Best Drain Cleaning in San Jose CA

2 days to the long weekend and the wife and I rush to the washing room as we could smell smoke !!!

We tried to restart the washer and it seemed to work normally to our untrained eye. But as the saying goes No smoke without a fire ! And since we could not ascertain the cause of the acrid smell, we decided to reach out to Fuse HVAC to come in and check out our washer and dryer and since they were to come in anyway, my wife requested for a check up of Air Conditioning unit and our refrigerator unit as well.

It is well past a decade since we had bought these along with this house and target were all new equipment. And since then , did not have to replace or repair too many of the major appliances. We Did not want to wait and come to know of any surprise expenses after the long weekend, so my wife chose early morning next day itself,  which Fuse kindly obliged promised.

Next morning, just before the promised time, wife receives a text with name and photo of  the service technician who was to come , one named Chiril.

Chiril arrived on time, duly masked and with shoe covers etc. , the epitome of customer service. He quickly reviews our Washer and very patiently without getting too technical clearly explains what happened to our washer and surmises that a replacement would be our best option. He also patiently discussed the various brand of washer and types in the market and merits and demerits of each, leaving us feeling more confident of our required buy, that we could have ever been. Of course knowing that he could not benefit directly from the guidance (they do not help buy/install/replace new units), made this a very thoughtful gesture and earned him full marks on customer service.

The he quickly moved on to our refrigerator and within seconds removed the fused bulb in the it and replaced it with the one we had brought earlier to replace it. No fuss, no delay, he made quick work out of it , without requiring us to remove all our items from the fridge.

Finally he inspected our a/c unit and found that it was low on Freon gas which he topped off quickly. But he did not leave it at that! He closely inspected the line and found a minor leak in the service port and replaced the valve, which should help the gas for longer period in the future.

All throughout the service call, he was completely respectful of our property and ever ready to share his knowledge and experiences on any of the appliances he was called to inspect.

We will call Fuse in a heartbeat whenever needed next and will insist on Chiril to assist us.

Note that they do not come cheap, but there is immense value for money and each service is clearly priced and detailed out in the bill. In the end you are left with the feeling that your needs were truly addressed!

Update. I was contacted by the company and was told they did check before leaving, but I feel like they should still have turned back after getting my call. So they apologized and offered a discount for future services.

Since my original review was removed. I am going to post one of the email messages. Be aware of this company they charged us $1,350 for less than 2 hours of work:

Dear Ms. Amelia:

We appreciate the work for our home which was completed yesterday by Salvador and Renee. While they were here, fixed two outlets (each cost $295.50 to replace (the work was may be 5 minutes each), as you can see the second one with multiple switches, only the bottom middle was broken so that was replaced, after I took this photo this evening, I am certain only the broken switch was replaced not the whole unit.  We live in the bay area so may be that is why this seems high.

Salvador took down a pendant light and put up a new one which took him approximately 20 to 25 minutes and it was $365.50. (during putting it up, he cracked the glass which we replaced ourselves last night.)

What really is bothersome is the following. We asked them to check whether the problem with our monitor was with the outlet or the ,monitor itself. They tested the outlet and tested the monitor in the room also tried it in another plug in other room, and concluded that the problem was with the monitor. Thus they provided a diagnosis, which was useful. The total amount of time was at most 15 or 20 minutes.

However for this diagnosis, while they were already on site, we were charged $389.00.

This seems very excessive to us for a brief diagnosis. We would appreciate if some of this excessive charge can be refunded back to us.

We would like to leave a positive review.

Found a copy of the original review:

BEWARE: On Jan 18, 2023, technician, Salvador Valencia (he asked me to mention his name when I give a review) arrived with a trainee, Renee. Told them I needed two wall sockets replaced, a pendant light replaced, and to check out the wall socket in our home office. Asked for their hourly rate and he said $150 but he would talk to his manager and see what they can do. They go out to the truck, came back and was approved to give me a package deal and showed it on his I-Pad. Sign here and sign here. I told them again that I don't want to be overcharged, he assured me that all their prices were in a book and offered to all customers. Renee, replaced the two wall sockets in less than 5 minutes each, $295.50 each. Salvador replaced the pendant light in 20 to 25 minutes for $365.00 and cracked the glass which we had to replace. As for the not working wall socket, after spending 15 or 20 minutes, they charged a diagnostic fee of $389.00. Turned out nothing is wrong with the socket it was the small monitor that was not working. I texted, Ayla, the support staff who was courteous and responsive, and asked for the name of the project manager, Amelia Strugala Rojas, who I emailed on Jan 19, 2023. She emailed back on Jan 24, 2023, to stated electrical manager Juan Conchas tried to contact me. But you know how cell phones are, shows all in coming and missed calls. Not one call. Then on Jan 25, 2023, Ms. Rojas assured me that Mr. Conchas would call me that day. Not one call. So here is my review. I was overcharged and made good faith effort to work with this company to recover some of my hard earned money. I would not recommend them as they charged me $1,345.00 for less than 2 hours of work, however, it does come with 20 year warranty.
Services: Electrical outlet & switch repair, Light fixture repair

I wanted to wait until our permit was approved before leaving a review and it happened today.

I met Bellows through the Costco Services program when I requested a quote to replace our 30+ year old furnace and to add a/c.  Carl came around about two weeks later and spent a good amount of time looking over our house and then explaining our options.  I felt he was very knowledgeable and trusted his suggestions.  Normally, I always get at least three quotes, but by the end of his presentation, I was comfortable enough to sign the agreement.  Due to their backlog, I was warned that our installation wouldn't happen for another six weeks, but we were okay with that.
 
