Rachel S.

7/15/2023

What an incredibly smooth transaction!!! Came home from vacation to a mystery crisis (bathtub filled and overflowing with nothing dripping and no stopper in the drain). Remembered the jingle and called South West Plumbing... you know the one's to call. They had me scheduled same day (on a weekend!) and fixed right up within 3 hours. Totally awesome, positive, knowledge, efficient, priced very fairly and reasonably. Clear communication and no stress. Couldn't give a higher recommendation. Thank you!!!!!

Chris Ball of South West Plumbing

Jeff W.

06/07/2023 12:00:00 SA

I called this company. They showed up in a timely manner. Our water bill quadrupled in four months, They suggested and I agreed to a completely new waterline from the street to the house. They quoted me $53K. I mentioned I was a veteran and wouldn't be financing through them. They stated the best they could do was $41K minus 5%. That brought the total to $43K. I put a $1K deposit down. I then asked since I am filing an insurance claim would they work with them? They responded they don't work with insurance companies. My insurance also informed me that since the water leak was outside of the house they won't cover the necessary leaking waterline replacement. I told South West Plumbing to please hold on the agreed upon work. Since we are in unincorporated Snohomish, our local water company put me in contact with their contractor. He (his company) has worked with many of our neighbors. He quoted me $7,600. Of course I jumped on that estimate. His crew came and completed the work impressively in one day. He billed me for exactly what he estimated.

I have made multiple attempts to contact South West Plumbing to get reimbursed the $1K minus their show up charge to the house of course. First they told me they have no record of me putting a deposit. Funny since I have a copy of the agreed estimate, noting me paying the deposit, and my signature. Next call they put me on hold twice then I was informed that the account manager would call me within 24 hours. That was two days ago.

This company is untrustworthy and shady in my experience.

I will be getting my deposit back. That is NOT free money for them!!

Kristin J.

03/05/2023 12:00:00 SA

I should have checked Yelp first. There is a reason this company has 2 stars versus the 4.5-5 star companies that service the same area.
I am having drain/ sewer issues that popped up the day before I need to fly out for a family situation. I called the name I was familiar with after a fast google search. The woman who set up my appointment was friendly and confirmed that they could get to me this weekend. They only had one drain guy so Saturday was going to be tentative but would be able to fit me in on Sunday. I changed my flight, changed the rental car reservation, changed my dog sitter reservation... literally spent a day re-scheduling everything to make sure that I could get this taken care of before I leave the state for 2 weeks.
Fast forward to Sunday. I get a text around 8am that my appointment is scheduled and confirmed. Around 10am I get a call cancelling my appointment and asking to re-schedule it. When I called and explained my situation I was met with excuses, hostility, talking over me, and absolutely zero empathy or understanding of my situation. Not even a hint of apology for the situation they were now putting me in... in fact, all I heard was how other people had it worse than me. Honestly, how does she know what my entire situation is that they impacted by canceling me. Even if there was no way to get my property seen as scheduled - a sincere apology, recommendations to other companies that they might trust or they know has availability... anything would have been nice. Moreover, when I made the appointment, managing my expectations would have been helpful - telling me that the appointment may need to be bumped for more urgent situations, for example. I could have at least made an informed decision and called other places knowing my situation and short timeline.
This is a frustrating and stressful situation for any homeowner, and I know it's not their fault I have to fly out... but some level of customer service would have gone a long way. Note that once I opened Yelp, in a near panic to get some help - I found a place with a high star rating (4.5 stars with over 700 reviews) - I have a tech on their way with a 3 hour arrival window. I'll never skip checking Yelp again!

Julia C.

08/03/2023 12:00:00 SA

Service from South West plumbing was friendly and efficient. They were able to send John and his partner about an hour after I called to help me with my leaking water heater. Both were helpful in answering my questions and worked quickly to remove and install a new water heater. They were also great about cleaning up before leaving. Thank you!

Ws T.

07/05/2023 12:00:00 SA

We called south west for water leakage in kitchen sink, they are on time. They called me over the phone and verbally quoted the price around $190 for garbase dispoal replacement. I said okay to proceed as price makes sense. But they charged more than $1900. I have thought garabase disposal will cost this much.

If you goto a coffee shop, you expect the regular coffee to be priced between 3 dollars or max of 10 dollars. After buying, if you were charged $100, then how do you react. I am in the same situation.

Other few things happened:
Their manager did not provide any receipt for such a huge bill. Even after spending about 1 hour on the time to get the receipt.

The same leakage happened again. Since it may come under warranty, called the southwest again. This time they informed us it is a different issue and we need to pay $650.00 again.

BTW, they were recording all the conversations illegally without giving acknowledgement that we are on a recorded line at least until April 2023.

They did not fix the issue, they charged thousands of dollars, they did not provide any reciept (even as of today), and they want to charge again for their mistakes.

Jalen Z.

7/28/2023

Overall excellent experience with South West! Professional, knowledgeable, and customer-focused. The team really took the time to explain what the problem was and explained each step of the process. Big shoutout to Max, Levi, and Dom! You guys were great! 10/10

Dolly N.

08/03/2023 12:00:00 SA

I had a broken pipe in my yard. the guy came out within a couple of hours and repaired it to the tune of $1,600 for less than an hour job. That was fine and I paid the high price without a complaint. Five days later their fix ruptured and water ran for 2 hours before I could get home and turn off the water at the main! I called them back and now 7 hours of waiting at home for these jokers and I get a call that they have been on emergencies all day long just like mine (where they did a poor job on a previous fix?) and probably can't get to me until tomorrow. I am a senior citizen in a hot house with no water because these guys messed up my plumbing!!!!! Do yourself a favor a call anyone but these guys!

Connie F.

7/27/2023

I had them install a water heater. I did not do enough research ahead of time and was totally over charged. 3,511.17 to install a water heater. I asked for the most inexpensive gas heater possible. It still isn't even complete. Because of some water damage to dry wall I need to fix they will have to come back and move it onto the stand. That will be another 1,526.58. Shoot, they want 246.20$ just for the stand. (50$ on Amazon) I will be having someone else do that now. Please, Please don't make my mistake. Take bids and do your research!!!! Hoping they see this and refund some cash? Hey one can hope.

Shineywater F.

07/11/2023 12:00:00 SA

Our 1920's built home had some major sewer line issues due to major tree roots growing in it in three different places. The roots blocked the line and the sewage came up our basement shower drain and the toilet would not flush. We needed to have the line cleared and a new sleeve liner thing to create a new pipe in the old existing one. I got a couple of estimates, and went with south west. They seemed to have the newest equipment (based on the camera scoping) and were able to match the lowest estimate. Tyler R. and John B. did the majority of the work. They were very knowledgeable and informative the whole time. Plumbing issues like this are expensive and stressful, but they were great. I would recommend them to everyone!

Jacob S.

4/29/2023

We woke up to a leaking water heater and Southwest was the first business to call back and send someone out.
Audie and Jeff came out, assessed the situation, provided options and got right to work. The completed work looks fantastically professional and of course operates as it should. Best yet, the Southwest team were all friendly and professional throughout the entire process. Highly recommend for quality and service.

Jennine T.

7/16/2023

called and asked for base price (or any ballpark figure) for replacing a disposal. Couldn't get any price until a technician evaluates.
$97.81 later, tech has walked into my house, glanced at the sink, and tells me that THE price is $595. Doesn't matter that everything is cleared, turned off, disconnected, and the new disposal is sitting on the counter (if they had provided the disposal it would have been over $1100).
WHAT A RIPOFF. Paid for the lesson: NEVER allow a service to come without any upfront price! Tech said that they don't know until they see the circumstances, however, They could have said starts at ...and can go higher if ... I paid this lesson, said NO thank you and fixed it myself. Took me longer but lesson learned. Call a handyperson, turn on youtube, or ask the neighbor about neighborhood handypersons. Get an upfront base price before allowing them to send anyone.

Dawn H.

07/08/2023 12:00:00 SA

My water utility company knocked on my door over July 4th weekend to tell me I had a water line break in my property that I would be responsible for fixing/paying. Water flowing from my yard into street. I called a couple places and had massive quotes (16,000 to 25,000) to re-pipe. SW plumbing were the only ones to say that repiping wasn't necessary at all, that a repair would take care of it. Entire thing completely fixed, including sod placed exactly back where it was dug up for under 3000 and that included hiring separate leak detection locator company. Reed was pleasant, hard working guy and showed me the break in pipe etc etc.I am not only COMPLETELY satisfied, I will never use another plumbing company again.

John N.

12/29/2022

I don't recommend using South West Plumbing. I called and scheduled service and was told I would be informed on the day of when the technician would arrive. On the day of, I received no call and had to call twice in the afternoon to be told no one would be coming. No one could let me know when someone would arrive other than going through the same process of waiting around again. This is terrible customer service.

Updating my review to an average of the service I received scheduling the appointment and the service I received when folks actually showed up.

The drain specialist (Joshua Gibson) was great. He came out assessed it was beyond his scope, and quickly reached out to get more eyes. A manager and project manager came out, and all three of them helped us through explaining what the issues could be. We were able to get a plumber(Kirk Thompson) out later that evening to do an initial assessment and mitigate our hot water issue.

Kirk returned later to do the pipe and water heater work. Fantastic five star service. Kirk was professional, prompt, and knowledgeable. Kirk walked us through what the plan was, and then debriefed us on all the work once it was completed.

If it weren't for my initial experience trying to get someone out, then South West Plumbing would be easy to recommend. The initial impression is hard to shake off so I hope this part improves.

Alyson M.

05/03/2023 12:00:00 SA

Huge should out to the South West team- Chris, James and Garret- the whole experience from scheduling, to evaluation, to the work was done thoroughly, professionally and with a person centric focus. Their communication was clear, they took time to explain to me the issues, and walked me through the fixes. I really appreciated the whole team's work.

Dawn W.

05/04/2023 12:00:00 SA

Trevor and Micheal did an exceptional job changing out our water heater. The whole job was done very quickly despite some issues with our crazy suicidal dog. Special thanks to both men for their understanding.

Keith A.

05/10/2023 12:00:00 SA

Woke up to sewage water flowing out of our basement toilet, Nate showed up within an hour or two to diagnose and find the source of the problem. Josh promptly showed up and ran a camera down the line to find out roots had taken over our pipes. It wasn't great news but I felt okay bc they both took the time to explain the issues and helped formulate a plan to fix the problems. I could tell they took pride in the quality of their work and genuinely cared about helping us. They didn't try to upsell or add on work I didn't need. 2 hours later Mike, Shawn, Levi, and Tyler were there excavating and hydro blasting the roots out of our system. Each one of them were extremely professional and talked to me about what they were doing and what was happening. I really appreciated getting the details and the options I had.

I know it's hard to decipher these reviews and figure out who you can trust to fix your home issues, I recommend South West to everyone I know. This latest job wasn't just us getting lucky with this particular crew, 1 year ago Abel came out to quote a replacement of our entire water line system and water heater. He said it might take 3 days, we told him that worked and that we couldn't really move in anyway until that was done. Abel started right away, stayed late that day and had it wrapped up by like 10am the next day, the guys a miracle worker and a pleasure to interact with.

All this to say, go South West when you need help with plumbing, heating, air, or electric.

Alfred Y.

4/27/2023

I like to thank Audie and Jeff team. There guys super reliable, knowledgeable and friendly. I cant be more satisfied with their service. I can tell they take pride in what they do and they do not rush the job. I give this team 6 stars out of 5!

Leah E.

10/24/2022

I was surprised they weren't suggested on Yelp, I didn't see them, but I understand now. If you find them on another search site with 4+ stars please be cautious.

Needed a water heater replaced. The bid did not make sense to me so I didn't take it. To me, it feels like their business model is to maximize price and labor for all things, even things you don't need or didn't ask for. For example, there was no good reason for me to replace my current size water tank with a larger one for my particular configuration and I didn't have the energy to argue.

I think better approach would be to listen to the customer and give them all the options with more reasonable pricing instead of upselling them on everything.

Charles H.

07/05/2023 12:00:00 SA

Josh, Jason and Anthony (I'm forgetting a name or two) came out on an emergency basis for a broken sewer line and toilet flange adapter. They all went above and beyond my expectations. Digging up the yard, in 90 degree weather, fixing the line break, installing 2 new clean outs, backfilling and over seeding, while Anthony was able to save the tile work when installing the new flange was all done in under 7 hours. I am more than satisfied!

Joel G.

11/04/2022 12:00:00 SA

Okay, I normally don't review but figured that others could learn from my experience. Winter of '21 our hot water went out. We are newer home owners and had heard the commercials and received refrigerator magnets when we moved in. We called for a quote and they advised it would be $99 for an estimate which would go toward the repair.

We paid $3360 for a new 50 gallon hot water heater installed that also is part of our heating as we have an Aquatherm unit. They used our original mixing valve as the tech stated they usually never fail. They stated the water would take a few hours to heat up. It never did that night and tried calling the 24 hour number. No one answered.

We called during normal working hours and explained we just paid $3360 for a new hot water heater and it didn't work. They came out and replaced the mixing valve for $641. We complained to Management that they should have done the work the first time and received a refund of $330.

Fast forward to the summer of '22 and again, no hot water. We called on Friday to schedule someone to come out as the water heater was only 7 months old. They couldn't come out until sometime the following week. I went to look at the water heater and the pilot was off. Upon further investigation, the tank was leaking into the insulation and dripping on the pilot light.

I tried again to call the after hours number to no avail. They just don't answer as they advertise 24 hour service. We called to let them know we found a leak so they knew what to expect. When they finally arrived to look at the issue, they first tried to upsell me on a 60 gallon tank. I stated that the current water heater (under warranty) is the same size as the one prior that had lasted the last home owner 14 years. They begrudgingly stated that they would have to start over and replaced the water heater with a new one to include the mixing valve. They did tell me that the warranty on the updated tank didn't reset and would be minus the 7 months from the other tank.

Now it is November '22 and I am not getting hot air from our hydronic Aquatherm furnace which uses our hot water heater. I won't be calling Southwest again unless another company tells me that it has something to do with the tank that is under warranty.

Hope this helps and thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

Edited 11/7/22

I added another star for the follow up received and the rest of the story. After purging air from the hydronic water heater drain line, I shut off the water heater in order to repair a bathtub cartridge. When I went to relight the pilot, no go. I ended up calling the technician that installed the 2nd new hot water heater. He came out on a Friday late to help me get it restarted.

He and his assistant arrived and couldn't get it to start. He stated the gas valve (controller) was clogged (new) and needed to be replaced. He didn't have the part on the truck but let me know someone would be by Saturday morning to replace it.

Saturday morning and a new technician arrives. He troubleshoot and agreed that it was my gas valve but didn't have the part. He let me know someone would be out on Monday to replace it.

The same duo who replaced the 2nd water heater also came back on Monday and replaced the gas valve, and back in business. I will say that the warranty is pretty legit as I haven't paid a cent since the initial $3800 investment with the company coming out 6 times in total for all the problems that arose.

Now, I have to call another plumber as the hydronic Aquatherm furnace sounds like it will need a new heating coil and pump, which I found out most companies won't touch. $2800 for this job. The Joy's of home ownership!

Dawson P.

4/21/2023

Our crawl space flooded late afternoon Thursday and Abel and Ricardo with Southwest Plumbing came immediately this Friday morning. Diagnosed with accuracy the broken pipe causing the water issue and repaired within 3 hours. Thoroughly walked us thru to make sure all was back up and running without issue. Would recommend highly. Thank you! Dawson

Riley M.

04/03/2023 12:00:00 SA

The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because of the price. I looked at some estimates after I already paid South West and it seems I could have saved a decent amount for the same service if I had shopped around more before. However, I needed the problem fixed right away and South West was able to send someone to my house the same day I called.

Everything else about my experience with South West was easily 5 stars:
- it was quick and easy to schedule the appointment, and I got the problem fixed the same day I called
- the plumber they sent, James M, was awesome! He fixed the problem quickly and efficiently, and didn't even seem to mind answering my nerdy questions about the problem and how he was fixing it
- it's been about 2 weeks now, and all bathrooms are still draining faster than they ever have since I've been living here, so it seems the actual problem was fixed and not just band-aided

Overall I would recommend South West Plumbing, and while I probably will shop around more next time, I at least feel I got what I paid for.

Jeremy R.

4/15/2023

Their standard for customer service is appalling, even for simple jobs. I had to fix my grandmother's supply lines after southwest came out and changed her p trap and connections and didn't even fix the leak. Never answered her or returned her voicemails. Pitiful

Brian F.

8/19/2022

This organization is a fraudulent disgrace and should be investigated by consumer rights groups. My 89 year old mother had a leaky bathroom faucet. The Southwest plumber came with an associate. He left to find a part, came back and said he couldn't get the part. He removed a part from the second sink in the bathroom and installed it to the replace the leaky part. The repair took approximately 15 minutes. They charged her $1300 for a 15 minute repair job. I attempted to get a refund, but they have been uncooperative and unresponsive.

The idea that they would take advantage of an 89 year old woman is utterly disgraceful. I strongly urge any of you thinking about hiring them to stay as far away as you possibly can. Businesses like this should be shut down and criminally prosecuted, and I will do everything in my power to pursue this with consumer advocates, the Better Business Bureau, television watchdogs, and any and all organizations that can put a stop to these crooks.

John S.

10/08/2022 12:00:00 SA

I got a letter from City utilities saying our water meter was spinning, we might have a leak - followed by a large bill which, thankfully, the City adjusted when I showed I made a few repairs to save water.

A month later I got the dreaded 2nd letter, same as the first.

I called City and asked how much water was leaking? They told me one meter unit is about 780 gallons - clearly I misunderstood the 1st letter. City recommended I find a leak detection firm.

I did and the leak detection technician researched the buried pipe from the street to my house, found something - then he told me I needed to find a plumber to *fix the leak.*

On a friend's recommendation, I called Southwest Plumbing and they sent Raul for a free estimate. He scheduled us the next morning, Friday, and brought Gerardo - two positive guys I'm happy to invite into my home.

They dug a large hole, carefully avoiding the gas, cable & power lines. Unfortunately, the leak detection technician sent us to a dry hole, there was no leak there - but Raul said he would come back later, after his next job, if we could get the technician back to find the leak. Friday was running out and we envisioned a weekend without water - or leaking thousands of gallons.

Leak tech came back and, with new results, I texted Raul. He texted back quickly and told us about his timing. He returned with Gerardo, and they dug a second hole and finished the new job, prepared with parts off the truck. They showed me the parts and process, keeping me informed about the leak repair. They worked late to finish Friday and fully restored all the dirt into both holes.

Calm, professional, cheerful - thanks, I'll call Southwest anytime I need help.

Barry E.

04/04/2023 12:00:00 SA

We had a leak under the kitchen sink. Poor quality materials. They were on time and neat. I asked them to check the outside faucet and they discovered that the pressure valve and expansion system was shot. Replaced everything with copper. Very happy with all the fixes! We would use them again, no problem.

Valerie C.

04/04/2023 12:00:00 SA

Today I woke up to my garbage disposal had issues. It was clogged. I called southwest and within 30-40 minutes they had someone out here to solve the problem. Chris Ball was my technician and with in 5 minutes he resolved the problem. He also made sure everything was running properly before he left and provided some great advise as we are new home owners. We have had south west work on our house multiple times for different things and they never disappoint. 10/10 recommend

Jeff H.

03/06/2023 12:00:00 SA

I was very hesitant to call South West Plumbing based on the Yelp ratings, but heard good things from friends and noticed a TON of great reviews on Google. So figured I'd roll the dice and call them and I'm glad I did.

They did a great job fixing an issue with our supply line to our kitchen sink. I was able to get someone to my house within hours and they arrived right on time. They took their time explaining the issue and giving various options to solve the problem. Once we decided which one was best, they quickly fixed the issue, cleaned up afterward and made sure we knew exactly what they did including sending pictures.

Overall, the price was very competitive and the plumbers were professional and knowledgable. They went a long way to explain what they were doing at every step, worked quickly, and cleaned up everywhere they went after they were finished. I would highly recommend South West! I'm not sure why they are getting so many bad reviews ... I didn't see anything that would make me give them less than five stars.

Patrick T.

3/31/2023

Called in to schedule an appointment. To my surprise they had an opening the next day.

Next day rolls around, Abel and Ricardo roll up at the start of the day. They came in and quickly provided a very detailed quote for the job of replacing my hot water heater. I accept thinking welp I guess that will be about a week before the job starts, but to my surprise they just started work as soon as I signed the paper work. In no time they not only removed the old hot water heater but installed a new one and installed a new shutoff valve so that it's easy to flush the hot water tank, all in 1 morning.

Thank you Ricardo, Abel, and to the team at South West.

Tyler M.

2/13/2023

Beyond disgraceful what type business Southwest practices. Came today for a scope of a blockage and an apparent clean up. At the end told us that it was blocked up, which we already knew, all for them to charge us $1200.00.

Then they quoted us $9000.00 after charging us $1200 for a baseline assessment to tell us what was wrong. No other plumber would even remotely think that this was acceptable and potential customers should be aware. This company through and through practices illegitimate and deceiving business and should be avoided by all means necessary.

Mac M.

02/07/2023 12:00:00 SA

We have been in this house two years now, and our old water heater sprung a leak a week ago. There was a big southwest plumbing sticker on the front , so we called. They were here in 25 minutes and had everything on the truck. They were here 4 1/2 hours. Looking back, we should have checked Yelp and called at least one other plumber. Talking to acquaintances, we were told we were grossly overcharged. By roughly a thousand dollars.

Michael E.

03/12/2023 12:00:00 SA

Our toilet needed to be lowered by 1/2 inch. My step father was having problems with doing it so we called them. Step father bought new toilet and fittings, they didn't even use them. And they charged me over double what my trades family members said it was worth.

It is good work, but the price is very high. Next time I am going to go with someone else.

Tyfani B.

2/21/2023

Upstairs toilet was clogged for over a month. Used all the DIY I couldn't of. Had to break down and call for help. Called at 9am and Chris Ball, plumbing expert was at my house within the hour. He found the issue and was able to clear the clog right away. I would definitely call Southwest Plumbing again for my plumbing needs. Thanks again Chris.

Judy M.

5/27/2023

Both of my outside faucets sprung leaks the same week. I called on a Saturday and scheduled the service for Sunday. On Sunday, the company called to tell me they were too short-staffed to see me that day, so the appointment was rescheduled to a week day. The plumbers that came to do the work, Leo Pelayo and his apprentice, Dre, were fantastic. Clean, efficient, communicative, and ON TIME! They fixed my issues and some other problems that were identified. I am giving a 5 star rating despite the scheduling issue. The workers were professional and did an excellent job!

Marty S.

2/23/2023

Max and Anthony were excellent! They completed my project smoothly and were very respectful of my home. I really appreciated this since I am working from home and the area for my project was close to my work space.

They also did a nice job of cleaning up at the end of the day.

I have used SW Plumbing for several projects and I have always been pleased with their professional and courteous service.

Philip R.

3/20/2023

Colton performed a plumbing inspection of our home, which has very old galvanized piping. He found a few things that were in need of repair/upgrading, but he also noted where our existing plumbing was OK, instead of trying to upsell us on a lot of un-necessary, expensive upgrades. He gave us full-disclosure estimates on the work that needed to be done, and then performed the work right away, as he had all required repair materials in his company truck. Colton spent two long days doing the repairs, and then came back on a third day to double-check for leaks - there were no leaks.
We found Colton friendly and professional, and we couldn't be happier with his work. Thanks!!

Calluna H.

12/24/2022

the absolute worst. The call center supervisor should be fired. She wouldn't commit to the company actually being able to work on a spec manufacture. Instead she wanted to have the company come out, and charge for the trip and then see if they could work on it.
What sort of shake down is that? it's not an ethical busines.

David S.

07/12/2023 12:00:00 SA

I was looking for something in our crawl space under the house and saw that the main sewer pipe had developed a crack and was leaking sewage slowly. I later discovered a rarely used toilet had backed up spreading sewage all over the carpeted bathroom floor. It was real mess. I called South West Plumbing Thursday afternoon and they sent a crew over to diagnose the problem the next day, a Friday. They then scheduled another crew to come over and fix leak and blockage on the following Monday. The job involved replacing a major sewer cleanout, roto rooting and video inspection on the sewer pipe going to the septic tank, replacing two other sections of the sewer pipe that were compromised by roots and breakage, digging deep holes outside for access, ripping up a cement floor in a closet, digging a deep hole to access the pipe, installing another cleanout port outside the home, and then water blasting from there back into the house and to the septic tank to ensure the pipe was flowing properly without obstruction. They then filled all the holes, replaced the cement floor in the house, tested the system and cleaned everything up. All this was done in 1-1/2 days after which we could use our toilets again. All work was done professionally and quickly. Hats off to Max and Jason who did the lion's share of the heavy work.

David R.

12/07/2022 12:00:00 SA

Wish I would have read the Yelp reviews before contacting South West Plumbing, because now I see other complaints about excessive charges and upselling.

Needed my garbage disposal changed. I bought the matching disposal on Amazon, thinking it could be easily swapped out without changing any plumbing. It was approximately $100 (and the prior disposal had lasted over 8 years).

Called South West Plumbing because I had a directory from the Better Business Bureau that listed South West as a reputable plumber. Called on Monday and scheduled an appointment for that coming Saturday. Customer Service was very friendly and helpful.

On Saturday, due to short staffing, my appointment was moved later and later in the day until eventually cancelled and rescheduled for the following Monday.

On Monday, Kyle from South West finally arrived. When he quoted me $650 to change my disposal, I was floored, but accepted, thinking this must be more complicated than I had thought. After all, I supplied the new unit, so South West was only charging for labor. (He also showed me the cost if I purchased an upgraded disposal unit they had on the truck, a cost of over $1700! Must one awesome garbage disposal...)

It took Kyle about 20 minutes to complete the work.

I called the office the next day to ask if I had been charged for an emergency visit by mistake, because $650 for a 20 minute job for labor only seems excessive. But the office, Andrew specifically, was wholly unhelpful and even snarky.

Don't make my mistake. Call a different plumber.

Kathy K.

2/23/2023

Our garbage disposal stopped working and our kitchen sink wouldn't drain. I contacted southwest plumbing and they came same day and were able to fix the disposal and clog. I am now going to have them fix some other plumbing problems I've been putting off.

V B.

12/27/2022

SW came out & helped us again. This time at my parents' home after the ice storm caused a leak in their garage. The bid was upfront, and after we agreed the work was done in one day. I received updates as the job occurred & my elderly parents were happy with the plumber, Mike.

Rime O.

02/08/2023 12:00:00 SA

We had a plumbing/Drain problem and Ryan did a great job explaining the issue and giving us 3 different options. He did a great job fixing it fast. I later called the call center to make a payment, and Tara was very professional and helpful.

Calvin L.

05/04/2023 12:00:00 SA

Called them up for an estimate for my in-laws house due to a water main leak. They came to give a quote very quickly before I arrived. They quoted to locate and repair the leak at the point of possible break, that was $6500-$7000. Then gave another quote for $19k for water main replacement from meter to house. This was to my in-laws before I arrived. I arrived after their quote to my in-laws and the look on their face was like oh shit. I then asked about the situation and estimate. They gave me the same spiel. Then tell me they forgot to add the senior citizen discount which would be $20k to replace the main. I then told them thank you and we will get in touch after I get two more quotes because I wanted to see my options.
Long story short I ended up using a commercial piping company that charged $4600 to do the job.
They came ready to give an estimate. Pin pointed area of leak with a tool and was ready to work the next day.
Southwest may have been a high quote due to my situation. Thank you Southwest. I have to say, you guys are more honest than Beacon plumbing.

L B.

12/28/2022

Couldn't have had a better experience. We had 2 toilets and a shower lose water supply suddenly. I called at 1 pm and they sent someone by 6 and had the issues fixed within an hour. Chris B was extremely professional and warm - talked with our 2 year old about Christmas, explained some of the issues, and most importantly fixed them super fast for us. If I could give a sixth star I would :) Thank you Southwest, you gained a new long-term customer.

Jenn F.

5/23/2022

Our landlord called in South West Plumbing in to fix our garbage disposal, which stopped working and started to smoke. They came on time, quickly identified the issue, explained the cause, and made arrangements to fix it --which they also did very efficiently.

Dan and his assistant were very professional, cleaned up after themselves, and helped to coordinate the communication and between us and our landlord.

Would definitely use them again!

Baylei H.

01/11/2023 12:00:00 SA

Had an electrical that three previous repair men couldn't figure out. Jeff from southwest showed up on time clearly explained how he was going to approach the problem, figured it out and fixed it quickly and easily.. and even vacuumed up behind himself. Best of all he made friends with my dog who doesn't like anyone, I would definitely recommend southwest to anyone.

Mindy K.

10/31/2022

These guys are THE WORST!! I repeat THE WORST!!!!! They clearly take advantage of their customers by charging thousands more than other honest and reliable plumbers. They charged us $1,500 to assess and diagnose a sewer blockage. Other honest companies charge nothing for this. Furthermore, they quoted us 3x what other honest plumbers quoted for the project. Jim should be ashamed of running such a criminal business.

Jim A.

02/06/2023 12:00:00 SA

Kitchen sink backed up called southwest plumbing they got Chris Ball out within an hour, cleared the drain, explained everything he was doing, was very professional. Very happy with southwest plumbing and will continue to use them. Highly recommend them.

D Richard P.

05/09/2023 12:00:00 SA

The pipe from the kitchen sink to the sewer was blocked. I called SW Plumbing because I knew they were open on Saturday. They inspected the line, it was clogged beyond repair, and I contracted with them to re-pipe the kitchen sink to the sewer line. Ozzy, the crew chief, was professional, explaining to me the rerouting of the new line and what he had to do. He provided photos of the work he and his assistant Andrew performed under the house. I was pleased with their services and their effort to complete the rerouting in one day.

Sheryl L.

11/23/2022

These guys were great. Cody and James were quick, clean and efficient. They were honest with the conditions of the equipment and we agreed to replace the sink faucet and disposal.

Sheryl Loescher

kevin b.

1/16/2023

Our tankless hot water heater started leaking. I called the company who services our Heating and Air, who charged $350 to give me a quote of $2,500 - $3,500 to repair the system, and recommended replacing the unit with a quote of $9,300 and there would be a lead time for either. The labor was expensive and the time to repair was up to 2 days with the pipe work needed.

I called another smaller company, we had an appointment for 10am this morning and at 9:30 the plumber called to say he can't make it until later in the day because he got put on another job. I did a quick search and found that South West Plumbing has all the expertise in house and work with the top brands.

So I called South West Plumbing at 10am, and a plumber was at my house by Noon. He said repair would be relatively easy and inexpensive, but also agreed that replacing the unit would be good since the installed unit wasn't a great quality brand, and there are more effective and efficient units available now. The quote to replace and make adjustments and improvements to the pipes was thousands of dollars less than the other quote, and the price was guaranteed for the job, using the same high end energy efficient unit. He then surprised me and said, if the quote looks good, I can have a new unit and all the pipe improvements done by dinner time and he kept that commitment. The work was complete, and the pipes were replaced with new copper pipes and fittings that are more appropriate for our house.

The plumber is very knowledgeable about the tankless brands, and was confident that he knew how to improve the plumbing to fix problems we've he with taking a long time for water to heat up on the upper floors.
The plumber was very customer service oriented, he took time to explain everything he was going to do, and was very professional. He cleaned up after himself and left the space way clean and tidy. The new unit takes up half the space as the old unit and doesn't need a separate circulation pump or auxiliary heated storage. It takes no time for the water to get hot even on the top floor, so I wish I had replaced that unit way before now.

And because South West Plumbing has electricians, and HVAC experts as well, I will be using them to do maintenance on our HVAC. I have already got an order in for an electrician and plumber to come install three new bidet smart toilets. I could not be happier with this experience from the first call asking for help, until the work was done - and I am still in awe of the fact that the work was done so spectacularly in just over 5 hours.

Katherine N.

9/27/2022

I was on the schedule for Southwest Plumbing to come out to my home for a repair last Saturday, anytime between 8-5. I called around 2 PM to find out if they were still planning on coming. They then offered that they were in fact not coming! If they were the professional outfit they claim to be they would have advised me on their own, as my job was a more involved one that would have taken a few hours to do, at the least. I wasted my entire day waiting at home for nothing. I do not plan on rescheduling.
I had not read the other reviews at that point, but now I realize how lucky I was to not have had them show up. It was a blessing! Thank God they ever even came !

Ann P.

4/26/2023

I would give NO STARS due to unethical business practice! The work was complete.
Absolutely the most deceptive and unethical company we have ever encountered in over 35 years!!
I had a broken sink hose...they naturally didn't have one in the truck but did have a brand new Faucet. They showed up at 12:55 and gone by 1:15 and charged $1200.00 for the 40 minute job. The faucet on both Amazon and the manufacturer was listed at $300.00. Plumbers on the high end charge $150.00 an hour.
I called the manager Andrew asking for a breakdown of the costs and he would not provide it. He said it was a flat rate whether a disposal or sink and how did I think they could run a business, pay they're employees to feed their families if they didn't use that flat rate practice. It's not a charge by the hour.
So consumer beware... it's the most unethical business I have ever encountered with no morals or business honesty. The manager was so disrespectful and would not back up the reason for the $1200.00 cost for a $300.00 faucet done in 40 minutes. He used his need to pay employees to feed their families as to why they scammed me. Simply wrong on so many levels...the business model, ethics and rudeness by a manager is not a business I would ever recommend.
Go local, pay a person that works by the hour and is honest. Give your work to a company that respects and appreciates the opportunity to do the work. Southwest Plumbing has a deceitful business practice!
I have never written a Yelp review, I accept that sometimes things aren't as we would like but this was over the top bad business and I'd be remiss not to forewarn other potential customers.

Nelani C.

4/23/2023

Technician Chris Ball was very helpful and extremely nice. He did a great job clearing my kitchen sink.

Tom L.

9/16/2022

Scam job all the way. Don't come near these guys, especially if your gray water drain backs up. They are out to find suckers who they can bilk for tens of thousands. They'll show you a shady video of your line and try to sell you on the world is ending and you need to dig up the yard ASAP when all you really need is a good washout. Another Yelp reviewer said they learned later they'd paid ten times too much. We accomplished what we needed at one HUNDRED times less. The other company's video (of the same line) looked night and day better. I don't know what Southwest does to make it look so bad. They send five guys to do a job for one. Guess they think it helps with the shell game they do on you. One meathead even nicked outside and sprayed white paint all over a four-foot section of our garden. Without even asking or explaining what he was doing!

Bruce H.

04/05/2023 12:00:00 SA

Abel & Ricardo quickly helped resolve a broken water supply under my kitchen sink . They arrived early and were both wonderful to work with. They also helped me update my old plastic shutoff valves to high quality metal ones. Planning to have them help with my hot water heater when it's time to replace.

Trisha K.

04/03/2023 12:00:00 SA

Our bathtub was flooding and after pouring an entire bottle of liquid plumbr down with no results I called South West Plumbing. Mark came by the same afternoon. He was friendly, professional and took one look and found it to be jammed by the automatic lock thing attached to the bath. He didn't charge me a thing!!! In this time and age, who still does that right?? He fixed it and left me with a working bathtub again!!! Thank God for honest people like Mark! South West Plumbing, Honest, dependable and reliable!!!!!

Allison B.

11/25/2022

Mark, and Cody were great. Excellent service !
We recommend them ! Polite and professional.

Scott K.

8/31/2022

Beware! They quoted $66k for side sewer work. I got a second opinion and it turns out I was about to pay almost 10x's more than I needed too. The company's pricing structures are insane. Their guy was quoting what his iPad spat out at him, so no bad on him. However, he got combative when I questioned the cost, so that is on him. I shut down the project, had them wrap up what they already started, but that still cost me $12k more than I needed to spend for the same job by just about every other company out there.

In reference to that second opinion, it was from a 5-star outfit that rushed over to take a look, for free. This company let me know that they didn't have capacity to do the work, but would call around to competitors to find someone to help me out. That's amazing!

The SW guys that actually did the work were great. Excellent. I am grateful for the work they did and they worked hard. To them, sorry for the one star review. I give you all five stars.

Arshia K.

7/29/2022

They are extremely responsive, nice and helpful but it is exorbitant pricing with a cost of $500 for a toilet wax ring replacement.

Chris J.

8/17/2022

I called them to replace an outdoor faucet. They way overcharged, but I paid it. Then I called the office to complain and they refunded half the money. Even with that, it was 2x what another plumber would charge. But at least they listened and tried to make it right.

K. K.

07/06/2022 12:00:00 SA

BEWARE: This company WILL take advantage of you. They will charge you more than double what other companies charge. My advice is to take your business elsewhere.

We had a sewer backup on a Sunday and because our usual plumber was closed, we called SW Plumbing because they were open and nearby. After unsuccessfully snaking the line (due to a large blockage), they recommended a scope Monday am. They came out first thing the next morning and said the only option is to dig a 10' hole in the front yard, hydrojet and possibly line the pipes. They quoted us 22k and that didn't include the lining. We were in sticker shock but had to get the work started immediately so I didn't have time to shop around (which I now regret). The 22k didn't even include the lining.

After the hole and hydrojet was complete I called about 5-6 other companies for quotes for the same work and found out most other companies would charge 7-9k, while SW plumbing charged us 22k.

After the hydrojet was complete they came back with another quote to for lining 75' of pipe for 42k. It was at this point we told the manager that they are taking advantage of us and we will shop around for another business to do the lining. The manager then told us that we could give them a number that we are happy with to pay for the work. Why wouldn't they just give a competitive quote from the beginning instead of this predatory pricing and bargaining bs. I shouldn't have to bargain with any reputable business. We came to an agreement on price (which is still 5-10k more than other companies would have charged us), but I will never use SW plumbing again and will make sure all my neighbors and friends know about our experience as well.

Ron B.

01/09/2022 12:00:00 SA

Our bathtub backed up so I called South West Plumbing to come out and snake out the drain. I explained the situation amd the person asked if I was on Septic. I said yes and it had a complete drain and testing less than 2 years ago. She said they don't want to come out unless it's been
less than a year since it had been serviced. I told her it was not the septic system, dishwasher, clothes washer, etc., all drained fine, I just had a plugged up tub. Anyway, if the issue was more than that, I needed a plumber to tell me. She finally said she could schedule me but it would be 4 WEEKS OUT!
I called Beacon Plumbing, who listened, said it was not a septic issue and someone would be out the next day. Things are fine now. The only reason I gave SW Plumbimg 1 star is because it's the lowest I can give. A 0 is what is due them!

Ruth K.

7/15/2022

Called on Monday, to make an appointment to install a new toilet on Thursday. Scheduler put me on schedule, said I'd receive a call the night before for a shorter time window than 8-5.

Didn't receive time window call on Wednesday night, so I called Thursday morning for said time. hmmm, well we aren't sure, and (mumble mumble) I don't see a tech assigned to you, (mumble mumble), not sure someone can come out today.

I ask what is the purpose of scheduling an appointment, if you aren't going to actually make said appointment. I am met with that's not how plumbing works, we don't really make appointments...blah blah blah.

IF appointments aren't made, shouldn't I have been told that four days prior, when I called to make the appointment?

I have been three months w/o a toilet, due to the neglect of another plumbing company. Done with that company, done with this one. So I just stopped freakin' and well, you know the rest...

Jeff M.

1/28/2022

We had our tankless water heater breakdown, so we reached out to multiple plumbers to get quotes. Working with Wendy Brady over the phone and Mike our plumber assigned to our call was nothing short of amazing! Wendy was very helpful over the phone. Mike came out very promptly within an hour for our quote and was able to come out the next day to get the work done. Mike really looked at our problem and came up with the best solution of all the plumbers we had given us a quote. We felt his knowledge and skills allowed us to receive the best work on this project!

He did not try to upsell us, but he did offer fair pros and cons about each option and took the time to explain how the different tankless water heater systems operated and what we could expect with each. We needed some rerouting of our water pipes and SW plumbing's prices were both in line and better than their competition.

SW Plumbing are our go to plumbers moving forward!

Mike N.

9/30/2022

In the tail end of a remodel - tankless water heater not working @ 100% let's say 80%. I thought I probably just needed a flush. The tech, Kevin, told me this unit is failed, it has a gas leak. Humm , I'm not sure how it just develops a gas leak but let's check it out. Let's see what we can do. $7k for a replace. Seems steep. Units are $911 from other sources. This is a 25 minute drop in deal. Literally thread on and thread off. I declined the service and the flush because I can get an new unit for less.

They disabled the unit when they left. I felt strongly this was an attempt to play on my rush and the fact that the house was being remodeled for them to cash in. I felt taken advantage of.

As to a gas leak the unit has been installed outside my house for many years and it didn't smell any different then the last few years.

When I turned the power and gas back on the unit performed @ 100% and appears to be functioning normally.

Matt O.

01/02/2022 12:00:00 SA

My family and I came back to Seattle on New Years Day with a broken pipe due to the freezing cold. I had to turn off the main water valve to stop the leak, which meant no running water in the house. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones with issues due to the cold -- and all plumbers that I called in Seattle (5-6 different companies) were backed up for days.

South West was the most responsive, helpful, and knowledgeable of any plumber we called. They arrived the fastest and the plumber who came -- Aaron -- was super knowledgeable, kind, and helpful. I will be using South West again in the future and I would highly recommend them to anyone that needs a plumber.

Thomas R.

01/03/2022 12:00:00 SA

By far the worst experience I have had as a new home owner was working with this company. Cost me 3k to have them come in and make my living conditions even worst than before.

Installation of a PRV ended up costing me 3k$ to only cause other issues of hammering in my walls. This never happened until this work was being finished. Not only could they not answer what was happening they wanted to find little jobs here and there to charge 300 a pop to try to maybe fix the issue.

We asked that another plumber come out and check the work and it ended up costing us another 100$ to have them tell us that they couldn't figure out what was wrong and yet again trying to sell us 300$ odd jobs here and there to try to maybe fix the issue.

Tom C.

06/06/2022 12:00:00 SA

WAY over charges ,this firm charged me $1167 for 3 1/2 hrs work! I would strongly urge you not to call this plumber. They charge way too much. I don't know how they are able to sleep at night.

Patricia H.

2/23/2023

I called Southwest Plumbing for a toilet issue. Norman from Texas and Andrew (apprentice) showed up in about an hour. I also asked for a bid for a vintage bathroom sink that drips. Norman took the time to explain the fix for my sink, so I understood what needed to be done. I think they did a good job fixing my toilet. Both Norman from Texas and Andrew (apprentice) were respectful and very polite. Southwest Plumbing was recommended by a neighbor and I will do the same.

Erika R.

5/31/2022

Had Southwest Plumbing come out to fix a leak in faucet and also in a toilet. I gave them approval to do repairs. After dealing with faucet, technician said he could not fix faucet as it was corroded. He charged me $520.73 to basically look at it and then tell me he couldn't fix it.

Dennis H.

01/05/2023 12:00:00 SA

These guys are the WORST. My 70 year old mom had a blockage in her sewer line from the house to the street. Cody and Mike came out and marked a spot in the front yard where the blockage was. They quoted her $14,000 to fix it. I grabbed a shovel and started digging. Cody said he would do the job 'on the side' for half price. When I told him I hit the water table two feet down and couldn't pump the ground water out fast enough, he stopped answering his phone. I rented and excavator and called a local septic company. The brought out a pump truck, installed a two way drain and used a jetter in both directions for $655. $370 for excavator and my time. An honest plumber should have charged no more than $3,000. STAY AWAY!!!!! They like taking advantage of seniors and should all be in jail for their actions.

Scott G.

1/31/2023

Plugged Kitchen sink fixed with minimum effort. Chris was quick, polite and clean. And he showed up 1 hour after calling.

M Y.

02/05/2023 12:00:00 SA

Quick response, reasonable cost, friendly service on a Sunday. 5 stars! Chris Ball was patient and thorough.

Mannes N.

11/27/2021

South West plumbing come out to address a partial toilet
blockage. After initial diagnosis I was told that in order to
determine the cause of blockage, the toilet will need to be removed,
for an additional cost. When that was done, water was poured down the
drainage and it did not immediately block. Therefore, the diagnosis
provided was that the problem was isolated to the bowl of the toilet. The cost of service was $453.60 plus tax.

As a result of the diagnosis, I purchased a replacement toilet and had
it installed by another company. In the process of installation, it
was discovered that the blockage was actually in the drainage (not the
original toilet), and it was addressed through conventional augering.

So, the outcome of the mistaken diagnosis was to have me replace a
fairly new toilet (2 years old) and still have to address the blockage
issue. In effect, the diagnosis provided to me by Southwest was
incorrect and of no value at all.

The above summary was sent to the company on 11/12/2021, and two weeks later, they have yet to respond. They did send me a Christmas card, though. That got dropped into the recycling bin.

I B.

1/31/2023

Our 14-year-old water heater was acting iffy, so we called SW and they sent out a plumber and apprentice that same afternoon. It was time for a new water heater, and they were able to replace ours with a new model plus mixer on the spot, and they removed the unnecessary expansion tank left over from even before the old model. Thanks for answering all my questions and being so thorough and friendly, Abel and Ricardo!

Judy K.

11/25/2022

We'd used SW Plumbing to replumb some of our pipes, and they did an OK job. So we thought having them do a simple replacement of a washer to stop the drip on an outside faucet would be fast and relatively inexpensive. (We could have done it ourselves, but we didn't have the wrench needed to turn the water off at the meter.) The one man was very nice and helpful, and did replace the handle as well. It took them (there were 2 men at first but only one seemed to do the work) a little short of TWO HOURS!!! (well, they were there that long). And the bill came to $687.00!!!!!!!!!
We just want people to be aware of that and not hire them in the first place. We surely have learned our lesson the hard way!!!! And we should have gotten a bid, but it seemed so simple. I wasn't home, so my elderly husband dealt with him and he did quote the price before, but it sure seems out of proportion to the task done, (we know plumbing isn't cheap, but......YIKE!!!!) Beware!

