was right behind the existing thermostat and reconnected it for no charge other than the home visit charge which was comparable to what Olsson charged, thus saving me between $100 to $400.

Amazing! Our garbage disposal stopped working and our kitchen sink was clogged to the point where we couldn't even use our dishwasher. Unfortunately, the plumber that my landlords had called totally flaked on their appointment to come fix our sink. Thankfully, one of my co-workers recommended Olsson Plumbing and Heating. Drago from Olsson Plumbing and Heating was able to come the same day and totally saved the day. He replaced all off the crappy PVC piping that was in place with new aluminum and was able to get our garbage disposal working again. Olsson Plumbing and Heating is our new go-to plumber and will definitely be recommending them to others.

Helped us install our EQ gas shutoff retrofit!  Fast easy and takes credit card. He also explained everything and taught us how to shut it off and reactivate if needed.

We had a water drip from the shut off valves to the washer and dryer that are upstairs. We managed to replace the seals. Last month the 24 year old washer developed an internal leak so we decided to replace the washer and dryer. We tried to replace the shut off vale assemblies on our own but realized that the builders had welded the pipes leading to the shut off valves. We called Olson Plumbing and they sent Jimmy the next day. He arrived on time.. Great guy to work with. He know his job and we were very happy with the pricing and the professional quality of the work done. We highly recommend Olson Plumbing.

I must say that I was so pleased with Olsson Plumbing.  I called for a HUGE job at our place of Business in Alameda and they were very professional on the phone, and very easy to schedule the job with.  Their overall price was GREAT and very fair.  The Job was completed exactly on time and all of the plumbers at the NEW CONSTRUCTION site were very professional and exactly what I was looking for.  We are building a huge new office in Pleasanton and they will be the one we call to do all of  the plumbing.  Thanks guys.  GREAT WORK.  We'll be in touch

Mike has come out twice to relight and inspect my water heater. He came right away and DID NOT CHARGE me! Just said it only took me a minute. i don't want to wish for plumbing problems in the future but if it happens, i will call Olsson. expecting to pay the next time.

the person answering the phone was also very nice and professional. she repeated the problem statement and asked if it was accurate. and asked if this is routine or an emergency. i've had messages garbled by dispatchers before so this is a great procedure to use

I have been using Olsson for over 10 years with maybe 12-15 or so visits in that time.  Each time they have solved my problem in a responsive way.  I have had them do minor repairs to faucet leaks, new faucet installations, emergency leaks (gushing water!), installation of new copper piping in a tight crawlspace, new water heater, and lots of troubleshooting (which they are especially adept at).  I ask for Jimmy every time as he is a true gem.  He is always cordial, responsive, adept and honest.  He knows his stuff, and can figure out how to solve complex problems.  I feel so lucky to have them available to me.