About a week after the consultation, Russell, the project manager, came to our house to check out the logistics as we were moving the furnace from a closet to the attic.  He answered all of my husband's questions to the point that my husband also felt Bellows knew what they were talking about.
 
When the installation date arrived, a team of four worked three and a half days to complete the work.  Each day, they arrived promptly and left the house super clean at the end of the day.  Bellows arranged for another company to do the HERS test which is required for the permit and we passed with no issues.

Today, the city inspector came and Bellows sent a technician to answer any questions he may have and our permit was approved!

Bellows has been very responsive and supportive every step of the way and now that we've used both our new furnace and a/c without issues, we can vouch for their knowledge and skills.

I have already recommended Bellows to two friends and would not hesitate recommending them to you!

To break it down, Norm does great work, he is honest and his prices are fair.  Norm is frustrating to communicate with and tough to tie down.
I'm writing this review because I'm looking for an electrician and had to laugh when I clicked on San Mateo Handyman and saw my horrible review for him(read below).  Apologies to Norm that I didn't correct this sooner.  It's been a long time so I can't remember the details, I guess we finally connected, he came over and did the work perfectly and so incredibly fast!  I really liked him and loved that he came, conquered and left much more quickly than I could have imagined.  He is no fuss, no muss.
Fast forward to last year and he came out and did some work for my parents.  He did good work.  Norm's problem is that he is just bad at communication.  My Mom was so frustrated that she gave up.  He then called me and asked if I had a job for him.  Confused I told him it was my Mom that was trying to get ahold of him.  He said something about his son getting ahold of his calendar, blah, blah blah.  He then did call my Mom, but the she had problems getting him to commit and finish the job, which he finally did.
In this time of rabid construction/remodels it's tough to find someone to do the smaller jobs.  If you can handle the time it takes to chase him down and get him to your house, his often confusing texts (like confirming something that has nothing to do with what he's working on for you)  and lots of unnecessary repeating of information.  If you can deal with that, he does a great job and he is an honest guy.

Why doesn't Yelp provide a 10- star rating?!  You know what I'm talking about when you receive such outstanding service from a company/individual that deserves that recognition.   Nick is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to knowledge in the construction field and know-how.  Over the years he has fixed many things for me. I have referred him to my neighbor,  and he currently is working at my mother's house, which is a 60 year old home.  He is doing electrical work, dishwasher repairs, new door installation,  handicap grab bars in the shower and at the toilet.  He has fixed cabinet doors in her RV too. Repaired her hardwood floors and installed new kitchen lighting. Oh and gate repairs.  He was busy last year and couldn't get to me on such short notice.  I hired someone else...NEVER will I make that mistake again.

I've utilized Divine for a NEMA installation for my electric car as well as a separate outlet install, and Rob Markey just did a fantastic job installing a ceiling fan and making sure the lights and other fans in my rooms are not on the same channels. You could pay a bit less elsewhere I'm sure, but they are efficient, super reliable, and super responsive with any questions or concerns so the peace of mind is worth a lot. Highly recommend.

I was looking to hire a handyman for some fix ups around my house.  I contacted Ryan about the job and he came over promptly and looked around. Took a couple of pictures and a couple of days later sent me a quote for it. The quote didn't include everything that I had mentioned and in addition to that, everything was ridiculously high.
Then, when I sent him a response he tried to gouge me even further for doing the floor.
It's amusing to come up with such a crazy number and not even have the dimensions of the room at the very least. Clearly, he didn't want to work with me and that's fine, but just tell me instead of trying to rob me.

Quick response and excellent work! Eric and Jose came out and replaced my GFCI outlets in my garage and had my power back up in running in less than an hour! Really pleased with service and will be using them for several more projects in the very near future.

Yevgeny went out of his way to look at my issue even when I couldn't hire him. He quickly troubleshooted what looked like a big problem within a minute; I'm so grateful for his unexpected act of kindness. He was busy with a personal matter and still made time to help. He gave advice about other issues and totally knows what he's talking about. Do not hesitate to hire him for all your contractor needs!

We are so impressed by Eric Nordoff's level of professionalism and responsiveness and are grateful to have an excellent customer experience working with such a capable electrician. We had an emergency electric issue and Eric was able to come to our house in a prompt manner and assessed the issue thoroughly. During the diagnosis, he patiently explained the details of the issue to us and was able to quickly identify the issue and fix it. We learned a lot through our consultation with him and really respect his passion for his job and the positive impact he has on others. We highly recommend Eric and appreciate all his help.

Max came out to our house on short notice, was very nice and thoroughly went through our a/c system to find out what was wrong. He did not rush the diagnostic,  presented a few options to fix our issues and told us he'd be providing different estimates depending on our budget and what route we want to take. We appreciated him taking his time to do a thorough check and giving honest answers to our questions. The fee for the check was also reasonable. Thank you Max.

Well, it looks like we're starting 2022 with this whole ordeal behind us.  The morning after I posted my angry review, Bellows did send a crew to pump out the water from the trench, pull out the remaining debris that was left, and complete the backfill.  I spoke to Stephanie and to Mike, who handles operations, and Mike ended up coming out the morning of the 31st to double check that the job had been completed and gave us a video of how it now looks under the house.
For the most part they apologized and took responsibility; there was a little bit of blame shifting because the County had signed off on a permit that I guess they shouldn't have until the job was finished, but ultimately I think they agree the buck stops with them.
I added one star because we had originally used Bellows for a re-pipe that went fine (some communications hiccups but we were out of town so that was partly on us).  Unfortunately this job was the polar opposite of that experience so I can no longer use them or recommend them to someone else.