Anne S.

01/07/2023 12:00:00 SA

Rip off. I called them for a cracked hose bib. The repair took about 20 min and the part cost about $20 at the hardware store. I paid over $850 for this. I had another plumber email me back with a quote that was 1/3 of that price but by then it was a day too late. Avoid them unless you don't care about the cost.

Monica T.

02/10/2023 12:00:00 SA

When we awoke to no hot water earlier this week, the first plumber I called was South West. They had a service answering at 6 am and I got a call back when they opened at 7 am. True to their ads, they had same day service and were at my house well within the 9-11am window I had been scheduled. Andrew Campbell arrived with his assistant Andrew and before the end of day, they had replaced the tank, made changes to my ducting that had been done incorrectly on the last tank, and loaded the old tank onto their truck for disposal. Andrew C. had some good advice on maintenance for the new tank. The cost was fair and reasonable for a new hot water tank. Highly recommend South West plumbing!

Jenny H.

12/19/2022

I see a ton of negative reviews on here, but that was not my experience. South West Plumbing sent someone out within about 90 minutes of our Monday morning phone call. Pretty simple issue: clogged drain. Mark was friendly, professional, cool with my dogs, and fixed the clog quickly. I see a lot of stuff on here about pricing, but Mark reviewed the quote before doing the work, so there were no surprises about cost. We would use them again. Also, Mark, you left your safety glasses in our kitchen, in case you're missing them!

Jim D.

02/02/2023 12:00:00 SA

I have a friend who is on septic system instead of city sewer and this company, who obviously doesn't know anything about septic tanks, misled and lied to my friend. The technician had absolutely no knowledge of how a septic system works. Now granted, they didn't charge him anything but it appeared by the lies that he was told, they were obviously wanting to stick a high priced, incorrect job on someone. Homeowner got his septic problem fixed the next day, by a different company... and the problem wasn't even close to what this company said it was. The technician was rude and very wrong! Would not recommend this company to anyone ever!

Steven V.

12/07/2022 12:00:00 SA

First of all we had been trying to find a reliable plumber for some time we had a few Shady interactions with a couple other companies. Te other morning I saw a flyer coupon for Southwest Plumbing in my kitchen and decided to call let me tell you I am so happy that I did they were here to provide a bid for the services within a couple days the other companies I tried were scheduling weeks out, I had Kirk and Benjamin come out to my house today to provide me with that bid not only did they give me an acceptable bid they immediately started doing the work! I absolutely was astonished they were both very polite very professional and very knowledgeable Kirk was able to not only tell us what was wrong but explain what was really going on behind the scenes he was very budget conscious with our budget and performed all services incredibly and efficiently! not only did they provide the services we signed on for but as they were doing the work they realized there wasn't very much hot water pressure in a couple of our sinks and I got to tell you they're still in my house right now trying to figure it out I cannot believe it these guys! They are so awesome! It's not often you find a company that truly does what they say they're going to do I highly recommend Kirk and Benjamin not only will they do the work you need done but you will be happy when they leave they are a rare find!

Dan Y.

01/05/2023 12:00:00 SA

Both Abel and Ricardo did a great job to help to replace the burst copper pipes and got us help with people who can mitigate the water damage of the flooded garage walls and ceiling! Thank you for them to come out and respond quickly!

Arich F.

01/02/2023 12:00:00 SA

This was the second time I called South West plumbing to come out to the house. We had a couple of stormwater lines outside of the house that we wanted to have checked out and to determine where the water comes and goes from. Ryan and Adam came out and performed a scope of the line and accurately diagnose some of the water problems we had been having. Aside from the actual service, it was clear that both Ryan and Adam were very knowledgeable and took the time to explain everything they saw very clearly. I will definitely be calling in the future for any plumbing issues.

Carol N.

12/02/2022 12:00:00 SA

James and Cody... they were the best! came same day and fixed my stubborn problem! went above in keeping things neat and respected my property.

Lee C.

1/23/2023

They, Abel and his apprentice, responded quickly to leaks in my garbage disposal and kitchen faucet. The repairs were first-rate. Would highly recommend their services

R J.

1/23/2023

Scheduled an appointment for kitchen drain issue, they were out within a couple hours and fixed the issue. Chris was super polite and helpful.

Gabriela P.

02/11/2023 12:00:00 SA

We had our new dishwasher installed from SWP. Little did we know into what problems we would run into. But Leo and Michael were great to work with. They explained everything that was going on and how to address that. As we needed to get an electrician first before they could start the plumbing job, they made not only sure that the electrician knew what was going on, they also made sure that they were the ones who finished the job the next day. A big thumb up for Leo and Michael for their knowable, professional and fast help, they went behind and beyond.

Tye S.

4/15/2022

A big shout out to Kirk and Benjamin with South West Plumbing! True professionals. Upon arrival on-site, Kirk set expectations as to the process they were going to follow and how they were going to engage us. They diagnosed that our hot water heater expansion tank and release valve had failed. Upon finishing, they provided well thought out alternatives to either repair or replace. The explanations were clear and unbiased. We decided to replace and scheduled the installation two days later. On install day they were on time, had all the necessary materials, decommissioned the old tank and installed the new one. No issues, which I believe is based on their training, expertise and preparation. An outstanding experience from start to finish from our perspective.

Matthew T.

12/19/2022

We've used Southwest on 3 different occasions now. First was a leak in the water main to the house. Next was to install a frost-free exterior bib, and most recently was to snake a drain line that my 20' snake wouldn't reach. Mark came out within 2hrs of me calling in, was great with the dogs, and got us a quote within 20min. Clog was cleared in another 20min. He was courteous enough not only to put booties on his shoes before entering, but he also wrapped the wheels on the rooter machine as to not track in dirt from those. Great service again.

Ray M.

01/09/2023 12:00:00 SA

Our sewer pump alarm went off on Dec 26th and we couldn't find anyone to help fix our problem. South west worked through phone calls, texts and schedule rearranging to come out to help us. They were extremely polite and professional and worked late into the evening to solve our issue. I really appreciate how quickly they acted to resolve our problem when the city had faced really bad weather and there water issues throughout the neighborhood. Thank you!

Dan P.

10/25/2022

This is a negative review for South West Plumbing for good reason. They over charge for services, by a lot! I had an issue with my tankless water heater. It quit working after 5 years, started beeping. By the time we got to it, it was working again. We called SW Plumbing, they came out right away. They did a minor service on the tankless water heater which was a citric acid flush of the inside of the heater coils to remove scale, something that should be done on a frequent basis. They charged $599 (my billing) for this service and it took less than 1.5 hours. 2 days later, the tankless water heater quit working again. This time we saw error code, #11, which is either dirty igniters or natural gas interruption. YouTube revealed how to clean igniters. It took me, an inexperienced person, less than 15 minutes to remove 4 screws and clean 3 igniters right on the front of the unit. The unit is now working.
I decided to check pricing from other companies for a citric acid cleaning, which is a standard service for a tankless water heater. The highest quote I got was $450, which included the time to come to my address. Generally, the bigger plumbing companies, the ones with ads on TV, quoted $300 to $450 for this service. Smaller plumbing service companies, local to my address, quoted less. If you do an internet search for this service, the price goes down to as low as $100. No company charges as much as $599.
I decided to go back to SW Plumbing to see if I could get some sort of compensation for charging so much and NOT fixing the problem. I do not mind paying extra for a quality service but to pay extra and NOT get quality service, is a problem for me. The people sent to my house should had known that igniters could be a problem if the heater goes out. Since this is such a simple task to perform, you would think it would be included in the minor service, but at SW Plumbing, it is not. It is included in their major service, which is $1184 (per Andrew 10/24/22). Now, granted, the major service includes more, but the igniter cleaning only takes 15 minutes at most and since the heater quit working, should had been done by a qualified, knowledgeable plumber exploring why a tankless water heater quit working.
SW Plumbing did not do anything to amend overcharging for this service. They told me they do not match pricing and they will not refund any money. In other words, they are not interested in repeat business from me or any of my tenants. They just overcharge and hope the customer does not realize it.

Mia A.

3/29/2022

If theres less than 1to rate this company i will...lucky them theres nothing below 1.
We bought a place where the water heater installed 2018. We move 2019, then tank started leaking the next year. Called the southwest plumbing who installed it. They dont give warranty to the heater because its a new owner though its their water tank that they installed. Beware when its southwest plumbing...no assurance if they will give you warranty. They are the one who installed it and got a leaking problem...they DONT WANNA FIX IT. Now after 4 years the water tank they installed not working at all. Beware if you want a water heater that will last longer, find another company who will give a real, true warranty for the job they've done... you can not get it from Southwest Plumbing. We are so dissappointed buying this place installed by this company.

Amanda C.

01/03/2023 12:00:00 SA

our hot water tank went out and these guys were very quick and knowledgeable about repairing it in a timely manner, thank you Anthony Wilson for makingthis experience a great one!!!!

Cindi B.

10/22/2022

This company tried to convince us that $38,000 of unnecessary sewer repair work was urgently needed. We had a backed up toilet, called them out, and they charged us an outrageous amount of $1,800 to remove the toilet, snake the line, and put a camera down to see what was going on (that was a $500 upcharge). We were told our sewer line was close to collapsing, would need an epoxy liner installed, for a total fee of over $42k. We decided on a second opinion. A local sewer company came out, put a camera down for FREE (not $500), and told us our repairs would be about $4200 (and not urgent). Beware of this company. Their employees are taught to upsell, overcharge you for services, and try to convince you that you need unnecessary work.

Dayna V.

10/23/2022

The technician was super nice and great to work with but that was about the only positive. Giving 1 star because the less than 2-hour visit cost us over $1,300 and they had to come back out the next week because the repair didn't last. When I had to schedule a follow up visit the lady on the phone was rude when I was trying to make sure we wouldn't have to pay again and sent our technician to another job because I was in a work meeting and took 20 minutes to respond (there should be at least a 30 minute grace period during working hours) so had to schedule the follow up visit twice.

Unwana U.

3/18/2022

This could have easily been a better review but I've used this company twice with the same issues!! Your customer service is terrible!! Mike the manager never gave me my pictures nor did he ever call back after requesting him to call me now almost 4 weeks. They were called about my plumbing and water pressure. They were so gong ho on getting over they never repaired the pressure issue. When they finally wanted to fix the issue they wanted to charge 7k to fix a 1800.00 pipe replacement. They already got 25k for the plumbing that I think was already my soul in a firery hand bag . They fixed the plumbing so I give them that. The lies, price gouging, asking for a SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER by text is sooo suspect and customer service is what made me score this low. I would not recommend this company. Please find another company to provide the service you need.

Anonymous S.

3/17/2022

Not a highly rated plumbing shop. Be sure to read the fine print in their advertising promotion. No obligation for a cost analysis/untrue, no
obligation for estimate of cost to customer/untrue, not a professional meeting and will not be hiring for any of my plumbing needs.
Beware

Claire A.

09/12/2022 12:00:00 SA

Buyer beware. They are ripping people off. We got the most outrageous quote for a sewer job, and our house was torn up in the process of their diagnosis of what the problem was. Seems like they are running an insurance scam. Really upsetting experience.

Edwin B.

04/06/2022 12:00:00 SA

My hot water tank blew gave Southwest plumbing A call they were there at 8:20 this morning gave me a bid we negotiated and they did an excellent job cleaned up my basement as best they could and the price wasn't too out of line so I would just like to thank them one more time good job guys keep up the good work

Martha S.

05/04/2022 12:00:00 SA

Southwest repaired and cleaned my shower drains and replaced a toilet as the old one had a tank beyond repair.
They also replaced my leaky outdoor faucets with new ones that don't freeze. The crew was very professional with their work and cleaned up after the job was done.
Martha

TD B.

02/01/2022 12:00:00 SA

Do not hire this dishonest company. They advertise free camera inspection all over TV and U tube. I made an appt to get the free inspection and they ended up charging me over $500! They refused to use my sewer line access port so that was the reason they charged me instead of the free deal. I was never even able to see the camera footage.
He tried to pressure me into a $5000 fix that same night and would not stop pushing me about it.
Very dishonest, will never hire again. I plan to take them to Small Claims court!

clancy p.

3/14/2023

Our sewer line backed up into our downstairs bathroom on a Friday just after our housekeepers had cleaned. We've never had a problem where we couldn't plunge it ourselves in 21 years of owning our home so knew we were in trouble. We contacted a few service companies for quotes and two were available immediately same day so they came out assessed and gave us a quote. After speaking with Ryan of Southwest plumbing it was clear they were motivated to get us back up and running as quickly as possible as we were without water and sewer. They were all over it and I was extremely impressed by the service, how quickly an 8 foot hole could manually be dug and the effort and dedication on the weekend to get us back up and going. I cannot say enough on how great these guys are and how responsive. Shout out to; Ryan - a great guy who really cares!, Michael N for pulling it together an amazing motivated team to get it done! Ozzy - A great guy volunteering to work over the weekend along with Anthony (I've not seen someone with a work ethic like his... wow) and Nathan. My family and I appreciate the speed and dedication and commitment to getting us taken care of!!! THANK YOU!

Tsui-Ping L.

02/11/2022 12:00:00 SA

I had Southwest Pluming to put a heater in my rental in Burien. They came very fast to put a new water heater in. An hour later my tenant called me said the water heater caught on fire.
I called Southwest Pluming, women answer the phone said they can not go out till next day. I tried to call back few times .. NO ANSWER!!! 24/7???
Southwest advertised 24/7???
I text and called the person who put the water heater in with burned heater photo. HE NEVER REPLIED!!! not till next day.
I called the next day again. they said they went in and fix it already...
the tech told my tenant the day before that he missed a wire in the back of the tube that is why it is on fire..
I talked to the office manager he said they are not electricians??? he just wire my heater???
long story short.. he tried to back peddle..
I ask Southwest pluming to give my tenant $50 certificate or give me $50 off so I can give it to my tenant cause Southwest did not clean up the burned heater!!! it is not too much to ask to give $50 to my tenant for all the inconvenience they caused my tenant.
Southwest have an answering service.
they called me today said they are looking into my phone call. they want to fix my heater??? I told him about my situation... he said he can't do anything and HUNG UP ON ME???
is this how Southwest do their business??? This is my 2nd water heater from Southwest. is this how they treat their repeat custmer?
I will not use there service again!!!

Shelley L.

09/05/2022 12:00:00 SA

It has been a few weeks since I had Southwest Plumbing out to fix a stacked washer hose that had a pin hole leak and was leaking, requiring the hoses from machine to wall to be replaced. I had used Southwest in the past and had been very happy with their service. Not this time. I understand they have a new owner, and the service people get a base wage and get more if they can upsell. First, I caught the leak early and had used only two bath towels to mop up the water and I turned off the flow to the house. When they got here the service guy pulled out the stacked unit, replaced the two hoses and put the washer and dryer unit back in place. I cleaned the vinal floor up. No water left the area and seeped anywhere else. I was leaving on a trip the very next morning. He told me along with the hoses I needed to have my floors and walls evaluated for water damage and may need new flooring. Again, I caught this leak early and contained the floor. He also told me my pressure was on the high end and I probably needed to have a pressure valve placed on the main piping which involves opening up the wall and placing a valve. They don't do the repair to the wall, so someone else would need to do that. He also couldn't guarantee his work fixing of the hoses, unless I got the pressure valve put in. Because I had to leave town, he would give me a break and guarantee his work until about a week or two after I got back into town, after that no guarantee. He charged me $1300.00 to replace the hoses. The estimate on the valve was 4500.00 Did I want that done today?? I declined. The estimate on the valve from another plumbing company was about $980.00 on the highest estimate. The hose replacement was around $800.00. The house has had no issues with any pressure problems, and it has functioned fine for twenty some years. The pressure was within range. Then he tells me they have someone who can come out and give me an estimate on the floor. No charge. Two people came out, had a meter that beeped when held to the floor and wall. The water never reached the wall. I had just wiped it down with a Clorox cloth and some dampness from that may have been there, which I explained to the two people. Oh yea, you want to get this taken care of as soon as possible because black mold can grow in hours and so we would pull up your floor, and remove the walls on either side ...it will take 2-3 weeks and we put blowers on it to make sure everything is dry and replace all sheet rock and any wet wood.....your insurance should pay for this, otherwise your looking at 6 grand out of pocket, and oh yea, mold is really bad for you and your animals. I told them to have their supervisor email me a quote. They left. I never heard another word. I did check with a contractor friend and another plumbing company who both stated that the valve wasn't needed, and the flooring only needed a blower on it for 24 to 48 hours to dry out the area. (Which I had available). The flooring thing with the beeper was a scare tactic and not needed.
I now have another plumbing company I will be using.

Aaron S.

5/31/2021

Showed up with less than an hour's notice and not only fixed my toilet but taught me how to do some basic replacements on some other toilets in the house instead of bate and switch tactics to get me to buy more services. I was very thankful for this as I just moved into a new house and money is a tighter than normal. Will use again, very happy with the service.

Issue fixed: toilet wax ring failure causing standing water around toilet

Jeff T.

09/07/2022 12:00:00 SA

Called and scheduled an appointment. On the day they were scheduled to arrive, they text and tell you are on the schedule for the day and a technician will be assigned and they will give you an updated time frame for arrival. Waited all day only to have them call and tell me they weren't going to make it out that day. That's fine. We reschedule for the next week. Same exact scenario-receive the text message, wait until 3pm and receive the call that they are not able to keep their appointment once again. They tell me they should most likely be able to get out tomorrow. Apparently, they don't value their customer's time or money. When I explained this to them, the response was, well, we can do weekends as well. How about just making an appointment and keeping it? Kind of the whole point of making an appointment in the first place. Taking my business elsewhere.

Jayson W.

06/09/2021 12:00:00 SA

Incredibly fast response to my inquiry about a toilet issue. Had a plumber out to my house the very next day. They offered a full rebuild of our toilet as it was needed, the valves were broken and the rubber flap was showing its age. We mentioned our water heater issue and he showed us that the previous home owner lied about their work they had done in replacing it. It was supposed to be replaced in 2008!

Sawyer gave us the estimate on spot for a brand new water heater, installation up to code, and replacing the pipes from the old one to the new one. We got an awesome price that was almost HALF of what a previous plumber we asked an estimate for, was offering. Solid work, my wife absolutely loves showers longer than 5 minutes (because who doesn't). Perfect service, friendly staff, professional and reliable work. HIGHLY recommend South West Plumbing!

Sarah V.

2/14/2023

I had a blockage in my mainline that they could not remove without some special equipment that costs almost $3,000 to use. I said ok let's do it (even though I'm a single mom on a limited income) because my son and I need plumbing and what else are we supposed to do. They said that they would be back the next day to fix it which meant no use of pluming until then. But they did not show up until the day after which meant we had to use facilities elsewhere (thanks for the use of your bathroom PCC). They finally fixed it two days later and said that the line looked fine, and nothing could be done to repair the issue. Then they came back and said that they would do an assessment with their manager to see if they could fix it for good. I said ok because I can't keep paying $3,000 to fix something that will reoccur. Three men showed up at my house to assess the situation. After removing a toilet and making chalk marks in my driveway they gave me an estimate of over $15,000 to fix it and would wrap my $3,000 into that (I had already paid half of the $3,000 up front). Honestly, I thought that the estimate would be higher but obviously I don't have that kind of money so... I was looking into a HELOC or other loan (but interest rates are insane) when I received a follow up text about what I wanted to do about the fix. Anyway, a couple weeks go by and then I receive another text that Southwest plans to send my other half payment ($1,400) to collections and put a lien on my house if I don't pay up. No other communication. From a text (not an email, not a letter) asking me if I want to go forward with the bigger $15,000 project to an email threatening litigation. Initially I was scared then I was pissed. I paid the remainder of my invoice that day and will NEVER work with Southwest again. Trying to bully a single mom over text WTF!?!?!

Bryce B.

03/07/2021 12:00:00 SA

Not sure why there are so many bad reviews here for South West Plumbing. We had an excellent experience with Colton, who was dispatched to our home to investigate what we believed to be a sewage clog and backup. We were experiencing a toilet that would not flush. When it finally did, there was a lot of gurgling and finally sewage water backed up into the toilet. In addition, there was water leaking from the seal around the base of the toilet. We expected the worst.

From the moment of service request to the time Colton arrived, everything was well and quickly handled. He asked quite a few questions to understand the nature of the issue, and was able to determine a few likely causes. In under 2, he has diagnosed the issue and was able to get it fixed. Turned out to be a problem with the backflow preventer being partially open. The entire time, he was super helpful, explained everything in detail and was generally just a really nice guy.

Although we hope to not have this issue, or any like it, ever again, at least we know who to go to.

Sarah K.

01/03/2022 12:00:00 SA

We hired South West Plumbing to install a pressure regulator, they talked us into changing the 2 gallon thermal expansion tank as well. With only these two things altered; immediately hammering and pipes groaning started. Had them out shortly after they were there to try to fix it. Only solution was to spend more money. Had them come out a second time (different plumber same company), neither crew could figure out why it's doing it plumbing is not an exact science as we were told and their only solution is to spend hundreds and hundreds of more dollars to try different things to make it stop, the very sound they caused. Borderline predatory practices to me.

They also did not mention the hundred dollar charge for the second plumber to come out to inspect the original work they had done.

Larry G.

03/04/2023 12:00:00 SA

have used southwest before and have always been satisfed with their work. needed a repair on a leaking hose faucet and kirk and ben were sent out in an hour and a half. they fixed the problem and did a great job. fast, friendly and professional. will use again if needed. larry g.

S G.

7/17/2022

Mark Brown and Garrett B was amazing. We had to replace toilet and they were so helpful. Garrett came in on the weekend and I really appreciate it. Thank you

Joel W.

1/13/2022

First they came out to retrofit a bathroom with old galvanized pipe to new pipe, quote was 11k which is insane.

didn't go with them for that, so just had them cap off an old galvanized pipe (600 dollars, still insane prices since it took 45 minutes) and then they left.

an hour or so i noticed a pinhole leak, Kris was the plumber who took care of this. I called and reported the leak that was caused by the work and they said because it's a foot and a half away from where we capped, and because it's old plumbing, it's not under warranty, it would have happened at some point or another

just ridiculous. now we have a leak in our basement and they wouldn't even consider remedying the problem they introduced from their work. If they can't warranty work on old pipes, don't do work on old pipes?

Wouldn't recommend southwest plumbing unless you have a serious emergency and your house is brand new so nothing else could go wrong. they'll rip out an arm and a leg to fix the most basic of plumbing problems.

Brandon was the service manager who declared this isn't in warranty because they're old pipes. Total joke, ran around in logical circles as he tried to explain what was in warranty and what wasn't. there was no rational to it, totally subjective that they just didn't want to fix the issue they introduced. could have taken then 20 minutes to fix but nope, poor service is their motto i guess!

James P.

01/07/2023 12:00:00 SA

Thursday the 29th before the big freeze of our streets my wife called about a leak under our kitchen sink. They agreed to respond the following day on Friday the 30th. Then the ice storm hit. We understood if they chose not to come out. The problem was, they never called us to let us know. My wife called later in the afternoon and the person she spoke with said she would get back to us later that day. No call back. Saturday I called in the morning and got the answering service. They said they were out on vacation and would not be answering calls until Tuesday as Monday was a holiday. After never getting a call back from the company my wife got a text indicating they were on their way. Are you kidding me. We had plumbing issues so we had to get someone else to fix the problem. My wife answered the text by saying we had hired another company and not to respond. She followed the text with a phone call to the company only to get a message that due to high caller volume could not answer our call. We gave up and never did hear from them again about our original appointment. Not exactly a company you can depend on. I realize the weather and holiday were factors but should not have gotten in the way of good customer service. We have spent thousands of dollars with this company over the years, most recently $3000.00 for new toilets throughout our house. This company has apparently taken the new approach that most companies have taken. NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. I guess my Old School Thoughts will need to be adjusted. The bottom line is we would not CALL on this company again for our plumbing needs. I can hardly wait four their advertisement offering $50.00 off on the next call. NO DOUBT AS GOOD AS THEIR SERVICE.

Dale R.

12/05/2021 12:00:00 SA

I recently scheduled Southwest Plumbing to come to my home and uninstall two toilets I needed removed the day prior to a flooring installation. The day I needed them to come (our flooring people refused to work while anyone else works in the home due to COVID), I followed up with them several times to confirm an arrival window. After repeatedly being told I'd hear back soon, I received a call and was told no one would be coming and had to quickly figure out a plan B so my other work could begin on time. Very lousy customer experience and I won't be calling them again.

Kyle G.

11/10/2021 12:00:00 SA

I had a drain line replaced under my sink and my water heater replaced. SW plumbing was first off the only plumbers who actually got back to me - then they scheduled within 24 hours and jobs were done within a couple hours. The actual plumber who came to my house was awesome. Super professional through and through. I'm impressed enough that I now will only recommend SWP.

Guy K.

10/07/2020 12:00:00 SA

Have had decent experiences several years ago with this company. Not recommended now. Their employee, Mike, spent hours trying to fix a couple slow drains and charged me $625.00!!! One of the drains was not working at all when he left.
Tried to get the manager, Ryan, to return my calls but nothing from him.

Run!

Elise T.

11/10/2022 12:00:00 SA

I also don't normally provide reviews, but I want this to serve as a warning to others. I had an appointment scheduled with Southwest's electrical department. They told me that someone could show up anywhere from 8:00 a.m. on a certain Tuesday through 5:00, but they will call me on that day to give me a 45 minute notice of arrival. At 10:10 they called me to say that they won't be showing up that day or the next because people are without power and the city needs them to address those folks first. They told me they'd call me back to see if they could come on Friday. On Thursday afternoon I called them because I need to plan my schedule. They told me I'm on the books for Friday. I asked what time is the earliest they would come. The woman I the phone wouldn't answer. I said, might it be 6:00 am? and she said I already told you that I can't answer that. I hadn't been to Yelp to see their reviews, but they reflect my experience pretty well. Go to a service provider that knows how to schedule appointments and honors customers' time and potential business. I didn't even want to give them 1 star, but wasn't sure if this review would be posted if I didn't click any stars.

Woody W.

11/09/2021 12:00:00 SA

We had a little job..It was to replace the drain on a kitchen sink. The job took a little over an hour, the final bill was $950.. This was in my opinion outrages.. I called the company and informed the person I talked to the same.. I also informed him I would never be using his company nor would I ever recommend the company to anyone...

Rik M.

10/10/2022 12:00:00 SA

South West will do good work provided you have the will to overpay. We had a drain leak, rather than look at the leak or attempt to fix the leak, the service person typed a few things on their iPad and came back with a $2,000 charge to replace 3' of pipe. That included a $500 ceiling access charge even though the ceiling was already removed, $900 for budget drain/overflow pipe. We said no, they were professional about it and pleasant. We fixed the leak with sealant for $10. The old putty rotted away at the connection of the tub, that was it. It's disappointing when you call a professional to fix a leak and they don't even look to repair, just quote you a full replacement and then overcharge on that. $900 for a overflow pipe that is $50. It's not the techs fault, they have pre-approved pricing that limits what they can do. I feel sorry for anyone who uses them without a second opinion. Use a own risk.

Michael S.

6/26/2019

If I could rate zero stars I would have.
Southwest Plumbing charged 1,178$ to reuse an old drain, and glue several pipes together. The drywall was already open and the job ready for them to complete. In the process they damaged the bathtub with several chips. Avoid this ridiculously overpriced company that can't even be bothered to lay down drop cloths during work.

The job took about one hour, the supervisor wanted me to prove that his plumber made the damage in my tub, and asked several other ridiculous questions.

If I could rate lower than one star I would have.

B_and_ E.

07/03/2020 12:00:00 SA

Had these guys out for an estimate on putting in a line for a refrigerator icemaker. SW. Plumbing sent out 2 guys in their white shirts. First thing they did was hook up a pressure gauge to my outside faucet. They told me the pressure was high and they would like to install a pressure regulator.

Sorry guys, I'm not responsible for the outside water in this unit. So they go inside and wanted to check all my faucets. I called them for an estimate on putting in a line for an ice maker and was amazed at how blatant they were at trying to find problems rather than address the issue for which they were called.

So they leave and later get me an estimate for about $800.00. Of course that was ridiculous. I ended up using Fischer plumbing. The guy ran a simple line from an adjoining bathroom sink and charged me about $300.

I've since bought a house and now realize I could've done the whole job for under 10 bucks.

Bottom line is, when you see a business that has a perpetual presence on local tv, just remember who pays for those ads. It's the fool who pays $800 for a $10 job while allowing themselves to be upsold at every opportunity.

Katy R.

04/11/2022 12:00:00 SA

I could not be more happy and grateful for the outstanding service I received from Evan and Brandin from Southwest plumbing. They were both exceptionally courteous, compassionate, professional, thorough, and of course extremely competent! I had an urgent situation with a burst pipe. I had trouble getting other plumbers to show up, but when I found Southwest they came the same day I called! The leak was in a tricky spot right in the subfloor and was difficult to get to. These two gentleman were very thorough and explained everything clearly along the way. They understood my financial situation and offered whatever options they could to help me know what choices to make. They offered financing if needed as well. I finally have running water after 4 days without it, and that's thanks to Evan and Brandin working well past their usual hours to get my unusual situation fixed. I absolutely recommend Southwest plumbing, and especially these two fantastic guys if you need any plumbing services!

Grant B.

3/21/2022

Two experiences with Southwest Plumbing. First we had a leak (note 1 leak) in a copper pipe on our boiler. Southwest show up, quote $375 to fix, also recommend we change overflow tank. 10 hours later, and 4 leaks from him moving pipes we were charged a little over $3,000. Fool me once me once shame on you. A year or so later our boiler stopped working. Southwest sent a specialist. He quoted $750 for diagnostics. $6,000 to try to fix the old boiler and $21,000 for a new one if it couldn't be fixed. I had the diagnostics done, then asked to think about it. Another outfit came in the next day. Said it likely could be fixed, or $6,000 installed for a new boiler. They fixed the old one for $2,800. I called Southwest to get the diagnostics I paid $750 for and they couldn't locate them, would get back to me. Never heard back...did it ever exist. Insult to injury, we also were having some browning of our water occasionally. The first Southwest plumber that replaced the overflow tank (see earlier in the review) had used the wrong kind and it was putting rust into our water. The outfit that did the work for a fraction of the quotes from Southwest also alerted us that our boiler had been reset by someone and they had not set the water temperature. As a result, 180 degree water went through our radiant heat floors for a winter and warped all the floor boards, so now every floor in the house creaks. No way to tell who reset the boiler, but Southwest had done all our plumbing to that point. Fool me twice, shame on me.
This happened a year or so ago, it has been nagging at me every time I see a SouthWest truck in my neighborhood.

Collin H.

9/22/2020

The original repair fixed one issue but our 10+ year old water heater was still running and making tons of noise (b/c of lack of maintenance prior to buying the house). We had Mike Morris (plumber) and Brandon Arellano (apprentice) out to replace our tankless water heater and fix our condensation tubes and connect them to the exterior. They did a tremendous job of explaining the work, keeping the work place tidy, and completing the job on time. I am so grateful for a job well done and will definitely call South West again for our future needs

John S.

8/13/2021

Their 2 star rating is to high. Called Thursday morning for a leaking pipe. They said they could come out on Friday. They did not. No communication all day Ftiday. Not until I called, did they tell me at 5:15pm on Friday that they would not be able to honor their commitment! Wasted a day off from work when I could have called someone else. Now I have to wait until Monday! Horrible communication and customer service. Do not take them on their word or any guarantee!

Carl M.

09/10/2021 12:00:00 SA

I called to get an estimate to add a washer/dryer hook up and they were a no-show on the first day but called to reschedule.
They got here the next day to check out my project. Nice guys and they send a picture of who is showing up.

Mike S.

8/23/2021

South West Plumbing is NOT the one.

We had a toilet flange that needed to be replaced. South West Plumbing quoted my wife $1,500 to replace when I wasn't there. By the time I got home, the work had already started and it was too late to stop. Two hours of work and a $20 part is $1,500??? That is incredibly overpriced and ridiculous. Do yourself a favor and find a different plumber.

Craig C.

2/24/2022

On 2/22/22 found my Hot Water Heater leaking all over my garage called southwest around 8:00AM made an appointment for a Hot Water Heater replacement. Told them I would be available after 1:45pm they said no problem. Linda from southwest plumbing called at 3:00pm and said they could not make it would another day work ? I said you realize it's leaking all over my garage ? She said did you turn the water to the house off ? Yes but what about the 50 gallons of water in the Hot Water Heater leaking all over my garage ? She said when that has leaked out it won't leak anymore ! Seriously Linda Wow ! Will NEVER CALL THEM AGAIN ! Terrible ! I had to call someone else to do the job ! Would HIGHLY RECOMMEND APOLLO PLUMBING ! Do not use Southwest Plumbing ever ! Thanks Linda !

Louis C.

03/05/2022 12:00:00 SA

Had 11 angle stopped valves replaced they did an excellent job and had everything done in 3 hours.

Erica O.

5/18/2020

Lol, might as well finish the saga. 9 months after install, my undermount sink fell down. No, we weren't using it. No, there weren't dishes in it. It just fell down. To recap: (1) sink working fine for 2+ years, (2) SW Plumbing says: You need that rehung or else it will fall down in the future! (3) SW Plumbing re-hangs sink and charges a butt load, (4) sink actually falls down 9 months later. Thanks for nothing SW Plumbing. Hope you're enjoying that $1586.

Carole A.

7/29/2022

Please beware of pricing with this company! We discovered a toilet leak, with water dripping into a storeroom below. They told us there would be an $89 fee just to come out, which is not unusual, and that the plumber would be prepared to do the work if we wished. The first 20 minutes after the two plumbers' arrival were spent trying to upsell us on a variety of things not related to our immediate problem. The work ultimately consisted of cutting a small hole in the ceiling of the storeroom (easy access with everything previously cleared out of the way), and resetting the toilet, putting in a new wax ring. The work took less than an hour. The cost? The itemized invoice lists $614.23 for leak search in small area and $570.89 for pull and reset toilet. Plus tax and minus a 5% senior discount our total bill was $1,241.26. When I questioned the plumber about the charges, his answers were first, Well you wouldn't think it was so much if you saw how much customers on my last call paid, and second, I offered some 'bundles' which you didn't want. A day later I talked to a service manager who talked about how high their overhead was and how expensive Seattle is. He said that the time to do a particular job varies significantly as they have both experienced and less experienced plumbers and because of that, they charge by the job rather than by the hour (plus materials.) Our charges were right out of our pricebook, he said. I also asked about the time spent on trying to sell us services we didn't ask for or want, and point blank asked if plumbers receive a commission and he said yes. I did receive a $200 refund after my call - but still, way overpriced and not at all transparent about pricing. Would never use again.

Rajarshi S.

6/30/2021

I hired them for fixing the flush system in my toilet. They couldn't figure out the problem in the starting and suggested replacing entire toilet as one of the options. After some more inspection, it turned out that the flush handle was worn out and needed replacement. They did a pretty fine job at replacing that. Now my flush is working fine! Regarding price, they seemed to be a bit on the pricier side (I have had lesser quotes for similar work from other providers) even after applying the $50 coupon. They were respectful to my house and very nice people.

Derek P.

3/31/2021

These guys are terrible. Twice the price of most other places, they won't get back to you when you call for followups, they are late to their appointments. Just all in all an excruciating experience to work with these chuckleheads. Avoid at all costs.

Sarah C.

02/11/2022 12:00:00 SA

They were able to come out the same day we called them to repair multiple leaks under our kitchen sink. Leo was extremely helpful in explaining the issue and how it would be repaired. This is our second time using them and both experiences have been positive.

Jeff N.

02/06/2020 12:00:00 SA

Okay, so no one really wants to have to call a plumber because we all know it's usually going to be costly but sometimes you need a professional. I had done everything I could and decided it was time for someone with experience to help. I originally called another big plumbing company and felt very uncomfortable with the person taking the call so I then decided to call South West Plumbing. Everyone I spoke to on the phone was not only helpful but polite. The plumber arrived when they said he would and his name was Colton.

Colton took the time to explain every thing to me and was upfront about the cost as well as possible other things that might have to be done. He was friendly, polite, took care of any mess that was made, went out of his way to answer my multitude of questions and most importantly was upfront about all possible options and prices to fix my problem.

So my project ended up being a two day project and I am glad South West allowed Colton to be here the second day as well. He gave me the new estimate for what we we're going to do today and further options if this did not work.

Colton never tried to take advantage of me and overcharge me which was greatly appreciated. I felt I could trust him and would not hesitate to call South West Plumbing and have them send out Colton if I ever needed anything else.

Also, every single person I spoke with from the initial phone call to the dispatchers and the manager were great! This is totally a great team of people who really want to get things right and make you feel as good as possible under the circumstances. I actually even called to speak with the manager to let him know about Colton and everyone at the organization I dealt with and how impressed I am.

Thank you South West Plumbing for amazing customer service. You made a loyal customer out of me.

Brad F.

11/20/2021

Called to get a leaky toilet fixed. Set a Friday appointment because we needed the bathroom for weekend visitors. South West Plumbing first tried to cancel the appointment they had set, and then sent 2 plumbers and tried to charge my wife $1,200 for a new toilet or $700 just for a new gasket that cost $15. When my wife showed them what the part cost at Lowe's and why they were trying to charge $700, they would only say that's what we charge. So she asked to talk to a supervisor in the office, and he, too, refused to break down the charges in any way because, well, it would have been hard to justify what they were charging. A novel concept for this company to consider: A consumer has a right to know what they are being charged for! The supervisor then apparently told his crew to leave, without even saying anything to my wife... A few days later, we got a new toilet from a reputable company for $400 less...Clearly, South West wanted to break their appointment, and when we balked at that, they tried to basically double-charge us simply for keeping the Friday appointment they had set! I guess they have to screw people to pay for all of those TV commercials...We will never do business ever again with South West Plumbing, and if you decide to do so, go in with your eyes wide open...they are unscrupulous...

Chris T.

5/21/2021

I am not going to go into all of it, but this company is horrible.

I called them, because I hear there radio adds and drive by there shop on SW Delridge all the time.

They came out, for $100, and gave me a $1700 bid to replace 6' of 2 drain line. They quoted $988 for the 6' section of material. When I inquired about this, they said it was a computer error and adjusted the estimate to $800. I agreed to the work, took the next day off work, and they never showed up.

It was an argument to get my $100 back, but I did. Please believe the 1 star reviews on here, they are a 'Advertising' company that does plumbing work. Go with a local plumber who is licensed and bonded, you will save hundred's or thousands of dollars...

Jessica S.

12/17/2020

We hired South West Plumbing to fix a leaky faucet in the tub/shower. $2617.56 later and we still don't have a functioning faucet. The plumber had to buy replacement parts, but he bought the wrong tub spout. He told us we could replace that part our selves. That if he replaced it he would have to charge us 10x what it would cost to do it our selves. You get that? He bought the wrong part and won't make it right.

Bob S.

05/12/2020 12:00:00 SA

I have a small backup water heater for reserve to my tankless system. The unit was leaking so I called SW Plumbing. They came out and replaced the dead heater. Unfortunately they swapped the water lines to the unit and fried the circuit to the main tankless system which killed the perfectly good tankless heater. They then gave me a $5700 bid to replace the dead tankless that they had just fried.

I called Beacon Plumbing who came out and replaced the dead tankless (for $ 4400) and told me the lines that were on the small backup were put on backwards which caused the main tankless to die. Beacon swapped the lines on the backup and all is working great. I should have called Beacon in the first place, saved myself the $1700 that I paid to South West Plumbing. So disappointing in SW Plumbing. They are overpriced and caused me to spend a combined $6000 that we should not have had to spend at all.

Ryan R.

11/03/2021 12:00:00 SA

Our water main sprung a leak and was bubbling up from under the driveway. South West's competitor estimated an unreasonable amount of money, plus around a week before they could even get started. In the meantime, our house had no water and we were living out of buckets hauled from the neighbor's house (which was very kind of him). South West charged less than half of the competitor's estimate and got the work completed that same day. Kris and his team were friendly, professional, and efficient. After three days of dry camping in our house, we were able to take showers that evening! Thanks guys!

Hafiz H.

12/30/2020

For a 24 hour plumbing service, waiting over 3 hours with no response or call back (I checked in every hour) is unacceptable. Simply tell me they can't come out help out would be a basic courtesy. Maybe they are short staffed, but the messaging service should be upfront on their capacity.

Janelle J.

11/16/2021

Called southwest plumbing on a Sunday night because I had water seeping through my floor in my living room. I asked what the service fee would be to have someone come out. I was told it would be $89 for an inspection to find the leak and that any pipes or anything that would need to be replaced would be added to that cost. When the plumber Aaron got to my house my mom (I was at work) was told it would be a total of $388 for the inspection. I talked to Aaron on the phone and he informed me that the $89 was for the dispatch to come to my house. I was desperate and just asked him to find the leak. He looked in my crawl space and found no exposed pipes then cut a hole in my wall and told me everything looked dry and that my meter did not indicate a leak and that it might just be dog pee. I told him it was definitely water and not pee. He then said he would check the meter again. When he got back to me he said it moved a little and that he could start cutting holes in my crawl space to find the leak and that it would be upwards of $900. I asked him why it wouldn't be included in the $388 inspection to find the leak. He told me it wasn't. At this point I had lost all confidence in the fact that he kept changing what he thought was going on asked him to just leave the water off and paid him $388 for less then an hours work and holes in my wall. I later called southwest plumbing to discuss the phone call I has had the night before when I was told it would be $89 for and inspection then added cost for repairs. Laura was very dismissive and I was told, I'll let them know

Travis E.

10/15/2021

Booked an appointment a week out for a Thursday. Got a text Thursday morning saying they would call us when they assigned a plumber. We called and gave them the number to call us because my wife was going to stay home and wait instead of me. Didn't hear anything all day. I called at 4:30 and the guy said dispatch had gone home and rescheduled us for Friday, which they never let us know until I called. I called Friday morning to see if they were coming out and they were mostly dismissive of my complaint and said they might be able to get someone out that day but wouldn't know until later. NO THANKS!

Rob F.

09/06/2020 12:00:00 SA

THESE GUYS ARE DAYLIGHT ROBBERS - DO NOT HIRE THEM! My family and I came back from a European holiday (this was last year) to find that our water heater was leaking all over the garage and had been for some days. We called around - it was a Sunday - and these were the only guys available to come immediately.
The gentlemen that showed up were nice enough, but we were absolutely RIPPED OFF for the replacement of our 50gl water heater: they charged us $5,000!!
At the time, I had no idea and didn't know any better other than what they were telling us. I didn't have time to call around as we needed it fixed ASAP.

Everyone I have spoken to - including certified plumbers - have told us it probably should have been maximum $2000 since the water heater itself is about $800 to buy at Home Depot.

SW Plumbing if you are reading this and want to make it right, please contact me through here and I can provide you with all the details.

Jan S.

9/28/2020

They are in the business of robbing money. We got the issue fixed for $5 but they wanted $750 for the work. Do not use them and find a better alternative

Tom A.

6/29/2019

The price was higher than I thought it would, but as I'm not a plumber, I did a little research. According to home.costhelper.com, the price I paid was reasonable. Not cheap, but within the range of what site said to expect.

The person that came out - Art M. - was very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I would recommend these guys and will call them again if I have further plumbing issues.

Dorothy C.

11/18/2020

Whoaaa so many bad reviews here.
We called SW plumbing two weeks ago because we had 2 leaky faucets and the tv kept playing their commercial so why the heck not.
They responded immediately, got us scheduled, and actually showed up! They got the job done fairly quickly and had to come back for the second job, which would have taken longer and they needed to order a part for it.

Ffw to 2 weeks later, they came and did the job. We did have to follow up once because we hadn't heard from them, but we got scheduled and it was fine. Our appointment actually got pushed back 1 day, but they were great at communicating and letting us know. They wore masks in my house, kept everything clean and also cleaned up after they finished. Both times we had a great experience.

Did we overpay? I'm not sure because when I want a service that requires skills and is located in an area that's difficult to access, I want someone to do it properly. That being said, them actually communicating with us and showing up for the appointment is worth it so I don't have to continue wasting my time. The work came with a 1 year warranty and when I did a quick search online, the price may be on the higher end but definitely not 2-3x the price as some other folks have experienced.

Bethani V.

8/27/2021

If I could give more stars I would. I came home to a leaking water heater, after just talking to my neighbor about how hers needed to be replaced. Abel was the best! He quickly diagnosed the problem and determined I needed a new water heater. During this time my neighbor came over and mentioned she also needed a new water heater. He checked hers out and confirmed she did in fact need a new one. He went and picked up two water heaters and replaced both mine & my neighbors in the same night. They worked over time to get both of our jobs done. They were so nice and got the work done as fast as they could. Highly recommend!

Ann W.

09/11/2021 12:00:00 SA

I would give South West Plumbing a 0 stars if we could. The dispatcher guaranteed that a plumber would come out to our house to fix a leak today. She said she could not guarantee a time but they would be there. We also received a text today saying they would be here. We waited from 7 am - 3:35 PM when they finally called back to say they could not make it. There plumbers were too busy to help us. We cancelled our plans and waited around all day to be cancelled on at the last minute. Poor Customer Service!

Tera S.

12/04/2020 12:00:00 SA

Can I choose no stars?

I made an appointment for them to come replace 2 shower valves in my condo 2 weeks ago. I told them 5 times I lived in a condo. I even called and told them the condo cannot turn the water off before a certain time. Today they called and said they don't work on condos and cancelled the appointment. Very VERY unprofessional. I will not use them nor tell anyone to use this service. Worst customer service. You are better off not even calling them.

Diane T.

4/16/2017

Got a quote on my leaking garbage disposal. The plumber looked at it for literally 20 seconds, saw the leak & said everything needed to be replaced. The quote for the disposal & the connected pipes was $1500!! Was told it included a 5year warranty - sooo a warranty is worth a grand!?! Crazy! I obviously passed.

My friend hooked me up with her handy man. He came over & said NOTHING was wrong with the disposal or pipes. The putty was cracked & needed to be resealed on the disposal. All he charged me was his hourly rate - literally an hour of work, under $50. And everything is working perfectly now!

South west plumbing are crooks. Will not call again.

Adrian R.

5/18/2019

We've used South West for some recurring plumbing problems around our house. We'd been using another plumbing service but weren't happy with them, so we tried South West to see if we'd get a better experience. The first guy to come out was Farmer, who was incredibly helpful and informative. Not only did he explain what the problem was and how he was going to fix it, but he gave us the best deal he could -- much more reasonable than that other service we'd been using.

Today we had Jason come out to run a camera through one of our pipes, and he was able to come up with a solution that probably saved us thousands of dollars and will probably prevent the need for South West to keep making so many trips to our house. He was just as friendly and helpful as Farmer, who was also there working on some other projects for us. We always ask for Farmer if he's available, but I've never had a bad experience with anyone South West has sent out.

We'll probably be moving soon, so I don't know if we'll be needing their services again, but it's been a pleasure working with these guys, and I highly recommend them for price, friendliness, courtesy, and professionalism.

Nicole C.

10/08/2020 12:00:00 SA

I was charged over $600 for them to come out and repair a leak under my sink. After stating to me that the plumbing under my sink was illegal, they did the repairs. 4 days later instead of one leak I now had 3 different. I called to report my issue. They were scheduled to come out on the folowing saturday. No show Saturday and Sunday. Finally Monday they came out and proceeded to tell me that there would be additional cost to the $600.00 plus I have already paid to due the repairs to there work they have done previously. Then they proceeded to tell me how to fix the problem myself since i refused to pay additional money for their mistakes.

Shame on you Southwest plumbing. Im retired and on a fixed income. So im already financially limited. And not to mention elderly. How dare you have such bad customer service!

Not too mention unrealistic estimates more so then other companies in the same business.

You should guarantee your work that do in people s homes or places of business. And you most definately should be making sure 100% it is work that is done correctly and if not at the least repair at your cost if the work wasnt up to standard.

Steer clear of these plumbers.
Read reviews and and get multiple estimated prior to hiring someone.
That was the one mistake i made.

Brian S.

6/26/2019

Vincent and Aaron were dispatched to look for a water leak. While performing this work they found the sink bibs were in a state of repair. They replaced these and went under the house and inspected the wax rings on the three stools to ensure they were in good shape. Great Job. Very professional. Thank you.

Brian Sierzega

Liz S.

6/18/2020

They charged over $1000 to replace a disposal. True my husband did order the most expensive one for $300. The plumber was there for an hour. He got there at 10:42 and left at 11:33 (per our door camera). Who charges $700 for less than an hour's work.

Dave P.

08/11/2020 12:00:00 SA

Not sure what planet these guys are from. I called them to fix a leaky kitchen faucet. They were great and had a guy out here within an hour or so. The guy took a look at it and said yeah we can fix that, its a bad cartridge and we have it ion the truck. Great!

It's right about here when he quoted me $514.00 to fix it. I said your think your decimal is in the wrong place. he said No that's the price. i said the whole faucet only costs $267 at Home Depot. He said Have a nice day and stormed out.

I spent the next 20 minutes finding the replacement part on Kohler.com for a whopping $12.68 including tax and shipping. The job would have taken him 30 minutes to complete. I agree everyone should make a living wage but at that rate he's trying to charge me about $1000 / hour. Even if they charge for the full hour its about $500 / hr.

Come on Man!! I just had a colonoscopy I don't need another one from you guys.

Daniel J.

04/01/2019 12:00:00 SA

We called them in the morning because of a leaky kitchen faucet and they showed up in the afternoon.
They immediately identified the issue, which was a loose sprayer hose connection, so they tightened the connection. Problem solved within one minute of their arrival.
They charged $0!! I have read many negative reviews but my experience with them was very positive.

Natalie D.

08/06/2021 12:00:00 SA

Thankfully I hired South West Plumbing before looking at their Yelp rating... I had a very positive experience all around and would absolutely hire them again. I called on a Wednesday asking if they could give me a quote on the installation of 3 toilets I had already purchased and had delivered. They do not provide quotes site unseen, which I thought was fair, and I was willing to pay the $89 fee for a plumber to come out and assess the job. They said that assuming the job is as straightforward as it sounds, they could install the toilets the same day. I agreed, and Ricardo and Gerardo were out at my house on time the very next afternoon. They were not only punctual, they were extremely professional - masks, booties, and very clear communication throughout the process. Ricardo quoted me $1300 and change for all 3 toilets installed plus the removal and disposal of the 3 old toilets we were replacing. Yes, this cost is probably about 10-15% higher than other plumbing services - and that was ok with me given the super fast turnaround to get the job done, and considering how professional Ricardo and Gerardo are. They were mindful about being quiet (one of us was on zoom meetings the whole time) and clean (carried their shop vac around to make sure no dust or debris was left in their wake), and they even offered to help me move an over the toilet storage shelf. The caulking was neat and well done (I'm picky about that!). They job only took a couple hours as both guys were very efficient. I enjoyed the whole process from scheduling to receipt. Will hire again!

Doug W.

6/14/2020

I scheduled for a 9 to 12 arrival time for a dripping shower evaluation. I received three calls over the hours to let me know that I'm still in the que for service despite their inability to find a service provider in my area during their promised time frame. I finally called to cancel when they were nearly four hours late for the last promised time in the window. Then about 40 minutes later a service visit person called me to say he was on his way. I told him I'd already cancelled the visit due to their inability to honor the promised the appointment window.
Do not trust South West Plumbing to be true to their word.
Doug in Tacoma

Jamie E.

10/02/2020 12:00:00 SA

Southwest arrived within 15 min of my call when our sewer line broke and backed up in to our house causing a flood. This turned out to be a 5 day repair, and I'm not talking short days, I feel like I had a Southwest Plumbing army working for me. They handled getting emergency locates, applying for permits, talking to the inspectors, and so much more. I was warned this could take up to 2 weeks but they finished in 1 week, I was surprised and so happy. This was a big job with a big price tag, but I didn't shop around, no time for that, it was an emergency and to me the service they provided over the past week was worth what may have been saved by shopping around.

Erik H.

7/27/2021

I helped my 90 year old mother in law to set up an appointment with Southwest Plumbing because she had worked with them in the past. They came out to replace a toilet wax seal, which is a simple job that would take me less than an hour to do. This was a scheduled, non-emergency job. I found out later that they charged $527.66. I can't believe what a rip off. This company way overcharged my elderly mother in law who lives alone. Terrible.

Robert M.

3/25/2019

These people are either incompetent or just predatory. I called about a simple (for a plumber) problem I had with some pvc in my aquarium. As soon as I said that I was told that we don't do that kind of work Really connecting a pup to pvc to an inlet? I asked if the person saying that could check with a plumber (she wasn't very knowledgeable) and she said he was not available until Thursday. That was not an acceptable answer. It showed a basic disregard for customer needs. Also, if there was only one person who could answer the question who needs this nonsense.

Anyway after look at the reviews here she did me a favor. In any case avoid them like the Zika virus.

Gary L.

02/11/2019 12:00:00 SA

This company can unclog your drain but is way overpriced and they will try to sell extra things such as video inspection and installing more outside clean outs.

One of our bathrooms was clogged and we called them to unplug it. I was expecting them to have to remove the toilet and snake in through there to unplug the clog. I thought maybe $300 tops.

I wasn't home when the first guys came after my wife called on a Saturday. They left without doing anything. They said they couldn't find a clean out and didn't want to do a possible $800 job without your husband being home. This seemed strange to me but I was gone at work.

They scheduled a time to send someone back Sunday, between 8:00 and 10:00. At almost 10:00 the dispatcher called and said they were running late and it would be about 11:00. At about 10:45 she called again and said it would be more like noon.

At about 12:30 or so Leo and James showed up to give us service. Leo seemed to be in charge and seemed to know what he was doing. He said he would remove the toilet and snake in from there. I agreed to that and asked how much it would cost. He told me they only have unclogging service combined with camera service and that we'd have to get the camera service too. He also mentioned that since they don't know the condition of our pipes that they can't guarantee the work without the camera. That was $475 (about $200 more than removing clogs through other companies with no video), including the video which we would supposedly get to watch from a monitor. My wife and I both thought he meant from the laptop that he had with him. I knew that cameras are a couple of hundred bucks a day to rent and since he was already here, we agreed to do it.

He cleared the toilet and with the toilet still off for the camera work, he called someone and then told us the camera was in Mountlake Terrace (about 10 or 15 minutes from us) and could be here in about 45 minutes. So they waited outside for at least that long and came back in and told us the camera couldn't be here for 2 more hours and they couldn't wait so they would put the toilet back on and we would have to reschedule. Until our toilet was off and the drains unclogged, we both thought Leo could do the camera work himself.

Later in the day, a dispatcher called and told me that they couldn't make it today but I'd have to schedule for next week. I scheduled for Monday morning and took the morning off but told her they would have to be gone by noon so I could go to work. Anyway, by 10:30 they called and canceled. A day later, a guy called and said they would have to come at a time convenient for them but we wouldn't have to be home , it would be done soon, sometime that week and they could do it from a vent on the roof. He told me that the video would be emailed to me. I am still waiting.

I called them 3 weeks later to ask for at least part of my money back since part of the work was never done. They didn't even return my call. At this point, after all the delays and misinformation, I wouldn't even trust a video that shows up in an email to be from my sewer line. The original deal was that we would be watching the monitor, as they were using the camera. I think it's a scam.

ChuckBarrie -.

05/02/2020 12:00:00 SA

SW over charges which was confirmed by how quickly they discounted when called on it!

Tao Y.

01/11/2019 12:00:00 SA

Watch for the scam! I had a bad experience with them. My rental home has a drainage issue a while ago. I called Southwest and hoped they could help me. They said the price would be around $250. When their plumber came, they said they will not do the work unless they did camera service with it. The price rose to ~$500. I didn't have a choice and had to agree with the service and hoped it was necessary. I was very clear that I needed the report of the camera service (since I was not at the premise). Then they told me there is tree root in my drainage line and needs to charge ~4,500 to fix it. I felt suspicious and refused the service on the day. I told the plumber again that I need image/video report before I can make a decision.

Nothing got send to me even after 3 months of the service. Actually my sewer got backed up again in less than 2 months. I had to find another plumber fixed it. Then I realized I received nothing from Southwest about the camera service. I called them 3 times in 3 weeks and left two messages on their sewer manager's VM. Nothing came either in email or phone call. The last time I called them and said I would report if no one responds my question (by the way, the manager wasn't available on his desk three times I called during daytime). Finally a person called me and said they sent an email to me. I search all folders (including my junk email) but didn't see any email like that. They even told me 'we don't provide camera report'. What??? Any $250 was charged for nothing? The service will bad too. They even said I purchased the camera but not the camera service. What's the point?

I don't trust this business. They are not honest and provided unprofessional service. I hope you can find a good plumber/plumbing service. I don't recommend using their service.

Denise M.

11/29/2018

My rating is on price alone. I don't blame the technician. He was going by their book prices. This review is for the company. Shame on you for charging such high prices. I never have to call a plumber, we used to have a friend that took care of all our needs. We don't have him anymore and I wasn't prepared for it to be so expensive. Otherwise I would have shopped around. Shame on me too! I got robbed! Two technicians were here for 1 hour and changed the pipes under my sink. Charged me 1200.00. My money is hard earned and they just took it away from me. I won't be calling southwest EVER again. I should have said no but figured I was going to have to pay trip charge and someone else to come out and I needed it fixed. Now I hear how much they overcharge and I am sick to my stomach knowing I was so taken. Never again. BUYER BEWARE. of Southwest plumbing. DON'T USE THEM.

Joe B.

5/25/2021

I was SWP's biggest fan as a longtime West Seattle resident. But the family finally sold the biz. Two Stanford punks with their parent's money captain the ship now. Take Bill off the doors and the billboards! And/Or pay your people like Bill did. Shame!

Julia H.

04/11/2020 12:00:00 SA

DO NOT HIRE SOUTH WEST PLUMBING.

We had a main sewage block at our rental property and called SW Plumbing to come out. They arrived pretty quickly, but the plumber they sent was also very rude to our tenants. Then without too much investigation the plumber decided a clean out installation was needed to clear the clog. A clean out allows a plumber to access the plumbing system from outside of the house Their guarantee was that the clog would be cleared within that day. We were out of town and didn't want our tenants to be without a useable bathroom so consented to this very expensive $5000 project thinking this will be the fix. Once they installed the clean out, they did a camera exam of the piping and told us that the pipes have never had a proper cleaning and since they were in there already that they can give us a discount to hydrojet the pipes for $1100 and that this is warranted against blockage for 1 year. Hydrojetting is where they pressure wash the pipes. So our thought is okay fine, might as well. After this 4 day project was all done and we were in over $6000, our tenants still had issues with their plumbing when they had guaranteed that the clean out would solve the issue instantly. The plumber never bothered to check in with our tenants to make sure their plumbing was okay, which truly showed how incompetent and lazy he is at his job. Throughout this entire process, we tried to talk to the manager and owner but they never returned our calls. This company essential has no accountability and does not have the customer's best interest in mind.

Eventually the plumbing issues were temporarily resolved, there was another clog that we called them to come and hydrojet once since it was covered by the 1 year clog warranty. But recently our tenants called and said that there was another clog. We called them again and they said they would have to charge us to come out when the claim on the contract and verbally was a 1 year clog warranty. The manager tried to pressure me into making a quick decision and claimed we would be getting a discounted rate of $1100 again. We are in the midst of taking legal action against SW for their false warranty claim.

THIS PART IS WHAT MAKES ME SO UPSET. Being that our tenants still needed a functional bathroom, we called a different company to come out. We were not giving SW a penny more of our money. After calling around a bit most companies actually only charge in the $900-$1000 range for hydrojetting, remember the SW discount rate is $1100 and their normal price is $1800 for the same exact service. Additionally, the new plumbing company did an assessment and told us that SW installed the clean out improperly making it unusable for its purpose! SW had installed the clean out in a location where you cannot snake the clog. Snaking a clog is much cheaper than hydrojetting, but it was not an option because SW installed the clean out wrong. The new plumber also said that he is weary to continuous hydrojet the pipes because it's a lot of stress on the piping. Essentially, SW installed the clean out in the most quick and sloppy way possible, then when we had problems the only solution they could offer was the most expensive and damaging to the piping available.

We've been calling SW throughout this entire process to speak to their manager EJ or an owner. However we have never received a call, much less an apology for this poor service. This company does questionable shoddy work and once they get your payment, they don't response. There is a severe lack of accountability and they don't care about the customer.

Please don't hire them, you don't want to through what we've been through.

Juniper M.

01/06/2021 12:00:00 SA

Incompetent, Dishonest, or Both

I have a Caroma toilet which was installed in 2009, a few years after I bought my house. Last year the flush valve started leaking into the bowl, so - lacking the time for YouTube tutorials about fixing the problem - I called the experts for a repair estimate. South West Plumbing looked at the toilet and advised that it would require a part that would have to be special ordered and that repair would cost $900 (about double the retail price of an identical toilet). They also offered the option of replacing the toilet for $1400. Perhaps they thought we'd have no idea how much a toilet costs or the time involved in installing one. That number just seemed.... insane. (Not only that, the problem was worse after they left.)

I was alarmed at the cost so decided to lift the cover and see if I could figure out what was wrong. What I found was a cartridge that was sitting in the bottom of the tank, not attached in any way. I looked up a diagram of the cartridge online and confirmed there were pieces missing (which would otherwise have secured the cartridge to the bottom of the tank). This was strange because I have no recollection of doing or having any work done on the toilet as long as I've owned it. South West Plumbing did not advise me of any of this.

I took the cartridge to Aurora Plumbing (Seattle) and they advised that the missing parts were not available but that an entire cartridge could be ordered and picked up in two days for a total cost of $33.03. They explained how to install it - a simple procedure involving no plumbing connections. (Shout-out to Aurora Plumbing!) The whole process took me about 20 minutes from the time I drained the tank, to the time I had completed and tested it.

I would absolutely not trust South West Plumbing to provide honest and/or competent work.

Cindy Lou K.

08/06/2021 12:00:00 SA

My experience is in Tacoma. tech came out, basically curt and UNprofessional in his communication with me..rude. After going in my LARGE dry crawl space stated my furnace was way in the back and in the way (I have been under my house, furnace is NOT in the back but RIGHT UP FRONT BY THE DOOR). I felt he was trying to make it seem like a big deal where my furnace was in reference to the work area. I corrected his about where the furnace was and he snipped off I am NOT here to debate with you about where your furnace is, I AM HERE TO TELL YOU WHATS WRONG!! he was loud, rude,flip, and threatening posture. Went to his truck x 30 min and I had to call the company and have them ask him to leave. customer service has NOT followed up other than a blanket sorry for your experience text. I would NEVER use this service again.

John H.

10/30/2016

I called Southwest Plumbing on a Friday night as I had a magnet they sent advertising 24/7 service. Well that is entirely false. At 8 p.m. I was told they stopped dispatching for the day. Well, OK so I set an appointment for 8 a.m. Saturday.

I get a call at close to 8 from their rep stating that their guys dont get started until after 9 a.m. on the weekends. At this point Im starting to get a bad taste in my mouth. The plumber shows up just after 10 a.m. and looks at the work I called about.

I have a double sink with both drains leaking as well as the pipes underneath the cabinet. I also had a garbage disposal I needed installed. The plumber gives me a quote of $993.00!! $540 to redo the drains and plumbing underneath, a few hundred to install the disposal and another charge I can't think of at this time. I thanked him for his time and sent him on his way.

After not receiving a call back from another company I decided I would do this on my own. Including the garbage disposal I paid $330 tops for my supplies. All the cuss words and 8 hours later the job is done and I saved a ton of money! Their hourly rate is absurd!!

I suggest calling someone else over these guys.

Tim P.

8/20/2021

Called for service to remove pumice stone from toilet. Aaron quoted it would be 500.00 to remove toilet to access but would probably not work to get stone out and that I would most likely need a new toilet for around 1500.00. He was immediately asked to leave my residence. I will not put up with Price gouging. I will also file a complaint with the attorney general to get this business closed and fined. Southwest plumbing is NOT the one to call.

McArthur V.

3/29/2020

Don't bother calling this plumbing service. They are crooks. They will overcharge you for any plumbing service. They are the worst. Trust me, your better off finding a handyman in your neighborhood.

James S.

1/28/2022

Contacted South West for two plumbing problems. Bigger problem was cracked toilet bowl that had been leaking. Other minor problem was bathtub drain linkage assembly needed re-installed. I bought a new toilet bowl. So all I needed was plumber to pull up old toilet bowl & seat new bowl and swap tank from old bowl to new one. I figured cost would be in the $300-$400 range since I didn't need South West to supply anything except maybe a new wax ring, which I bought but they didn't use as company requires them to use company wax rings. Company was responsive. Scheduled appointment same day I called. No complaints at all about master plumber and apprentice who showed up. Very professional and competent. My complaint is about the company proprietary pricing system, When the master plumber looked at what I needed for pulling and replacing the toilet he punched info into his tablet and informed me the software showed the cost to be $1200 plus. I was shocked! Said he doesn't have anything to do with pricing and can't do anything about it. I reluctantly agreed to that since my wife was complaining nonstop. I estimate the time plumbers spent swapping out the toilet was about 60 minutes including caulking. Bathtub drain linkage assembly was also horribly priced, About $510. Plumber couldn't fit assembly I had because of slightly different dimensions so plumbers ended up going to Home Depot to buy an overflow shield and a twist-up drain plug for maybe $10-$15. Again, I thought the plumbers were great. No complaints whatsoever about them. My complaint is against South West Plumbing and its proprietary pricing, I will not use them again.

Laurie G.

9/15/2018

The case of the disappearing plumber...

Had a flooding toilet triggered by using the shower, that seemed to be progressing, so I was worried about other water use. Called, nice dispatch, called me back a couple of hours later and said Trevor was on his way.

So Trevor shows up, calls, I go out to direct him, he gets snippy when I tell him he can't park in the fire lane, then I realize the entrance he came in will be closing and he can't fit through the other exit -- bigger truck than I expected-- so he says he'll park just outside the back gate (where there is always plenty of room, a 30-second drive from where I met him).

And then...never seen again. My son looked around and I called his cell a couple of times because we were honestly concerned he might have come to harm, improbable as it seemed. But just got voice mail box not set up.

So then called SW and told them, just in case, and had to repeat a couple of times my lack of interest in a do-over.

If he had called and said it was too far to haul stuff (though we could have helped) or whatever, that's one thing, but just to bail, that's another. The plumber we ended up with, also reviewed here, later parked exactly where I directed Trevor, uneventfully.

Like others here, I should have come here before calling them (I was in an emotional state, so when I saw good ratings on another site, I forgot about Yelp), so suffice to say that I would discourage your making that call.

Sharon S.

6/28/2020

Lots of advertising so I called. We've had some very recent minor dripping from a bath sink faucet. A professional looking and very clean uniform fella came. I was impressed for just a moment. He took a look at the faucet, asked it's age, and declared it a disaster needing replacement after hearing it was 12-15 years old.. This is a bronze faucet that he deemed old and worn out. (I'm more than twelve years, probably a disaster zone and most days wish I could be replaced!) Price: $819.78 for a chrome faucet with only a one year warranty + $318 for a Emergency Shutoff Valve (the normally included little handle to turn off incoming water) & Riser + $216 for Premium P-Trap. (I'd laugh here if it wasn't my house. What is a Premium P-Trap?) Hang on, the estimate gets better.

I took him into the laundry room where we used to have a laundry sink. The hot and cold pipe faucets have been securely turned off for years. The plumber's estimate to cap two faucet heads $272. The main house inside shut-off did need replacing; his estimate was $650 and even though upon entering the laundry room he declared cutting sheetrock was outside his job scope and another person would to be called, for that his estimate included a nefarious charge of $307.55 for limited access (the valve is on the face of an open wall) that he then explained away as a charge for cutting Sheetrock.

Couple things I think were in the plumber's mind: 1. nice house, they can afford whatever bill I can print out, 2. old lady with sick husband who has to trust little old me, the expert plumber. 3. Chaching, it's payday time. Total Estimated Bill: $2,786. My hunch would be he would find extra charges later, like his helper so he could increase the final bill had I stupidly used him.

NEVER call Southwest Plumbing.

A dear friend brought his plumber friend to fix everything the following day. Diagnosis on my beloved bronze faucets: nothing wrong with them, they just needed tightening up and a new washer put in underneath the sink. Total parts for everything, including new whole house shutoff valve, two new hot/cold laundry faucets, new Premium P-trap (?), pipes, washers, putty, etc. was $150 + labor.

Repeat on lesson NEVER call Southwest Plumbing!

Jason C.

03/12/2019 12:00:00 SA

I'm updating review here. I'd like to give Kirk T. and Martha 10 stars. They were extremely helpful and explained everything in detail so I could understand the issues I was having. Give them a raise and/or a vacation.

The cost for optional repairs is why I'm only doing 3 stars. Not so happy about cost for a simple replacement of PRV. If you were to give me a MUCH better deal, I'd have you come out right away.

Andrew S.

9/29/2021

By far the best service i have ever got, James baker was super professional and had my plumbing leaks fixed and done properly very quickly, gonna keep them in my favorites for whenever i Need any other plumbing done for my house

Jerry s.

2/25/2020

Place is a joke,rip people off bigtime.$1200 for a kitchen faucet a $120 moen kitchen faucet,piss off!

Kc C.

06/05/2020 12:00:00 SA

I requested to have my 2 of my shower faucets fixed for leaking. they did not do a good job, one is OK and the other one is still leaking. I believe the part they replaced for me was not a good one. I called them back for checking and they said my service was not guaranteed so they did not do anything for me. i'm not sure what kind of service is that???? I tried to call and talk to couple of managers there but still got the same answers over and over. The technician suggested me to talk to Darrel, a general manager but I could not talk to him cause customer rep did not transfer my call or take my message for me. I don't know why???

So people, you guys need to be careful when you have business with South West Plumbing. I would give a 0 star review but I don't have that option.

Debra L.

11/09/2020 12:00:00 SA

Call someone else.... roto rooter, apollo, day & night plumbing... anyone!
My experience....
1st call - made appointment for next day - called at 4:00pm to say couldn't make it - reschedule following day. Paid $719.16 for first repair.
Two weeks later a new leak occurred 3 inches from the new repair.
Called for appointment - scheduled for next day - called me at 3:30pm to say plumber called in sick. Really? At 3:30 in the afternoon. Re-schedule for next day. Said they gave me a break on cost - paid $539.18.
Hmmmm..... very suspicious about new leak occurring so close to 1st leak and the company has no respect for your time.

John G.

02/04/2020 12:00:00 SA

First of all, don't believe everything you read on YELP. These folks extort money from local businesses and when they don't pay they bury most of the good reviews. I personally had a great experience. We had a major clog upstairs and they came over within 2 hours of my call and fixed it. The bill was what you would expect and didn't break the bank.

Iggy R.

06/07/2018 12:00:00 SA

I'm not sure why everyone said SWP is bad, I've seen other companies with great reviews but still some people with 1 star. In this case this one has more bad than good..

Fact is, i wanted my kitchen worked on sooner, and I did not bother to read the reviews till after..( Yea I rolled the dice) nevertheless, their estimate was the same as other that came in for free ( ones that were able to do it free) SWP did the job the same day whereas other companies wanted weeks later to repair my kitchen drain pipes..

so i blindly did it and paid over $3g.. what you expect, plumbing is an easy labor job, its when they gotta tear down drywall or dig that's where they tax you.. I'm in the wrong business..

Mario brothers must've been super rich dudes, 2 man team lol...

Moreover, my kitchen is the heart of the house and i had to sacrifice a lot of money...

Justin P.

3/26/2021

Bought the house and the old water heater was leaking at bottom. Called SW because there was sticker on my old water heater. I did research so I know the price range for replacing water heater. When technician came, he quoted $3500 for new water heater & expansion tank (What a rip-off). The technican even told me he would take $50 off because he's generous haha. Of course I didn't accept and went to Lowe's to buy water heater and hired contractor there. Total cost was $2100. Do research or they will rob you.

Michael M.

1/14/2020

Southwest plumping is a complete ripoff charged me 775.00 for twenty minutes time to sweat on a coupling....that come out to 38.75 a minute..yes they quoted a price and I needed leak fixed ASAP felt like I was between a rock and a hard spot and had to taken care of. When I called manager he tried to justify ripping people off....don't use this tip off company... nothing like organized crime

Nissa M.

4/13/2020

I don't know what all the negative reviews are about. South West Plumbing's customer service was amazing, they responded and showed up at my house much faster than I'd have expected, we're able to start work right away after giving me an estimate, offered a military discount, and the guys who replaced my hot water tank were nothing but patient and kind. They weren't the cheapest, but I'd also say not the most expensive. I'm willing to pay more if I'm getting the great customer service they provided and in a manner as efficient and timely as they did.
My hot water heater broke at midnight, the day before Easter! My garage was flooding with water and I got the water shut off about 12:30 (took me a bit to figure that out). Around 7am I chose 3 plumbers to call that all claimed to be open on Saturday. Plumber 1: will not do anything with gas hot water heaters. Plumber 2: refused to answer or respond to messages until 6 hours later (too late). Plumber 3 (South West Plumbing) answered right away, dispatched a plumber very fast, was able to replace my hot water heater right away, and, while not the cheapest, were not the most expensive. I honestly couldn't be happier and I will call any time I need a plumber as well as refer them to friends and neighbors. This is a FANTASTIC company!

Bill D.

05/07/2021 12:00:00 SA

It is rather sad when I leave a non-complimentary review. We had a very small job to do, getting it scheduled was not easy as SW will not give any time frame other than the day. So our day came, we get calls that at some time they will give us a time when a plumber may show up, and we are told that if they don't make it, we will be on the next day. So plumbers come, do a bypass so we can use our kitchen sink, I order parts and then schedule a return to complete, on a Tuesday. Late Tuesday we are told sorry can't make it today, earliest would be Friday and that is not a guarantee. Worst yet they have an online scheduling page that is not really scheduling, as they called back and said 'that was just what you wanted, not our schedule'. Work was good, we will never use them again due to horrid scheduling and customer service.

Sherman M.

12/18/2019

Wish I could give zero stars. Charged $595 to install a $10 thermocouple in our hot water heater. I have the dispatcher the make and model and was assured they had the part in stock out could get it quickly. When Eddie arrived, of course, he say it will take 4 days to order the part. Recommends we just install a new water heater right away. I complained to the manager and a little while later Eddie suddenly discovers that he actually has the part in his van after all. Installed and working in a few minutes. What a scammer!!!

Stephanie L.

04/07/2018 12:00:00 SA

I'd recommend them if you're looking to get something fixed in a timely manner.

The techs they dispatched out this morning were efficient, friendly and most importantly, KNOWLEDGEABLE. Couldn't have asked for a better service. Also, props to a company who actually invests in their workforce- they brought an apprentice with them.

I'm not sure why everyone is griping about the $49 dispatch charge, they tell you that upfront and people should be paid for their work. It blows my mind that people expect others to work free of charge.

Jake I.

4/27/2021

Dispatchers failed to tell technicians job requirements (spoke to 3), so i was forced to supply parts. In hindsight, I should have just pulled the dishwasher and installed the drain tube myself. After supplying the part and walking the technicians through the issue, the entire visit was about an hour (half of that was the technicians adding up the bill and gathering signatures). The one hour (at most) visit cost me $357. As i was unable to get even a ballpark estimate over the phone and SW charges about $100 just to show up, i panicked and just paid them. I'm not sure who can possibly afford to pay $357 an hour for basic appliance repair. And, if it is SW's view that it is not worth their time to do basic appliance repair, they had numerous oppurtunities to inform me of this. If i had just done the job myself (which i have done several times before on different dishwashers), i could have saved myself (3) phone calls, taking off the later half of my workday (SW can't even provide a time window, just Monday), and $357. Final note: I had to remove the dishwasher anyways because the technicians mounted it so that the door would not close. Overall miserable experience. At least the technicians were nice...

Melissa W.

04/10/2018 12:00:00 SA

This company is a SHAM!

My toilet was running on and off throughout the day. My husband tried to fix it by replacing the gasket between the tank and bowl, but no matter what he did the gasket would move and it would leak. I called SWP to complete the repair and was told they needed to replace the shutoff valve and flex riser. I asked how much and the plumber said $400. After they replaced those two items (which can be bought at the hardware store for under $20), they said it was still leaking and that they could not replace the gasket because it was a Kohler part they did not stock. I told them the gasket was brand new, from Kohler, but they insisted that it was wrong.

After speaking to two different employees of two hardware stores I was told that all that was needed was a pipe thread sealant and was given instructions on how to apply it to the gasket. The toilet was fixed in 10 minutes.

Although the guys that came to my house were nice, I'd rather have had a couple of gruff oafs fix my toilet as long as they fixed the problem and charged a reasonable amount.

Christina D.

05/06/2020 12:00:00 SA

Very professional and honest plumbers! They gave us the cost upfront and did not pressure us. The two gentlemen gave us time to get a second opinion and were so kind. Thank you!!!

Mel B.

02/08/2018 12:00:00 SA

If you want a job done right the first time, by a licensed professional then South West Plumbing is the one to call!

I think people have forgotten how insanely expensive it is to live in Seattle! I've called several plumbers between my house and my 2 rentals in the last decade and these are the only people that give me the price up front and haven't totally screwed up a job.

I can count on them to come within 48 hours of when my tenants call with an issue. Most recently it was a simple clogged toilet in west seattle. They were in and out same day. Took My payment over the phone. I don't have time to waste and the guys are also so quick and professional.

I can appreciate a company like this that doesn't waste my time!

Catherine W.

11/29/2020

On 10/24-20 - Saturday - I called South West Plumbing because I had a backup in the sewer line. It was more than plunging the toilet.
When they came I explained where the clear out drain was which was located outside, near the house. I would have had shown them where it was but I was in a wheelchair and not able to go outside. They found the drain easily.
After clearing the drain they suggested I should have a camera look to see if there was a problem down the line. I agreed and they found some roots near the opening of the drain, about 2 feet in.
They said we have two options to fix, option one was about $2200 which came with a one year stoppage warranty. They would blast out the roots and the drain would be fine for up to three years. Their paperwork states their warrantee is good for one year. Option two was that they would they would dig up about 3 to 4 feet of the line and correct the problem and replace the pipe for about $4500.
I chose the $2210.86. They said that couldn't be back until Monday so we shouldn't flush toilet paper until it was fixed. That took two days storing used toilet paper. Monday came, they knocked to let me know they were there. Half an hour later they knocked saying they were done and off they went.
So Saturday they spent 1 hour, - flush, camera, quote - finding out what the problem was, and Monday 1/2 an hour to fix the problem and it cost me $2210.86 - wow - what up fool I was and I feel I have been taken. I'm doing this review because I don't want this to happen to others or at least be aware. I feel like they knew we were over a barrel and charged this high price because they could - Sad.
To top this off they didn't even clean up behind themselves, like refill the hole and pick up the items they threw in the garden that were clogging the line. I didn't know this until someone else pointed this out. My grandson cleaned it up and filled the hole.

Mark V.

11/28/2019

Price was $ 375 to unplug a kitchen drain. It took 10 minutes to unclog the drain, I had already had Off to the sewer cap to the line in the kitchen for him. The only thing he had to do was hook up his machine with a snake on it to unclog the drain. Total time at my house was 20 minutes.
After researching it should have only cost me approximately between $75 and $150. Buyer beware!

Todd O.

2/24/2016

Let me start off by saying I have had the worst time with contractors. I loathe the opportunity to call and schedule a contractor.

On a Friday evening, we noticed a small puddle near the toilet. Next day, Saturday, it was backed up, couldn't be plunged and it was leaking at the base.
Saturday morning at 8:30am we called these guys. Our call went to their answering service where we explained the problem and the gal said they'd call us back and let us know if they can come out.
Being Saturday, we were skeptical to say the least.
Around 10:30am they called back and said they could be at our place around 11am.
We also let them know we wanted a new toilet as this one was super old.
Dom immediately identified that our line was backed up. He removed the old toilet, found the flange/seal was bad as well as one of the studs was broken. He corrected everything and had the line scoped.
Turns out we had a significant root intrusion into the pipe that leads to the sewer about 8ft from the house.
Dom completed the work inside and the new toilet is efficient and great.
They provided an estimate for the line/root situation & we moved forward with the work. They were digging & breaking concrete to expose the problem, removed the bad section of pipe and had a temp fix in that day. They were here until 7pm, on a Saturday. No additional charge I might add.
They came back Monday, put in the permanent fix and had the city inspector here Tuesday.

I couldn't think of a better experience. They diagnosed, repaired and were extremely fair on price. Honestly, I spent some significant money but I truly felt like I got a great deal.

I still hate attempting to schedule a contractor but I won't hesitate in calling these guys again. They did right by me.

Michael M.

01/06/2021 12:00:00 SA

Stay away from these guys and their pricing schemes. Unbeknownst to me, my elderly mother called these guys out to fix her toilet that kept running. They came out and told her it would be $500+ ( with the senior discount), to repair, or $800+ for a replacement which he just happened to have on the truck. I will be over there tomorrow with a $6 rubber flapper to fix it.

Jennifer H.

12/01/2019 12:00:00 SA

Four stars for service. One star for price. South West Plumbing replaces our recirculating pump and it worked fine (after two other companies incorrectly diagnosed the problem). It was expensive but we were in a pickle, and needed heat. A year later and we are looking to replace the water heater, so we called them again. Nice that we got a free estimate, but their price is 1.5-2x the price of other estimates.

Mike D.

3/23/2020

I had a water leak due to a nail in an interior wall on a half inch copper pipe. The technican, Blake P, did an very quick and quality job; less than 30 minutes. He soldered a 6 inch replacement piece in the wall. I was led to believe the price would be $360 if an easy solution or $930 if significant portion of piping was to be replaced. As I mentioned he replaced a 6 inch cooper section but I was charged $930. I was told by the office that this is their standard charge for the service. $930 for 30 minutes work during the day and non-emergency? If so, I will not use them again. This was extremely excessive. Be aware.

Jeff C.

03/03/2021 12:00:00 SA

We had a situation in which tree roots had gotten into the main sewer line and clogged it. (This was what we eventually found). The initial symptom was that our main floor toilet was COMPLETELY backed up and would not flush or go down. To make matters worse, the water was rising, and it was pure sewage, not just clean water. So obviously the sewage was backing up from the sewer. This turned out to be due to another source of water dumping into the system, which was then backing up and coming up at the lowest point, which was the toilet. We tried a plunger and called Southwest. They tried rooting out the blockage and could not get through it. From the distance their line went, it became clear that it was outside the house where it was blocked (one of the ways we determined it was tree roots). Then for some inexplicable reason. The plumbers FLUSHED THE TOILET. Needless to say, this sent a few gallons of water into the toilet and the line, which would not drain, so of course it filled up and spilled out of the toilet. It proceeded to overflow the toilet and spill pure sewage all over the bathroom and kitchen floor. It then began seeping through the floor and into the ceiling of our finished basement, leaking through the drywall ceiling and onto the carpet. I was screaming at them asking why they flushed the toilet, while we ran around frantically trying to mop up the sewage with towels and get buckets to catch the pouring water downstairs. We eventually had to have the ceiling repaired, the carpet replaced, and the entire wood floor on the main floor redone.

Darrnell T.

11/19/2020

My wife has to work Thanksgiving weekend so we moved our small family Thanksgiving to this weekend. Last night my garbage disposal decided to go out. I called Southwest as they have done plumbing for us in the past. I called them at like 8am (Thursday). I was told dispatch would call me by noon to get me a window for when their plumber would arrive. At around 12:20pm I got a call from their dispatch and was told I would have someone to my house between 1pm and 5pm. At 5:30pm I call them and ask if someone was going to be able to come install the disposal. Linda the dispatcher wouldn't give me a straight answer. Wouldn't even ballpark it for me. At 7pm she calls me back and says they won't be able to come out until Sunday between you guessed it, 12pm and 5pm. So Thursday between 12-5 turned into 4 days until they could come out. Who taught these people the art of scheduling? They have lost a customer in us.

Side note - they would not offer any kind of estimate for the job over the phone. I get very complexed jobs but there us something wrong when a company cant quote you a price fir installing a garbage disposal.

Anne R.

06/08/2021 12:00:00 SA

Unfortunately, I got no service for the $97 service fee. The guy can't fix anything, and said he was going to have to charge thousands and thousands of dollars to replace basic faucets. Complete waste of my time and money.

Edward N.

1/20/2020

They did an ok job but I won't use this company again as I feel like Id been robbed. I had a leak under the kitchen sink and it was coming from the faucet. I think it should have been something simple to fix but he the replaced the faucet I'm not a plumber so I don't know but I got charged $1200 for this Save your money and go elsewhere. This was a money grab as it shouldn't cost $1200 for a new faucet

Kristen K.

9/30/2017

NOT the one to call

I made an appointment to have someone install a garbage disposal, a filtered showerhead I purchased online, and check out the life of my aging toilet and shower that are draining really slowly.

I made the appointment on Thursday night and they told me they could have someone there the next day. The next day came and 5:00 rolled around and the last plumber on duty to help me said it's Friday I have plans. I'm super chill so I said hey I totally get that! No worries, I'll see you tomorrow

So now it's Saturday (2 days since making the appointment now) and they call to inform me that they are running behind and my 12-5 window might move into the evening. Ok no problem...since I cancelled my plans for them and so I haven't left my home all day in anticipation of the appointment. Then I get a call that I missed and because I missed it and didn't call back within 5 minutes they won't come out! I had called after 10 minutes. Then at 5:30 I get another call saying ok I have one plumber 40 minutes away who can come now. However by this point I had read their terrible reviews about being unethical and wildly overcharging customers. So I ask the dispatcher the usual pricing to make sure I wasn't going to get taken advantage of, but he says I have no access to the pricing.

Ok I give up, Southwest Plumbing. You win this round. I cancelled the appointment altogether. Save yourself the trouble, and find a company with a good reputation who follows through...what's that called again oh yeah PROFESSIONALISM!!!

Rob F.

11/29/2017

Update to my original review... thumbs down. Might be coincidental, but after having my basement remodeled with a new laundry sink installed (not by Southwest), I found out that Southwest left the valves at the street and in the house partially closed. Since opening them fully, I have my normal great water pressure again. Ironically, as Southwest left my house, they quoted me a price of $7-9k to fix the low water pressure issue. Hmmm, wonder how they forgot to open up the valves at both the street meter and inside the house?

Original review... Had an emergency repair-- bursted pipe in the bathroom wall. They arrived quickly and got the job done under not so ideal circumstances. We were having foundations repaired so the house was being jacked up at the time, which created the pipe leak in the first place.

Why not 5-stars? They found a leak and repaired it for $950 dollars. Minutes later they found a second leak, which one would think should have been covered in the original cost of repair when they inspected the leak originally. It was not. $2,000 later, the repair was made. I'm thankful the issue was solved and we had running water again, but not necessarily excited about the total cost.

We have a 1922 Craftsman home. Apparently, with the plumbing repair and the foundation work, the water pressure was reduced. Southwest Plumbing came out to try to remedy the problem, which was great. They did clean out the cartridges at the faucets and shower heads. This helped somewhat, but we still have decreased water pressure. I now have about 1/2 the water pressure in the house.

Caroline D.

1/14/2018

This spring, our toilet suddenly started getting backed up. Plunged and snaked it ourselves and couldn't figure out what was wrong, so we called our landlord, who then called Southwest.

Twice in a row, they came out, snaked it for 15 minutes, and left saying it was all fixed, when it was the exact same as before. The third time we called, they decided it was tree roots. Spent a week digging up the yard and replacing pipes... I don't know what they charged (our landlord paid for all this thank god... but also, poor man) but it must have been 5 or 6k.

When they finished (which they never told us when they were done, btw, just kinda left without saying anything to us)... nothing changed. Toilet still clogged. We finally convinced our landlord that we needed to call someone OTHER than them, and he sent a guy from someplace new out.

Turns out, there was a makeup compact that somehow got knocked into the toilet and it was stuck. A MAKEUP COMPACT. Southwest managed to milk about $6,000 out of a toilet clogged by a makeup compact. Again, I feel incredibly lucky that we did not pay for this (and awful for my landlord).

These guys are completely clueless at best, and scam artists at worst. I wouldn't trust them even with the simplest of issues.

Buck A.

9/25/2019

I've noticed the reviews of Southwest have run the gamut from one star to five star and everywhere in between. I can only rate and judge by the experience we have had. We've had SW come out and do three jobs for us since we moved in last year and began to remodel an old condo in West Seattle. Because we are four stories up, all our work requires a commercial plumber, which I'm sure that adds to the cost. SW is not cheap, but I have been extremely pleased with the work they've done. If I wasn't, I wouldn't hesitate to say so..

Andrew came out the first time and did a great job for us, followed the second time by Dave (who is a heat pump expert), who was also terrific. The office and dispatch staff did a terrific job getting us on the schedule quickly and assuring that either Andrew or Dave showed up. They also kept me posted on the arrival time. For this latest job Andrew and his apprentice, José, came out and removed a wall in order to move the water supply and drain for a bathroom remodel. They were right on time and called me in advance to let me know their ETA and again just before they arrived. There was no wasted time and they worked straight through, in very tight quarters, except for a short lunch break. My friend, who was helping me with the bath remodel, has been in construction as a contractor for decades. He looked carefully at the quality of the work and pronounced it Top Notch.

Andrew stubbed out the water lines and drain so we could install tile over the holes in the drywall. That allowed us to lay tile over the drywall without having to cut big holes in the tile. A few days later Andrew and José came back out and installed the valves and the drain pipe and helped my friend and me in so many ways complete the job. They did beautiful work and my wife and I are thrilled with the end result.

Stephen R.

11/03/2019 12:00:00 SA

We had a great experience with South West Plumbing and specifically with Colton Todd who came out to address an emergency sewage back-up. Colton went an extra 10 miles, demolishing concrete, remove deck stairs, and staying late into the night get our drains usable again. He replaced the drain line and even worked through a difficult inspection to get everything running again. Colton and team really did a great job and spent long hours working to get everything repaired.

Eli S.

11/17/2019

They came out and did work. Did not fix the problem and didn't seem interested in fixing it. Much more interested in selling us a new water heater. What others have said is true. There is no itemized bill and labor seems to be around $200-300/hr. Hire a real plumber who doesn't have to pay for television ads.

Heather D.

02/06/2021 12:00:00 SA

We had used Southwest for several jobs over the last 2 years, but their customer service has gone down a lot the last 4 months. In October, I scheduled a visit for an estimate. They called an hour before they were supposed to arrive and said they didn't do that type of work anymore (a bathtub install). Then today, I was going to give them another chance, and they said they would charge $89 for an estimate. That is ridiculous, and none of the other plumbers we contacted charge for estimates.

Austin R.

4/16/2020

Best plumbing company I have experienced in a looong time. They were right on time, very professional and got the job done with ease. I don't know why all the negative reviews are for? Probably just a bunch of fucking cry babies who love nothing more then to trash companies on yelp to make them feel good about themselves. Anyway, I'd highly recommend these guys for any plumbing needs. You get exactly what you pay for. Ask for John Smith or Eddie!!!

Pj A.

01/08/2020 12:00:00 SA

This company charged us $307.55 for a $13 10 yard box.... My boyfriend who owns the home was working and I ran home to let the plumbers in. The pricing was already discussed and settled between my boyfriend and the company. When my boyfriend got home and saw that he was charged $1109.39 when he had been quoted $200-$300 to unclog one pipe that clogs every year in the winter, he was pissed. The 10 yard box that we were charged $307.55 is only $13 at Home Depot THEY CHARGED US $307.55 FOR A $13 BOX!!!!!! Bunch of scammers for sure. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

Heather D.

06/09/2017 12:00:00 SA

I'd used South West once before and had a good experience with Dom, but on the second visit another employee lost my business with SW forever.

The lead technician they sent was more interested in upselling than doing a good job, and the work he and his helper did seemed overpriced. But that's not the worst of it...

I discovered a few days after they left they'd turned my water heater from the cost-effective warm all the way to red HOT setting. I nearly burned myself three times before I realized what they'd done. What if we'd had kids in the house? This tactic to burnout water heater elements is a lawsuit waiting to happen!

I left a message for the service manager about this incident, but never even got a call back. Maybe he's heard this complaint before? Pretty lame. This one short-term thinking employee has cost them the lifetime value of my business. I will never trust this company again.

Kris L.

09/05/2019 12:00:00 SA

I have such an amazing girlfriend who works hard and owns her own home so I'm pretty upset with these hacks for plumbers and their shoddy work. She has a washer drain line that backs up and drains sometimes on her laundry room floor in the basement. These guys claim they can't snake it (who the eff knows why) and tried to blame it on her garbage disposal. They sold her a new disposal (nothing wrong with the old one btw) and installed it for a smooth $700. The drain line still backs up, so they came back another time and told her that they could snake the sink drain that runs straight down to the basement from the upstairs kitchen?!? This has nothing to do with the washer drain back up!!! But wait, there's more! They suggested that the galvanized pipe was probably too old and should be replaced for about $1200 with labor. Stay away, this place is truly low bar plumbing at is worst.

Kathryn J.

5/23/2017

If you cannot fit someone into your schedule, do not schedule them.

I scheduled an appointment today in advance, stayed home for it, only to be called and told they were just too swamped to make it to *my appointment*. They also told me that tomorrow would not work as well.

Their quest for as much business as possible by over-stuffing their schedule is now losing them business. I am going with a more dependable company.

Cassandra B.

4/20/2017

I have mixed information to share regarding my experience with South West Plumbing. We experienced an early morning sewer back up into our basement shower yesterday. Previously SW had done satisfactory work for us, so they were the first plumbing company we contacted. A team arrived promptly, surveyed the scene and got to work. The back up was taken care of quickly with Steve carefully attending to details such as disinfecting the shower and bathroom floor. He even threw the dirty towels we'd used to mop up into the washing machine. Steve and his partner called in another crew to scope the sewer line and clear roots. We received two bills for the procedures: one for inside work, scoping, and attempting to clear from the outside ($650); the other for subsequent hydro-jet clearing of roots from the line ($1,800).

Following these services we were provided with an excavation proposal for $31,750 to excavate the line. If we got started right away, the $1,800 spent on line clearing would be credited back. With such a big expenditure we wanted to get other opinions, so we contacted 2 other sewer maintenance companies, Beacon Plumbing and Budget Sewer. Both of those second opinions came back with the same recommendation. Finding nothing wrong with the pipes, each of the other companies recommended we make no repairs to the lines. Both companies recommended continuing with regular inspections and maintenance of the lines, which they described as being in good condition. Both of the other companies we contacted suggested we were being misled about the need for repairs to the lines.

So, while the crew from SW was personable and provided good customer service on a surface level, I'm afraid they didn't have the customer's best interest at heart. Bummer.

Harold D.

11/24/2020

Called about a leak at our water heater. Jose G. identified the problem, quoted us a price to fix it, or get a whole new system. We weren't ready to spend that kind of money (and definitely not the ridiculously expensive quote for a temporary fix), so he took a minute or two to walk me through through DIY repair steps. Not pushy. I shelled out $40 for the parts and did it myself. The advice saved us hundreds, and I'll consider them for work down the line.

Richard P.

7/31/2020

NOT THE ONE TO CALL. What a nightmare. It is interesting that reviews are either ONE star or FIVE stars. The incompetence starts with customer service and runs all the up to owner BILL BUCKINGHAM. We had an appointment but every time we called to check on the status the customer service people could tell us nothing. LINDA was rude and arrogant and told us that no one knows how long a job could take. Understood but the service tech can at least tell when they will be getting close. No calls, no show, no service. At the end of the day, smart mouth KEN said they haven't heard from the tech. His tone and attitude were insulting. Then he ended the call with GRACIAS. Nice, racist! I emailed owner BILL BUCKINGHAM and told of the problems and he never responded. DO NOT HIRE. There are lots of great small plumbers in your neighborhood who will show up on time and do a good job,

Steve i.

07/08/2019 12:00:00 SA

A bunch of scam artists, ripping people off and way over billing for labor and insane parts that must be made out of solid gold. Do not go to them!

Mark K.

09/10/2019 12:00:00 SA

They came out, bid $14.5k to replace part of the drainpipe, $21k to replace it all. They wanted $495 extra to give me the video which they took when they ran a camera down my drainpipe. Now I have to hire someone else to re-do the video in order to give a competitive estimate.

Ted S.

8/26/2019

We needed a plumber to come out right away and was told the owner needed to give the ok. After all that issue email back and fourth I was told another story about what needed to be done in order for someone to come out. Geez none of other companies needed or asked for all this crap just to come out. I found the attitude of the employees sarcastic and rude. They are not the one to call.

Mari M.

05/01/2019 12:00:00 SA

Can you give a place zero stars?
I spent a horrible summer 3 years ago getting bullied by an employee of theirs. Last month I needed a new gasket in a hose bibb these people installed during my 2 months of hell with them. Lady said we aren't a retailer after looking up my file and pretending to listen to what my concerns were. I called O'Neill and in 5 minutes I got a wonderful lady who then directed me to her wonderful parts manager who told me the exact part I needed, he told me the info twice, kindly. I then ordered the part on amazon for $9 and got it the next day. Installed myself. NEVER NEVER call southwest plumbing!

Tom J.

8/22/2020

I own a duplex in Marysville and in May I was having new vinyl flooring installed for the tenant. While working in the master bath the installer noted that the toilet shut off valve was leaking and needed to be fixed before he could finish. I had used South West Plumbing in the past so I gave them a call and they were able to dispatch a truck that morning. Trevor was the plumber for this call. He said the valve needed to be replaced. Two years before I had a local plumber replace an outside faucet and all nine shut off in unit B and I was billed $980. So I asked Trevor if he could replace all nine in unit A as long as he was there and asked how much. He quoted me $2500. I almost choked and said never mind and asked how much to do just the one was needed. He quoted me $950. I said for one effin valve? He said that was price. I was at his mercy. The job need to be done so the flooring installer could finish his install. I paid the $2500 and had him do all nine valves. That was five months ago and I just wrote it off as a lesson learned. But today was the first time I had visit with the tenant since the install and I was told that the flooring guy was great but that Trevor from South West Plumbing was rude and being an total ass to everyone involved. I doubt I will be using them again.

Lisa W.

03/03/2019 12:00:00 SA

Once again, we received superior service from South West Plumbing when a water pipe broke at our condominium complex - this time at the tail end of a snow storm. Dom and Eric quickly located the break and had it fixed in time for us to turn the water back on the next morning. When they returned to fill the hole and found that the section they soldered had not held (due to our ancient pipes), they stayed and remedied the situation - despite the fact that it was their day off! I suspect that other companies may have sent them home and made us wait for another crew. Thank you Dom, Eric, and South West Plumbing!

Harpwood Lane Condominium Asso.
Lake Forest Park, WA

David M.

03/07/2019 12:00:00 SA

There is a reason why there are many bad reviews of SW Plumbing. Just expect to be overcharged.

The guy was nice enough but for just cutting in a wall and looking at a pipe (5 minutes) it was $500. They wouldn't budget on the price and just told me to suck it up as I agreed on the estimate. I asked them to review this as it just didn't seem right and they told me they would allow me to use a coupon (which they made me go an find one, they couldn't be bothered) and that this was not what they would normally do. How kind.

I will never use these guys again after this experience with the plumber and management. Beware.

Doug P.

10/07/2020 12:00:00 SA

I had a bathtub faucet valve that went bad. I took it out myself, and could not repair it, and I didn't know how to find a replacement. My regular plumber was unavailable, I had the water shut off, and it was becoming an emergency. A guy from Southwest came, looked at the valve, had no idea what brand it was and said he couldn't replace it. Gave me an estimate for $1,400 to replace the entire faucet assembly. I sent him away. Went to my local hardware store, they sent me to a plumbing supply place, and they handed me a replacement valve, a Price-Pfister, $50. My regular plumber says it's the most common brand out there, and his truck is full of replacements.

Adrian KC L.

8/15/2020

I was so pleasantly surprised by the whole team in South West Plumbing that I'm compelled to write a review. The call center / dispatch was great right at the start. They sent Troy to try and fix our tankless water heater problem. Hot water was restored after the first visit but there was a lingering problem. Called back and I asked for Troy again since he was great and he came back and he researched our problem before coming back. Finally everything was fixed and my kids were so happy that they came back the my made a south west plumbing figure for them to take home. They are indeed the one to call!

Elston H.

8/24/2020

Broker wanted me to have the combination gas water heater and house heater inspected. Suggested South West Plumbing as a client had a good experience a couple years ago. Service man failed to show up for first appointment because another project blew up on him. Failed to show up the second week because he was sick. Did show up the third week for an inspection. Took fifteen minutes and was charged $550. No parts, just labor. Showed up with mask, but when he finished wore his mask below his nose which is the same as wearing no mask.

Tom C.

03/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

I called South West to give an estimate to replace a standard water heater. They came out and were courteous, but the estimate was they gave was ridiculous! They wanted to charge me over $2,400 to replace a standard size water heater tank. I thought that was a bit high so I called Home Depot for a second option. Home Depot gave the same type of equipment for $1,100 installed. So I used Home Depot they came out in 2 days and installed it.

Bottom line is that I can't believe they would rip people off by that much, I could see a 10% price difference but not more than double.

Buyer beware... Do your research FIRST! Use Home Depot, you will save a lot of money and time!!

Emily W.

01/07/2019 12:00:00 SA

I appreciate that this company is truly 24 hours and you can call them day or night to get service. Kasey came to my house first thing on a Sunday morning and was able to resolve my issue quickly and gave me quality advice on how to proceed in the future.

Kozby E.

12/15/2016

Seeing the advertisements, and the coupon the company sent me, I called them to schedule an appointment. It took a long phone conversations, 2-3 phone calls to confirm my appointment then they asked me that if I own my house. And finally they told me that someone seems to own my house in their system. Simply I had to persuade them that it's my house on the phone.

I simply requested their plumbing service for simple projects 1-Replace Faucets, 2-Install Garbage disposal 3-Replace Shower Set and Check Dishwasher clogging problems. The estimate was 9K for those small projects.Yes, 9K!!!

I wish I could write a good review ,but unfortunately it was a waste of my time literally to inquire get an estimate and making all the arrangements.

Pj F.

01/08/2019 12:00:00 SA

Do Not use this company under any circumstances. They totally over charged us today. $900 for a simple faucet replacement. Please use someone else. They tried to say they charge so much because they guarantee their work. It is very sad when companies are so disreputable. Not the techs fault but he is obviously part of the problem if he works for such a company, he is enabling the disreputable work to continue. What ever happened to an honest price for honest work?

Kerry F.

1/20/2019

My hot water heater is down, and I called South West Plumbing at noon to schedule a service call. The nice lady on the phone told me that they would happily be out between 5 and 7 and that their dispatcher would call closer to the time to advise me of their arrival time. At 5:21 p.m. I received a call from their dispatcher to tell me that their plumber was now booked solid and that they wouldn't be able to come out at all. I'm now stuck with no water heater and wasted my entire day not seeking out other service because of these clowns. What a disaster!

Jerrie W.

5/14/2020

IF YOU WANT TO WASTE YOUR MONEY CALL SOUTH WEST PLUMBING. I was charged $400.00 for 20 minutes of work. This whole plumbing fix was a bait and trap. Call any one else!!

Cathy B.

7/30/2020

We were pleased with the professionalism and expertise of the plumber. We were NOT pleased with the value. They will not give a price over the phone and instead do an accurate quote when they show up. There was one plumber and an apprentice to replace 2 sink valves and put in a drain plug. As they quoted/charged a whopping $760.75 I thought it was an extensive job. They were here for only an hour!! I priced the parts they used at the Home Depot at less than $45 total. Even if they used higher quality parts, the cost of parts would not have exceeded $100. So, 2 people billing out at $660 for the hour, $330/hr each!! Highway robbery. Won't use or recommend this company at all simply due to the excessive cost.

Laurin D.

06/05/2017 12:00:00 SA

Great plumber! Ask for David J. personally!

This old house we bought has had nothing but problems. I have had at least 5 different plumbers here during that time. It's all based on availability. Plumbers are busy AF.

The past plumbers I've had out here were very pricey. Plumbers are on commission and so it's in their interest to balloon a job price (usually 12-14% commission).

THis outfit did not do that. At least not the plumber I got today. He was professional, well dressed, clean, extremely likable and fast.

A strange clog started over the weekend in the laundry utility sink, then overflowing in our bathroom sink. Weird thing about that is bleach was coming in and we hand't poured any bleach down our drains. So we thought a neighbor's water that we are tied to was coming in our house since they are connected to us to the sewer line and they are above us on the hill. So I called the city sewer district. A guy came out on Sunday and talked to the neighbor narrowing it down to yes, our house. Which makes no sense where the bleach came from. David J. came in and figured out where the leak was right away.

I would recommend you ask for him personally. I've never met a better plumber who is also honest. He could have used the mystery around this thing to make a whole other charge out of it. Still good people left folks! David is one of them.

Claire C.

12/04/2018 12:00:00 SA

PSA: don't use southwest plumbing. Called them due to their mailer and other plumbers never returning my call. I have waited all afternoon for someone to show. Still no plumber available. Asked to be someone's first appointment of the day and they couldn't even give me that as they don't schedule them the day before. He hemmed and hawed at my request to be the first appointment so I just canceled.

I should have read the reviews here first.

J D.

11/19/2018

Believe the bad reviews. These guys are happy to 1) lock you down to a 4 hour window, 2) tell you up front they will charge you $70 to come out and 3) call you on the day of your appointment to tell you that they don't have anyone to come out to your home. These asshats made me waste a work day at home waiting for them. If we are off to a bad start from the get-go, I will gladly give my business to someone else.

Julie E.

11/04/2019 12:00:00 SA

Southwest plumbing is NOT the to call!

During an extremely stressful time when one water accident helped us discover a problem, we reached out to find recommendations for a local plumber. Since Kirk at Southwest plumbing was highly recommended, I reached out to him.

We were in the middle of a construction disaster and needed one specific item addressed and fixed. He arrived and diagnosed the problem incorrectly, spending a very short time on the problem he was called to address, saying he couldn't fix it, but rather spent more time looking for other things to do. That is called upselling.

Our water heater is working fine, thank you. Our faucet head doesn't retract all the way. Not a problem. We were in the middle of a huge mess and not interested in anything else but fixing our current problem! If you had just addressed our problem, said you couldn't fix it and left with maybe a $200 charge for your time that would have seemed more fair.

Would you like to know what we were charged for absolutely no help? $550!! And trust me this does not help us or endear us to this company in the future if we have a plumbing problem.

We reached out to management- The service manager whose name was Ryan-and they were no help as well. They said apparently there was nothing they could do to make us feel better. It's interesting that they didn't offer a refund.

Vicki S.

10/21/2020

I'm am so disgusted with this company. I called because of low water pressure. They said I needed to replace the galvanized pipes with copper pipes. I paid $3850 to have them do the work. The water pressure was so much worse on all the sinks & 1 outside faucet could no longer be used, after the work was completed . I recently found out that they didn't install copper pipes to the sinks, because they don't get involved with drywall, which they never mentioned to me on their initial visit. Then I was informed that the copper pipes were connected to the galvanized pipes going to the sinks, which can make the water pressure worse than before......which is what happened.
I was scammed by this company......if they would have been truthful to me, I would have never had copper pipes installed. Their paperwork states lifetime warranty with a repipe. What a joke & very dishonest. Never hire them, horrible company!

L G.

8/30/2018

I went to SW plumbing's web site asking for an estimate a few days ago. We agreed on today, I took time off from work. They have called all morning long, saying they're sorry, to be late, but will send someone out before noon. That didn't happen. Instead I got a call at 12:30 PM saying they know they missed the noon deadline, do I want to stay on the schedule with no guarantee they could make it, schedule for tomorrow (to which I replied I work and took the day off to meet with you, or would I rather re-schedule for another time.

Short answer. No thanks. There's no guarantee they could have been here at any time today, and nonchalantly suggesting they come out tomorrow, ticked me off. In fairness I've dealt with them once before and they were here when they said they'd be. The flip side of this coin is that the pipe they repaired failed...

I'm sure they are all very skilled professionals. But company timing and commitment is important to those of us who don't always have much time.

Jiaqi G.

3/23/2020

We had clicking noise in the check valve. The person went ahead and replaced the check valve. However, soon afterwards we don't get hot water unless the heating system is running. We were pretty sure it was most likely that the check valve was not installed perfectly. However, the person comes back, not willing to admit the problem, but rather starts replacing another thermostatic valve, and tried to charge another $700 for something that is absolutely fine. We let him replaced it, and guess what, the problem did not go away with a new thermostatic valve. He was still trying to come up with his own theories and hypothesis. If it were up to him, we might have had our whole heating system replaced. At the end of the day, he left saying that we did not trust him. Reached out to South West Plumbing, they were reluctant to refund for the unnecessary thermostatic valve, not to mention that the valve was leaking a little. Now trying to get them to come out and fix the problem they created... Worst experience ever!
By the way, if anyone is interested in bringing a small claims court cast against the place, please let me know!

Camarin W.

10/03/2018 12:00:00 SA

I scheduled with South West and told them upfront that we were leaving town and needed our sink and disposal fixed before we left in 3 days. They said they could accommodate us and I stayed home from work on the day they were to come. They finally called at 4pm to say no one was available and would need to try tomorrow. I let dispatch know I absolutely needed someone in the morning because I had to leave my house to pick up my children by 1:30pm. I called them in the morning to doubly confirm my timeline and they confirmed they understood. No plumber arrived in the morning. Finally, on Day 2 of when they were originally supposed to be there, dispatch called at 12:15 to say no one was coming. Very frustrated and disappointed and taking my business elsewhere.

Lauren F.

12/16/2016

I called mid morning on a Friday and they made me an appointment same day, cool right? Wrong! I adjusted my work schedule to get home in time for the 2 hour window and waited.
My window was between 3 and 5. At 5:30 I called and asked what was going on. They tried to give me another 2 hour window!!! No, thanks. You can cancel the work order.
If anyone would have called and said they were running late it wouldn't have been a big deal. I'll take my business elsewhere in the future.

Sue M.

09/06/2018 12:00:00 SA

Tonight we had a small flood coming from under my kitchen sink while I had the water running. I grabbed towels and started mopping up, looked under the sink and somehow two pipe connections had come undone. I called Southwest Plumbing. They are great, very quick to get here, professional ,work uniforms and booties over shoes when they came in. They put the wet towels in the washer and offered to put everything back under my sink. Plus they gave us a Veterans discount and a coupon discount. Now I have all new metal shiny pipes instead of cheap plastic. Yay.
Will hire again.

Lynn G.

4/30/2020

I had a leaky kitchen faucet and a bathroom faucet filter that needed cleaning, something that could be fixed in twenty minutes or less. They sent two men who walked back and forth all over my house for over an hour pretending they were doing something. When they left I had a $450 bill. I am an elderly person and I was price gouged in the worst way. The owner was supposed to call me back, but never did. Do not hire these cheats for anything.

Kevin C.

4/20/2020

Had three simple bathroom projects and with their standard pricing for each task the estimate of cost with sales tax was over $1200. Toilet was prepped, emptied and clean to be lifted up to replace wax seal; American Standard sink required a new valve stem and the wall on/off cold water shut off for that bathroom sink had failed which required my entire house water to be shut off. I had expected to pay premium price for scheduled service due to the emergency to be able return water service, but their standardized pricing is predatory. Time and materials would have been more fair. Will never use Southwest for anything.

Michelle L.

07/05/2017 12:00:00 SA

My husband accidentally drilled through a copper pipe in our bathroom on July 4th. We called another plumber at first but they didn't pick up. We decided to give Southwest plumbing a shot since we had their magnet on our fridge and wasn't sure who else to call. When my husband called Southwest Plumbing, the woman on the other end said it might take a while to find someone since it was during a shift change but she called us back in 5 minutes saying someone would be about house at 15 minutes.
We had two techs come out. The lead one was Michael. I'm not sure if we ever got the second guy's name. Michael asked questions about the house to give us a quote as accurate as possible prior to beginning the job. I think they were here for an hour and replaced the copper pipe. Our cost came out to $650 including tax. Southwest plumbing does not do drywall repair so Michael was nice enough to place a white plastic square thingy to cover up the hole in our bathroom. They also cleaned up well after themselves.
Overall, we are very happy with Southwest plumbing and would use them again. Hopefully, we won't have to.

Cheryl A.

8/16/2018

Southwest Plumbing sure came to my rescue today! I got a new refrigerator delivered today and thought the ice maker installation came with the delivery. It didn't. My water could not be turned back on until the ice maker was installed. It was 2:00PM.

I didn't know a plumber, but because of their cheezie ads, I called Southwest Plumbing. Two certified plumbers came out same day, and installed the ice maker no problem, and programmed my refrigerator. Both Michael Jason, and James B. were very knowledgeable, friendly, and most of all very professional.

I will definitely call Southwest Plumbing whenever I need a plumber.

John M.

5/30/2019

Backed up main sewer line, basement got wet. needed to be snaked/cleared. They wouldn't give me an estimate over the phone even though I gave details on cleanout and distance to city sewer line, had to show up. An hour or two later, they wanted over $460 just to snake it, no camera. They said thats what it costs to start/rent the 100ft router. Bull. I just rented from PacRim the same 100ft power snake for $45 plus tax. Was done in an hour (utube helped). Over 10x the cost for just an hour work? No thank you. My main beef is that they won't tell you such up front. They try to trap desperate folks who might sign anything to get a 'certified plumber'. Also told me that I couldn't rent the same thing for less. What a bunch of scammers! I gave two stars instead of one in that they came in less than other scammers.

Kip W.

8/13/2018

Scheduling has been very frustrating, so be prepared to deal with it. They give you a 5 hour window with a 30 minute phone call to give you a heads up they are on their way. I got the call and they said he would be here in 15 minutes. After waiting for 25 minutes after he was supposed to be here I called back to find out that he is still about 45 minutes away. I'm not a scientist, but I understand enough about time that none of that makes sense.

Donna K.

10/30/2017

My home's main problem which Audie L. and Anthony W. successfully fixed for me was done with professionalism, timeliness, respect for my home and yard, and excellent communication!!! It was not an easy plumbing problem and messy, too!
So, I discussed a few more proactive plumbing needs for my 26 year old home to prevent problems in the future with possible water damage issues! I hired this same team and again I was so relieved to have the rest all completed in one day!!! This time they were in my home. They again installed 3 toilets, 1 garbage disposal, and a water heater with respect for me and my home! The jobs were completed in a timely manner and done with professional quality!! I will not hesitate to call on them for my future plumbing maintenance and repair work!!
Great quality work!!!

Laeth A.

05/10/2018 12:00:00 SA

Do not call! My sewer was backed up, called them because they advertise everywhere. 2 guys came and asked if I had a clean out. No. So he said was completely clogged because of nearby tree and we must jackhammer the driveway and replace the connection and would cost $5000 (not counting the $5000 to repair the driveway = $10k). I asked how he knew without doing sewer scope, and he said he'd been doing this for 20 years and just knows. I asked if he could scope and I'd pay and he said no didn't have right equipment. When I said I need to get a 2nd opinion and verify with wife before dropping $10k, he got angry and said I'd be stranding my family without water/sewer. I had Action Jackson come out and they cleared with hydro jet for like $600. Two years later I scoped it and still clear. Shameful.

Kristen P.

9/17/2018

Do not schedule with this company. They were scheduled at least 2 weeks ago to come to my house today between 12 and 5pm for a furnace inspection. At 4:00PM today, I received a phone call stating they do not do furnace inspections in the afternoon and would not be able to come to my house. I am only available Saturday-monday, so they're next availability that works with my schedule would be on a Monday between 12 and 5pm. When I asked why he is trying to schedule between 12 and 5 when he just said he doesn't do inspections in the afternoon, he did not answer, only apologized for the inconvenience. Meanwhile, we've been waiting around for nothing for the last 4 hours! Absolutely horrible. This is why they have a 2 star rating.

Mike S.

01/09/2020 12:00:00 SA

BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!! DISHONEST!!!!!!!!! SHADY COMPANY!!!!!!!!
According to Ryan in customer service. All the bad yelp reviews are because people are mad because they made bad choices and agreed to the work instead of declining because of price. Andrew told me that my bill was going to be in the $600 range and I agreed to that. He said that he told me about the additional $300 plus which was for a $13 water shut off box. Which is untrue. He took advantage of my girlfriend being here and not me. He told her he had discussed it with me which is untrue. She signed for the bill so it's my loss. I called and talked to Ryan which was about like talking to a stump. He told me the $307 charge was not just for the $13 dollar box. It was for installing the box and warranty of the box and for the time it took the certified tech to drive to get the box and drive back. Round trip from my home to Home Depot is 4.8 miles. Damn I didn't know I was paying DR Andrew. I let Ryan know that I would be putting a bad review here plus contacting the BBB. My money is already gone so at least I will have the satisfaction of letting everyone know about this HORRIBLE experience. I guess Ryan and Andrew have no conscious. They are working for a company that takes advantage of people because of their situation.
BEWARE!!!!!! BEWARE!!!!!!!!!! BEWARE!!!!!!! Yelp needs a zero star rating. They aren't even worth half a star. Shame on you South West plumbing and your employees who work for you. Shame on me for being a victim to these thieves.

Jordan V.

06/04/2017 12:00:00 SA

Our kitchen faucet broke on a Saturday. I accidentally pushed my carbon block filter on the counter which toppled into the handle and snapped it. I called Southwest and they had someone here within a couple of hours, installed a brand new faucet off the truck. I was a bit shocked by the price initially - close to $700 (including tax). I was working with my own clients when they came and signed the paperwork without really thinking about whether the price was reasonable.

Later, I called their Customer Service department and expressed my concerns over the phone. Definitely not the cheapest faucet repair in town! But the instant service (on a weekend no less) was worth it, and they are the largest plumbing company in the area, in business for some decades. So it's more likely that they will be around if, for example, I need a warranty repair (they backed my install with a three year warranty).

By comparison, the last faucet install we did was about half that price $326. We have two sinks in our kitchen and that faucet, now two years old, is a comparable model in terms of retail price. That was through Lowes, but it wasn't instant. I seem to recall that we had to wait nearly a week before they were able to order it and get someone scheduled to come out.

G G.

11/19/2018

Work not done to code & not willing to correct it without more money

Paid $1,500 to have hot water tank replaced - of course at their recommendations & then they did not even put on the earthquake straps that are required for code - they said I did not pay for it. This cost was in addition to the $700 I paid to have the bathtub drain fixed (which is what I called them out for). When I called them back regarding the straps they failed to place, I was told it would be a minimum of $300 to come back out and add the earthquake straps. It is terrible that they did not perform the work to code & that they will not stand behind what they should have done in the first place. I had other work done by another plumber, all up to code & for much less money.

Marta B.

12/24/2016

And when disaster strikes,Leo and Dillon are the rescuers team that I absolutely adore and love. Water heater leaked today, December 24th, guys arrived 5 pm and moved furniture, cleared the way,installed a new water heater,gave me a lot of great tips on maintenance and the proper way of reporting the damage to my insurance co.
Special Thank You for checking and protecting the pipes outside to prevent those from freezing at 33 degrees outside!
Oh, did I say that they cleaned the working area better then it looked before!

Professional, friendly, true Christmas gift! I am waiting for the water to warm up,so Happy!!!

Paul D.

8/27/2018

They stole a phone i had when they came to my house also they charged way too much and the service was not that great would not recommend

Joy P.

01/07/2020 12:00:00 SA

My toilet was running, and I diagnosed the problem as being the flush valve seal failing. Seemed simple enough but since I'm not a plumber I figured someone who knows a little something about assembly and pipes and such should do the work. Called them and they came out to do an estimate. Lowest estimate was $575 to replace the flush valve, claimed they had to replace it with a $200 brass part and labor and etc. Also offered to just replace the whole toilet for upwards of $1200. I laughed them off the phone, headed to Home Depot, spent $30 on parts, 7 minutes watching a YouTube video twice, 2 hrs doing the repair myself. It would have taken less than 1 hr if I had any kind of experience with installing anything on anything. Basically, if they had even quoted me $250 they could have had my money, but they had to try to be greedy and predatory because the voice on the other end of the line was female. Welp, you lost that service call, earned another bad review, and I learned a bit about toilet repair. Not the best way to conduct business.

Britt S.

5/17/2020

Sunday (Mother's Day!) late morning I was just about to head to see my Mom for the day and got alerted by my water detector that there was water by my (upstairs!) washer. I thought and hoped it was a false alarm, but sadly it wasn't. I hurriedly cleaned up the water and assumed that I had a drain back up (the washer was relatively new). I called Southwest Plumbing and spoke with their dispatch requesting a plumber come out ASAP. I called my Mom and let her know I wouldn't be able to come see her after all :'-( About 15 minutes after I called Southwest Plumbing I got a call from Tim. He stated that a plumber would be heading to my place and would arrive in about 20 minutes. Sure enough a Southwest Plumbing truck arrived and a clean cut, well spoken, uniformed and professional looking plumber, Colton arrived. He was patient with my puppy who wanted to be involved, was respectful of my home (put on boot coverings) and explained everything he was doing. Bottom line it turned out it wasn't my drain and was the washer. Colton confirmed my email address and when I asked if I needed to call in payment (because of COVID) he informed me that there was no charge for him coming out since the plumbing was fine. No charge for a last minute, Sunday call! I was blown away. Southwest Plumbing hit this one out of the park in my book. They have a customer for life.

Brian S.

12/12/2016 12:00:00 SA

The worst experience I've ever had with a company. Scheduled a 10-12 appointment for today (Monday) last Thursday. This morning at 8am they called to confirm. I did not see or hear from anyone after that. I called at 2pm for an eta they told me they would let dispatch know and get back to me. Nobody got back to me. Called back at 4 and talked to Julie at dispatch. She told me I was next up whatever that means and assured me she would get back to me. Julie never got back to me. I just called and told them IF they had someone on the way to cancel it (it's 6:20). Good part of a Monday wasted by terrible business practices and being strung along. Combine this with the other bad reviews this company should be avoided as there are better options.

Edit: it's now 7:45 and Julie left me a voicemail just now saying they wouldn't be able to make it out today. I don't know what's worse the fact that I was led to believe I was going to get service at all today or the fact there is a total disconnect going on at southwest plumbing. I called an hour and a half ago out of courtesy (something they are struggling with) to make sure not to send anybody out. This is pathetic.

Michael B.

05/08/2020 12:00:00 SA

Bathroom sink drained very slowly, so we called Southwest. Plumber showed quickly, diagnosed the problem and resolved the issue promptly. Plumber and his apprentice were respectful and cleaned up after themselves. Price was right and the service was excellent !!

Carl F.

4/30/2020

Michael Sullivan is amazing, he took my lousy old mobile home kitchen which had an antiquated setup with old pipes etc and turned it into a restaurant grade food processing facility. The first plumber I called claimed I would need a special small sink and other stuff I didn't understand then they promised to return to start the job in two days then called the next day saying the sink I need will take 2 weeks to get. Michael produced the exact sink I wanted and installed everything the very next day!!! He has a can do work ethic, is a really nice guy and keeps his promises.

Jim P.

1/20/2016

Buyer beware. First off, my fault for not getting other bids on the installation of two toilets. Two years ago I had a good experience with South West so they were my first and only call. My wife recently underwent surgery for stage 4 cancer and I needed to get ADA toilets installed quickly. I purchased the toilets separately and had them at my home then called to have them put in. The charge for the installation came to $788.26. More than four tires and shocks, purchased and installed on my car. Yes, there should a premium price paid. But I can't help but think this is entirely too much.
Pros:
Prompt, courteous, professional.
Cons:
Excessively expensive.

Mouthy M.

1/13/2016

Never, ever use this place. My husband and I had an emergency leak in our ceiling on Christmas Day. We called this service, frantic. Their intake process was very irritating. First you told a receptionist all your details: name, address, contact info, description of problem. Then they go I'll transfer you to dispatch, but none of the info is transferred so you end up repeating everything you just said. Not exactly conducive to urgent situations.

Then, they said they would send someone out that day. No one showed up. I called back the next day. The dispatcher told me I will personally ensure someone gets out there today. No one ever showed up. Who does that?

Anyway, I just wanted to warn everyone never to use them. I wish I would have read Yelp first, but I was desperate.

Ryan S.

01/03/2020 12:00:00 SA

This review is based upon customer service. We had an exterior sewer line problem with an old cracked cement segment that had root intrusion. After calling around, we spoke with Rose at South West, who was incredibly helpful and had someone come out same day. Leo and Michael came by and were able to start on the project same day and get it usable by the end of the day. The segment repaired comes with a lifetime warranty. It was expensive, but for the ability to have our sewer line issue resolved same day was great service. We would use them again.

James C.

12/08/2015 12:00:00 SA

My bathroom faucet became loose this week.
When looking under the sink, it was obvious that the two plastic Faucet Shank Nuts had broken off.

I then went to ACE Hardware and purchased two more faucet shank nuts for about $1.50 each.

Once home and looking at sink from underneath, It was obvious that even though it was an easy fix, the water lines (hot and cold) would have to be removed in order for new round faucet shank nuts to fit (screw into bottom of faucet).

With this, I decided to call South West Plumbing to fix my sink.
When the plumber came into bathroom, he shook the bathroom faucet and immediately said he was going to have to replace the entire faucet!

I refused the new faucet and gave him the faucet shank nuts I had purchased. After telling me that he had never seen those before he fixed the faucet as planned by adding the new faucet shank nuts to the bottom of faucet. In addition to this, he also replaced the water lines connected to the bottom of the faucet. I even questioned this, and he said that unless he knows they are in good shape, he replaces them. My entire house was completely refurbished about a year ago. Every think in this bathroom was less than a year old.

In this day and time when a homeowner needs a repair, they deserve to have a professional come out and fix the actual problem without inflating the homeowner's cost by recommending unneeded costly repairs.

I would avoid using this company at all cost.....

Matt S.

10/23/2015

Just lost $50 by not checking Yelp. Saw the mailer and thought I'd give them a call to fix my bathtub drain. Leo pit on a nice show with lots of sighs and this isn't going to be easy comments. Which only made me question their experience and confidence in their work. I quickly declined the $1,500 bid that required brass drain pipes over the standard abs and then was told the $50 off promo coupon which was not very explicit could not be applied.

I guess they just make most of the money off of writing people ridiculous bids.

Calean F.

1/28/2020

Mike S. came out to check out why our shower wasn't draining. He diagnosed the problem quickly and gave me the options, and then fixed the problem on the spot. They were fast to respond and great service!

Chuck S.

12/21/2015

UPDATE: After two we're really sorry, we'll refer this to our service manager phone calls and one email, nothing has changed.

Still no phone call, and (more importantly) no conversation about any refunds.

FWIW.

Chuck S.

04/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

South West Plumbing has saved the day! I call for a simple, non-emergency blocked drain problem and they are at our doorstep within the hour! Of course, the fault of the blockage was clearly ours, but Leo and Cohen were professional and quick (less than 5 minutes) to diagnose and resolve the issue and explained what we could do in the future to avoid this.

I will be happy to call on South West Plumbing again should the need arise.

Amanda A.

12/22/2015

I called this company the night my water heater went out and chose to not use their 'emergency service' since it was going to be a pricey service fee at the after hour rate. The next morning they gave me a time frame and showed up early on. My water heater was replaced and Troy H, their plumber was very professional and friendly to deal with. It is frustrating to be out of hot water for any length of time especially when you have to get up and go to work, but knowing they did my water heater installation 15 years ago and came back with newer technology built in makes me happy to give them a call again in the future should anything happen. Troy made it a lot of fun while he was repairing the water heater. Thanks again you guys. I would recommend these guys to anyone that has issues with their tanks!

Shaymaa A.

11/17/2019

Never use this company. Price gouging is their specialty. A simple water shut off valve for a dishwasher was almost $900 for less than two hours of work.

Darin P.

09/12/2015 12:00:00 SA

Not the one to call you back.

We called Southwest Plumbing when another rooter company had to cancel on us for that day when our sewer line was backed up. Obviously not a situation we wanted to prolong. The operator took our info and said someone from dispatch would call us right back. An hour later, no response. I called back, relayed the info I had been given previously, asked if anyone would be calling, and all the operator did was the same info gathering as before and said dispatch would call us right back.

90 minutes later, no response. I called again and the same process happened once more. No response.

Their website said they respond within 24 hours at the most. Not only did they not respond within the promised time or even within 24 hours, they didn't respond period. Ever.

Andrea B.

2/20/2017

Prompt and Courteous! Ryan was able to quickly and efficiently fix both our kitchen faucet as well as our Bathroom. Fixture needs were provided, as well as options in finish and style.
Additional information regarding our plumbing was offered, providing insight into our next project.
Overall service was great and of no inconvenience to our household.

Rainier B.

07/12/2015 12:00:00 SA

* * * HUGE RIP OFF * * *

Read the other reviews and it is a common theme with this company.

They charged me about $700 to snake a toilet. It was my first time dealing with this so I had no idea. Recently I contacted Roto Rooters for the same issue in a different house and was charged about $300.

If you have any handy skills, go buy the toilet auger and snake it yourself. Whatever you do DO NOT hire these guys!

C. H.

11/29/2017

Scheduled an appointment for a hydronic heating circulation pump issue about a week in advance, only to get a call the day-of saying that their only tech who works on hydronic systems is on vacation, followed up by so what do you want to do?

Would have been pretty useful to know that little piece of information before I had to take a vacation day OF MY OWN from work to make this appointment work.

If you're looking for a plumber with basic scheduling competency, look elsewhere.

Lana C.

6/17/2015

So disappointed with this company! They came out to replace a toilet, and the plumber said he had to break the existing toilet to get it out ( despite the fact we had it out a few months ago with no trouble). Then told me he couldn't install my new toilet properly. So when I asked how he planned to fix this he quoted me an additional $400 on top of the $400 he wanted to install the toilet. I told him no- it was too much money, so he left me with nothing installed and he took my broken toilet !! Complete bait & switch!
I requested compensation from the office for their plumber breaking my property under license & bonding and was told a flat no. What company breaks your stuff and isn't accountable for it??? Southwest plumbing is not the one to call!

Deborah S.

6/15/2020

Make sure that you get ALL quotes on writing, and if the cost is high do not hesitate to get a second opinion. We are glad we did! We needed to get a sewer scope as we are in the process of selling our house. We brought in an independent contractor to perform the job, as recommended by our real estate person. He was not able to get the cap off the main access to the sewer line so he recommended we bring in a plumber to saw off the cap. South West Plumbing came out that day and gave us a bid for sawing off the cap plus a sewer scope, and we agreed to do it all at the same time. They verbally quoted us approx. $150 for sewer scope and approx. $250 for sawing off the cap. South West Plumbing presented us with a copy of the video and pointed out a section in the pipe that was offset (which we couldn't really tell if it was offset or not). They recommended repair, which they quoted in writing approx $5,500.00, and said they could get started on it that very day. They seemed quite eager and kept pushing to get started.

As that was a lot of money, we decided to bring back the original contractor for a second opinion. The original contractor performed the sewer scope and reviewed their video with us in detail, finding no issues with the sewer line - no offset pipes, no cracks.

Southwest Plumbing could have cost us money we don't have, as well as the inconvenience of digging up our driveway and the time it would take to have all this complete. Plus we would have had to get in a contractor to also repair the driveway, which would have been another expensive task. Lessons learned! Won't use SW again.

Jerry L.

06/01/2015 12:00:00 SA

A disabled tenant in one of my rentals fell and cracked the tank on their toilet. The shutoff valve did not stop the water flow so they shut off the water to the whole house.
I called Southwest and told them I wanted to install a new simple basic toilet. I've done many over the years. Toilet is $79.00 at Home Depot. Takes about 30 minutes.
The Southwest rep arrived at the rental, called me and quoted $1,272.00 to install a simple basic toilet. This was after they assured me there would be no surcharge for a weekend emergency call. Guess they figured they had us over a barrel. A disabled person with no water.
Somehow we survived without the services of Southwest Plumbing.

Erené L.

4/17/2020

We had some sewage leakage under the house due to old drain pipes. Scheduled a next day appointment and Ryan came out to get everything fixed and replaced. Very genuine and recommended that we work on fixing some other things. We will continue our business with southwest!

M A.

11/27/2019

Andrew C and his assistant John installed a furnace for us today. They were very professional and friendly. They were very informative teaching us how to program the furnace and maintain the filter. We were very happy with the service we received.

Ross B.

11/04/2019 12:00:00 SA

I was given a 5 hour window in the middle of the day for someone to come. I was called right at the end of that window and told no one would be able to come but I could reschedule for the next morning. 15 minutes after the plumber was supposed to be here the next morning, I got a call saying my four story building was too tall and they could not service it.

Edward T.

04/04/2020 12:00:00 SA

We had a plumbing emergency today with a burst pipe! Thank goodness for your song on TV--- Southwest plumbing three ones too call!! Mike Sullivan the plumber from your company came and had our pipe fixed/replaced pretty quickly. We can now turn our water back on and won't be without it this evening. It really helps when you're freaking out in an emergency when water is flying out of your pipes and you can't stop it and need a professiona to come in and take care of us and fix the issue. Thanks to Mike Sullivan his customer service and expertise was absolutely super!!. We are so thankful this evening! Thank you South West plumbing!

Marschell B.

09/12/2017 12:00:00 SA

I set an appointment for an estimate and got the run around and no estimate. Horrible customer service, would never spend my hard earned money with these folks. Serious lack of integrity

Michael E.

8/28/2017

They arrived late. Apparently, they need an eight hour window (instead of four window they give you). Overcharged me. Found out the pipe they put in is too small.
Never use them!!!

Jimlim S.

01/04/2016 12:00:00 SA

If I can give South West Plumbing a zero star, I would. They used to be an okay company when I had used their service a few years ago. It appears that they have spent more money in advertisements and they do not follow thru with their promises.

My gas furnace went out during very cold night below freezing level in Bellevue area. I called South West around 8 am on January 4th, 2016 to schedule for furnace repairs. I told them we have 3 little ones that are cold because the furnace is out and no heat in the house I was told the technician will be coming around 1 & 3 pm.

It should be a very simple process to schedule a technician to a customer place, but for some reason-there seemed to be confusions among the intake persons at South West Plumbing.

I received 3 different phone calls back and forth from different intake persons with confusions. They seem to be no coordination among the call centers. This makes me think South West Plumbing has gotten too big for their customers, since they seem to have many intake personals that are doing dis-services with customers.

I was told because we have young children without heat, that we will be put as priority. For some reason, the 3rd person called again, and changed my schedule appointment to be between 3 pm & 5 pm. So, I figure okay, they are busy. I had to re-shuffle my other errands to be sure to be at home to have my furnace repair.

I waited until 4:50 pm, but no technician and no call from South West. I called their office, and my call was handed over to two different persons who apologized, we are sorry. That is all I got from the company. They did not even try to reschedule us. This is what I mean..South West Plumbing is too big for their bridges. Wow! I could have called someone who would at least call to tell me they are not gonna make it. UNACCEPTABLE!!

* Update-Never received any follow thru by their reply to my review.

Patti P.

8/20/2019

This rating is a ZERO. Horrible!!!! lied and tried to take advantage of me. They really don't care about your concerns like cost etc. I learned a lot from this experience. 1. Never use South West Plumbing ever, they tried to charge me over $3K for a new water heater that still has a warrenty. 2. Search Youtube for answers, and see what should be done. You will save thousands of dollars. I have gained a lot of knowledge they don't want you to know. BEWARE!!! NEVER LEAVE THEM ALONE! That's all I have to say about it!!

scase c.

09/04/2019 12:00:00 SA

I might be able to give them more stars if they showed up to my house. Don't be fooled by their service window, they didn't actually have a plumber secured for me. They tried to find a plumber during my service window and because I wasn't able to take their call (even though I was working from home waiting for them), they canceled my service.

Andrew S.

10/13/2018

I scheduled an appointment on Thursday for them to come over on Saturday to retrieve a screw that had fallen into my garbage disposal - presumably a simple task.

*During* the window on Saturday they told me to expect a plumber, they called me to tell me they would not work on buildings with more than three stories - I'm on the third floor of a condo complex that has five stories. They waited until the last minute to tell me this, gave me no further explanation, and cancelled my appointment.

Doug F.

08/11/2017 12:00:00 SA

I've used these guys a few times when I've had little choice. Their work is good but their prices are absolutely outrageous. The straw that broke my back was their last quote. I had a leaky faucet. They wanted over $500 to fix it, over $800 to replace it. I called a local plumber and although I had to wait a day, the REPLACED it for just over $200. That's $600 less! The ONLY advantage to these guys is they can usually do same day service but wow is there a price you pay for that.

John A.

09/12/2017 12:00:00 SA

Southwest Plumbing.....the one NOT TO CALL for service if you want a confirmed appointment. I scheduled an appointment 5-days in advance but they failed to show up for the scheduled appointment. I found out on the day of the appointment that the appointment was never entered into their calendar system. This is the 2nd time this has happened. I will definitely go elsewhere for my plumbing needs.

Drea A.

9/29/2017

Very professional from beginning to end. South West sent Abel and Thang over to our home in Renton. The called and said someone should be arriving in an hour, however Abel came before an hour. I'm very confident with the work that they both put in, and will be sure to keep them in my address book, and book marked on Yelp.

Sarath T.

08/02/2019 12:00:00 SA

Unfortunately I can't say anyone helped me. The receptionist was no help at all either. I have a ten year warranty for leaks on my water heater and it's been 8 years and it's starting to leak. I called south west plumbing in an attempt to utilize my warranty but the receptionist had no idea on their warranty policy. The lady I spoke with on the phone tried to give me the run around on who the previous plumber who did the installation was, which was 8 years ago so I can't recall. What I do know is my warranty plastered on my water heater stated 10 years for leaks, now I'm leaking at 8 years. I had many questions that couldn't be answered. It's unfortunate that south west plumbing could not honor their warranty when I had 2 years remaining. I went ahead and got a new one from Home Depot. If zero stars were an option I would smash it.

Jordan A.

8/13/2018

Horrible. They were supposed to do the work on Friday but didn't, then said they'd be back Saturday but didn't, then rescheduled for Monday 8-12 and didn't show up. Customer service just tranfers me to dispatch where I'm on hold forever, then disconnected. This place the the worst - don't use them if you have any kind of plumbing issue that needs immediate or any other kind of attention.

O. David J.

6/20/2017

I just had a poor interaction with Jordan at South West Plumbing. I had my water heater serviced about a month ago, and, the plumbers told me to monitor the water temperature. In following up, I requested additional service to replace a valve and was told that I could not receive a quote for the additional service without the team returning to my home. I pressed several times, indicating this was not a new request but a continuation of service. However, Jordan told me that this was his company's policy. Time is money, and money is time. I do not appreciate being surprised by a Repairman, hence my request for a quote. Whoever is developing South West's policies and customer interactions needs to know that this policy is extremely misguided, has cost the company money, and has earned South West a poor review. I will not be recommending nor seeking their services in the future.

Cindy H.

01/01/2018 12:00:00 SA

I used Southwest Plumbing to cap a broken line to a sink. It was late in the day and they did come out until 9pm. I was told I would not be charged emergency or late day charges.
That being said, the good news is that they were courteous and professional and got the job done. The cost for two caps and a new shut off valve in one hour of work was $971. This is very high for minimal parts and time. They won't guarantee the work because my PSI is at 100 and for $700 more they would install a regulator. No thanks. Hopefully I won't need to use this company again.

Tod M.

01/03/2015 12:00:00 SA

My water heater needed replacement. 20 hours after contacting South West, they provided a bid for $1,566. Nuff said. New tanks cost $400 and take an hour to install by a professional. $1100 for an hour of service? Seriously?

It's a bummer as I have used them a few times and had generally favorable experiences with them.

Diane P.

05/04/2019 12:00:00 SA

We should have checked Yelp before calling South West Plumbing. We would give them zero stars if we could. Beware, if they fix your problem, but have to come back because it wasn't actually fixed the first time, they will charge you another $500.

William L.

10/26/2016

Stay Away! My wife an I, who are senior citizens and barely surviving on social security, were overcharged by at least $2,500 in a recent encounter with this organization. They were in our home for about 4 hours and charged us nearly $4,000. We were taken advantage of because of our ignorance concerning matters involving plumbing. But we trusted SW Plumbing, because we had good experiences with them in the past.

We complained, but the only result was Ben M commenting that he was sorry to see the review. We have attempted to contact Ben on several occasions, but he is never available and has never attempted to return our calls.

South West Plumbing was once an excellent organization, but that organization no longer exists. A company's Customer Service is rated by its last encounter with the customer, not previous encounters.

We were defrauded, and unless this matter is resolved within 30 days of this notice, I plan to take the matter to the Washington State Attorney General and demand an investigation. Others who have also been the victims of this company are invited to join me in making the complaint to the AG.

Bill D.

04/01/2019 12:00:00 SA

Timely arrival - in fact they called twice to see if they could come early. Problem looked at and options given for the original toilet problems and more - much, much more. Repairs fixed the problems. But, the COST was outrageous. $500 to install two $20 parts - and that was not even half the bill. Frankly, I should have read the Yelp reviews first. If you have money to waist, they do good work. But, you could go to plumbing school, buy the parts and do the repair yourself for less.

Maurisa B.

05/02/2019 12:00:00 SA

I work for a thriving non profit corporation with over 60 buildings. SW Plumbing kept asking for an owner, as a non-profit corporation there is no one owner. They refused to deal with management who takes care of paying vendors. After, much trouble over the phone with them they out right told us that they WON'T work with low income housing properties and where pretty rude about it. So we let them know we would be black listing them from all 60 of our properties. Looks like some other lucky non-elitist plumber that wants to make money is going to be getting all of our business instead.

Cayenne R.

6/24/2020

Called to get a plumber to fix toilet. Day one. Scheduled for following day between 8-12. Day 2. They called about 9am the day of my appointment stating that because my three story condo building had storage underneath, that it was actually said to be a four story and that because of that, they would need a commercial plumber which, wouldn't you know after reading the ratings below, they didn't have to help me the day of my appointment. I asked if this would change the charge for replacing a steel line behind my toilet that deteriorated. They said not. Okay then. They said they'd call when they knew they'd have this special plumber on hand. Day 3-called me the next day as promised and set appointment for Monday. Monday- reception called and stated special guy was busy with other appointments and the only other special plumber was off that day. They said the next day, Tuesday, they might have someone for me but for sure, maybe they'd be able to get their busy guy out to me. Wednesday they called. I didn't answer. I read the reviews. Decided to add mine.

Michelle O.

2/23/2021

I really wish I would have checked these reviews before calling this company. They did not ask questions that they should have before starting the job. Not until the plumber (Kirk) left, did we realize what had even happened. That led to learning they installed a valve we didn't need because we had purchased our own and didn't know to tell them. We are not plumbers!! We don't know valves can only be put on by a plumber! They should have asked if we had our own and educate us on the process. When I called to speak to someone about this, the service manager, Ryan, was extremely disrespectful to me on the phone. He wouldn't believe me when I told him his plumber did not go into detail with us about the job. He refused to believe that any of this was their fault and just said we signed the estimate (which again was not in detail). They wanted to come back out and charge us the same amount (over $1,000) to redo their work! I don't think I've ever worked with a company that has such lousy customer service. We have been homeowners for over 20 years and this was our first experience having to work with a plumbing company. It will never be this one again.

Mike P.

12/02/2014 12:00:00 SA

The single most horrendous customer service experience I've had in my life.

I turned on my heat a few weeks ago for the first time since probably March or April. When I discovered the lack of heat coming into the house, I opened the utility closet for the first time in as many months. I tried a few things on my own at first, but having maybe even a novice's level of plumbing/HVAC knowledge, I began calling around to see who could come take a look at it.

Southwest Plumbing was the only available company who could take a look at it within the same week. Other companies were booked solid for weeks on end, mainly due to issues similar to mine with the weather suddenly turning colder and heating units gathering dust for the past several months. Southwest said they could come out Friday. Great, I thought - much faster than anyone else could.

Friday comes along and I get no call. It's 5:30 pm and I'm home from work, still cold. I called Southwest and they told me they had to reschedule until Monday because they had no one available. This was where I began to get annoyed. No call, no offer to reschedule, no attention to customer service whatsoever.

But I was willing to live with it through the weekend. Monday would be here soon enough, I thought.

Monday comes, and this was where things began to get inexcusable. They had too many calls and not enough technicians, so they had to push things back yet again. This would be the trend for the rest of the week, until they actually could send someone out. Three times they had to reschedule, until Thursday, when they finally sent two people to come fix my heater.

First, the price of the fix was way higher than I ever would've considered. It was $932, because the circulation pump needed to be replaced. I was hesitant at first, but I agreed to pay it to just get this situation to go away and to have functioning heat in my home again.

Dave and Mike leave my house and tell me it'll take 30-40 minutes for the heat to recirculate and start working again. I wait 30-40 minutes and turn it back on.

No heat.

I called Southwest's dispatch, and they said the two guys could come back that night around 9. This is a Friday, and it's beginning to affect plans I've made. They come back, tell me they know what the problem is, and not to worry, they'd fix it right up. I asked what the problem was, and I got an overly technical and garbled response. I didn't find that reassuring.

I waited until they told me the issue was fixed, and again, their explanation was it would take 30-40 minutes for the heat to return.

Spoiler alert: It didn't work. Again. And not only did it not work, but my hot water was beginning to get colder as well. Whatever they did, they managed to not fix the problem, and make my hot water suffer as a result.

My patience was being tested at this point, and I normally have a fair amount of patience in dealing with these things. Getting angry, I've found, does not help anyone get the job accomplished. I shouldn't have to feel like I need to scream and yell at someone to get a job done - let alone one that I've already paid for.

Last week, the company rescheduled on me again. And again. And again. Last Wednesday, they called and said they could have someone come out first thing Friday, and the problem would be fixed with no additional charge to me, no matter what it was.

Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, my girlfriend and I wake up at 8 to let the other technician, Bobby, in the house. He manages to fix my heat and tells me the original installation of the pump was done incorrectly, which is why the heat wouldn't circulate even after the convenient wait time of 30-40 minutes after the original guy had left the scene.

So not only was I being constantly lied to about the scheduling side of things, but I also was dealing with a level of technical incompetence that I hadn't previously dealt with in these matters. It would be impressive if it wasn't so goddamn infuriating.

When the heat was finally restored by Bobby, he said everything should be taken care of - the hot water, the heat, everything. There was finally hot water coming out of the shower and sinks. Finally, sweet relief, I thought.

But, no. Sweet relief would be short-lived.

The hot water, as I discovered the following morning, ran out almost immediately after running hot for a few seconds. It turned lukewarm to cold in another minute.

I called back Southwest and let them have it this time. After another rescheduling snafu, they sent Dave and Mike back out to have one more look at things.

Their assessment: a broken valve that would be another $700 to fix. I laughed in their faces and told them I'd take it up with their manager.

TL:dr - Do not use this company unless you enjoy being put through a special kind of hell. They're beyond terrible in every aspect of business.

Dave B.

10/24/2017

We had southwest plumbing show up at one of our rental units, the toilet was leaking and drain on the bath tub was not working right, He quite me $470 to fix the toilet and $270 for the tub drain ....I told him that I would pass on the toilet repair seem to high for me but told him go ahead with the tub drain,
Then he told me that the tub drain would cost another $100 ....$370 how can that be, When he quoted me $270 cause I did not want him to fix's the toilet .....never again will I call this company !!!!

Bentley H.

10/13/2014

Where do I start? I'm at work, and my girlfriend discovers some warped hardwood flooring. Our neighbor came over and looked. He went down below and discovered hot water spraying all over the crawl space. Needless to say all the insulation is falling out where it's gotten wet. She shuts off the hot water tank. After advising me, I told her to call a plumber to fix it. Our neighbor said it would be a tee and an elbow, not much.

She calls South West Plumbing. Out comes this clown who goes in the crawl space and comes out telling her that the entire floor will have to be replaced. His estimate to repair the two offending parts is $650. She gets me on the phone. I listen to his crock of crap about how much work it is to fix and his price is the going rate. He also tells me that the OSB floor will have to be ripped out and replaced. I inquired further. He continually told me complete lies and fabrications. He also said he had an associate who specializes in this sort of thing and he would work with us and the insurance company.

I called him on his crap. I used to be a Contractor and am an expert in woods. I have restored many antique wooden boats and I am totally familiar with the characteristics of wood, wet and dry. I told him I would fix the leak and to take a hike. He said it was impossible for someone like me to fix this problem. Right. Excuse my French. Bullshit

We were getting ready to leave town that day. I told my girlfriend to have him get lost, at which point he told her that I had issues and was an asshole. Well, I am an asshole. I came home, ran to Ace, bought the parts and fixed the leak. Eleven dollars in parts, 5 minutes of my unprofessional, do it yourself time. Changed and caught a plane without skipping a beat. I just can't see $3500 an hour for such a thing.

Stay away. If you have water damage they will scam you and your homeowner's insurance.

Oh, I did run this by a friend who is one of the largest plumbing contractors in LA. He said that would be a $200 job in LA. Check things out first. Don't let a scammer like this take your hard earned money.

Sam C.

1/31/2019

Let me start by saying I don't want any consumer to go through what my family has gone through with Southwest Plumbing. Trust the reviews! Here was my unfortunate experience with this unethical and fraudulent company.
My elderly parents had a backed up toilet in November of last year. Unfortunately, we called Southwest Plumbing. They indicated after looking at the problem, that it would cost just over $680 to fix the clog. I thought it was a little high, but not a crazy amount. It was clear at the time I met the two workers that came, that I would be the gatekeeper for the work, since my father is elderly with ongoing dementia. English is also his second language. So I left with a verbal agreement for the amount, and that he would call if there was any problems.

What happened after that goes way beyond proper business practices. Not soon after I left, they worked my vulnerable dad over, and told him that there was additional damage to a line outside. The revised bill was $6,066!! I did not receive word of this until several weeks later. I attempted numerous times to resolve the claim with the manager. All the manager was capable of doing is responding with a stream of blatant lies. He indicated my father was happy with the work. My father could not explain what work they did if his life depended on it! That's because there was no work done. They dug a ugly hole in the middle of my father's concreted driveway. Then covered it up with gravel. Really! The invoice that they gave for the work had one sentence for the explanation of the work. I asked the manager for a revised invoice, explaining more properly the work they claimed they did. The manager never offered to provide that to appease my concerns. I also know that they were at the residence for only a couple hours. The manager blatantly lied to me, stated they made three visits to the house that week. Not correct! I even explained to the manage that our neighbor has surveillance cameras that face our house. So we have proof. He then moved on to other excuses.

After weeks of unreturned calls, unreasonable demands for a notarized form saying I was allowed to talk on my fathers behalf, which I gave them, even though I know that is not required. I decided there was no point going further. They have a clear disrespect for people, and their hard earned money. And interesting note. I filed a fraud claim against them through the credit card company. I encourage all the people screwed by this company to do the same. The charges were taken off. And then I find out today that the plumbing company re-charged my dad's account again! Instead of going through the dispute process with the credit card company. All I can say any further is that if you read this, you have been warned!

Lee D.

11/08/2014 12:00:00 SA

After South West Plumbing performed quality work on Tuesday, we realized that their driver parked his vehicle on top of our water meter box. After being gone on a business trip for 3 days, I come home to find that our water meter box was flooded with water and that the water meter cover was crushed. Having to use a crowbar and hammer, I pryed the cover open and discovered that the water pipe on our side of the meter is leaking. I called South West Plumbing to report the issue and they say that it will be covered as a warranty issue and someone will be out soon. Their crew came out and both pipes on the water meter were loose but not cracked - thank goodness! They tightened the pipes and all was resolved under a warranty issue.

Steve B.

1/23/2018

I couldn't have asked for two better plumbers. Trevor and Blake not only showed up ahead of time, but were courteous, professional and straight up honest when we discussed the options when installing my new bathtub. I had a question after they left and dispatch was effective in their getting the message to this team to respond to my inquiry. I'd recommend these guys in a heartbeat.

Steven S.

10/29/2014

My gutters outside were not draining properly. Decided to give South West Plumbing a call to see if they could help out.
The positives:
On time
Friendly
The negatives:
The PRICE
They said that they would need to jet the drains and the cost for that was 1300.00 dollars! Even after jetting, they said there was a possibility that more money would be needed if they needed to dig out the pipes.
I was ready for the jetting and the possibility that the jetting wouldn't work, but that's insane pricing.
Found a great independent plumber who did the job for 350.00.

Korry P.

11/19/2016

How to start this out. Returned from Spain on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning in going through the mail saw a coupon from South West Plumbing. Called on Wednesday and made an appointment for Thursday. Received a call that they were going to show up a little earlier. Never showed up and then received a call that they could show up Friday at the same appointed time. Called and said they were not going to make it. Made an appointment for Saturday and still have not shown up. Called them and they said they are short staffed, Really I've changed my schedule for three days and they can't show up. I am going to tell everyone I know that this company makes all kinds of promises but can't even show up. Great that they offed to give me the $49 truck charge off but now I am out three days of errand's and projects I wanted to get done. Never again. These folks are useless and unresponsive.

Rebecca S.

05/02/2019 12:00:00 SA

I am livid and will never use Southwest again. I received a notice from the city telling me my meter was running and I likely had a leak. I called two other plumbing companies before this one, but southwest could come out. They came out and first told me I must have a leak in my main line and I would have to pay them $1,000 to find it. I gave them a check. The next day, a leak detection specialist came out and very quickly realized (without even taking any equipment out), there was no leak in the main line. He left, and I was handed my check back. Then the Southwest plumbers looked around again and told me a part on my water heater must be causing backflow - causing the meter to run back and forth. They told me it would be $700 to remove the offensive piece. I said ok, and the plumber handed me an electronic signature page. THERE WAS NO CONTRACT ON THIS PAGE - only a place for my signature. He verbally told me I was signing to have the part removed. I signed. He removed the part and left. He was at my house less than a total of two hours over both days.

A few days later, the city called me and told me they would be reimbursing me $200 for water bills because THEY in fact had located the leak - it was due to a broken gasket that the city owned and was responsible for.

I am mad at both the city and at southwest that I apparently paid $700 for nothing. I called southwest to see if anything could be done. A manager, Ryan, called me back and was immediately angry and defensive. He told me I signed the contract, that the leak DETECTION cost $700 and they removed the part from my water heater for free. He told me I never should have signed the contract if I didn't agree with it (I was never given a contract! All I was handed was an electronic signature page and was told I was authorizing the work to be done). He told me if I disputed the charges he would put a lien on my house and I would be responsible for attorneys fees, etc etc.

So basically these guys will lie to take your money and then defend defend defend and threaten threaten threaten. I can't believe there was no part of that process that Ryan had any issue with, until I BEGGED him to at least talk to his plumbers about how they should present a contract and he agreed to do that.

I am left feeling like I was taken for a ride. I will absolutely never hire this company again for anything, and I suggest you steer clear as well.

Chris M.

04/07/2018 12:00:00 SA

2 stars because the price was over the top. They seemed to do a good job but it was almost $30,000.00 to replace my sewer line 30'. Thousand bucks a foot seems a bit high. I will definitely get the job quoted next time.

Ed P.

3/29/2017

Our kitchen touch faucet quit working and we didn't have any water in our kitchen. I called Southwest Plumbing and the dispatcher said someone could be here the same day between 5-7pm. I got a call saying some guys were available earlier if it worked for me. Kirk and Dustin came in, with booties on, laid out the details of what it would cost got the job done quickly and without mess. They were both friendly, helpful, and professional. I put their name in my data base and will definitely call them next time I need plumbing help.

Mandy M.

11/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

I wish I had checked yelp before making an appointment with this company. I called on Friday and made an appointment for Monday between 8-12. I took the morning off work to be available for them and got a call at 8am the morning of my appointment saying that they were experiencing a high call volume and my appointment was going to run into the afternoon. That didn't work for me since I already had other appointments scheduled. They were completely unaccommodating when I told them I'd taken the morning off of work for them. I literally made the appointment on a Friday for the following Monday so how they had no idea they were going to be busy Monday seems unlikely. If I'd know they 8-12pm window was not set, I would've called someone else. They are definitely NOT the one to call and I won't be calling them again.

Adam P.

5/27/2017

(STAY AWAY, DONT WASTE A SECOND ON THEM) Called them, they said they could come the next day between 5:00pm and 8PM no call until around 7PM and they cancelled for the next day. We arranged for a time slot for 8am - noon. They didn't call until around 2:30 and said they will send a plumber ASAP. Then no call nothing - I tried calling, and no answer- WHAT A CRAP COMPANY. Call o'neill plumbing in West Seattle, they actually call back and provide a service.

Sandy O.

08/01/2014 12:00:00 SA

I would not use South West Plumbing again.

We had an emergency issue on the weekend. The Plumber came out. He was personable and polite, but I do believe after doing some investigation that we were hosed on the price, there was less than two hours of work.

The reason I am writing this review is because the Plumber recommended we contact a bogus service called 1-800-Water-Damage, who charged us $150 to come out to our house and tell us that we didn't have significant water damage. It was a total scam! He did nothing at all!! We were hosed yet again. Please stay away from South West Plumbing and 1-800-Water-Damage!!

Brie D.

9/14/2015

Needed my sink snaked. Called SW. They send Vincent. Vincent and his apprentice cleared the sink. Vincent and apprentice left.

Sink Cleared. Job Done. Reasonable pricing.

If you are having trouble, ask for Vincent. He was a great plumber! :)

Pegsta L.

4/16/2020

BEWARE OF SW PLUMBING. They came quickly to unclog our sewer pipe (for $800). They did a free scope and the supervisor announced that we needed to get a sleeve put through the sewer drain pipe because it had breaks. When I asked to see the scope I was told they didn't make a tape of it therefor could not see it. The supervisor told me that I could see a tape of the scope once they were repairing the sewer pipe (at a cost of $25,000). Then he told me that if we didn't do it soon it would cost $50,000 because they would no longer be able to run a sleeve down it. They would have to replace the whole pipe and dig up the street etc. Why would I agree to a $25,000 repair without being able to see verification that it was broken???!!! We got a second company to do a scope and were told it was absolutely fine and no repair of any sort was necessary. If you put two and two together it would seem that SW Plumbing totally fabricated the need for sewer repair or replacement and then tried to pressure us into doing the repair right away for $25,000 so as to avoid the chance of having to spend $50,000 down the road. This seems totally shady and dishonest. I would not trust this company if I were you.

Michael R.

07/11/2016 12:00:00 SA

I am reporting this review as the original version had a reference to an outside web site which Yelp considered second hand. If your interested, search the internet for flat rate vs. hourly plumbing

We will see if Yelp allows this review to remain this time. However I can assure you, this is all first hand:

Ok, Lets start with the fact the fact I am an idiot for paying what I did. The work SW Plumbing did was generally good and they did not charge me more than I knew they would when they quoted the work to me. However, the amount they charged was ridiculous for the amount of time and work expended. However, I was in a bind and needed the leaky faucet fixed NOW! I travel over 250 days/year. So having a day off in Seattle at my home, during the week is a novelty.
I live in a 1940s home so its difficult to run to Home Depot and pick up supplies which seamlessly fit into the home. It's a challenge, if not an impossibly to find items at the big box stores (which are typically the only ones open on the weekend). In short, Southwest had me between a rock and hard spot. If I had done a little more research (including reading some reviews on yelp) I would have been far better prepared and would have never called them.
Their hourly rate was in excess of $550/hour - which is stupid (maybe I am as I paid it). In short, the work was fine, but the flat rate pricing they practice is usurious. I believe in businesses making money, but there is a point at which it borders on ripping people off. In my opinion Southwest Plumbing definitely fits into this category. I will NEVER use this company again. That said, their pricing was upfront- so i have toguvr them credit for that. It goes to prove that Caveat Emptor is always good advice.

Salil B.

09/04/2017 12:00:00 SA

We had a large back flow via the washer pump. Kirk and Dustin showed up that very day in matter of few hours. They went into crawl space and did thorough inspection. Then Kirk gave me estimates for 3 different types of fixes. They were able to replace the pipe in just over couple of hours. There were no other hidden charges etc and I paid exactly what we had agreed upon before the service. Overall they were very professional, knowledgeable and friendly. Would call them again for any of my plumbing problems.

S M.

11/23/2016

They didn't give me any estimate over the phone for a simple kitchen faucet installation. They told me it is $45 to give me an estimate which I agreed. When he came over, his estimate was $320 for installing my $60 kitchen faucet (which I had already purchased). I said NO WAY!!!!

Andrea L.

02/07/2018 12:00:00 SA

I have used South West 2 times, before, and found they were great. However, this time, it was very disappointing!

I called on Monday to have a plumber on my property on Wednesday. Initially, I had it for morning. I hang up, reconsidered, and called again to change it to the afternoon slot.
The dispatcher did not have it in their system, yet but told me that as soon as she got it,she would change it. This did not happen and,come Wednesday morning,I get a call to say they were getting a plumber. I had to correct them and say I had moved it to the afternoon.
The dispatcher corrected and gave me the 12pm-5pm window for the plumber to show.
I called twice in the afternoon but the dispatcher said all the plumbers were busy. I can't believe that all the Eastside plumbers were unavailable for an entire afternoon, doing one job.
The plumber came all the way from West Seattle and took another hour to get to Kirkland.
Utterly disappointed with the company.

Mark T.

1/16/2017

DON'T EVER USE THIS COMPANY!! I scheduled appt for Sunday 4 - 6 PM and they called later for me to reschedule because they were short staffed. No problem, rescheduled for Monday 3 - 5 PM. I called at 4:30 to see if they were coming and said they would call dispatch to call me right back. I called again AT 5:00 and was connected to dispatch who said that I was still on their list and would be out. I waited until 8:15 PM and NO CALL NO SHOW. I submitted my frustration on their site and was called and told I needed to reschedule AGAIN!! I said NO WAY!! WORST COMPANY EVER!!!

Josh N.

1/15/2019

Before you do anything, go to their website. It says nothing about the customer comes first, or the customer is our number one priority. That's because they don't care about the customer. They care about getting the most money out of you.

Our 50 gallon water heater went out late last year. I called SW Plumbing and they said they would be out the following day. He happened to have a 50 gallon water tank on his truck and said he could install it for $2200. It seemed like a high price, but I didn't want to go without hot water any longer. This was a very simple installation - I even helped the guy take down the old tank and put up the new one (his apprentice was at another site). The next day my coworkers laughed in my face when I told them how much I had paid. I looked at the model number for my new tank online. I found it for $760!!! I called SW Plumbing and asked for an itemized receipt. They said they do not have itemized receipts, and now I know why. There is a reason they get such poor ratings. I can't speak for the quality of their service, because any 18 year old kid from any hardware store with basic knowledge could have installed my tank. I would recommend looking around to get a reasonable price for your plumbing needs.

SC C.

8/21/2018

No show. Would have zero stars if that's possible. They gave us a 5:00p to 8:00pm window, we had to call them at 7:45p to find out that nobody is coming. They didn't even have a courtesy to call us, we had to call them. Obviously doesn't value our time, and definitely doesn't value us as customers. Would never use again.

Arch K.

09/06/2016 12:00:00 SA

So sorry to report this once pretty good company has changed dramatically since our last call to them a few years ago. Perhaps management or ownership change, I don't know, but, its apparent the left hand doesn't know what the right hand of this company is doing. Initially had a Friday afternoon appointment, I left work early to make their window. Very near the window I got a call saying they couldn't make it and in fact couldn't make it until Monday. OK, what time? A 9-11 window. At 1130 Monday I called and was informed they had changed that to a 3-5 window. Never bothering to tell me of course! The office help (Rose) offered no apologies, no explanations and in fact transferred me to the dispatch dept without as much as letting me know what she was doing...It was as if I got hung up on as the dispatch line started to ring.
It's very obvious something has gone wrong with this company...perhaps over booking without enough crew is part of it, but I also sense a complete lack of company cohesiveness and customer awareness. This is in no part reflective on the actual tech that came finally this was no fault of his. The job got done, albeit quite high for the work performed, he had no control over that. We will not be calling SW for additional work that will be needing done. I wish the best for their crew and hope they can transition to a much better company when SW Plumbing is no longer

C A.

8/15/2018

Sadly another negative review... my 92 year old neighbor needed her hose bib replaced. I helped her with the process and talked to the men who came out, they referenced a chart and told me it would be $550. Which seemed high, most range around $300 to install. When I checked in with my neighbor later she said they charged her $1800!!! What??? Honestly any company that preys on sweet, innocent old ladies needs to be called out! We have tried calling to resolve the issue, but they are not calling back! Do NOT trust this business, they are NOT the ones to call.

Dana M.

01/11/2017 12:00:00 SA

Just had an amazing experience with South West Plumbing. My furnace motor (heat) died on a Friday and Dispatch was good to work with to get this scheduled. Bobby W and Anthony were here Monday morning at 8am, on time. They immediately diagnosed the problem and recommended two solutions, depending on their further diagnosis once they got the old motor out.

After they repaired the furnace, we talked to them about our (very old) water heater and we went ahead and proactively replaced that. So much of that decision was due to our trust in their recommendation and knowing they were behind it.

The technicians were clean (booties on their shoes when they came in), smart, nice and knew their stuff!

Thank you South West Plumbing!!!

Kristen B.

6/22/2017

I have always used South West Plumbing for all my plumbing needs in my home. They are exceptional and affordable. Leo Pelayo and Tristan Leite were exceptional! I had two toilets installed and they were on time, clean, and the work was done quickly. I will continue to use this company going forward because they are reliable and there are NO appointment waiting times. Ask for Leo and Tristan and you'll get the job done right!

Evan P.

9/25/2017

My story starts with moving into my grandmother's house after her passing. The house was built in the late 50s/early 60s, which she owned since. The pipes beneath the kitchen could very well be the originals. Soon after moving in I noticed the kitchen sink had difficulty draining, and the dish washer connected had issues draining properly as well (same line). Then, the kitchen sink wouldn't drain a drop. I initially called Roto Rooter who sent out a technician, who tried to clear the clogged drain the same method I tried to do myself, with a metal snake. The Roto Rooter tech was unsuccessful and stated the next option would be to jet out the pipes which would be about $1,100. At this time I did not have $1,100 available, and would be left without a working kitchen. I called South West Plumbing who dispatched two techs to check out the clog. Richard Farmer, and his apprentice, Eric A. were able to come help out that same morning I called. Richard and Eric were great. I first sat down with Richard who explained the pricing, and stated that he would first try the cheapest option, and if it didn't work, I wouldn't be charged, but would then consult about the next step. Richard spent two hours in my crawl space trying to unclog the kitchen drain. However, years of abuse and neglect had left pounds of sludge to build up. After lots of fun, as the two described their work with a very positive attitude, Richard went ahead and cut some of the old pipe that was clogged and replaced it with new piping. I thought I would be charged an additional fee, but as Richard explained, he would keep the original cost he promised me, as fixing the issue, sticking to his word, and gaining my future business was more important. He was right. I plan to keep Richard's business card for my kitchen remodel next year. My positive experience with meeting Richard and Eric A. would leave me to feel comfortable with them working on my house even if I wasn't able to attend the service, which is a rare feeling nowadays.

I have already recommended South West Plumbing, specifically Richard Farmer and his apprentice Eric A. to friends and family.

Terry Q.

09/05/2018 12:00:00 SA

I made an appointment weeks in advance for simple plumbing needs. I was given a start time of 8 am - 11am. At 9am I was called and told they were in a meeting and they would send out a plumber as soon as they were done. 11 am I was called and told noon at 1150 they called and said before 5pm. They said they did NOT finish their jobs from the day before and that is the best they could do. So if you want a reliable company don't bother.

Paul P.

2/17/2014

Beware! Upsellers at a minimum; scam-artists at worst!

We had a sewage back-up at one of our rental properties and contacted South West Plumbing for a fix. They said they could have a plumber out that afternoon and clear the clog for approximately $650.00. Shortly after the plumber arrived, he began telling the tenant that he couldn't get through the clog which he said was made up of facial wipes, q-tips, and dental floss, and they'd need to cut the patio and dig down to replace the pipe, but they could start that evening, once they got the OK from us. (Alarm bells!)

My wife was handling this, and she was justifiably upset. The plumber then brought in an Excavation Manager to scope the line. This person arrived, scoped the line, and told my wife over the phone that we had a collapsed sewer line and that they'd need to, again, cut a hole in the patio, dig down, and replace the line. He reported the clog was roots and toilet tissue. (change of story - Alarm bells)

This was news to me, as we had the sewer line scoped when we bought the house 13 months prior and got no report of root growth in the line - rather they said it was clear, and all joints looked either good or ok. At that point, I arrived at the home and looked at the scope myself. When I got there, the story changed again. It was no longer a collapsed line; now it was just a stubborn clog that could only be cleared by - guess what - cutting the patio, digging down to the line, installing a coupler, and jetting the line (apparently they could not do this from the existing clean-out in the basement) - all of which would have a cost of $4,700.(4-ALARM FIRE ALARM BELLS!)

At this point, considering the shifting story, I was convinced I was being scammed for massive and unnecessary repairs. I told them to pack their stuff and I was getting a second opinion, and if the second plumber concurred with their assement, I'd be happy to take a bid from them for the work they were proposing. The next day, the second plumber arrived, used the existing clean-out to jet the clog, and had it cleared at a cost of approximately $775.

South West Plumbing is definitely NOT the one to call.

EDITED TO ADD - I'm going to STRONGLY recommend people take a look at the Not Currently Recommended reviews on this business. There are over 200 of them, and I believe over 200 are 1-STAR! I don't know how this many reviews are Not Currently Recommended, but if they were accounted for, this business would be solidly 1-STAR OVERALL...

EDITED TO UPDATE - Not Currently Recommended reviews are now up to 247 - vs 66 (!!!) being used to calculate their rating... The first 16 full pages of not currently recommended reviews are 1-star. You don't even hit a 2-star review until page 17.

EDITED TO UPDATE - Not Currently Recommended reviews are now over 300, with 91 (!!!) used to calculate rating... READ THESE REVIEWS BEFORE YOU USE THIS COMPANY!

Oscar B.

09/12/2017 12:00:00 SA

Leo Pelayo and Lucian were awesome. They arrived quickly, literally rolled out the red carpet (they have a little red carpet they put in front of your door), wore booties inside the house to keep our house clean, quickly identified the problem, ordered the parts, and the next day we had a brand new, correct color, working toilet. We had a flushmate power assist toilet that sprung a leak in the plastic cartridge, I was surprised to find out the entire toilet needed to be replaced, but since the toilet was a single piece toilet (the china was one solid piece, as opposed to a two piece: tank + commode) we had to replace the entire toilet. I would definately have Leo and Lucian come back.

A C.

11/05/2018 12:00:00 SA

*** Edited 11/10/18***

Am changing my review to 3 stars (average of one star for the scheduling issues, and 5 stars for the service visit). Ricardo D from South West was able to visit today. Very polite and knowledgeable, he was able to quickly diagnose the problem and fix. The fix costs more than I wanted to pay today so I am going to get a 2nd opinion, but I appreciated the visit and advice. I was getting my wallet prepared to pay the $50 visit fee, however Ricardo said no charge for today - call us when you want us to come out again!. So, once South West comes to visit, the service is good (or at least it is good if you have Ricardo). The trick is getting them to visit.

Original review

My first one star review (yay - makes my good reviews even more legit). Same issue as others. Was told they would come on Saturday 11.03.18, canceled all my plans and waited. At 630pm was told they would not be able to make it, though they would for sure come by sometime Sun AM 11.04.18. Canceled my Sun AM plans. Got a call saying they would come by instead on Sun afternoon. Cancelled my Sun PM Plans. At 4:30pm I called them and asked what's up. They said sorry could they come on Monday. Yeah right. I already gave up my weekend waiting for these guys, and was not going to take a day off from work in the hopes that they would show up. I did make an appt with them later this week, though since then I have already made an appt with another plumber. Am half-hoping South West Plumbing will still show up and I can turn them away, though I am fairly positive they will not show up to their scheduled appt.

Lillet W.

3/28/2017

SW have been our go-to plumbers since moving to our home 6 years ago. They've always come out the day we've needed them and have so many kind and capable long term employees (which says a lot these days). Ellis was our plumber today and after successfully fixing a clogged sink, left our bathroom cleaner than it was before. Thanks to Ellis and SW Plumbing for another job well done!

Connie K.

10/05/2018 12:00:00 SA

This is absolutely the worst plumbing service I have ever encountered. I have twice scheduled with them, on both October 1 and October 5, 2018. On BOTH occasions I waited around all day, only to have them cancel on me BOTH times with unacceptable excuses like they ran out of plumbers and they had complicated jobs which took longer than expected, excuse excuse excuse. How can they expect to run a company this way? How can they expect people to take time off from work, sit around all day, only to have them cancel? I have a job that requires me to be there in order to get paid. I have lost two whole days of income because of this. BEWARE--DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS PLACE!!!! HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE

Jessica P.

7/29/2016

These guys are absolutely AWFUL! I personally manage 3 apartment buildings in the Cap Hill/U District and we've been looking to find a solid vendor we can get out same day to handle plumbing emergencies. Their dispatchers are far from friendly and they have showed up ONE TIME when I've had them scheduled at my building. The other 3 times I've had them scheduled, they showed up late or just didn't show up at all. When I'm needing to provide notice to shut off water to 82 units, including 2 businesses that need to close down when we're doing repairs, we need to have someone who is reliable! Not only did they take a full day to do what should have taken 1/2 a day, they botched one of the jobs and when we scheduled them for a warranty fix, they didn't show up during the time frame they said they would and instead, showed up 3 hours later and refused to stay around when the tenant had to leave, even though we could give them codes to access the keys to lock up the unit! They also said their fix was going to take upwards of THREE HOURS! It's a leaking kitchen faucet for crying out loud... on a NEW faucet they just installed a few days ago. It should not take 3 hours to fix that!

The one plumber I did work with, the first time I used them, was great but since then, working w/their scheduling and actually getting someone to do the work and to do it well the first time and at the RIDICULOUS rates they charge is just laughable. No way in hell we're going to ever use these guys again and now... because they didn't show up today to fix their work - I'm going to have to tell a small local business they have to close up shop again next week because of Southwest's incompetence and lack of reliability. They closed, unnecessarily earlier this week when we had Southwest scheduled the first time and they just didn't bother showing up! Terrible, awful, horrific... DON'T USE THESE GUYS!!!

S R.

10/02/2020 12:00:00 SA

I had called to have my faucet ,again, in the kitchen as it seems it was not fixed the first time. I had them out a couple of months to fix it and the toilet and they wanted to charge $1000.00. I said No. Then he said $700.00 and I said are you kidding are we on Let's make a deal. He said alright $400. I said fine. Then I find out he wrote the the bill up for a replace tank and repaired faucet. He never replaced the tank he only tightened a few things on it and tightened the faucet. He didn't bother to check the faucet out to see it needed to be replaced or the hoses. I was told by the person that installed it that it was a life time warranty and if anything goes wrong with it they would replace it. When I explained all this to the person on the phone the day they were to come out the gal tells me the the faucet only has a 2 yr warranty though them but, a life time though the manufacture. I told her that was not what I was told. She said she would talk to he manager and have him call me. That was at 8am. It is now 1pm. how long does it take for a Manager to call a person back. It is offence they don't want to correct there mistake that they make. Watch out for this company. They do bait and change on you. On COVID-19 they will charge you outrages prices also. BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY!

Will S.

8/14/2017

Evan and Michael were prompt, courteous and got right to the problem. Fixed it. We are giving three stars because of the cost. Originally $277 + tax to unplug a kitchen drain seemed a bit pricey. Luckily we had a coupon which helped.

Colt H.

8/13/2016

Scheduled an appointment with a 2 hour window to fix a broken hot water tank. I missed their call to confirm I would be home and when I called back 10 min later they had reassigned the plumber and moved my 12-2 window to 4-6. Then they called me back 30 min later to say the plumber would be on his job all day and couldn't come out at all. Thanks, I don't really need hot water so it's totally fine... I'll be taking my business elsewhere.

C. D.

2/19/2019

Not recommended. I was charged a lot of money for minor service. Further, the old faucet and components went missing. Just like other reviewers said they try to sell you a whole bunch of other stuff....check the water pressure coming into your place and recommend fixing that.

Rita G.

01/08/2017 12:00:00 SA

IF you decide (despite all the bad reviews here) to hire SW Plumbing, watch your bill closely and make sure you know exactly what all the charges are for. AND, be prepared to lose an entire day instead of just your timeslot - they do not see to care about the customer's schedule.

SW Plumbing has great customer service until you authorize the to do the work. Then they are awful.

Unauthorized charges on our bill that they refused to even discuss. Wouldn't return phone calls, etc.

This is the last company we would ever consider doing business with again. Heed this warning!

Erin H.

8/20/2016

Hard to describe how bad this company is. Came in and charged us a fortune for our kitchen faucet situation and it was all broken within several months. No satisfactory solution offered so another company replaced it all. This has been a costly nightmare.

Deb T.

7/20/2019

Called Friday morning July 19, 2019 for a clogged kitchen drain. We were told they would be to our home that morning. Called again at 2 and were told they'd be here by 5. Called at 4:45 and they said they wouldn't be out but would be the next day between noon and 5 on July 20, 2019. They called at 1:00 to assure us they would be out this afternoon. We called them back at 4:30 and were told they closed at 8:00 and could come tomorrow morning. REALLY! 2 full days of putting our lives on hold and no one showed despite them continually telling us they'd be out to our home.

Mike M.

11/10/2018 12:00:00 SA

Plumber never showed. There was a 4 hour window for the appointment. No communication from South West Plumbing. I'm very frustrated that I wasted my Saturday waiting around.

Alexander M.

10/31/2017

I would give 0 stars if I could.

Our house has been experiencing plumbing problems where water would be backed up from the toilet and the bathtub, so our bathtub is just filled with poop water and garbage. We call them and they came the same day/night.

Two men came and looked at everything, claiming something was wrong with our pipe and their equipment wouldn't help or work with our pipe. They said they would have a camera man come down and look at the pipe to see what was wrong the next day. They later charged us $420 because they took the toilet bowl out.

The camera man called us the next day telling us there was nothing they could do about it, so it wasn't worth coming to the house to look at it. We asked for a refund, and they said the two men who charged us wasn't picking up their phones. They then later called us back, saying how we couldn't get a refund because they took the toilet bowl out.

Charged us for nothing, and they basically did nothing. Would never recommend to anyone.

Charlie S.

4/17/2018

They specialize in ripping people off , especially the elderly , charged mother in law , over 700 to replace a kitchen faucet , sent 2 guys , charged her for an better faucet she picked and installed cheap one . Turning over to BBB , and will continue to try to stop rip off thieves . Had to put one star to post , they deserve -5 .

Mira D.

9/19/2018

the plumber never showed up for an appointment in 4 hour window, waited all day, no call form dispatch, not from plumber. People read the review before hire somebody like that. Don't trust them! Disappointed !

Christina H.

07/11/2017 12:00:00 SA

On 4th of July our drains stopped draining. The shower, toilets, everything just stopped going out. Of course being a holiday everything was closed. We tried to repair it ourselves on the 5th, but no amount of DIY was working. We called South West and they had Todd and Long out to us that afternoon. They checked it out, and Aaron came out with the camera. Diagnosis? Collapsed / eroded away sewer pipe. Well poop! They gave us a quote and had us in temporary service that night so I could at least flush a toilet or take a quick shower to go to work.
Nothing tests a relationship like not being able to flush a toilet in the summer heat, so glad they kept that down to one day! They were friendly, and kept us informed every step of the way. Gave us our options and had us back in full service within 2 days. We have a gravel driveway they had to dig up a section of to get to the sewer pipe and even brought extra gravel for when it compacts down.
Todd and Long were fantastic. I'll be keeping their card just in case anything else stops up.

Bayjan V.

11/28/2016

I called South West Plumbing today and scheduled a service for my fridge to be plugged into the water pipe in order to get water through the fridge. The lady over the phone was nice and scheduled me in for the same day between 4 and 6 pm. It was around 5:35 when I decided to call the company to see when should I expect the arrival of the contractors. I was transferred to the dispatch who then told me that they had no plumbers available for the day. He said that, since my case was not an emergency it was basically pushed back. I couldn`t believe it. What about giving me a call and letting me know that you will not be able to make it. I felt like they wasted my day and did not value my business. Even though they offered to reschedule, I now can not rely on and trust this company. What a waste of my time. Very disappointed.

Robert B.

2/16/2015

I had a leak in my garage that was the pipe going to front outside faucet. Kirk and Dustin came out on time and were courteous and extremely knowledgeable about my situation. We even had some work done around the main water feed that I had been thinking about when to get done. They fixed the leaky pipe, changed out the outside faucet and installed a new pressure regulator and the old twist valves for new ball valves. System is now done right and workmanship is second to none. Thanks again for great job!

Rob
Issaquah

Todd M.

6/24/2017

Todd and Long showed up early and I was still at Costco, they said they'll just wait until I arrive, which they did. I arrived they were friendly and professional. Todd who has the same name as me is also a musician Like me so they worked and we talked about making music. They did a clean professional job, and Todd advised me to have a counter professional look at my sink because it was not sealed properly, he also checked my water heater as a courtesy and advised me why my hot water was not working properly. I just needed to set it to the proper level. They he had a Mr. Long that was working with him and he was professional as well. Great install, great attitude, professional. When I use them again and ask for Todd and Long to do the work. Great Job! Love my new Kitchen Faucet.

Yasmin G.

10/11/2018 12:00:00 SA

The Southwest pluming in Lynnwood set up an appointment and cancelled after I made sure I would be available anytime after 1.00pm. After waiting all afternoon they called and said they didn't have anyone available to fix the leak under my sink. Thought I may have better luck if it was a morning appointment, between 8.00am to 12.00 pm. I called at 12.15pm only to be told no one was available. I found another plumber who gave me a time of 10.30 and showed up at exactly the time given. Southwest plumbing customer service was terrible. Wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

Kelly R.

12/18/2016

Paid a huge bill just over a month ago to have under my kitchen sink replumbed and pipes are now disconnected and leaking water into the area that was just dried out. Called to schedule someone to come out and first question they asked was How will you be paying for this? Ummm. . . my receipt says One year parts and labor but as soon as I bring that up, good customer service stops. Scheduled, nobody shows. Rescheduled for the next day, nobody shows. Nobody calls, either. Keep calling and getting put off all day until finally I'm told that the original repair guy needs to come, but he is off for a couple of days. I work, too, which means either I need to take an entire day off and wait around HOPING they show, or I have to wait a few more days until there's a day when I am off and he is working. Meanwhile, no kitchen sink.

If I could do less than one star, I would!

Ross N.

12/07/2013 12:00:00 SA

My experience left me somewhat unsettled and doubtful. I could not tell from the technician if he was under a lot of sales pressure or if he truly had my best interest in mind. He corrected one problem but then tried to sell me some other repairs as well.

David B.

11/06/2018 12:00:00 SA

SOUTHWEST IS MORE WORRIED ABOUT PRICE GOUGING COUSTOMERS THEN THEY ARE HELPING CUSTOMERS. Plumber showed up towards the end of their time frame. Plumbers looked at my issue and in 10 mins took a quess at what was wrong. I was told that my sump pump in basement wasnt working properly, and that they maybe able to service and clean it for $750 plus tax. Also that the pump may still be damaged even after the service, but that the $750 would then go towards the price of a new pump about $1900 plus tax. After doing the service, the pump still didn't work well, but the price of new pump, check valve and shut off valve went to a lil over $3000. I told them I can do $2000 but not $3000, and I was asked if I could get the extra $1000 from family, sooo...
I went to Home Depot and got all the parts I needed for $400 and an hour and a half of my time I saved myself $2600.
I had to call a different plumber to snake the clog out of the drain that damaged the other pump.
So Southwest would've added even more charges because they assumed what's wrong and didn't bother doing a thorough job on what the real issue was. Shady pratice

Fred D.

11/02/2016 12:00:00 SA

Work was fine. Guys who did it were nice. But, I wish I had read Yelp before calling. Way to expensive for what we had done.

Sandra S.

1/18/2017

Only had a clogged drain & a snake jammed in the drain, as I tried to fix it myself. Jordan took my info & was very efficient. Got another call about 30 minutes from Andrew asking if they could come earlier & I appreciate that Andrew. Vincent showed up & was very professional, human, compassionate, competent & nice! THANK YOU to ALL!

Karlina S.

03/03/2018 12:00:00 SA

Noticed my water tank leaking first thing Saturday morning. Scheduled a same day window time 12pm - 5pm for technician to arrive and check it out. Mind you - they charge $49.99 dispatch fee before they ever tighten a screw or bolt a nut. I received several calls early in the window schedule to firm that someone is indeed coming to my home. At 4:30pm, no one had showed up. I called them to inquire as to technician arrival, they had no information. Dispatch then calls me at 5:02pm to say there is a staff shortage and would I like to stay on the schedule through 8pm! HELL NO!! There was no guarantee that the guy is coming by 8pm and I damn sure am not wasting 8 hours in total. I was quite perplexed that they had absolutely no idea at 3:30 or 4:02 that they wouldn't be here at 5pm...so what makes me believe that they wont realize at 7:59pm that they can't send anyone out. Driving through the mean streets of Seattle - you see Southwest Plumbing truck waving as is whizzes by you...I would have appreciated the idiot waving to me on the truck....WHILE PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY AS THEY CLAIM THEY WOULD BE!! Be aware - their visit would not have a been a social call - I AM PAYING CUSTOMER!!

Kit W.

05/08/2014 12:00:00 SA

These guys are fantastic. We had a plumbing emergency (in the middle of a rainy night, of course!) and South West came in to save the day. Our hot water tank failed spectacularly, and discovered at that time that our sewer line was in pretty bad shape. Julio and his apprentice arrived promptly, assessed the problem, and got to work. Mike M. came out with the camera to scope the line, and gave us more details about what to do. Long story short: we now have a new hot water heater, and vastly improved, plastic-lined, sewer line. Leo, Dom, and their crew came out and cheerfully and professionally got the job done on time, in fact ahead of schedule.

We watched them pull out chunks of the failing concrete, and were believers in the neceessity of getting the work done.

Everyone we've dealt with at South West has been professional, courteous, clear in communications, and sincere in their intent. Plumbing work of this nature is going to be Expensive - no doubt about it. But, it was necessary to do, and it's something worth doing right. South West did it right, and we believe we got our money's worth, and then some.

Would not hesitate to call out South West again!

Keith H.

12/15/2015

These people seriously price gouge and do terrible work. I had a pipe break during a storm, they knew people were desperate and jacked up their prices. Every estimate I've had since of similar work has been 1/3 of their price.

The work they did was subpar - to the point that both other plumbing company I've had in since said it was definitely the wrong way. Proof of that? Their solution failed after 12.5 months, just after the 12 month warranty expired. Think they offered to fix it? Or even a discount since it was literally 13 days beyond the 1 year warranty? Hell no. Their estimate to patch their awful solution was twice as much as another plumber's complete overhaul and real fix. The fix that has been in place more than 5 years now.

Never, EVER use these crooks!

Brad Z.

3/25/2016

Never use this company. I only wish I had read their reviews before I called them. I had a backed up sewer line that I had them come out to clear twice. Their hydrojet drain cleaning didn't work. They came out again and said they needed to dig up my entire line and replace it for a total of $5200. I declined and called another company. They fixed the problem permanently for $700. I registered a dispute with the better business bureau for a refund. Turns out they sided with Southwest. Without sending me a bill they immediately turned me over to collections. These guys are scammers and should be put out of business.

Ron B.

05/03/2017 12:00:00 SA

Lately it seemed as if my house was falling apart all at once. My hot water heater began leaking and obviously needed to be replaced. I contemplated doing the job with a buddy of mine to save money and decided to get an estimate. I figured I would call a plumber because that seemed right up their alley.

I called Southwest Plumbing for a quote. They showed up and were nice but it seemed like they were inflating how hard the job was. When they quoted me over $2,900.00 to just replace a simple 50 gallon water heater I was floored!

So now I was back to contemplating doing it myself. Then my furnace stopped blowing heat! Now it's time I call a company that works on heating and air. After reading reviews for Taylor Heating and AC I decided to get an estimate for the furnace from them.

The guy that responded to give the estimate from Taylor Heating and AC was great! He told me they would fix the furnace and replace the 50 gallon hot water heater as well. I was bracing myself when he gave me the quote. Drum roll please........
$1,800.00 for the water heater and the furnace!

I was expecting the service team to upsell but the entire experience was great! They not only fixed the furnace but serviced it as well.

Thanks to TAYLOR HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING!

Southwest Plumbing, I can't believe you inflated the cost so much!!
I was a previous customer but will not be calling you back. I'm now wondering how much I overpaid you for the previous job you did for me.

Emily S.

1/22/2017

Crooked. We called for a clogged drain. They came out, ran a camera and said they needed 12k to dig up the yard and a deposit that day?! What??? I asked for an estimate, he literally wrote 12k on a piece of paper. Uh-huh, that's not how estimates work. They also said they may have to rip the rest of the yard up for an additional 12k if that didn't fix it.

We got a second opinion. The clog was in a different place than where SW plumbing said it was, which means they were planning on making us pay for a non fix repair that they could then bill is double to actually fix!!

So instead of their 12k to 24k estimate we spent 1.2k. I hope they get tax audited so hard. They are crooked and they have bad karma.

Greg K.

4/30/2015

West Seattle resident here. We share a side sewer with an uncooperative neighbor. I called South West Plumbing to examine options. I also called Ten other contractors. South West was by far the best in customer service. The Sewer Manager EJ approached me with an excellent attitude of wanting to earn my business. He had a couple of his staff scope my line and determine the best course of action. They were prompt and decisive. They walked me through finance options and took the horror out of the situation.

They understood the tricky nature of a shared sewer and provided expert information that I could share with my lawyer including a video. If you live in an older West Seattle house with crumbling expired concrete pipes and your heartbroken cause the old lady is using a 5 gallon bucket to pee in then please give them a call. I don't regret it one bit. I did my due diligence and they were the best.

Eva B.

4/26/2017

We have used South West Plumbing before so when we had a problem with the toilet in the Master bedroom we called them. They came out on time and told us the toilet needed to be replaced couldn't be repaired=$650. I asked about the faucet in the Kitchen (it was loose) and they tried to tighten it but told us it would not remain tight so they recommended a new faucet=$1100.00. They were very friendly and polite and seemed knowledgeable but it sure was expensive!

Jane R.

10/24/2016

The initial installation of a new water heater was fast, but very expensive ($4,987.99). It took two and half months and four additional visits by South West to have the job approved by the city inspector. I was unhappy with this and will not call South West Plumbing for service again.

Frank P.

09/10/2018 12:00:00 SA

This is long but I have to tell the whole story,
We had a hot water tank start leaking, it was a leased tank thru PSE, we called PSE, they sent out a tech, the PSE tech said no problem, PSE dispatched FAST Water heater company, OMG!! that was a nightmare!
That guy from FAST Water heater company tried to upsell EVERYTHING! He said we had to have a new stand, more $$$, the vent pipe was wrong, more $$$, the expansion tank needed to be replaced, more $$$, He told PSE the tank had to be moved, The tank has been in that location for over 30 years! and had been replaced multiple times. never was a problem before. after many calls that night to PSE, I told the guy from FAST to get out of my garage! PSE even sent a inspector out that night and he saw no issues , That's when I called Southwest Plumbing! Their installer, Dillon walked in, looked it over and said he would have the tank swapped out shortly!
I would like to say that our experience with Southwest Plumbing was amazing! their installer Dillon was very professional, polite and took pride in his work! Dillon even stopped by the next day to make sure everything was ok, I highly recommend SOUTWEST PLUMBING!!!
THANK YOU DILLON!!! Ya Buddy!

Jamie G.

7/15/2017

On South Hill Puyallup, we had a broken sewer line in our basement. A small (4') section needed to be replaced with 1 cleanout, and I wanted the pump for the basement toilets and shower checked to ensure it was ok. I also asked for a camera to be run down the line to make sure all was clear before backfilling the hole on the outside basement wall.
South West plumbing responded to our request by sending a team of 2 inside guys and hour later than they said they would be there. Then they decided they needed to send an outside guy. So, I waited an additional 2 hours for the outside guy to show up from West Seattle.
The experienced outside guy walked the job and without doing any testing, told me the pump was shot and would probably need to be replaced. He also said they would start with the camera and that would cost $400. He said after permits and repairs the quote would be $5,200 + the cost of a new pump. I said no.
I called DrainPro in Puyallup and it was repaired the next day for $475 and the pump was fine.
South West plumbing employees are pirates and feed on your sense of urgency, fear and perceived capacity to pay large fees.
ALWAYS, get a second opinion before using South West Plumbing.

Julie T.

11/24/2015

Disappointing experience. I called because my toilet was broken. I could not have been more clear about the fact that I have an unusual plumbing situation, with the grey plastic piping that builders installed in the early 90s. The person on the phone assured me that they could handle it, but then they got here and were totally unprepared for that type of pipe and were not able to make any repair. I can respect that they don't know how to work on it, but that is why I was so clear on the phone. It was a huge waste of my time.

Betsey S.

1/25/2012

What kind of Yelper am I, to NOT have checked here first before calling South West??

Well, I got lazy. I had a $60 off coupon, which sounded pretty good, so I went ahead and called in an appointment. Maybe it would have been a good coupon, for a normal plumbing company.

Here's the bottom line: South West's prices are EXORBITANT. $60 is a drop in the bucket. They wanted over $700 to fix our leaky and drippy faucet (two different problems, actually). They have this evil book of flat-rate prices for jobs, and there are TWO DIFFERENT PRICES for each job: the inital job and add-ons. Parts and labor? Oh no, not with South West.

So they (there were two guys, maybe that is why they are so pricey?) replaced the drippy part (shut off valve at wall). They replaced them both, even though only one was faulty. This part of the job was an add-on and thus cost only $276.00 of our inital estimate. They then took apart our faucet handle and did not have the replacement part in their truck. Shocker. They left and called back the next day, saying they were having trouble finding it, but were going to check Lowe's and Home Depot.

My ears prick up here. Really? That's where the professional plumbers shop? Even I am aware of much more comprehensive parts stores, like Aurora Plumbing, which I suggested to this technician. He said he'd keep looking and call back.

Later that day he reports that there were only a few replacement parts available in the country and they would need to be ordered - our less than 20-year old faucet was rare. And because it is so tough to find parts, we should consider just replacing our faucet with a new, similar model to save ourselves the trouble of fixing it again in the near future.

My ears prick up again. I am not buying this. So just for fun, I asked him how much, ballpark, it would be to replace our faucet with a similar model.

Any guesses?? $876.00!

At this point, I told him that we would like our faulty part back, and that we wanted to pay for the work completed and we'd finish the job ourselves. He came back over to cash out with me. Our add-on job at $276.00 was now the inital job, and the price had gone up to $515.00! Excuse me?? It's all there in their evil book.

The next day, I went to Aurora Plumbing, and bought the replacement part ($48.00) this crook couldn't find, and my husband slapped it into our faucet in a matter of less than ten seconds.

I will say that they were polite and prompt. But aren't most con artists?

Watch for South West Plumbing on Get Jesse.

Brianandnanoh K.

9/17/2012

Ughh! I should have know better and looked at Yelp before using these guys. I called them because I needed someone to take a look at both a clogged bath drain and my furnace and they supposedly could do both.

The guy showed up 1 hour late. The technician was here for only 15 min and charged me $275.00 for the drain! I told him that was excessive, and I didn't want him handling my furnace. He said he would reduce it to $125.00 if he worked on the furnace. Hell no! I am sure he would find a way to tell me I needed a new part or something.

When working with a service company its ultimately about trust. And these guys are not to be trusted!

Tricia J.

11/18/2011

Had these guys come out and although they didn't charge a service call, they wanted to charge us 300.00 just to diagnose our hot water heater problem. Then they told us it would be 6500.00 to replace it!
Their attitude was terrible when we told them we couldn't replace it. They couldn't get out of out house fast enough

Bo H.

5/15/2013

I don't know what to say except that my experience with Southwest Plumbing was disappointing and strange.

I called to get an estimate on adding a gas line for a new stove/oven. The person whom I spoke to on the phone was nice and answered all of my questions. Not all plumbers work with gas or install new lines, but she assured me they did.

However when the technician arrived he told me as I opened the door that he didn't do this kind of work. He hadn't even introduced himself yet. He was rude and unpleasant and didn't seem to want to be here at all. When I pressed him on why Southwest would bother to make an appointment and send a technician he didn't really have an answer. He just said, Some guys do this kind of work but I don't. I asked if that meant that Southwest should send someone else he said No.

Then he turned and left.

Needless to say I won't be using any of Southwests services ever again.

Jessica W.

2/24/2011

Where does one begin? Well, who doesn't love waking up at 7am to the sound of construction outside their bedroom window? And not just any construction. I'm talking about the kind of ground shattering noise that dolphins halfway around the world can hear.

It began like that. After dragging my ass out of bed to investigate, my friend informed me that a Southwest Plumbing worker advised him to move any vehicles if they needed to access the road soon. Since it was my friend and I wasn't awake yet, he shrugged it off.

I made the poor assumption that this digging was only the small hole I saw in our driveway. One could only be so lucky. After further inspection, I noticed the hole was just a footnote on the pedestal of mass destruction in our alley.

Apparently (for reasons I'm still unclear of) they were servicing our neighbors house. It's not the neighbors fault, but they still have a perfectly intact driveway. And as the day went on, heavy machinery dawned it's presence along our yard. Like a lion tearing into a zebra, our driveway began to resemble a archeological dig site. Eons of Seattle tundra had finally seen the light of day. At one point we had seen bricks that were hand crafted around 382 AD

As the day went on we came to the realization that we were surrounded my a mote with out water and they would not be done anytime soon. The following morning they began to lay what looked like a tweekers dream. About 60 feet of thick copper pipe. While the workers slowly pieced our alley back together, they were able to find the time and resources to pave a mint condition driveway for our neighbors. Good for them! Now I'll admit that our driveway never resembled the likes of Bill Gates house, but never the less, it was compacted and easy to maneuver.

With the last of the ancient soil in place, strewn about recklessly, the workers digressed. Leaving behind a back hoe, yellow caution tape, and of course, a heap of a shit storm that is only comparable to the aftermath of a level 5 hurricane.

You would think the saga ends here, but grab some pop corn because there's more. After we noted what appeared to be the end of their 'job' we observed the yellow caution tape still tied to our fence and thought 'that's not very professional'. If they have enough time and money to PAVE a WHOLE NEW driveway for our neighbors (after wrecking it) than why the hell couldn't they take 60 seconds to clean up their garbage and rent a F***ING compactor. The least they could do is restore our driveway back to the eyesore it used to be, rather than the bog / marsh land they left us with.

We gave them ample time to rectify the situation on their own but quickly learned their company standards were fulfilled. It was time to exercise the last strategy; call and complain. I spoke to a nice woman who had absolutely nothing to do with the blatant lack of respect for our property, and was informed that a manager would call me back.
Now, if by 'manager' she meant someone lacking the basic skills to function, then she nailed it. A manager (who shall remain anonymous) called me the following day and basically said they would send a worker out to 'try and get it cleaned up'. A few hours later, one of the same workers showed up with a rake, I shit you not, a rake and began to pick at what used to be our driveway, then not even five minutes later knocked on the door to ask if it was up to par.

I was beside myself. How is it okay to show up with a back hoe and not a roller or compactor to sufficiently do the job? How is it okay to leave garbage on someones lawn? We weren't the customers! We were the innocent neighbors who had no idea what they would bestow upon us. If there was a negative star rating on here, there wouldn't be enough negative stars to emphasize what a poor job they did.

To anyone who has no will to complete a hard days work, or to anyone who purposely sets out to fail, I recommend applying at SW Plumbing. Thank you for reading.

Chris R.

05/03/2013 12:00:00 SA

I panicked and call these guys. Their advertising is effective I guess (a business card ended up in the house). I ordered a snake and a camera. They snaked the pipe and cleared it, but the camera didn't show up. 4 days later, it backed up again. The camera showed up a few days later, but couldn't see anything due to being backed up. I was quoted $10,000 or $50,000 depending on what was wrong. I tried to get them to come out again to snake it with the camera guy present to get a realistic idea of what was wrong and what it would cost. They stopped returning my calls. I paid them double what other folks charge for nothing. In fact, the people who are doing the job now snaked, cameraed and quoted for free while knowing full well I was looking for the best price.
The guys who came out were cool, it's the business end that sux.

Travis P.

5/31/2013

I had a coupon for some kind of inspection and thought I'd have them out to look at our radiant heating system cause it's always warm. They convinced me to replace the filters on the heating unit (a few 100's) and put a switch in so I could turn my heating on/off. What happened to the coupon? I just got charged a bunch.

Within a day we couldn't get hot water in the shower consistently. They came out again for free which was nice and all, but then again what I paid for didn't work so that's standard. They basically didn't do anything so we've come up with a tedious solution.

We have a guest out 2 months later and the hot water is toast. It takes 3 days to get someone out and I'm charged $218.96. I just paid you guys 2 months ago to fix 2 things at my place and you're charging me AGAIN and claiming it's just a cheap heater? He said he just touched it and now it's working. What REALLY upset me is that he tells me I need a new heater and it'll cost $5755. I looked up the heater online and the top of the line by that brand is $2,000.

Honestly, I think since I agreed to the filters they knew they could fleece me. Now I'm going elsewhere. These guys just want to overcharge for anything.

2nd star is for friendly customer service when you call them. Good phone response and friendly people it seems.

Laura B.

09/06/2012 12:00:00 SA

They were on time. (The dispatch called ahead to check I was awake?)

There were two people. An apprentice and a master. They were mostly professional but there were a few tacky comments here and there.

I would definitely call a different company for simple jobs. They probably have good rates for big multi-room plumbing jobs.

Their rate to snake a drain was **significantly higher** than a local, small company.

David C.

10/07/2016 12:00:00 SA

I called them on Tuesday and they sent a plumber out that afternoon to quote replacing my shower faucet cartridge. They quoted me $420 to find the main water valve shut it off and replace the cartridge. I called them Thursday morning and asked them to please come out and that I accepted their quote. That was 9:14 am. Although Southwest plumbing advertised same day service I had to call them back at 3 pm to inquire the status of my being serviced. I was told I had to wait until the following Monday, that would have been five days later.

I called back Friday morning and made them aware that Monday was not sufficient. They began telling me that they would see what they could do but seemed to not want to send anyone but plumber x who quoted the job. I made them aware that THEY advertise same day service and that I called Southwest Plumbing not plumber x.

Same day service is a false claim. They weren't even able to do two day service.

Very disappointing.

Catalina C.

1/13/2011

I think this company only services the well-to-do or something because they sure are uppity. So they quoted a simple job that came too $700.
This company will overcharge you and when they come to your house for the estimate, be EXTRA ATTENTIVE!!!!! Because they will pull on hoses to see if theres slack and end up ripping it and flooding your kitchen. . We bought everything brand new so it is quite unlikely that our wonderful new dishwasher would have had a leak in it's hose.

Ryan A.

2/21/2010

Stay Away! Were you to have a bad plumbing mishap, like, say, the water main in your house exploded and flooded the entire downstairs, do NOT call South West Plumbing.

When this happened sometime before 6 in the am, the call was made to the nearest, largest plumbing company down the road, which happened to be SWP. Firstly, they wouldn't come out because it was before 9. Not so helpful, when a hundred gallons every 5 minutes is pouring into your abode. Thankfully, the fire department wasn't doing anything too pressing, so they shut the water off from the street.

Secondly, when SWP did come out, they told a wonderful little tale that the parts needed to fix the issue were no longer made in the U.S., and that a class action lawsuit against the part makers was underway and we should contact our lawyer. They even provided a nice little print out of the lawsuit.

Their suggestion was to re-pipe the entire thing from the street, by digging a trench by hand, jackhammering a new hole in the floor, and paying for it all by taking out a line of credit on the house. For around $6,700. They immediately began dig prep outside, without a second opinion or even a thought. They wanted half of the money up front as well.

Luckily, the original builder had been called earlier for any ideas, and he called back in the midst of this Nigerian check fraud scheme to tell us to get the liars out of the house and wait for the original plumbing contractors to come out.

Amazingly, when the plumber came out, he was able to find the parts that no longer existed just down the street at the local Home Depot and fix the problem in a couple of hours. Huh.

I did some research on SWP, and found this story to be completely typical. All of their guys work on commission, which means they upsell (lie to) people on totally unnecessary work. They are not Better Business Bureau accredited, but do have a long list of complaints filed with the BBB.

I contacted the attorney general's office, just to let them know that our friendly neighborhood rapists are masquerading as plumbers.

Buyer Beware.

Bruce B.

5/16/2020

I have had SW out multiple times for both inside and outside jobs. They have always done excellent work, however, their pricing has kept increasing. They have replaced a water valve to my sprinkler system twice. Both times the unit they installed failed. Keep in mind the failure was over 2-5 years each. This last time the solid brass of the valve sprang a leak. The first time they replaced the faulty valve they gave me a credit because they did the install. This time there was no credit so I told them just cut it off and cap it. I had already dug out the trench and exposed the line so literally, all they had to do was cut and cap. They charged me $650 for that. Absolutely ridiculous but since it was leaking quite a bit, I had no choice. Oh, and it took them about 30 minutes which makes their rate about $1,300/hr. For that reason this is the last time I will ever use SW. The plumber (Eddie) was very nice and did a perfect job. I would give him 5 stars for his service.

Jen M.

08/09/2011 12:00:00 SA

Going to keep this simple.

Pros: Called this afternoon and they were able to send someone out same day. They were polite and punctual. Also, they didn't charge for the estimate.

Cons: Needed our garbage disposal fixed. After receiving the discounted rate, the bid was $874.56. Hmmm, that seems like an awful high bid. I looked online and found a super duper do anything garbage disposal for $339. So the install is $550?

I read the reviews on Yelp after and it seems like high pricing is a consistent issue.

K T.

5/27/2013

I called this company because I had leaking problem with my toilet.
A guys showed up and looked at where the problem is and said it was a easy fix. But apparently took 40min to finish the job. I mean just on a leak issue..
After he was done, I went to check and I was not pleased with the result at all... He told me that my toilet was not balance equally so he brought pieces of plastic to slide them in... It looked very unprofessional...
Though this guy left with charging me $350... very expensive...
And a day after, I already seen a leak from the same place, so I had to called him over again... He was unable to find out why and couldn't fix it...

May be he didn't have enough experience... but I was not pleased with it at all..
So I won't be calling this company again ever

John G.

8/31/2011

Called, got quick response. Very expensive, very. They are quick, they are good, fairly neat, and expensive. I won't call them again, too expensive.
So if you want/need a quick response/fix, and really don't care about the cost, these are the guys. If you're on a fixed or limited income, or want to pay a fair price, these are NOT the guys. Nuf said.

Kristine A.

02/02/2017 12:00:00 SA

My water heater needed replacing. Farmer and his apprentice Jake were thorough, prompt, courteous and friendly. They replaced the water heater and it is working great. I would definitely call Southwest Plumbing again.

Tricia S.

7/28/2010

I should have read the reviews on YELP 1st.....lesson learned

BEWARE!!! Southwest Plumbing is a terrible company. I scheduled 2 appointments with them online and both times they never showed up. I finally called to complain and they then sent someone right out. He gave me a quote to fix my furnace and once I agreed he began to tell me of other things that should be fixed. Again I trusted his knowledge and agreed again. After 10 minutes he came back with more things that should be fixed/replaced and then I got suspicious because a $200 fix kept growing and growing to a $1700 fix on my furnace that is still brand new (only 1-1/2 years old). I told him to give me a minute to think about it and as I read over his repair bill & suggestions he then recommended that I just buy a brand new furnace from Southwest Plumbing for $4500 because mine was junk. At that point I new what was going on and I told them thanks but no thanks I will shop around. Next day I had another Heating company come out & they detected the problem: $99 diagnostic & $117 for the repair. Total paid $216 vs being ripped off by Southwest Plumbing........Priceless

Alan F.

10/30/2012

Ripoff artists, sexist up-selling, sky high margins on hardware, no remorse

Service manager (John) was awful suggesting that our continued prolbem was our fault and offered another $800.00 bill to fix

Do not call these scammers, your house and your wallet will be angry!

Call Butterfield Plumbing if you need work done.

Larry K.

6/23/2015

HOT WATER HEATER - PRICE RIP OFF BY SOUTH WEST PLUMBING - A BIG SCAMMER IN WA, BEWARE AND STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY !

BEFORE YOU CALL SOUTH WEST PLUMBING, PLEASE READ MY REVIEW

SOUTH WEST PLUMBING charged me $5311.37 on a 50-gal State direct vent water heater where another local company installed the exact same product for only $1998.38, overcharged me by $3312.99.

SOUTHWEST PLUMBING pressured me into buying their State direct vent 50-gal water heater and installation service for a much higher price using the following tactics:
- A technician from this company said, because of Washington state code, a direct vent 50-gal water heater is the only kind required to be installed on my house, priced at $5311.37 installed, tax and removal the old tank included.
- He said their water heater tank is not sold in any stores in Washington State, only through them.
- I insisted that price is way way too high and I would look at Home Depot, Lowes, McLendon or any local stores for generic brands like, GE, Whirlpool, Maytag, Sears, etc., for a cheaper price.
- He said those name brands cost about the same since this house was built per Washington State code that requires a direct vent water tank to be installed. He told me I would waste my time looking, since prices of those generic brands at Lowes, Home Depot, Mclendon are very similar anyway installed .
- I thought this guy was legitimate and told me the truth, so I agreed for him to install their Direct vent 50-gal water heater in my house. I later found out that another local company has it too, SUPERIOR HEATING, has the exact same brand, same model, same size @ only $1998.38 installed, tax and removal of old tank included. (Please see a written quote from this local company on bottom). The price difference is $3312.99.

I THINK THIS PERSON TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME BECAUSE OF THE FOLLOWING :
- I am a minority.
- I do not speak English that well.
- I do not know anything about hot water tanks, nor how to research this product.
- I don't have much time to look around since this house is a rental, with tenants living in the house without hot water for a few days by the time they informed me of the problem.

Please take a look at a quote from SUPERIOR HEATING vs. a receipt from South West Plumbing on the exact same product described above. You DO THE MATH and ask yourself, should you call South West Plumbing? Do you want to be a victim of a price scam ?

Avoid South West Plumbing at all cost and stay away from this company !
If I could give a ZERO star, I would.

Jeff S.

9/22/2006

For timeliness, courtesy, capability and neatness, Southwest is on target; however, in hind sight I paid way too much for the job. I had Southwest repair a short collapsed section and the price I paid was exactly the same as I paid another company to re-dig the same hole, plus two more identical holes, pull a new pipe and connect it all up. Southwest did tell me I needed to replace my whole line, but only *after* they filled in the hole. I didn't even give them a chance to come back to do the job (especially since they didn't return my email and phone call).

Southwest Plumbing might be right for you if time is critical, while money and the environment is not. We had a convergence of six SW plumbing trucks on our street at one time. Southwest's technique of protecting plants is to lay down hundreds of square feet of 6 mil black plastic, then pile the dirt on top. When this was picked up the next day I had wilted half-dead plants and a whole bunch of plastic trash they had to haul away.

When a *different* company came out the next month to replace all my lines, they ended up piling dirt on the *same* plants, without plastic, and left it there for a week; however the plants looked good as new when they were uncovered: happy plants, happy consumer and no plastic trash!

Southwest for some reason obtained two permits for my job: one for the sewer repair and one to block the road. There was absolutely no need for the latter (even as a hedge bet), but it was probably part of some standard procedure, and I still ended up paying the extra $165 I'm sure. An email inquiry to SW about this was not answered. SW only charges by the job (not by the hour) so it's wrapped up in the price somewhere.

Speaking of price, don't expect to get an itemized list from SW (or from most large plumbers, I suspect). They give you one big number and don't tell you what the breakdown is for parts, labor and permit.

Jeff S.

7/13/2009

I am sorry I didn't take the time to read Yelp before I called this scam of a company. I had installed my new garbage disposal unit myself and later that day found that there was a 'major' leak coming from the disposal into the cabinet.

I called them right away as I was unsure what I did wrong and honestly thought there might be an issue with the new sink as well. Southwest Plumbing made an appointment to come out between 1-3. At 2:30 the receptionist called and stated that they were running behind. The guys showed up at 5.

They took a look at the disposal and then pulled out their bid worksheet and stated the standard price for a garbage disposal install was $499.00, but that they would only charge me $399.00.

Since I was in a bit of a panic thinking my new cabinets would be ruined if I didn't get the disposal fixed quickly, I told them to go ahead and do the work.

15 minutes later they were done and my wallet was $399.00 lighter. Turned out that the only issue was that the caulking I used to seal the rim of the disposal to the sink was inadequate for the job...all they did was apply a different caulking and put the disposal back in place.

The sad thing was, they knew when they took a look at the sink and disposal that this was the issue (I heard the two guys stating that this was probably the issue right after I agreed to allow them to the do the work). I would never use them again...I felt like I needed a shower after these guys left.

Keith D.

12/18/2015

They were difficult to schedule as they lost my repair ticket. After rescheduling on a new ticket. they never showed up, never called. They told me when I called that they cancelled the job because they 'didn't do that work'. Why schedule the appointment if they 'don't do that work'? And why not call to tell me they weren't coming? I missed 2 1/2 hours of work for a service call that never showed up.

Be wary of using them.

Mauri T.

7/19/2015

Wish I could give this company ZERO stars, but not because of the company, but because of the dispatcher (Stephanie) who was VERY rude. We have been waiting all day for a plumber to come out, which I understand is their job to contact us to give us an appropriate time frame. She kept telling me they would call back in 10 minutes, 30 minutes later I we would call back, and nothing. If customer service was paramount they could have been more forth coming with the status of their plumbers so we could have gone with someone else. I feel like dragging this on since 9 the morning till 3 in the afternoon with no clear effort on their part to help us out is ridiculous.

Jonathan B.

10/05/2015 12:00:00 SA

I've had 2 experiences with South West Plumbing. Both times I called them they had to reschedule me because they were busier than usual. I'm an understanding guy and neither problem was an emergency so I just went with it. The first time I had them out was to replace a valve on a pipe in the bathroom. They were quick the repair, though for something that seemed like a minor to moderate fix it was nearly $500. I just went with it, the problem was solved.

This next time I called them out was to bring my water heater up to code. We just sold our townhouse and that was part of the post-inspection agreement. 2 simple fixes- add a TPV discharge pipe, and install earthquake proof restraints. Should have been easy. After getting rescheduled for Monday I wait for dispatch to contact me. And wait. And wait. So I call thinking maybe they didn't move me over. They had in fact rescheduled me, so they put me in touch with dispatch to see what was up. I was told that Bob should be arriving after he finished his last job. Well, either Bob snuck off for the day, or we need to put out a missing persons report because he never showed up. Or Bob is allergic to what probably would have been free money, because I just took care of the problem myself and it only cost me about $35.00 and an hour's worth of time. Guess they can afford to be selective on the jobs they take, but I can also be selective on who I'll be calling when I need help. It won't be South West Plumbing.

Dale H.

01/04/2017 12:00:00 SA

I tried to get a quote on furnace replacement. I tried Southwest because of some moneysaving advice I recieved from them a few years ago, I'm guessing when income mattered to them? I tried to schedule an appointment with the woman who answered the phone but it was impossible. She couldn't seem to find any previous info me, and I finally gave up after trying to repeat my address to her several times. I do not have a speech impediment and I'm pretty sure she was hearing-able, so I have no idea what the problem was. Southwest may do the nest work ever, but if you can't get past the receptionist, how will you ever know?
I gave them two stars because of the advice I mentioned, but in all honesty, I had a hard time doing that with my frustration at such a seemingly simple thing as writing down my address. Goodbye Southwest. You were great, once.

Michael V.

4/28/2014

Yikes, what a waste of money. They (two guys) came on the same day I called, but they left without unclogging my kitchen sink after working for about an hour! They said that their snake won't go down the pipe, but they had to charge me anyway.

I called a different plumber (small time/local company), and laughed at SW plumbing's failure. He said that there is an angle on the piping which made it harder to get the snake through. But he was able to get it in in a few minutes. We had a clog-free sink in minutes!

Avoid Southwest plumbing!

Rajesh S.

4/14/2019

Would not rate them even 1 star. Bad customer service and cannot keep their promise. They gave me a time window between 8am and noon. But then late in that window they call me to tell that they are still looking to find a plumber and cannot be sure if they will find one. I wasted 3+ hours waiting for them just to find out that they take no responsibility if they cannot keep the commitment. Their only response was, look you are not the only one in this situation right now so you should not feel bad if we cannot make it. Really ???

John Z.

05/11/2012 12:00:00 SA

I've had two incidents with my garbage disposal.

For exactly the same service (reset and unclog garbage disposal), these guys billed me $278, whereas Gene Johnson Plumbing billed me $50. For _ten minutes_ of work! They wouldn't provide a phone quote since they didn't know ahead of time what would have to be done. Huge mistake on my part to not get a number over the phone.

Edit: after calling them on the phone, they took great steps to rectify the situation. I have changed my rating to reflect the quality of service and ignore the cost.

Daryl N.

04/10/2019 12:00:00 SA

Looking for someone to piss your neighbors off? Or perhaps you'd like someone who can completely violate their working permit? South West Plumbing is the 1 to call! My house has been shaking for two days. Nobody told the neighborhood what would be going on, I'd have made arrangements to move my home office somewhere else otherwise. Not only that, but they blocked my driveway for most of today too, effectively trapping me inside my own mini-earthquake. Filing a complaint with the city of Seattle. While the guys working on the site were incredibly professional and kind, the guy leading this company is a patronizing liar. It's now 9:48pm, the work still hasn't stopped. My monitor is shaking as i write this.

Sarah G.

12/22/2018

So disappointed in South West Plumbing. They did not honor our appointment. My furnace is not working and so I called SWP on Friday. We set up an appointment for Saturday. Saturday morning they called to cancel, or at least to say that they were not sure he would be able to make it, potentially leaving us without heat for the holidays, with visitors coming. I spent 2 hours trying to set up someone else for same-day service, but was unable. Had I known they would not honor their appointment, I could have set something else up the day before. Of course he did not end up having the time to come after we'd waited through the 5 hour window, plus another hour. I had had a bad experience with them a few years ago, but thought I'd give them another chance. Big mistake!

LouAnn B.

03/09/2013 12:00:00 SA

I had not one but two horrible experiences. Yes they arrived on time and seemed very helpful, however my clogged drain turned into needing a new garbage disposal. Which was weird because it was working just fine. However, they said it needed replacing since it was leaking even though I never noticed that and they just happened to have one on their truck for ......$500 !! I felt stuck and went ahead with it. The problem of the clogged drain did get fixed by simply snaking it, but apparently they needed to upsell the service call.

A week later I was still having a leaking issue under my sink and they came out again and one of the metal hoses was leaking. They replaced a 2 foot pipe for about $200 !
I needed it fixed since I had a pool under my sink. That was what was probably leaking and not my disposal.

Two weeks later my sprayer hose was stuck and wouldn't pull up because it had been installed incorrectly. Less than a year later it was leaking again. I laughed at them when they told me how much it would cost to replace the hose and I would simply get out my duct tape and wrap it....Thank you and good-bye. I will NEVER call them to come and do anything again. I too, should have read Yelp before I called them. I was trying to support a local West Seattle company.

Brooke O.

04/09/2016 12:00:00 SA

Our garbage disposal stopped working. I called in the morning, and that day Jeremy Braden came out to take a look and diagnose the problem. When I made the appt the person over the phone said, that there would be a fee (I think $50) to diagnose and that money could be used to fix the problem if we wanted. Therefore, I was expecting to pay a minimum of $50.

Jeremy told me it was a simple fix, and it was! The disposal was locked and all he did was wiggle it around a little. Voila! All done. As we were about to write a check, he said, there won't be a charge as it was such a simple thing and he will explain this to his office.

Thank you Jeremy and South West Plumbing. Great customer service. We will definitely call you in the future with any problems.

joe c.

10/22/2010

I tried to use this company in the winter of 2009, when the temps got in the 20's, and my gas furnace went out. I called them and they scheduled someone to come out the next day to look at it at 2 PM. Well no one showed up, and at 4 PM I called them, they said they were super busy because of the cold weather, which I understood. They told me someone would be at my place before 8 PM though. No one came, no one called. No one even called me the next day. So I just called Kent Oil and Heating and they took care of it that day for me.

I can understand being busy, but you can't even call to let me know? And no call the next day, or ever again? You just forgot about me? That is unacceptable. I can't beleive these guys are still in business.

christopher h.

06/06/2011 12:00:00 SA

Risky Business - depends on who they send.

I had used these guys a couple times before & while they're not cheap, the experienced plumbers are fair & recommended more cost effective alternatives than full service. All that changed on their 3rd visit.

My insurance company had sub-contracted American Leak Detection to find the source of my bathroom leaks. After they had identified two leaks & before my contractors could start work on the tear-down & rebuild, it was required to have a plumber fix the leaks. I chose to go with Southwest Plumbing instead of the contractor's plumber. Big Mistake.

- Bad sign #1: The plumber that showed up didn't want to read the full report that American Leak Detection wrote up on said leaks.

- Bad sign #2: Once he agreed to skim the report, the plumber disagreed with ALD & said there probably wasn't a leak.

- Bad sign #3: After about 30 minutes of looking around the faucet & about 10 minuets of actual work, we were charged more than $500 for replacing a hose bib & poking around at angle stops & supply lines.

I was contacted by their customer service department & I expressed my dissatisfaction. The rep told me she would have a manager get in touch with me to resolve the issue. That was over a week ago. I guess they're too busy answering yellow pages calls.

I would have given them one star but to be fair, my first two encounters with them were not horrible. Needless to say, the third visit will be the last.

Ruben R.

12/08/2016 12:00:00 SA

I had a plumbing emergency on a Sunday and South West Plumbing responded within an hour. Farmer and Jake were very professional and friendly. My only complaint is that replacing a shower value which took about 15 minutes and initially was quoted $500.00 and Farmer offered me a couple discounts which reduced the final cost to $429.00. This is probably the 4th time I have used South West Plumbing.

Joseph P.

12/20/2017

Bathroom faucet water pipe broke as I was working on it. Oh ****!
No water till I can get somebody out here to fix it and it's 3:30 PM.
No problem, I'll just get on Yelp and get a plumber over here RIGHT NOW!
Oh good, there seems to be quite a few well reviewed plumbers out there, this should be a piece of cake! Noooot! Seems like anyone who has good ratings are not able to come today, or even tomorrow as far as that goes.
Southwest came out within the hour. Two very nice guys came out and told me the cost to fix it. $500+ Materials needed, about 12-15'' of 1/2 copper pipe. I was a bit shocked at the price and told them that I thought they were bandits and that was ridiculous, and to get going on it and get it fixed! I NEED WATER and Now!
Bottom line......If your in a pinch and need EMERGENCY work done right away, call SOUTHWEST PLUMBING. They seem to charge about twice what the job should cost but got the job done, and it appears to be a very good job. They were at my house less than an hour.
If the price wasn't so ridiculous, I would give them 5 stars.

Sharon R.

6/20/2018

$215.00 for a kitchen sink strainer that would cost me less than $25 at TrueValue. WHAT!!!! $202.00 for a 1 1/2 P-Trap...$30.00 at McClendens Hardware. ???? I had a plugged kitchen drain and plunging wasn't doing the job. The pipe started to leak and water was all over the kitchen floor. We called SW Plumbing to come fix our clog. The plumber took one look under our sink and told us we needed new pipes and the old plumbing job was done incorrectly. He would have to re-plumb the entire thing, including the pipe that lead to the downstairs drain. Total cost for that would be $1500.00, however, this did not include the $277.00 he charged me to remove the old pipes. We had a leak in our kitchen faucet and I had bought a new faucet at HomeDepot for $30.00 and my husband was going to install it. He asked the plumbers to install and the cost was $123,00. My husband also didn't want to do the bathroom faucet, which I had bought new for $50 just for the look. The plumber took one look under the bathroom sink and concluded we needed new pipes there also. We have never had any trouble with draining in the bathroom, the pipes were fine, but my husband wanted the faucet installed. The plumber told him when he does a job, he wants to make sure it is done right so went ahead and replaced all the pipes, valves, and hoses while he installed the faucet. Ummm, this was a total of $502.00. I want to say this, the plumber did a good job, he knows plumbing. The trouble is the prices were outrageous and it seemed to me he was selling us plumbing we didn't need. Our total invoice was $3,333.83 (included a $75 coupon). Our kitchen clogged on Friday and we had them over on Saturday morning. They were on time, got the kitchen drain flowing again, but charged the crap out of us! SouthWest Plumbing got a big fat ZERO for price gouging. The plumber got a couple of stars but he should grow a conscience and work for another company.

Rob F.

05/09/2015 12:00:00 SA

Replaced my Hot Water Heater in October 2013. Got hit with an extra bill for the water pressure regulator for $899. (water pressure was fine before the replacement) We've had non consistent water pressure ever since. I think they broke it on purpose. I won't ever be calling them again. BTW......my house was only nine years old at the replacement date.

Joyce E.

11/20/2014

On Nov. 14th we called Southwest plumbing to come check our furnace because the company that installed out furnace couldn't get to us until that Monday and it was really cold outside. They sent someone out the same day they stayed about 15 minuted and proceeded to hand me a scribbled out estimate that only had a price on it not a breakdown of the part and the labor. He did offer me a break with a $49 coupon but the price for the job was over $900. He said that we needed a new control panel for our furnace. Our home is 9 years old and we didn't know if that was correct or not. We have fireplaces and I did not feel comfortable paying that much at that time, oh and he just happened to have the right control panel on his truck.

We waited until Monday for our furnace guy from Kleimmen Bros. to come out and check it, all that was wrong was that we had dust on our pilot light and that was keeping it from starting our furnace. They only charged the service charge of $89 for cleaning the dust off of our furnace, he programmed out thermostat. Bottom line I would never, ever call Southwest Plumbing again, they are shady and a big rip-off. Luckily we dodged a bullet. DONT DO IT!!! Call somebody else!!!!

Juniper M.

7/21/2011

I was in a pinch and decided to go with a company that was close to my home. Had a guy come out late in the evening. The plumber was a really nice guy, but we got absolutely hosed on the repair. It costs us over $1200 to run a snake down the line and shoot water down a pipe. The worst part: it didn't even solve the problem. The problem was a broken sewer line, so we basically spent that $1200 for nada.

Live and learn.

Check out Sewer Friendly, you'll be very happy you did.

Jagdeep S.

2/21/2017

There was a pinhole water leak at one of the pipes by the water heater which was installed by them on my rental house. The tenant called Southwest Plumbing. They came and did the repairs and changed more things then what was required before giving the bid on how much it would cost. The total bill to repair was $630.00 to replace a small 18 inch pipe.

They said that the water heater needs replacement due to the water has gotten into the water heater due to the leak. The bid for that was 2,400 dollars. I told them no thanks. I called around and asked Fox plumbing, they gave me a bid of 1,400 dollars. Boy that is such a difference. I had a plumber come out and he said that the water tank is sealed, no water has gotten in.

I went to the company's website and filled out the form so they would contact me, no response. It has been 2 weeks. I would not recommend anyone to use this people as they are trying to rip people off. No customer service, no call backs to understand the complaint. I still have the same water heater and it is working fine without any issues.

If you got money to burn or you feel like getting ripped off. Call Southwest Plumbing.

Sandra D.

7/19/2018

We used this company once before and were very happy. This time could not be different. They changed my time at the last minute from morning to afternoon, then didn't ever call again. I called at 1:30 and was told I would hear back right away. An hour later I had to call again. I finally cancelled and found someone else. Never ever again.

Jaime H.

10/26/2016

I had SW Plumbing come out and check a link in my bathroom due to a pre inspection done on my home. They came out on time and reset the toilet and put in wax rings. This cost me over $500 and was an incomplete fix. I specifically asked if the floor needed to be fixed and was told no it look fine. Later it came up in inspection again showing 30% moisture. I ended up having to pull the toilet and redo the sub flooring.

This company take no accountability if they do a job right, it is a total scam to take your money. Please use a more reputable company.

Dan R.

12/09/2013 12:00:00 SA

As far as I'm concerned, these guys are crooks. I had an experience with them two years ago and I'm still angry about it. I saw an ad on TV just now, and realized I've never shared that experience. People need to know.

I called Southwest Plumbing when my furnace wouldn't work. As soon as they took a look I got the feeling something was up. They started doing unrelated things like measuring the pressure in my plumbing system (telling me it was too high). They basically piddled around for an hour before replacing a little wire. I've since found out what that little wire does, it senses if the gas jets have started. I found it online for $9.50. They ended up charging my over $400 for the visit. It was clear to me that they took a 5 minute job and made it look like way more work than it was. When I finally saw what they actually fixed and saw the outrageous bill I asked them about it. I got a story about needing to cover overhead. Watch out folks. They will cheat you.

Steven B.

10/19/2016

Southwest Plumbing rocks!! I started a bath mid afternoon. I noticed the water never got hot and the tub was a few inches full of water. I stopped the water and checked on my water heater in the garage. It was leaking!! I immediately called Southwest Plumbing. I have used them once before in the past. The had a nice guy (Nate) arrive very fast. Replaced my water heater with great care. Took less than an hour to heat up. I was able to continue filling the bath with hot water to balance out the temp. You just can't ask for anything more efficient from Southwest Plumbing AND with Nate. Great job guys!! I WILL continue making Southwest Plumbing the one to call!

Kerry C.

5/26/2016

Had the instahot replaced. It was a bit more expensive than I would have liked but the servicemen Ron M. and Kyle D. were great and very personable.

Tracy C.

01/01/2011 12:00:00 SA

Hands down the best home repair service provider I have ever worked with! Our townhouse complex needed to replace a broken sump pump, right at the start of the rainy season. We checked in with a couple of plumbers for estimates and assessments. The folks at Southwest were timely, professional, and knowledgeable about our situation, and their pricing was competitive. They followed up the free on site review with a thank you note and phone call. When the time for repairs came, they were on time, proactive about finding the right information, thorough in the removal of the old pump and installing the new one, and left the site clean. I received more thanks from the Southwest team, and they seemed genuinely interested in our feedback.

I highly recommend Southwest for your plumbing needs. I will definitely call them first any time I have a plumbing need.

Gopi K.

2/21/2015

Had a bath tub faucet leak. Two technicians came home and even without opening the faucet, decided that the faucet is old one, and they would have to cut open the drywall to replace everything, and gave me a quote of $1,200+ and then fixing the drywall is a separate expense. Got another plumber, who removed it, and said the O ring was broken, had all the work in an hour for under 200$.

Will never go with this company.

Had to pay a dispatch fee as well for their 10 mins of time.

Tonya R.

3/23/2011

I asked them to come out and look at a broken hose bib (specifically the pressure valve, which had snapped clean off). It wasn't leaking, but I knew I'd need it fixed before it was time to water the yard.

The plumber who came in was very nice, but after a cursory look outside and at the adjoining wall in the kitchen, wrote up his quote. It was $519 to replace it, over $300 to repair it.

When I looked stunned, he tried to haggle the price with me. I told him I didn't like to negotiate and didn't think I would need to pay anywhere near that amount of money for such a small repair. Since I was in no hurry, I said I'd think on it.

Well, after the shock of that quote, I told my fiancé, who went to Lowes on the way home from work, guessed on a replacement part, and was able to fix it for $11.

I am stunned and offended that someone who is supposedly a professional would try to rip me off for this amount of money.

I can only guess that they're used to people in emergency situations who are willing to pay top dollar to have their problem fixed immediately. Thankfully, I had a non-emergency situation, and now I know I will never call upon these dishonest folks again.

Brent H.

9/22/2016

This place is a plumbing business. This place will repair plumbing problems. This place will use every high pressure timeshare sales tactic in the book to take advantage of vulnerable consumers. I recommend staying away from this business unless you are prepared to get gouged and pressured.

Hope this helps someone.

Sam G.

4/28/2014

3/31/2013 Edit
Beware: Don't leave your wife home alone with this plumbing company!

I called them to do a basic half hour inspection of a leak upstairs coming threw the ceiling downstairs with my wife home alone. After getting a $525.00 dollar bill when i got home i was furious! I called another company on what they charge for an inspection for a basic leak. It was only $50 bucks from another company. I immediately called to complain of the obvious rip off attempt on my wife and then got the run around. After days of messages left with supervisors someone finally called back. After threats and days of arm twisting and putting me off. I got an apology and my money back. There are any and other plumbers out there, use them instead!

Austin V.

5/24/2016

Had a great experience with Farmer and J.J. They were very friendly, informative, efficient and professional. I called in the morning and scheduled an appointment in the afternoon. I would highly recommend them. I think I found my plumber for life. Thanks, Sun-Hee

Kish D.

1/26/2016

Had a leak and called south west guys. They showed up as was promised by the dispatcher . they earned a star there. Mike was very quick to take a look and give me the estimate for the detection of the problem. Had a water leak and they needed to cut the drywall . Had called another company to get estimate and they showed at the same time. Got a cost estimate from other guy too. The only reason dint go with south west was because they couldn't give me a range of potential issues and costs associated. The other company did that. When I offered to pay for the trip they refused to charge me. I gave them 2 more stars for that.

Saw a lot of reviews where there seemed to be issues with dispatch. They seem to have worked on those.

Silad O.

3/25/2015

These guys are a joke heads up if you like wasting time and hear a load of b.s. Perfect company for you I had a washer drain that was backing up the rep named jay tell me that well your pipes are not up to code well no s**t my home was built is the 50's then he goes to say well you have to change the for the washer drain pipe cut your drywall that right there was $700.00 than he goes saying well if I snaked your pipe it will be useless he had a apprentice with him that came into my home then said hello to me than for the rest of the sat in the truck really good job southwest plumbing really don't want returning customers

Kensi D.

12/06/2018 12:00:00 SA

The plumbers are great it's the dispatch team they have a very rude unprofessional girl there i think her name is Danielle. I ended up cancelling my hole appointment cause of her. She should not be dealing with the public. Thanks but no thanks

Jeff R.

08/02/2015 12:00:00 SA

Unfortunately you're required to give a star to review a business. We needed our kitchen sink drains redone, strainer baskets to wall outlet. Called South West Plumbing without reading reviews. They arrived when they said, and unfortunately only my wife was home. They estimated the job at $800. From a phone call, I became aware of this while they were already working. I should have told her to tell them to take a hike at that point.

They got the job done in 2 hours, and it ended up costing $1,337. To do the drain on an existing sink. That was supposed to be $800 until they took the old plumbing apart. Then it was $1,300. They also tried to upswell my wife on additional plumbing work in the basement where the sink connects to 2 pipe. It was sagging and badly installed, for sure, but they wanted another $1,700 to replace 18' of straight plastic drain pipe.

So we ended up paying over $1,000 for a job that should have cost a couple hundred. And they tried to sell us on nearly two thousand dollars more.

I'm looking for the right agency to report them to in Washington ... probably a futile exercise, but it may make me feel better. I'll post here if I find out more. Already filled out a report with the BBB.

Blanca A.

8/19/2016

Had the worst experience ever with this company, their web site offers same day emergency service, I called them, I was promised same day service and that a tech would call me in two hours, never got a call, call them back and to my disappointment I was told that they didn't have a tech coming out that the best they could do was next day service. I ended up paying over $500.00 for hotel for my clients, on the next day I was told that the tech would be out between 9-11am at 10:30am I called in since I hadn't heard from anyone, to my surprise I was told that they only had two plumbers working that day and the chances of them getting to me would be almost impossible. They suggested I get another plumbing company to come out! Unbelievable!!! The slogan they use is Southwest plumbing, the ones to call.... It should be The ones NOT to call

Ron B.

02/06/2015 12:00:00 SA

wow, my furnace went out so I called these guys out to my house. I will admit that the furnace being under the house is not the easiest thing to work on and the guy was tall. He went under the house, looked at it for like 2 minutes, came back out and said there wasn't a good way for him to work on it so there was nothing he could do for me then just walked out. Horrible customer service. Didn't talk about other options or try and help me at all. He just walked. Classic. Well, never calling these guys again.

Ryan S.

11/28/2014

Failed to provide service...

We had the unfortunate circumstance of our furnace going out on Thanksgiving day. We called South West since they installed the furnace before we purchased the home. The operator said that the dispatcher would call back. We called again hours later with the same response. Dispatch did call back but not until the next day and told us that they were not open on Thanksgiving (that was not what the call service told us). They scheduled service for 12-2 same day; however when no one arrived or called by 3:30 I called them again to find out what was happening. They did not know. They did call me back 30 minutes later to tell me that the technician was stuck at another job, so he could not make it and no one else was available to come out the same day. We decided to find another company rather than reschedule.

I did not expect South West to be open on a holiday weekend; however they were, but provided very poor service. We will not likely do business with them in the future. I am very thankful that it was unseasonably warm for November so that we weren't forced to take our family to a hotel to wait it out.

Mary Lou L.

08/10/2018 12:00:00 SA

Southwest Plumbing made three four-window appointments with me and did not show up during any one of those windows. Each day toward the end of the window when I had heard nothing, I called them to hear gosh we are sorry, but no action. I will never use them again.

Jolene P.

11/23/2018

If I could give zero stars, I would.
My furnace was taking a long time to start up, which I read could be dangerous. It was installed four years ago by South West Plumbing, so I called them to schedule a check.
I was told by customer service I could make an appointment for whenever I wanted, including Sundays, so I made an appointment for the upcoming Sunday. On Sunday I received a call from dispatch, saying that heating techs only have appointments on weekdays from 8-4. Dispatch told me that customer service is not aware of the plumber and heat tech schedules. This is one of the craziest business plans I have ever heard.
I rescheduled for Monday, a 4-hour window from 8 to noon, and told work I would be coming in late. At 12:30 I called, and was told that I was at the bottom of the list because I actually had heat. At 3:45 they called to say they were sending someone from Covington, 45 minutes away. At 3:50 dispatch called and told me the tech had been re-routed and I would have to reschedule. At this point I had missed an entire day of work, which cost me a lot of money.
I rescheduled for Friday, from noon to 4. I was called at 11:30 and told they would probably not be making it out today, but they would know for sure and give me a call around 1:30 - 2. At 2:45 I received a call saying they could not come today, and I would need to reschedule.
If they had missed one appointment because there were emergency calls, and then showed up the next time, it would still be aggravating since I missed a day of work for nothing. But to not even get priority in their scheduling after that is beyond aggravating.
Hopefully Glendale Plumbing, Heating and Cooling is more reliable, because now I have an appointment with them instead.

Scot K.

7/14/2011

Plumbers typically have a bad reputation, probably because the cost of them doing the work comes as sticker shock to most people. If you have time to shop around, that's a luxury I didn't have.

On a Saturday my hot water heater expansion tank blew a leak and there was water all over my basement. We called every plumber listed in the area and all we got was voice mail. South West was towards the end of the alphabet, but their call center answered on the 3rd ring.

They were out to my house within 2 hours, fixed the problem in 30 minutes. Granted the cost was about $300, but it was something that had to be fixed. If I had any plumbing skill I could have done the job, but my skills are in a different field.

They were friendly, explained everything well and cleaned up after themselves before leaving.

Stephen S.

1/26/2013

I had a very positive with my specific plumber, Bob Betcher. This is the second time he has come for separate issues and was professional, knowledgeable and good-humored. He was happy to answer numerous questions about the house unrelated to the pertinent plumbing issue. It is concerning to see so many poor reviews, but I think as it is at many larger companies, it's important to get a good employee.
When they were running behind, the dispatcher called to update me on the estimated arrival.

Heather D.

5/16/2009

My experience of Southwest Plumbing was that they were prompt, professional, clean, knowledgeable of heating units (both the unit and filtration throughout the house), and all around AWESOME.

I was in distress. I woke up at 6AM and discovered one of my cats was missing and the heating vent cover had been moved aside. I called down to him and a faint mewing confirmed that my cat had indeed fallen down the heating vent.

To top it off I went through my back door to get into the crawlspace under the house, closed the door behind me while still in my jammies, and effectively locked myself out.

A friend and I walked to the Fire Station a couple blocks away and got the phone number for Southwest Plumbing from the Dex phone book. We gave Southwest Plumbing a call and a woman named Theresa answered the call, realized our distress over our cat, and had someone dispatched within the hour.

Evan Pauls and his assistant arrived within the hour and got the specifics of the situation. They then went immediately to work. They were very prompt and professional -- my friend even commented on feeling bad about sending them down into the dirty basement since their uniforms were so clean!

Evan Pauls and assistant looked at the heating unit, opened some panels, and found my cat sitting in the return vent. They put it all back together for me, changed the filter, fixed the other vent we had opened before calling them, and saved my cat! I am ever, ever, ever, EVER so grateful to Evan Pauls and his assistant, as well as Southwest Plumbing!

Evan Pauls and his assistant were so knowledgeable, polite, punctual, and just immensely awesome.

At the end I turned to ask about the bill and Evan shrugged and told me not to worry about it. Later Theresa, who took our initial call, called us back to check and see if we had been able to get the cat out of the heater.

I am very grateful for the good fortune of such a professional and thoughtful crew - including the professional crew dispatched to my residence and the woman on the phone - all of whom made a truly chaotic and stressful experience much more personal. I am truly relieved the crew was able to get him out and that he is doing okay.

Ryan E.

8/23/2011

We had a pool of water coming from our 4 year old dishwasher and did not know the source of the leak. We called Southwest plumbing who arrived very quickly to take a look. The plumber spent approximately 15 seconds looking at it to tell me that it was broken and that these are not meant to last long and would need to be replaced. I was quoted approximately $450 to perform the replacement of the new dishwasher and would need to purchase a new dishwasher on my own.

After taking a look myself (I have no experience fixing anything) I noticed a valve that seemed to be dripping. After spending 30 minutes on the Internet, I was able to identify the problem part. I purchased the part from a local store for $38 and was able to fix the problem myself in about 25 minutes using google and how to videos on Youtube.

In my opinion Southwest Plumbing either 1) attempted to rip me off or 2) does not have qualified plumbers who are able to fix simple problems.

Either way, I will never call them again.

Megan N.

10/13/2015

Called about an extensive leak in our laundry room (sink)- they sent out Vincent, assisted by Art. I was so happy that they arrived so quickly. They assessed the situation and discussed the problem with us and the costs. Although our problems were expensive:( we feel really good about the complete repair, the customer service and how nice they were! If we have any future plumbing issues, I wouldn't hesitate to call and ask for Vincent!

richard s.

3/29/2011

Southwest plumbing came out to do 2 jobs for me.

1) I had low hot water pressure in my shower. My diagnosis to the plumber that it was clogged with rust, required the water to the building to be turned off, pull the mixer, clean out and replace was accurate.

2) I had purchased a new freestanding gas range and needed it to be installed. (I removed the old one). I wanted the plumber to check the pipes and ensure there were no leaks after installation.

Two plumbers arrived on time at 9am after a courtesy call form the office earlier to say they would be there between 9 and 10am.

They were presentable and professional and I explained the 2 jobs and said it should be easy. They explained that it could be other things causing the low pressure but performing the clean out was a good place to start. The stove required a small length of gas pipe, a reducer and a coupling.

They completed both jobs and left the building at 10am (1hr for 2 plumbers). The water pressure was hugely improved and there was a significant amount of rust inside the mixer unit. The gas range was tested and work as it should.

The cost:

Job 1 - Code T925, Unclog shower mixer was $399.95
Job 2 - Code CT2413, Install range, was $339.50

Total for 1hrs work for two plumbers with less than $50 retail in parts was $739.45 plus tax.

Caveat emptor - Yes I could have got a couple of quotes but I felt this was a simple job and was saving by doing 2 jobs at once. I could have also done the work myself but am required by the HOA to have a bonded and insured plumber. I ended up paying because I had taken time off work to do this and trying to find someone else would have cost me more time of work.

I will probably chalk it down to experience and clearly never recommend them to anyone else, which is a shame because they did good work.

BBB.org and Yelp provide more insight to overcharging.

Rick L.

8/16/2013

As bad as it gets!! Southwest Plumbing, the one NOT! to call.

Like others learned before me, and I hope none after, these guys are highly suspect in my book.

It started with a preventative slow sink cleaning, and grew into a several thousand dollar damaged main line. What makes things worse, is the damaged sewer line was caused by their technician. His snaked shattered my line. If not for me asking questions, I would have gone on faith and paid these guys almost $6k.

The job was eventually completed, the main line repaired, and the slow sink, all for less than $500.

STAY clear of Southwest Plumbing. Learn from others!!

J. S.

7/15/2014

Setting:

Our flooded kitchen. Wife 9 months pregnant and due any day. Without water, we were panicked.

I called Southwest plumbing to help us out. As with most plumbing outfits, the pricing will always shock you. But I get it. It's a service that is critical, usually emergency like in its nature and not one that most people can do well (or want to do).

I paid for their base fee, hoping it was an easy fix. They snaked and analyzed but we could not solve the clog which seemed to occur about 1-2 minutes away from the drain. I was told they would have to remove some exterior concrete and we were looking at a couple thousand dollars (with no guarantee of finding/fixing the troubled area).

My wife freaked. I panicked and told them I would have to do it myself. They offered me ways of saving (replace the removed concrete myself etc...) and told me I was getting a great deal. Considering the amount of work, I agreed it was a great deal, but I wanted time to think about it. It was very difficult to get them to leave at that point. In the end I had to lie and tell them my father was a plumber and he said he would travel up here to help me out in the next few days. After about 20 min, I convinced them that I would not need their service. They left to the tune of around $400.

With my problem not solved, a worried wife and a potentially huge bill looming over me I did what any man with any bit of belief in their own skills would do.....rented a 100ft snake from Home Depot.

In about 30 min time I was able to locate the clog (nearly 90 ft in) and remove it successfully.

In hindsight I can't be bitter with Southwest. They responded quickly and were up front with charges. I give 3 stars for the difficult time of getting them stop trying to force a more expensive solution and for the fact that they were not able to solve in around 2 hrs what I did in 1.

And the $400? I consider it the price of an education.

Paige L.

10/26/2018

I wasn't going to write a review but they pushed me too far .....My father needed a flapper changed. He saw the advertising and called. They came in and took advantage of an 83-year-old man and charged him $1200 to change the whole toilet out. The toilet wasn't broken it was just the flapper that was leaking . Since then my father has passed away we had an inspection done on the trailer and there was damage underneath the trailer around the toilet area. I tried to get them to fix it and they just argued with me. I would prefer this would be a -5 star rating I have had nothing but trouble with them.

Riley C.

3/27/2016

Claims to be a 24 hour plumbing service. Called at 11pm, was told I would be called back shortly with the eta of a plumber to arrive, never received a call. Called again and got the same woman and she told me that at 1:51am an on call person had received the request and that I would be contacted shortly. Was never contacted again. Ended up being an $895 fix from BEACON so really I guess it's their loss. Don't advertise as a 24 hour plumbing facility if you're not.

Matthew S.

08/10/2015 12:00:00 SA

I've used South West Plumbing on five different occasions and after my last attempt to use them I decided to post a review.
Pros:
- Polite scheduling staff
- Plumbers are nice individuals and seem interested in truly helping resolve the problem.
- Fixed fee structure for many of their services. This can be a plus and a minus. It means if the service runs long you don't pay but it could end up costing more than a per hour service.

Cons:
- Not always honest or clear about parts availability. A part I was told was special order and would take a week to receive was available for immediate delivery from Amazon once I found out the part number.
- Repeated attempts to schedule an appointment met with three missed appointments. Once they called to reschedule, once I had to call them asking where the plumber was and the final time they called half way into the window to say they wouldn't be able to make the appointment again. Poor resource management.

Rick L.

06/12/2013 12:00:00 SA

Learn from my and others experiences. These guys are not trustworthy. A preventative maintenance job bid at $350, turned into a bid close to $6,000!! What makes the matter worse, they caused the damage that required the major repair.

Needles to say, we did not hire them. We had the job done by another reputable firm, for $450!

Haley T.

9/26/2018

We had plumbing issues in July, we needed someone to come out that day so we called South West Plumbing because they had our information on file.
We where told that our driveway needed to be torn up from the curb to our flower bed because we had a broken pipe. For weeks my family lived in this crazy construction. Our driveway was dug up, we could see down into the ground, we couldn't park in our driveway. We would have to wait sometimes clear until 2 in the afternoon for the plumbers to show up to work. Sometimes they would work all day sometimes they'd stay for a hour then leave.
Finally they where done, we where told all looked good and someone would be by to pave. That took another week. Then one day there was some guys sitting around out in my front yard working I even discovered one of the workers over in my garden using the bathroom. Not outside of the fence but in my actual garden, near my growing vegetables. They did a crappy job then left.
Now here it is almost October and my driveway is literally caving in. I can see under my front porch, the pipes underneath the ground close to the curb are visible, my flower bed is caving in too. You can see under my house. My father in law is the homeowner, he has called South West Plumbing more times then I can count. They say the same thing, We'll send someone over. It gets worse and worse by the day and no one is willing to come fix it. No one wants to take responsibility this and come fix there mistakes. My driveway is literally sinking in, my house could get damaged but nobody has been by to fix it.

Doug F.

9/25/2018

Very big disappointment. Scheduled service and subsequently had South West Plumbing cancel and reschedule over and over again, until we cut them off. Turned out to be 100% unreliable.

Mary H.

06/11/2016 12:00:00 SA

Arrived on time. Polite intro at the door. Gave a written quote before starting. Finished within an hour with work which included two leaks under the kitchen sink and an ext. hose bib replacement. The fee seemed a bit high but they were here within a day of our call and deducted a coupon we had. We will call again for any more plumbing issues.

Kristann M.

10/10/2012 12:00:00 SA

Like many people have noted, the firm's prices are simply outrageous. I know now (after talking to another plumber, and doing a little research) that I got totally ripped off. I got charged $1,550 for what was, at most, an $850 plumbing job. I am really furious with myself for not doing my due diligence and getting multiple quotes before authorizing the work to be done. I really think I was so shocked by the high price I was quoted, and desperate to get the job done, that I took temporary leave of my senses. This was a case of disaster capitalism writ small. An unethical firm took advantage of someone in need. Shame on them.

I called the company the next morning (after recovering from the shock of the expense, and realizing that there was NO WAY it should have cost as much as I got charged) and asked to speak to a manager due to being overcharged. The manager must be super busy fending off other complaints, because it's been 48 hours since I spoke to the dispatcher and gave my contact info, and I still haven't gotten a call back. Funny how they are so great about responding when you need a plumber, but when you have a complaint you don't get a call back from the management.

I've filed a dispute with my credit card company, and although I'm not optimistic I'll get the price down to a reasonable level, at least they will have to work a little harder to get paid.

Please, please, please, if you do call this firm (which I don't recommend, unless you like paying 2X more than you should), don't authorize any work to be done until you get at least one other estimate.

Paulette P.

02/08/2018 12:00:00 SA

I got a handful of estimates from plumbers in Seattle to install a stackable washer and dryer in a hallway closet. Almost all of them were around the same ball park estimate except Southwest Plumber-who quoted me over $5k more than the rest of the quotes!! After he gave me the numbers he's takes his pen out and said if you sign here all we will need today is half down -seriously? They also said it would take 3 days to complete the project- funny the other plumbers said a days job if that. Keep in mind the other plumbers were licensed and insured and has been in business for a long time so they were all reputable companies. Don't waste your time like I did with Southwest Plumbing!

S T.

02/06/2018 12:00:00 SA

Such a rip off pricing - to install three sinks which took half a day and only a few hundred in parts at most - they charged over $3900

Shane B.

02/01/2013 12:00:00 SA

Mike Vornheder was knowledgeable, helpful, super friendly and efficient.
I couldn't have asked for a better fix to my problem, and he took the time to give me plenty of good advice for the future care of my plumbing.
Thanks Mike!!!

Dan B.

8/26/2018

Stay away from this company. They told us they are coming in the morning, made us wait all day, then told us they messed up scheduling and maybe would be there in the afternoon. Then, when they finally showed up at the 11th hour, when we couldn't get any other plumber that day, they presented us with an outrageous flat fee. What are you supposed to do--go another day without working plumbing. They charged us over $400 to snake a drain, which took 15 minutes. That is an hourly rate equivalent to $1,600!

Geoff M.

10/07/2017 12:00:00 SA

I chose southwest plumbing because they promised to get someone out the fastest between of the three places I had called for some furnace work. The day of the appointment they called to say they needed to come early, so I left work to be home when the said they would arrive, then a few hours later they called and cancelled. Over the next two days they cancelled a total of four times, at which point I asked them not to bother rescheduling. Their dispatching process is embarrassingly bad, I would not recommend counting on them and will be using someone else from now on.

Holly B.

05/06/2016 12:00:00 SA

Best service I have received to date. period. 5 is not high enough.

Both Abel and Adrienne were clean, thorough, and explained all work, and pricing prior to starting any work. They also cleaned-up after themselves when they were done, and provided a way to contact them; if any questions. Both were outstanding, both were polite and courteous, and being our first time using South West Plumbing; I would use them again and will refer all our neighbors and friends. Abel and Adrienne are keepers, and your company is lucky to have them. Thank You.

Lori M.

02/05/2013 12:00:00 SA

Bob B made a unpleasant plumbing fix a good experience. He was knowledgeable, thorough, courteous and swift. He took the time to answer my questions and offer suggestions for other plumbing maintenance. He even graciously answered plumbing questions one of my neighbors asked him!

Service from the company was good, too. They called and offered to move up our appointment to an earlier time and called in advance of arrival. (great for pet owners who want to crate their animals before in-home service calls).

Thank you, Bob, and South West Plumbing. I'm happy to recommend your service to others.

Richie L.

04/11/2016 12:00:00 SA

Had a rebuild done on a toilet and tub spout replaced by Farmer and his apprentice JJ. They were professional and got the job done expeditiously.

Suzanne Q.

12/31/2013

A 10 second examination of the kitchen sink pipes and 10 minutes of adding up numbers brought me an almost $1000 estimate, with extras that weren't actually needed.. I turned them down and had to pay a $104 (with tax) dispatch fee. (I live 2 miles from the shop)
....Another firm did the job (complete with drain cleaning) for $372.11. You see the issue.

Rich L.

6/22/2015

On time. Efficient. Friendly. Jon S. and his assistant Reed were awesome! They quickly diagnosed the problem, presented repair options, went over pricing, and then quickly got started.

They explained what they were doing as they progressed through the job. Definitely will keep this duo in mind.

Ormond L.

10/30/2017

I am the manager of a company and related to the owner of the company which happens to own the building that I needed servicing for one the tenants. I attempted to schedule an appointment with Southwest Plumbing and was told I needed to prove I was related to the building owner. Don't need unnecessary red tape or hassles for a simple service call. Certainly NOT the one you call!! They won't be getting my business for sure! ALL-PURPOSE PLUMBING saved the day!! Local and dependable.

Mina d.

10/14/2014

Clogged toilet. Ick! But note not overflowing (important later).

They took the call and sent a twosome out in about 3 hours. They got lost on their way (and I'm literally about 10 blocks from their HQ). I was cool with that, but the driver has a nasty attitude toward ME about getting lost. o-kayyyy.

Driver guy goes into the bathroom and starts a minor facial drama over the disgusting clog, to the point that I asked him, Well, you unclog toilets, don't you? You've seen this before, haven't you? He didn't answer but then put the big heavy pneumatic(??) tool thing into the clog, operated it exactly twice, and the toilet's unclogged. During that 3ish minutes, the second guy is standing outside the bathroom door with me and says, You really need to get a new toilet. That one's at least 40, 50 years old. He waves some paper in my face. I'm shocked and amused, as I was here when this new toilet was installed 12 years ago. o-kayyyy.

I look back in the bathroom as the driver looks down at the toilet and says, Oh, sh*t. I'm like, What!? He says, You've got a leak. I say, Where? How do you know? He says, Look. There. There's water all over the floor! Twilight Zone time ... Dude, you just put some 30-ish-pound thing in the bowl! Of course, there's water on the floor! I didn't explain to him water displacement.

Five minute after they arrived, the driver goes outside and the second guy helps himself to sitting at my dining room table to write me a receipt, which takes about ... 5 minutes. $268!

Thanks, but no thanks!

Horrible business, trying twice to literally rip me off for bigger unnecessary repairs, and rude, to boot. The price is ridiculous.

Jen M.

10/30/2015

Eric D. and Tyler were fantastic. They showed up right on time, talked us through the process, were courteous and respectful of our property (wore shoe covers, a mat to work on and spare towels to clean up/keep things clean) and were friendly. They seemed to genuinely care about helping us out and were very down-to-earth. They resolved our plumbing issues quickly and left zero mess. We would highly recommend this team (Eric D. and Tyler specifically) to anyone looking for honest, friendly plumbers in the future. Very professional and with results that exceeded our expectations.

Eric B.

9/20/2014

Not very happy with my experience with Soutwest today. I am adding a gas dryer to my home and wanted someone to come out and give me an estimate as to how much it would cost. The lady on the phone was nice enough, took down my info and said someone could be out between 12-2. 2:30 rolls around and no one has showed up. Finally I called and the dispatcher gets on the line and said he's been trying to call me. The original person took down the information wrong and screwed up my phone number. Needless to say, I am not in their service area after waiting around all day. This was a complete waste of time and a day. Not interested in their services and neither should anyone else.

Ryan B.

9/18/2014

I ran into some issues installing a water pressure regulator myself so I called South West Plumbing to come by and give me a quote for finishing the job. I had All the parts required I just needed an expert to finish the job. He quoted me $670!! This company is more about raking in money for themselves then looking out for customers and providing them a good value. I spent another hour of my evening to finish the job for around $70 in parts total. Very nice staff however, company leadership needs to re evaluate how they charge costumers.

Mallory H.

08/11/2017 12:00:00 SA

Not a good company. They made me wait an entire 5 hour window to have someone come to my house and no one ever showed. When I called they said they were busy and could try to get someone later. No one bothered to call me. I had to take time from work to be home. Super frustrating.

DC c.

12/04/2017 12:00:00 SA

The most expensive plumbers I have EVER encountered. AFTER the plumber did not show up at scheduled 3 HOUR window, and AFTER plumber forgot to turn back on the water-- creating confusion. $615.00 after my $45 discount coupon. UNBELIEVABLE! NEVER AGAIN!

Jon H.

03/02/2012 12:00:00 SA

Last December I called South West Plumbing to replace the drain and drain pipe on the kitchen sink. I have no issues with their work, but it is very expensive. I'd have rated 5 stars were it not for the $400 price for a $200 job.

The good:

SWP was polite, professional, and arrived at my house within 1 hour of my call.
SWP replaced the old PVC drain pipe with high-quality chrome-plated brass pipe
and a similar drain. SWP had all required parts on the truck and did the repair in about one hour.

The bad:

Very expensive!

Angie B.

11/11/2014 12:00:00 SA

I called Southwest Plumbing because I had a broken garbage disposal. They came out to my house - very friendly - and w/in 10 minutes had told me that everything was out of code and that it was going to cost me immediately 2000 and then most likely another 1400. Mover/sales guy - high pressure and matter of factly (knowing I was a single mother) was ready to do the job for this amount and had my sink torn apart in 5 minutes.

I got online and saw that garbage disposals cost around $150 - and called two men friends whom said I was being totally taken advantage of. I ended up having them leave with my sink totally torn apart. Got 3 other quotes of which non were over $500. and had my sink totally working for less that 1/5th what SW Plumbing was going to charge.

Totally a rip off.

Sandra A.

9/18/2015

Ringo and Alfredo from the Tacoma location showed up on time, they were knowledgeable, provided me with excellent options and they performed the job in an outstanding manner. The job was quite extensive and they not only took care of every detail, they cleaned up meticulously. Anyone in the south sound should request Ringo and Alfredo for their plumbing needs. I highly recommend South West Plumbing and particularly Ringo and Alfredo! Kim B.

Paul G.

07/12/2017 12:00:00 SA

$821.00 for a one hour install of a one handle kitchen faucet for an elderly aunt. Called to confirm cost was correct and could not get a call back. Another local plumber told us was twice what it should have cost. Wont be calling them again.

Shane H.

02/05/2018 12:00:00 SA

Scheduled an appointment a couple of days ahead. Given a 4-hour time window for the appointment. Took time off work to be present for this time window. Southwest Plumbing wasted my time and never showed up during the time window and never called with an ETA when they may be able to make the appointment. Went with another company instead.

Christine Y.

02/04/2016 12:00:00 SA

Ben M. Thank you for your response and your willingness to look into this case. FYI. It is under my husbands' name and its in our property in Seattle though we like in Kent. I don't trust your company or employees. I think it's useless or waste of your time to look into this because your company has a bad rating on Yelp already. To me looking at other reviews, I think south west plumbing is hopeless. Your company has multiple complains on better business bureau. You will never get accreditation with bbb or Angie's list. NEVER! I may be a senior but not dumb to know which plumber to trust.

Nichole S.

02/01/2016 12:00:00 SA

These guys are a joke. They charged me $200 dollars to use a hack-saw to cut off a corroded washing machine hose from the faucet. Then they were unable to install my washer and dryer at all. It was the 2 stooges in my house. Not to mention the dings and dents they left in my brand new washer and dryer as well my siding and wall. They should be paying me $200.00. Do yourself a favor and call someone else. It will be worth it to wait for better service for somewhere else.

Crispina T.

6/14/2015

Donato did an excellent job. The service was done well. Thank you.

Kay V.

07/09/2014 12:00:00 SA

You would think Southwest would read their own reviews. Got quotes from two plumbers. Southwest was $1747; other plumber $550. We needed a drain moved for a washer /dryer. 56 space for 54 of washer/dryer. They wanted to put two right angles in the drain (within 3 feet) and gouge out the drywall to make it fit. I pointed out that there were exposed sewer drain pipes on the other side of the wall in the garage. Oh. We'll run them on that side. For $1747. Really?

Christine B.

6/27/2014

I'd like to call attention to a recent experience we had with South West Plumbing in the hopes to save you some $$.

We recently had our garbage disposal replaced by this company and were led to believe we were getting the highest quality disposal along with a 5 year full warranty (this was the rationale for the $700 price tag). Come to find out, the price for the part was $80 and the plumber was at our home for less than an hour, so we essentially paid $500 for a warranty on an $80 part - oye-vay!

After the fact, I have read multiple complaints expressing similar issues on the Better Business page. (bbb.org/western-washingt…)

DO NOT USE THEM - RUN, DON'T LET THEM SCAM YOU!!!

A. S.

11/14/2012

DO NOT USE THESE GUYS! I definitely would NOT recommend South West Plumbing to anyone. I received a coupon in the mail for them before so I decided to call them to get a quote for a running toilet. They couldn't give me an estimate or even a ballpark figure whatsoever even though I described exactly what needed to be replaced. Instead, they had to have someone come in person for me to get a quote. They sent two guys over for my simple running toilet issue and even tried selling me a new, unnecessary $500 toilet. I knew they were just trying to rip me off and make a sale, so I did not use them at all. Luckily, they do not charge you for a quote (which I made sure of when I initially called them).

This is poor business practice. Instead of fixing my toilet and getting paid, they came out to my place for nothing, wasted both of our time and now word is spreading that they are no good. No repeat or new customers. I ended up buying a $20 toilet repair kit from Lowe's and spent two hours of my time fixing the toilet on my own. I eventually had to get 2 other toilets fixed, which I had ZesBro Plumbing do (look them up on Yelp, they are great!).

Jesenka B.

7/24/2014

The bathtub is clogged. Pipes are practically brand new. Pretty straight forward.
The job doesn't really take the brains, doesn't really take a special skill.
Next time I will buy the tools and do it myself. It will be half the price. Heck, it will be a quarter of the price! This one is on me....

Sondra W.

8/20/2015

John and his assistant Eddie fixed my problem so quickly! I'd been without a kitchen faucet for 4 days and they came in and got it done in about 20 minutes. So nice to have efficient, pleasant, and informed help when you have a plumbing problem. Thanks guys.

Wen M.

12/21/2017

This company seems to make a living by taking advantage of desperate people or those who simply don't understand anything about plumbing. I doubt they have ever had a repeat customer. They came out to my house to fix a leak in a sink drain and wanted to charge me $2,500. The cabinet installer went down to his truck and got a wrench and fixed it in 20 minutes for free.

Cathy B.

8/21/2014

I will never use this company again. They will totally rip you off! I used these guys once to replace my hot water dispenser. They gave me an estimate of $750. Seriously! I said to forget it and I'd live without it. So the guy leaves then comes back 5 mins later and says he can do it for $500. I knew it was still too much, but he was already here so I did it.
This time we had a toilet that wouldn't stop running. I thought I'd give them another try. Big mistake! The guy said we needed new innards in the tank. He gave me an estimate of $628. What the @$#%?! He recommended that we get a whole new toilet to the tune of $967. That was it for me. I showed him the door immediately.
I called another plumbing company who fixed the toilet for $202. The guy was fabulous. He also said that he did his apprenticeship at Southwest and that they aren't paid an hourly rate but instead by commission. No wonder they jack up the prices. Grrr...

Dave H.

08/06/2015 12:00:00 SA

Bob and his assistant, James, arrived on time and were professional throughout. They swapped out a sink faucet and replaced both shut off valves. The estimate was a little high, but Bob worked with me to make it more affordable. They were in and out in about an hour. I'd use them again.

Jim H.

8/24/2014

My wife called them to come out and fix a leaky relief value on our hot water heater, they charged her $560 for labor and parts, he was there about an hour. I was shocked when I got home from my business trip. The value at Home Depot is $16. They took full advantage of my wife's inexperience. Do not use them.

Tiffany F.

07/08/2016 12:00:00 SA

Called their Emergency 24/7 service.... Tried to explain how my sink was less than an hour away from overflowing and flooding my condo, but I was rudely cut off by the call center guy 4 separate times when I tried to explain my situation. He just wanted to get my info to pass me off to the next guy. He demanded my physical address just for a price quote (which is clearly unnecessary until I commit), and tried to explain that South Bellevue/Factoria area was not enough to move to the next step!!! Wow!!! He then proceeded to say fine, I'll send them an email and see if they want to get back to you... WTF?!?! An email?!?! At midnight you think someone is going to be reading an email for an EMERGENCY?!?!? And go stinking figure.... I don't get a call back until 6:15am the next morning!!!! This place is horrible!!!! Emergency services my ass!!! I even laughed at the lady who called me at 6:15am and said Are you serious??? This is my emergency call back from 6.5 hours ago?!?! She laughed at me!!!! You guys are HORRIBLE!!!! Thank goodness I didn't hold my breath and called another plumbing company!!! Thank you Quality Plumbing for having REAL customer service! Southwest Plumbing can suck it.

Carl K.

12/08/2017 12:00:00 SA

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!! What a terrible company to do business with. on 12/8/17 we were going to have our bathroom floor replaced and the hot water tank is in the same room. When we turned off the cold water fill valve we noticed that it would not completely shut off so water was still leaking from it. Had to end up turning the main water shutoff at the meter so the flooring company could do the install. I called SW Plumbing to see if they could come out and replace the 3/4' Ball valve prior to myself putting back the hot water tank. They said no problem and would be out later in the afternoon after the flooring company was finished. My wife stayed home for the flooring install so she was home when SW Plumbing showed up. They presented her with a written estimate of $553.00 to replace the ball valve. This estimate was never broken out by hours or parts. I called them later that morning to inquire about the job and they stated that all jobs are quoted by job not per hour. I do believe this way they can charge much higher prices if they see you are in a bind as we were as we had to get the ball valve fixed. My wife stated they were there approx 1 hour and maybe $50 worth of parts. So that relates to $500/hr for labor. I called South County Plumbing just to get an idea as to what they would charge. They quoted me 1 hour at $180 plus parts so about $230 at the most. I'm wondering if the owner of SW Plumbing is concerned with all of the negative Yelp reviews because I never see any responses from them. I work for a moving company and if we ever get a negative review somebody in management will immediately respond to that unsatisfied customer. I have called and left a message for the service manager to call me to explain the charges but I really doubt I'll hear from him. I will be posting this negative experience on social media as well to try to get the word out to as many people as possible.

Dan O.

03/05/2017 12:00:00 SA

I decided to give these guys a call after receiving their card in the post. I had a leak under my kitchen sink that i wanted to get checked out so i called for a quote and later that day Mr Doomsday arrived with his silent sidekick. He proceeded to tell me that not only was everything under my sink wrong and not to code but extremely dangerous. He asked to see where the pipes came from so I brought him down to the basement. Again everything down there was also extremely dangerous and told me that my family's life was in danger for every second we live in these dangerous conditions. He really made me worry. Of course he said that he could fix everything for me. He proposed to rip everything out and hook up all the pipes correctly. His quote came in at over 1.5k. Which included a $450 fee to bring in his own special ladder. I guess his ladder is made of gold or something. Needless to say I showed him the door and called a different plumber who patched up the leak with in 30 mins for free. Do not use this plumber, he will try to scare you into using his service and then rip you off

Mark R.

6/27/2017

If you want to spend a lot of cash this is the company for you. I had to pay close to $400 for a simple job that only took 10 minutes and that was with a $50 off coupon. I looked up the part that was replaced at Lowes it was only $65. The other thing that sucks is even if you know what's wrong they can't give a quote over the phone. It cost $60 just to have a plumber come out. The guy we got was a real sunshine. He said he was stuck in traffic for two hours so he was super grumpy when he got to my door. I told him what the problem was and he tried to sell me a new water heater. This company is a Huge rip off. I will Never use them again.

Liz P.

11/24/2015

If I could do zero stars I would. I work for a large company and have a vendor data base around 300. We haven't used this vendor for a couple years and now I see why. I called to get a tenants furnace serviced. They said no problem they will communicate with the tenant and call us onsite to get approval for their findings. Tenant was contacted and SW was able to get out the next day between 9 to 11. Tenant called our office at 10:45 explaining that their technician called and said they needed a credit card on file, which no one explained to me when I was ordering this service. For starters they should have called our office for payment not the tenant. Secondly this phone call should have came pre-appointment, not within the last 15 minutes of an appointment window. SO I called and spoke with Cheryl, who was rather unpleasant to deal with. She then checked and saw that out company had an RA account set up so I was informed we were good to go. We rescheduled the appointment with the tenant for the next day afternoon, this is now another half day the tenant is forced to take off.
The appointment window was from 3 to 5. I get a call again that Friday at 4:15 that they are unable to show up until they have a credit card on file. Furious because this is exactly what we had fixed a day previous and of course Cheryl is gone for the day. I speak with someone else and she is also not able to help me. So I finally speak to the manager Dave who tells me they can't figure out the RA until Monday so we will have to pay on a credit card. At this point we need to get the furnace fixed. I begrudging agree to pay on the credit card and he tells me he can get someone out there between 5:30 and 7:30. I call the tenant and he informed me he would rather wait until next week then wait for a couple more hours for them to most likely not show up again. I promptly called back to cancel the appointment, informing the dispatcher we have no intention to reschedule. She lamented and apologized but said she understood. I received a call yesterday from them asking when I would like to reschedule. Most ridiculous situation I have ever experienced in the 5 years I have been at my job.

Melanie J.

4/27/2011

Please DO NOT use this business! $2200+ for a leaky toilet pipe (just the cold water pipe) and a new sink drain! You read this correctly. Insane price! Unbelievable! Our family was ripped off right and left when Southwest came to the house in Edmonds a few days ago.
$234 to put in a metal, pull-up-type sink stopper. Really!
This scam happened while the female- head-of-household was at home with two disabled family members and trying to oversee the plumbers fixing a slow leak in a bathroom pipe. Workers totally took advantage and kept adding things that were not asked for .. to the bill. It mushroomed to $1800 PLUS $400 for dryers over the carpets ( that were unnecessary). Southwest will be reported to contractor's board, BBB, and other business watchdogs.

Chris B.

06/06/2011 12:00:00 SA

If I could give less than one star, I would. Don't ever call this company, no matter how many billboards, promo refrigerator magnets or full-page ads you see with their name on them. We had a broken pipe that took less than 90 minutes to repair. The bill: over $900.
We protested this with the owners, who eventually gave us a 50% reduction. This to me is like admitting that they charged us double to begin with. Any other plumbing company (we've gone back to Emerald City again and again), would charge less than half of what it ended up costing us at South West. If they just provided a fair pricing structure, they wouldn't have to spend so much on advertising to try and lure new customers.

J C.

8/30/2012

My rental house had a typical kitchen sink clog. They came out pretty quick but quoted $400 to clear a pipe. I've dealt with plenty of plumbers before for my other rental houses so I know this was out of line.

I had another one come in to do it for $150, which is just about the standard price for a typical line clear.

I'd give a one star except they did come out relatively quickly and since we declined their service, he didn't BS about charges or anything. No harm no foul. I would have preferred not waste everyone's time and try to rip off unsuspecting customers.

Phillip H.

11/03/2017 12:00:00 SA

Wow.... I made an appointment before I checked yelp. I knew what needed to be fixed in my house and asked them what they charged per hour and they wouldn't tell me. They said the plumber determines the charges when he is on site. I agreed to let them come out and give me an estimate. They said they would waive the $49.00 charge. I was given a window between 12noon and 5pm and they would call 30 minutes before. They called at 2:57pm and informed me that they didn't have anyone plumbers available to come out. When I asked them why they could only say that things changed. They offered to give me another appointment next week and I declined.

Ryan L.

9/16/2019

I twice had these guys to my house. I had a leaking faucet in my back yard. They said it would just be cheaper to cap it myself. I did this and the leak continued. I called Southwest again to look at it. The gentleman said it would be around $1,064. He then said he would be back Monday morning(this was friday night at 9pm) to do the job. All the while my faucet dripping. Monday morning I received a call saying they just couldn't do the work and that I should just do it myself and or look into having all the plumbing in my house replaced. He said this would be 10 to 20 thousand dollars without really trying to even fix the faucet. He flashed a flashlight on it to confirm the leak, that's about it. This is frustrating and honestly terrible service. I'll never use them again. All the while my water keeps ticking and my monthly bill exceeds 1200 dollars. I'm sorry my job wasn't large enough for this company. When I DO need to replace my pipes, they won't be getting my business. I hate writing this but I'm so disappointed.

Sha B.

10/20/2017

Southwest Plumbing sent out Vincent and Jack to take care of a plumbing issue we had with our dishwasher they did a very good job was very professional I would highly recommend them to my friends if they ever had plumbing problems..

Stevie S.

10/09/2015 12:00:00 SA

If you want to be ripped off choose them. They installed a $175 garbage disposal for over $900. The draining hasn't been the same since,and they wanted to charge me another $260 to remedy that! But if you find yourself needing this type of service, ask for Ryan,he will offer you a $50 discount for a good Yelp review...even in front of an apprentice he was training!
But I recommend you go elsewhere.

C B.

01/07/2019 12:00:00 SA

Their quote was over DOUBLE the quotes we received from 2 other plumbing companies. We had discovered a leaking expansion tank and wanted to have that and our 75 gallon gas water heater replaced at the same time. We called the number on our water heater for Perkins & Sons, but somehow were directed to Southwest Plumbing in Seattle. A few hours after our call, 2 men arrived from Southwest to investigate and give an estimate. They wanted to look through the house (water heater is in the garage) to see if we had any other plumbing issues. Basically, looking to add to their work estimate. They didn't find anything else to fix. Their quote for the water heater/expansion tank replacement was just under $6000. They said the job would take at least 5 hours (with 2 guys) and although they had a huge truck and I gave them the size of our water heater on the phone, they would have to go and get the water heater. Thankfully, we had another quote from 2 years prior for $1725 (before tax) from Perkins & Sons so we the quote from Southwest was way out of line. We received 2 other quotes the same day, both were just under $2700. FAST Water Heaters from Woodinville came that afternoon and 1 man had the water heater and expansion tank replaced in 2 hours. He did an excellent job. Bottom line - we would NEVER use or recommend Southwest Plumbing.

Brad H.

6/18/2017

Leo and Colton came out to repair two faulty valves and a section of pipe that service my back deck and backyard period it was leaking so I didn't have much choice, had to get it fixed right away. At $850 it was painful, but it involved some braising and some parts. All in all I thought they did an excellent job.

Susan S.

12/29/2017

I called on Tuesday Dec 26th and was told someone would be out Wednesday morning between 8 am and noon. On Wednesday morning dispatched called and said they were running a couple hours behind, so I moved appointment to Thursday morning. On Thursday at 2 pm dispatch called to say they may not get to me because they were running on a holiday schedule and some people who called before Christmas were still waiting! My frustration was they took me on as a customer, providing a next day service expectation all the while knowing they were at least days behind schedule. I cancelled service, called Beacon at 2 pm who told me someone would be out that day between 3 and 6 pm and by 5 pm I had a service call. Southwest Plumbing is NOT the one to call, my freakin' was well taken care of by Romeo at Beacon.

Phyllis H.

12/16/2017

I had an appt to consult my problem. They showed up and fixed my shower problem. I also had a drainage problem with my sink and disposal. I go to bed early and the work would extend beyond that time so I asked they come back. They said they would be back the next day which I thought was odd because they did not call in see see if they had the time available. Still I cancelled my plans and came home and waited. After 1 hr passed the designated time, I called and the dispatcher had no knowledge of my apt. After waiting a few minutes he was able to tell me the employee 's truck was being repaired. I was not impressed with what I consider non professionalism to not notify me. Still I made another appt for Friday. They showed up on time and did the work. We had dicussed replacing my water heater but it would take another 2 hrs. I asked to make the appt for the next Sat. The next day I changed my mind and called to cancel. The person I spoke to told me I was not on their list of apps. So I asked for an-mail confirming my cancellation. She said she would include that she had spoken to the people scheduled to come out. The e-mail never came but on the Unscheduled Sat the employees showed up. I told them their company had a bad communication problem. For a company so well known you think they would be more professional.

Lance S.

5/13/2015

The obligatory back story: I had used South West Plumbing in the past, and was happy with their service. Several years ago they installed a new water service for me when there was three inches of snow on the ground. But I thought twice before calling them to service my tankless water heater based on reviews here. I first contacted a couple of other plumbers more highly recommended. When I informed one of these (in email) that I had Error Code 10 on my Rinnai unit, he said it would need to be replaced, for thousands of dolllars. Others I contacted wanted to charge hundreds of dollars just to come out to provide an estimate, and they wouldn't even assure me that the person they sent out would be familiar with tankless water heaters. South West had a more reasonable dispatch/estimate charge of $49, which they ended up not charging me when I chose them to do the work, and they told me that the technician coming out would be familiar with tankless water heaters. I decided to take a chance on them...

The nitty-gritty details: Bobby and Monte arrived on time first thing this morning, as scheduled and confirmed in advance. They conducted themselves professionally and amicably and were familiar not only with tankless water heaters in general, but with my specific error code. They completed the job less than three hours after they arrived, including a trip to the store for more vinegar, at a total cost of about $700. They didn't leave a mess behind them.

Error Code 10, if you're interested, has to do with blockage in the air exchange system, which means, just as I expected, that the unit needs to be thoroughly cleaned inside. It had been six years since my unit was installed, and I had not performed any sort of maintenance. Cleaning this unit was a nasty, filthy job that does require some expertise to perform because of the internal complexities of the system, and I'm glad that I had it done by professionals.

Before he left, Bobby showed me how to clean my filter and flush my system so I can keep my system running smoothly and efficiently. After they left, South West Plumbing followed up on the phone to make sure I was satisfied with their service. It always feels painful and seems outrageous to pay $700 for a couple of hours of anyone's time, but I think this was worth it.

Keith M.

8/16/2017

Move on to another plumbing company! I have requested their service two times, both times they said they would be out that day and both time no one showed up. Terrible customer service!

Ed A.

3/19/2017

Dom did a great job in replacing my gas water heater. He is very communicative and very easy to work with on these types of projects. Outstanding work and he cleaned up installing my water heater. I would hire him again when I replace my furnace.

Chris T.

12/03/2010 12:00:00 SA

SW PLUMBING NOT RESPONSIVE!

My boyfriend left work early 2 days in a row, to meet these guys for an appointment regarding our furnace.
Both days, he called them to confirm that he was home, ready for them to show. Both days they CALLED 2 hrs after the scheduled window to say they could not 'make' it.

When they called the 2nd evening to say they couldn't make it, (after we had changed our plans to be home both days ) , they were sooo willing to reschedule, My boyfriend said to them, You know, the thing is I've had 2 appointments with your company, and neither appt was met, so I think I'll look for someone else.

Final comment: SW Plumbing is not reliable, and not interested in their customers.

I had to put a star on this review, in order for it to post, but really, we would have selected NO STARS.

Kevin P.

11/26/2012

We call them for an emergency because we thought we could trust them since their daughter had baby sat for us in the past. Wow were we wrong.

They can out and told us that some pipes had broke and that we needed to re-plump the entire house for a cost of $12,000. Obviously, we were surprised. They billed us for the visit and left after we told them we were not interested. We called Soriento's, they came out, assessed the situation and found that a hose in our refrigerator's ice maker had cracked. The repaired it and billed us $125 for the issue. Problem solved.

When I called to complain, they offered me $50 off the their next visit. Obviously, I told them where the could put that...

So if you would like to over pay by $11,850 and not have your problem fixed, then call South West Plumbing.

Elisa R.

08/02/2015 12:00:00 SA

We used Southwest Plumbing for what we thought would be a simple job. The plumbing under our sink was leaky and not installed property. Had Southwest come out, they said it would be $800 to replumb, which we thought was higher than it should cost, considering you can buy all the pipes, etc at Home Depot for like $20. As the project progressed, they found more and more things that needed to be replaced. In the end, we spent $1350 to have our kitchen sink replumbed. They were already mid job when they said these other things needed to be replaced and what can you do when all of the pipes have already been removed from your sink?

When the job was complete, we noticed that they used metal pipes. We had plastic before and were fine with that. They never offered us a less expensive option and we ended up spending a fortune on something that should have cost much, much less. The work is solid and that's the only reason they are getting a star at all. We feel totally ripped off. Find another plumbing company.

Steven S.

7/23/2019

These are not the ones to call. I called SW Plumbing to fix a small leak caused by a defective Kohler cartridge in the shower handle (cartridge cost is under $10 bucks). SW said they would be here Saturday between 8am and noon. Got a call at 12:25pm Saturday saying they were going to be later as if that wasn't apparent.Then they said they weren't sure but thought they can be there around 2:30pm and I said; I'm not waiting any longer today, rescheduled for Tuesday. It's Tuesday and they arrived 30 minutes late and I got nervous when they guy said we will check your water pressure and write up your options for pricing, which he did, I responded saying there's really only one option and that's replace the cartridge. He came back from the truck with a quote $587.00, I called Beacon Plumbing right after sending SW plumbing packing and asked for a quote range, they responded with $275 to $325. So South West Plumbing is NOT THE ONE TO CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tammy C.

2/27/2017

Had South West Plumbing come to the home we just bought to correct the home done job someone had done on our dishwasher lines. They arrived on time! Rigo and another Gentleman educated us on what needed to be done right now and what we would need later on down the road. I really appreciated that they didn't do the pushy salesman act on us as that can be over whelming. They were both very polite and friendly and professional! They showed us the most cost effective way to get everything we needed done at a VERY reasonable price and also showed me how to find a coupon on the website to save me a little more money!! That's what I call OUTSTANDING Customer Service!! Thanks Guys...I will use South West Plumbing for all my service needs and refer Family and Friends as well.

Don K.

10/08/2014 12:00:00 SA

Had a clogged sewer line, they scoped it and said the pipe was broken and needed dig up my driveway to replace. Estimated from $10k-15k. They brought out a team of specialists who all confirmed this. My jaw dropped. They would not show me the video of the scope and so I told them no thanks, and got a second opinion. The other company scoped out my pipe and discovered no break, just some wipes clogged the pipe, fixed for about $400. Aggressive & deceptive, do not use stay away.
We complained to BBB and were met with a letter from the legal department from Southwest plumbing. Unbelievable, DO NOT CALL THEM!!!

J L.

07/08/2017 12:00:00 SA

Do not do business with this company!! I had previously called them 2 years back about a sewer issue..the technician was excellent..problem solved, so felt confident about reusing. The preferred technician no longer worked there so new technicians arrived...technicians stated they were able to clear line..$450
Same day..one load of laundry later...whole system was baked up had to call back later that night...came out next day and stated it was beyond their skill set..called in rick d. Their advanced plumber..current scoper scoped line and stated new clean out needed ..payed.$3000...sw stated problem solved..
Ran dishwasher same day..system backed up yet again..rick d stated new pipe needed..jetter needed...we're talking thousands more dollars!! Asked rick to mark spot where his scope couldn't run through..said he did it..but when I looked there was no marking..i asked him again and he stated he marked the spot in his head he didn't want to mark it and us give the job to someone else who then could sue him for being off by a foot or so. I told him I planned to call the city to check the line on their end...rick d then advised me that the city could then force me to spend thousands of dollars in repairs . Rick d marked the spot on west curb where he stated problem block was, I called the city of Kent.

Who were there within 2 hours..i had NO SEWER lines hooking up to the city on that side of the house!!! The city marked the spot...checked the line...the problem was large trees roots on the north side...called another company...payed $300 for snake with saw attachment to remove roots and problem solved!! I called southwest plumbing and left message to discuss these many concerns...havent heard back

T. G.

06/09/2017 12:00:00 SA

Like others stated. Took the day off from work, only to have them to be too busy to come. I cancelled my appointment and moved on.

Stevie C.

8/26/2015

I have a couple thoughts on this company. The technicians South West Plumbing sent out were fantastic. Ron Milcoff and Kyle Day were great to work with. They fully explained what was wrong with our toilet and the options we had for fixing it while also giving full disclosure for the worst possible things that could go wrong (however nothing did). They were respectable and finished in a timely manner while also having the courtesy to do a follow up call.

My only grievance with this company is the scheduling and dispatch department. There seemed to be a lot of miscommunication between the two. We originally got pushed back to the following day, and then when it came time for the technicians to come out, I was told it had actually been scheduling for the day after that. The situation was remedied and they were able to come out when they originally said, however the issue was we had been doubled booked or switched with a different appointment, making the process a bit of a headache. They could use some better organization and communication in that area.

D W.

8/17/2017

So disappointed. I had no hot water and my water tank is 4.5 years old. This happened on a Friday evening. I had to go to work Saturday at noon. I called Southwest plumbing and they said they would try to get out that night. After 2 hours they called back and said they would come first thing the next morning. At 8AM I got a call saying the plumber would arrive by 9. He finally showed at 9:40. I explained the problem, he looked at the heater and told me it would be 300.00 or 700.00 depending on whether he could fix the part or replace it. Guess what? He couldn't fix it, he had to replace it. He took a very long time to get it done. I had to leave at 12:00. I left my 17 year old at home to pay the bill. I told him the charge should be 700.00. The charge ended up being 827.00. I called on Monday to complain and I got nowhere. Don't use this company unless you have deep pockets.

Carol H.

6/13/2011

I needed my main sewer line cleaned out due to root problems. I normally use another plumber but they were booked up for 2 days, so I called Southwest Plumbing. They were able to send out a tech the same day, which was good. What was bad was that they wanted over $700 to to do the job which has normally been costing about $180. The tech was pleasant and when I cancelled the work he did leave without a service charge.

I had the other plumber come out and they charged $175 plus tax. I just had to wait a little longer. Watch out for Southwest's pricing.

Doug B.

08/03/2015 12:00:00 SA

They cancelled their appointment with little notice. Rescheduled and did not bring a concrete cutter (which they had promised to do). When all was said and done, they charged an OUTRAGEOUS amount for patching and not replacing a pipe. I paid them one third in cash and two thirds by debit. They charged the whole amount to my debit card AND took my cash, but did not refund my debit for five days. I will NEVER hire this company again and cannot recommend them.

Reine L.

04/12/2017 12:00:00 SA

We called them because our toilets wouldn't flush and were backing up. I advised them it was not the septic since it had been recently pumped. I was advised before they got here it was only $49 for them to check it out. When they arrived they checked the septic and said nothing was wrong with it but it was a $300 charge for them to check it. I asked them why didn't they use a snake to check the toilet and they said they didn't have one they had to call another guy to come and check it. When he showed up he said there was an issue with the line from the house to the septic and wanted $5,000 to fix it. Yeah really! They said because our house was older they had to bring it up to code which is not true. They charged us $500! My husband and his friend dug up the line themselves (in less than an hour) and we had another plumber who was honest and only charged us $600 to replace it. (Allen Plumbing) We will never call these overpriced crooks SW dumb Plumbers again!

Debi C.

04/10/2017 12:00:00 SA

I called this morning because I have an outside faucet that needs to be replaced. They replaced one for me on the other side of the house, 3 years ago and I never had any problems. I wanted the same kind of faucet on the front side of the house. 3 years ago the job cost me $250....today they wanted $740! That's not right! I will never call them again.

Bryan C.

04/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

Wow, what more can be said about the great service from Southwest Plumbing and the people that work for them. When I discovered that I had water pouring into my crawl space from a broken PVC pipe from the cheap materials that the contractor Pacific Huts and Castles or Hassels, used to build my house. With the water main shut off and no water at all, At 6 o'clock in the evening. Time was running out. One call to Southwest Plumbing the dispatcher had a crew out to my house within the hour. Leo and Colton had arrived ready to tackle the job at hand. While they figured out what they needed to do the job. I was able to have a shower before they had to shut the water off. They always kept me informed about what they were doing and made me feel like as if they were working on their own house and only the best quality and craftsmanship. I would highly recommend them for any plumbing job and I will call them again.
Thank you for helping me out.
Bryan C.

Janet K.

04/03/2017 12:00:00 SA

Ron M. and Kyle D. arrived promptly to take a look at our clogged kitchen sink. Turns out, substandard work done during a 2009 remodel made the pipe layout impossible to snake. They removed and replaced the hinky pipes, a big job in very tight quarters, and then snaked the line to remove the clog. It was an expensive fix, but as always with SWP, I knew the work was done correctly and will last a very long time. Nice guys...polite, communicative and thorough.

David H.

12/18/2014

Called Southwest Plumbing to our rental house on said that the toilet was plugged. They arrived at 11:00 AM according to the tenant. The Tenant had removed the toilet and then set it back in place with out bolting it back up. On or about 12:00 noon My wife arrived the house and found the plumber diagnosing the problem and wanted to pull the second toilet that is in line with the pipes. Wife said no that they are in line and was not necessary. On or about 12:30 pm the plumbers had finished unclogging the toilet and the line was free. My wife wrote a check for $657.75 and then left. According to the tenant they then re installed the toilet and on or about 1:00pm and left at on or about 1:30 pm. At no time did the plumber look or get in to the crawl space under the house.
The plumber, Technician told the Tenant, after my wife was gone that there were bad pipes, the floor was rotted and the pipe had lead joins that were not up to code. He left a detailed repair estimate of $2836.69. He also said that there were mold issues. The plumber later called the tenant and left a voice message that said that if there were any more issues to call him.
I have since inspected the house including getting in to the crawl space, checking for a rotted floor, mold or a leaking pipe. I found none.
Two hour of work for a cost of $609.60 plus tax, then telling the tenant that the house they are living in is unsafe to live in is unacceptable.
Southwest is unethical way of doing business and charging more than $300.00 an hour. BEWARE

Brian C.

11/25/2015

Called to schedule service, was told they would be at my house between 6-8pm. No one has shown up and it's now 9:30 PM. Called them twice since the initial call, first time told the plumber was just finishing up a call in the area and would be right over. An hour later, called again, was told the dispatcher would call me right back. I finally called back at 9:15 and got an answering service who could not connect me to dispatch. Some 24 hour service! One of the worst examples of customer service I've ever encountered. I would not recommend them at all.

Vicky G.

08/12/2016 12:00:00 SA

Called to schedule service. They scheduled a window. No one came or called. I called them. They scheduled another window. Went through four consecutive scheduled window in one day without calls to update. No plumber ever appeared. I got the same line each time: when a licensed plumber is available in your area we will call with ETA. Never happened. I gave them a second chance, next day, but after they blew through the window without a plumber or a phone call to update me, I canceled the service. Called Puget Sound and they sent someone over on time, as promised, the next day.

I Hateeverything I.

6/20/2012

Needed to have a new burner installed in my hot water heater. The manufacturer provided me with the replacement burner......all I needed was someone to install it (not to mention I am not very good at this sort of thing). Figured it would run me $200 at most for labor. Called SWP, they showed up and promptly quoted me $800 since it was risky dealing with gas.....yeah, buh-bye. I will never call SWP again.........risky for my pocketbook.

Jenna S.

8/28/2008

Like the other reviewers, I agree Southwest Plumbing was polite and prompt. And like the other reviewers, I will never call this company again.

My family are do-it-yourselfers, and we are remodeling my bathroom. The old sink was on the right side of the vanity. The new sink will be in the center of the vanity, with a drawer base where the old sink was. This requires moving the plumbing footprint a foot to the left. I didn't expect this to cost too much considering a) this wasn't an emergency project, b) we had already removed the old vanity and opened up the wall to expose the plumbing, and c) its not a very long or complicated job.

Southwest Plumbing looked over the job, took forever putting together an estimate from their job book, then gave me a shock: $1,285! My father, a retired landlord with a lot of plumbing experience who no longer has the tools for this job, was outraged. $1,300 for an hour and a half job! he demanded. Well, 2 hours, replied the plumber. That's $650 an hour!

My usually calm father threw them out of the house swearing after them as they went. We ended up hiring a handyman who works at my office. He did the bathroom job in 3 hours, plus 2 additional plumbing projects that took 3 more hours, and charged me $300 total.

Happily, I've gained a reliable, affordable handyman from this experience. I just wish I had checked yelp before calling Southwest Plumbing - I could have avoided sending my father's blood pressure through the roof.

Kate B.

10/28/2009

Southwest is horrible. They used two people to double team me into thinking I needed a 12,000 fix when all I needed was a $200 drain cleaning. Thank God I was string enough to resist their fear tactics. Really should be criminal to take advantage of people when they are most vulnerable.

Pam C.

6/27/2014

Why didn't I check Yelp first?!?!?! Like other people have said here, talk about scam artists and up-sellers!!

I had a dripping bathtub faucet, I received a $45 coupon in the mail, so called them. Yes, they were nice, yes they put booties on, they were very quick, replaced the cartridge in about 15 minutes. But when I turned the water on & off again to see if the drip had stopped, it hadn't. It definitely had slowed way down, but had not stopped completely. James tried to tell me that it would eventually stop. I didn't buy it, and asked him to fix it again. He did, and it stopped dripping. Then he showed me why my faucet had been dripping, all the greenish mineral build-up on the cartridge. And then showed me why the one he replaced it with was still dripping a little, it also had mineral build-up on it. He said this time he replaced it with a new one. WHAT? YOU MEAN YOU REPLACED MY CARTRIDGE WITH A USED ONE THE FIRST TIME? No wonder it was dripping too! Then, not only did he charge me $375 for the quick repair, he said he could replace my failed pressure regulator on my water heater for a mere $735!

I am kicking myself for not shopping around, but I am moving this weekend and just needed to get it done. Don't get scammed by them!!!

M C.

6/14/2017

I represent a management company. My apartment Manager contacted them for an emergency. Since we didn't have an active account for that specific property, they wanted to speak with the building Owner. I indicated numerous times that I was the Agent for Owner and had authorization to speak with them and set up any account/answer questions that they had. I was told that their new policy as of 2017 was to receive authorization from the Owner only and that I couldn't authorize them to provide work to the property. I don't know of any other vendor that does not accept the management agent's authorization, especially for emergency repairs. I hope they lose a lot of business due to this new policy. Our organization will never use them again - 100 buildings in the Seattle area.

Amanda P.

11/16/2013

THE most unprofessional people I have EVER come across!!!! Even the customer service manager I spoke with to complain was rude and didn't resolve the issue!!! Please do yourself a favor.....chose another company, unless you like fecal matter brought into our home!!! (Yes, I said fecal matter!!!)

Eva T.

2/23/2017

We are a retirement home located in West Seattle. Called southwest plumbing because we weren't getting hot water in our main kitchen, 1 guy came out and said all 4 of our 100 gallon gas water heaters needed to be serviced (cleaned) and the one for the kitchen probably needed an igniter, which would cost us 2700. After the servicing he came and let us know that the one that needed the igniter actually needed to be replaced! To the tune of 13,000.! WOW! needless to say, we went without hot water for the rest of the day. Called a more reputable company the next day and lo and behold, the igniter was bad... SW plumbing work on commissions and will try to upsell any chance they get. Horrible and unethical.

Jay S.

2/23/2017

Leo was very kind and helpful. He gave me some advice to save money, but also did excellent work on the repair.

Harvey N.

7/21/2016

I wasn't sure where I should have put the rating because the problem that existed that led me to call Southwest remains without change.
I have used Southwest several times over the last few years. Their work has always been very satisfactory and I have never had residual complaints.
In early June, when the home interior temperature started rising I called Southwest to have an inspection done to see why the air conditioning system didn't seem to be getting the job done. Let me explain what the problem was: it seemed that despite the air conditioning system running almost 24-7 the interior temperature was not going down, and in fact, often times, despite it running, the interior temperature was actually going up.
Upon arrival, the Southwest technician, identified as Dave Sully, almost immediately asked me the square footage of the home. I told him it was just a few feet short of 2500 square feet. After looking at the furnace he explained that the furnace was not adequate to properly move air thru out the home.
After listening to his explanation on the physics of air movement my wife and I agreed to have a new furnace installed at a cost of almost $4600.
On June 6, 2016 the new furnace was installed. Herein lies the problem. We find absolutely no discernible difference in air movement. The problem we had with the temperature not going down with the air conditioning system operating still exists, and in fact, sometimes increases despite the air conditioning system being in operation. We feel like we bought a pig in a poke. The question is, did we really need a new furnace, that we were lead to believe would move more air, when in fact it does not. Probably not. Frankly, I believe we threw away $4600.

Neal S.

06/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

The worst company I've ever delt with. I asked for a specific valve to be replaced and they ripped apart my entire bath enclosure to put in a new shower valve assembly. Leaving me to replace the whole tub surround. All I needed was a valve stem replacement. 100% garrentee santifaction. I don't think so. Then they sent me to collection because I wouldn't pay without talking to me about it. Don't let them in. Plenty of good companies out there. They did take care of the job but not what I asked for.

Carol S.

7/20/2009

I called them because there's a leaky gasket in the toilet that allows the bowl to keep refilling after it is flushed. Made appointment on Friday for Monday. They said they'd come between 11am and 2pm and arrived at 1pm. Their serviceman walked in, took the cover off, barely glanced at it, turned off the water, and said 'I like to check all appliances - refrigerator, sinks drains, other toilets in the house. - which I thought was odd. What was he doing, casing the joint? I let him look at the pipes of two sink drains which I knew there was nothing wrong with, while I hovered suspiciously over him. Then he went out , wrote up an estimate and said it would cost $335 to $985 to fix my toilet. I asked him what was wrong with it. He hesitated and said, Flapper. I told him the price was outrageous and escorted him to the door after doing a stare-down with him over it. He left the toilet top uncovered and the water valve shut off when he left.

Total scam. Fortunately they did not charge a service call fee, and gave estimate up front. But that is ridiculous. It would cost less to replace the entire toilet.

A better alternative - call Drainaway Plumbing.

*update: i went to home depot, found a replacement :flapper, and repaired it myself for $3.97.

Eric P.

02/10/2010 12:00:00 SA

Same thing that others have written.

First I should have read Yelp BEFORE calling these guys. All the reviews are accurate.

I had a pipe start leaking. I panicked and called Southwest. They arrived and quoted me over $500 to replace a 2 inch piece of pipe. Then they proceeded to tell me I needed a new shut off value. No idea how they came to that conclusion - the shut off value worked like a champ when I used it to turn off my water. Then they also informed me I need to have my entire house replumbed. Well, maybe, it is an old house. But when I call a plumber for an emergency fix I don't need the $10k+ up sale. I said no thanks and headed to Home Depot.

I made the repair myself in under 2 hours (n00b plumber, someone who knows what they're doing could do it much quicker) for less than $10 in parts.

Julie M.

2/14/2015

This company rips off senior citizens. My MIL was charged $1800 for a water heater, $725 for a garbage disposal and $900 for a toilet. Average prices for these items are generously $578, $250, & $200 respectively. Do not call this company unless you would like to be screwed too.

Gail P.

03/02/2009 12:00:00 SA

I wish more people would clue into this company. I suppose the only time I had them out, they were on time. However, I had to have them back the next day because the showerhead, which I had purchased, and they put on, leaked worse than the old one. The son of the owner (apparently) came back with an apprentice. It took him over one hour to figure it out. They were anything but neat and clean. I had mud on the carpet; a shower door off the track and scratches on the track. On top of that the son argued with me for at least one half hour as to whether I needed to pay - after paying them over $400. the first day to put on a shower head!! that I supplied!! SO - as the previous poster, Michael said perhaps I am an idiot, because, last night after a burst pipe in the basement we tried to call the Action Waterheaters, as it was a pipe going into the heater. They are apparently out of business. We had received a coupon from Southwest a few weeks ago. We called them............apathetic answering service, who had the dispatcher call, from a private number. He could have cared less and said that the first available appointment would be today between nine and noon........I asked about the 24 hour service/same price and he said the plumbers were all out.............big whoop.
Finally got hold of a great guy (I would recommend him to all). If you would like his information, let me know on this site. He fixed the problem in a timely, very immaculate and extremely reasonable manner, while being friendly,. professional and nice. We called SW back and cancelled the appointment - last night. This morning we received a phone call saying the plumber was on his way......................
DO NOT EVER DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY!!!!

Abby S.

10/15/2011

Called Southwest to come check out the boiler system in our new house. They quoted us $3200 to replace some rusted out parts, install parts that they claimed our system was missing, and service the system (among other various jobs they suggested we needed.) I was skeptical and decided to get a second opinion. Had another company come out and their quote was around $600. When we mentioned to this second company about what Southwest was suggesting we do the system, they were appalled, stating that the repairs were totally unnecessary and completely overpriced. Our system has been up and running now with no problems. BEWARE of Southwest!

Bruce M.

01/06/2007 12:00:00 SA

Really bad experience with this outfit. They came out on short notice and right on time. Had a simple job to make an alteration for a dish washer installation in an old house. Machine would not drain properly. Immediate survey by SW technician had him pulling out a bid worksheet and standard price list. The job was going to amount to $780+. I paid him the call $44. charge and asked him to leave the premises. This was a two hour job and I did it myself. Had I been an older person or someone with out some general knowledge of the job requirements, they would have gotten away with it. Parts cost $10 at local hardware store. Took me about 2.5 hours and meets code.

Ryan K.

12/18/2015

I called South West Plumbing on Monday and scheduled an appointment for Wednesday. They told me they would have to contact the owner of our house (we're renters) for permission which we said was fine. After missing their 2 hour appointment window on Wednesday, I called and they informed me that someone had cancelled the appointment on Monday. This seemed unfortunate since neither myself or the owner called--but things happen--so I rescheduled for Thursday. They said they still needed to talk to my owner, despite talking to him on Monday. I asked them to call the next day (it was 8:30 at night) and the scheduler agreed to put in the notes to contact me if they were unable to reach him. When I called before my appointment that evening, I was told that they did not speak to the owner and cancelled the appointment again. I was never informed that they were unable to reach the owner or that they were cancelling our appointment. By now I was pretty sure that I should find someone else, but they offered me another appointment the next day (today). I got a call today at noon saying that they were short-staffed and asking if I would reschedule. Normally I would be happy to, but this would be the third cancelled appointment so I told them that we really needed this fixed today. They said they would note that and they would honor my appointment. Unsurprisingly, I received a call at the beginning of my appointment window stating that they would not be sending anyone out, but they would reschedule my appointment (again). I am not willing to continue this dance anymore and have decided to look elsewhere. Judging from my experience and the other comments, if this is a job you actually need done, you should look elsewhere.

lisa b.

10/26/2007

I called Southwest plumbing to hook up my new faucet and drain and connect a new dishwasher. I rushed home from work to meet them at my house on a Saturday evening. The guy arrived on time, was not bothered by my dogs, and seemed friendly enough. He took a quick look at it and said he would write an estimate. I wasn't sure and asked if the water line was already connected to the dishwasher - he said he would have to pull it out to look., then took out his pricing book. He wouldn't really answer if the water line was there or not, as I am thinking that would make a difference in the cost. He quoted me $779! I knew it would be a lot, but that was way more than I expected. I told him Hell, no! That is way too much! and he immediately dropped it to $450. I was hesitant to pay even that, but I had not had running water in my kitchen for 3 weeks. He wanted to come back in the morning to do it and I agreed.
He arrives promptly at 9 am on Sunday, this time with an apprentice. He opened the cabinet (the same one as the day before) and says oh...there it is...the water line is there! I was so angry that he was lying to me the day before. It was clear that he was trying to rip me off with the original quote, but this really made it worse. I asked if it was still going to be $450 and he said yes, since I was getting such a good deal! All the work was done in about an hour and 15 minutes and he showed me the faucet. Then he noticed some water on the counter and said it looked like it was leaking, but should stop and I said NO! It turns out it was not, but he was going to leave it like that. Luckily I stopped him just in time as he had a sharpie marker in his hand and was about to write SW Plumbing's number on the inside of my brand new cabinets.
Two stars for being on time and giving me water, but I would never call this place again.

John M.

1/16/2017

I have never posted to Yelp before, but I felt compelled to do so after the horrible experience I had with South West Plumbing. Our furnace stopped working. I called in morning, they told me that they would be at my house between 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. I said ok and left work early to fit their promised time. They called at 3:30 to tell me they weren't coming that day and that I probably couldn't be seen until Monday. I told them I really needed somebody to come out and that I thought it was unfair they didn't let me know earlier so I could make other arrangements with another repair place. Magically an appointment time became available the next day between 10:00-12:00. I called them at 10:00 a.m. the next morning as I was a little skeptical due to recent experience with them. They said they would find out and call me back. 11:00 no call from them... I called again... same routine. They finally called me at 1:00 said guy was finishing up another job and would be at my house in 35 min.(meaning 1:35 p.m.). Nothing at 1:35. I called at 2:30 said they would find out where he is and call me back... finally guy showed up at 3:15!

Pretty bad already... gets worse...

The guy said he would look at furnace... and see if he could get running. NEVER LOOKED AT THERMOSTAT... I thought was odd. told me very shortly we needed a new furnace. between $5,000-$7,000. SHOCKED!!! I told him to work up quote. He came to me with $5,190! low end of that quote...(a real old high-low quote trick). He wanted to start taking old one out that evening and replace with new one on Monday. He also had a lot of double talk with his sales pitch. He told me any other companies wouldn't be able to get out here for 2 weeks. WRONG. It did take a few days, but not 2 weeks and for less than 1/2 the cost. BTW, the second company who looked at it said he could get it running, but I told him it was time for a new furnace, and we now have a new furnace.

I would freeze before going to South West Plumbing!

Aaron W.

05/07/2014 12:00:00 SA

OVERPRICED! Had angle stops under the new kitchen sink replaced due to leaking when closed, at the cost of $388.00 plus tax. Only gave a star because the repair was done correctly in about 15 minutes. Asked about the cost of hooking up the faucet and the garbage disposal too. Told another $835.00 No thanks did it myself for under $40.00. Please beware not to be taken advantage of in a plumbing emergency.

Anne H.

2/29/2016

Call someone else. Called for a bid to change out a bathroom sink. One of the sinks in our Master Bath had developed a bad chip. identical sinks had been installed in every bathroom by the builder so when we remodeled our Powder Room adding a vessel sink, we set the old sink aside to be switched out in the Master Bath at a later date. Again, these are identical sinks, no other problems (slow drains, leaks, etc.). The plumber shows up on time as scheduled, so far, so good although not sure why they sent two for a simple job. I show them to the Master Bath at which time he sets down his clipboard and asks me if I have ever used South West before. Told him I wasn't sure as, happily, we have rarely had need of a plumber. He says what they like to do first is a comprehensive check of the plumbing throughout the house. I said, no, thank you, not today as I didn't call for that service and I was heading into the office immediately after they left. Then he looks under the sink and says you want me to tell you what's wrong with these shut-off valves?. I said no, thank you, as this was not the service for which I had called and we had no trouble with the valves. He excuses himself to his truck to consult his pricing book, returns 10 mins later (with NOTHING even written down on the form) and tells me we like to include as much value as we can for your dollar, the install will be $851 w/o tax. Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

At this point I told him he could be on his way, thank you very much. He was shocked and flustered as I saw he and his partner to the door.

Outcome...after I got to the office I called three other plumbers, explained what I was looking for (w/out mentioning what I had just been through) and asked if they could give me a rough estimate, or at least what the prevailing rate for something like that might be. One said they couldn't, the other two gave me estimates of $350 and $375 respectively. NOTE: the two plumbers who did give rough estimates did caution me they couldn't really be sure of anything until they saw the job in person, understandable.

I have an appointment with another plumber for tomorrow morning.

Joe C.

11/20/2009

I wish I read up on the reviews before calling Southwest. The first time I called them, they stood me up and never showed up.

The second time, I wish they never showed up at all!
The repairman show up, spent 30 minutes looking at my furnace running a vacuum and left. I'm not even sure what they did in there. When I try to ask them questions, all I get are some random answers that made no sense.

When my Duct cleaners showed up a few hours later, they pop open the furnace and there's still dust, cobwebs, and dog hair everywhere! What a terrible job!

I C.

2/27/2016

I needed a leaky dishwasher valve replaced before a new dishwasher could be installed. I called a few individual plumbers but, as individuals, their timelines were too booked out for what I needed. SW had good availability but was SO EXPENSIVE! came to OVER $400 for this simple job. I asked the office up front about the charge but all they would tell me is that work is priced by the job. I told them what the job was to be but STILL they would not give me a price, or even as estimated price, in advance.

Alan T.

01/05/2017 12:00:00 SA

Very disappointed I been call over a week trying them to comeback and fix something they screwed up and of course because they won't make it any money they haven't come yet it's been over week I been trying them to fix my problem

Roxanne C.

05/10/2012 12:00:00 SA

Steer clear of this company. I had an estimate for a faucet install, which included replacing the supply lines and valves, and they told me (using their handy book of prices) it would be about $650 (and that's after my $46 coupon). It was similar pricing that another big plumbing company gave me, but that's ridiculously expensive for a job that should only take a couple hours, even with our old plumbing, according to people I've talked to. (We're having a third estimate done today by a retired plumber a friend recommended, and on the phone he quoted us $75/hour plus any necessary parts.)

My bigger gripe about this company in particular is the way the plumber treated me. He didn't take me seriously, he talked down to me (I'm a 20-something female, for the record), and in general was very rude. When I told him the estimate was higher than I expected and asked why, he didn't give me a real answer. He babbled on about overhead and how a cheaper plumber will never be as reputable as they are. He pretty much admitted the job would be easy! When I said I'd talk it over with my husband, he tried to push me into calling him right there and then. I was happy to send them on their way, out the door. I'll never waste my time on these guys again.

EDIT: Just received the estimate from the retired plumber I mentioned, and it's seriously 84% cheaper (a little over $100) than South West Plumbing's estimate.

Jason D S.

2/18/2016

$800 for a GARBAGE DISPOSAL?! I can practically get a tank and basic water heater install for that! My dad and his wife are elderly and live in Maple Valley. They had a problem with the garbage disposal. I received a text from them saying they were replacing it and it was going to cost $1000.00!!! FOR A GARBAGE DISPOSAL!
I was on the other side of the state, so I called my dad and asked to speak to the technician. Given they already had the old one out and were in the process of installing the new one, I was kinda f*'d. I asked a few questions and Troy answered them. I got it changed from the 3/4 hp to the 1/2 hp saving us $100 or so. End price? $834 for a GARBAGE DISPOSAL?!
I cannot do this work myself, so I expect it will cost something. I expect the markup on the parts to be ridiculous. But when it's this much, they clearly just took advantage of an elderly couple who didn't know any better and of me who wasn't there to stop them.

Don't call them for anything without getting competitive bids. They will rob you.

Jeff D.

12/29/2016

Terrible service! We were told between 10-12 they would be here, then around 1 o'clock we were told they were behind and it would be between 2 and 4 but still nobody so my wife calls and they say that they will need to reschedule for the next day. So after missing one day of work we start the next day and guess what the exact same thing so that's 2 missed days of work. We tell them to forget it,call another company they come out the next morning on time and do a great job. I urge anyone thinking about using southwest plumbing to run as fast as you can to another company

Geoff M.

12/28/2016

TL;DR: Avoid this company at all costs, they do not keep to appointments and dealing with them is a complete waste of time. Unless you feel like dealing with the brain damage of constantly following up with them when they never seem to follow through, there are much better options out there. (see Mike's plumbing - they are awesome).

Our water heater went out over the holiday weekend and as the previous owner had used SW to install the unit, I gave them a call:

-Called on a Sunday evening as our water heater called it quits, answering service stated the company would call back on Monday morning.
-Monday morning arrives, no call so I called back - no record of me calling on Sunday. I was given an appointment for 12-2pm that day for service.
-Window rolls around, no one shows. I call at 2pm and they state that they are backed up and that someone will be there as soon as possible. -Call back at 4:30pm as I haven't heard anything, and I am told by dispatch that no one will be coming today. Not only do they not show for the appointment, they dont call to follow-up. I am rescheduled for 4pm Tuesday
-Call Tuesday morning to confirm they will actually show this time, and they promise they will. We have had no hot water for two days at this point.
-Tuesday at 430pm, no one has shown. I call AGAIN, and am told that they are waiting for someone to clear to come over, and that they will call me as soon as the person is on their way.
-Tuesday at 8pm, no one has shown, no one has called.

It is now Wednesday, and I will have a company I have previously worked with install the new water heater as I have not heard a single thing from SW plumbing. This company is a disorganized mess, and their customer service is absolute garbage. Two missed appointments with no follow-up should tell you how much they value their customers' time, avoid them if you can.

Frankly I.

12/27/2016

The Plumbing Joint in Renton has similar service for much lower prices.

Zac S.

03/01/2010 12:00:00 SA

These folks are bad news. Read all the other reviews and go no further. I mean, look at how passionate people are about writing a BAD review - 2 or 3 paragraphs average. SWP have their job book outlining all their possible pricing, making it look like they're being fair. I had them look over a simple rooter job and after the $300 charge they suggested I spend $20K to replace the sewer to the street. Yep, $20K. I couldn't get them out of my house soon enough. A friend called them when their toilet wouldn't work, they wanted to replace the toilet for $600. She called me for advise, I walked over plunged the toilet and it's worked since. They still charged her $99 for showing up. Never hire these folks.

Real S.

12/10/2016 12:00:00 SA

Their commercial talk about how good and reliable they are and of course their Web site has the same lies. They came in and put a new Furnace in for me did a ok job Quoted me 12,000.00 and it ended up being almost 16,000.00. But that's not the issue just another lie. It has been 5 months and the Furnace quite working, I called and they said they would have someone out last Friday between 2:00 and 4:00 at 4:30 I called and they apologized and stated that they were busy and couldn't get anyone out tell Monday. I ask for a supervisor and he assured me that someone would be out on Saturday between 8:00 and 10:00 am at 12:00 I called and again they were to busy (I guess taking care of paying customers not warranty customers) they stated someone would be out nobody showed. House is 63 degrees good thing I have a gas stove and fireplace. I recommend going with a real Furnace company they just do to much and it appears that can't take care of their old customers.
Real St Pierre

Matthew M.

7/26/2014

Southwest Plumbing finished on July 26th 2014 what they honestly should have done back in September 2013 (replaced a shower valve that had been installed upside-down (not by Southwest Plumbing) when our house was flipped.) The cartridge in the valve broke a month after we bought the house. When Southwest Plumbing told us that we would be ok with the cartridge replacement; we thought it was a permanent fix, not just a temporary solution to a broken valve. Had we been aware that the valve had been installed upside down at the time of the repair in September 2013 and that needed to be replaced, we could have gone back to our realtor (we had only just bought the house in August), who would have contacted the person who flipped the house and probably could have had him replace the valve for us. Instead, the cartridge broke again ten months later, and we had to go through an entirely tedious and unnecessary process fraught with scheduling issues and miscommunication between reception, dispatch, and management. Sure, they ultimately fixed the valve for free, but this was after hours of wasted time and energy.

Put simply, it shouldn't be this hard.

Their process for getting technicians out to homes should be far simpler than it is (if it's not possible to get your plumbers out in the two-hour window that you're offering, don't tell people it's going to happen; go for a three-hour window, or hire more plumbers so they aren't overworked), and if they want to continue to operate beyond their lauded 25 years of service to their fine customers in the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia area as their automated hold message indicates, they should really consider revamping their process, including how they quote prices and bill, since I was quoted three different prices for the same work ($500, $660, and $900, respectively) despite their claims to have flat rates to quote customers. Don't say you have flat rates, then offer discounts. Just offer point-to-point pricing already and save yourselves the trouble. It comes across as disingenuous.

Moreover, an article posted on the Internet from a previous employee seems to indicate that they get a 20% commission on their work, which would imply that they are similar to car salesmen: upsell, upsell, upsell. I realize this is a business model, but it's a very slimy one. There are ignorant people out there that won't do the research and who will be taken advantage of. If your main operating point stems from a rather disingenuous origin, then you're doing it wrong.

Spend the money that you're dumping into billboards and bus ads into revamping your business model. All the advertising in the world isn't going to erase all these negative Yelp reviews. Only good business practices and customer service will.

I'm reluctant to use them again, despite their attempts to make up for the situation, because, much like a whipped dog that suddenly gets a treat from his abusive master, I'm confused and don't know when the next slap is going to come. People shouldn't have to call management to get things to work. The process should just work. If it doesn't work, then fix it. I hope they will, for their employees' sake.

My neighbor gave me the name of someone he trusts as a plumber. I think I'm probably just going to go with them from now on.

Charlie N.

4/28/2014

WATCH OUT! Had an appointment with a TWO HOUR time window and they could not even get there after waiting for THREE HOURS! Their customer service is POOR. Only choose them if you want to be DISAPOINTED!

Mark R.

6/23/2014

I'm currently having a very bad experience with Southwest plumbing. I made an appointment with them this morning and was given a window of 1-3pm for when they would arrive. At 2 pm I received a call saying they were on their way and should be here by 2:30. A little after 3 they still hadn't arrived, so I called and the dispatcher said they were 15 minutes away. They arrived nearly 30 minutes, later close to 3:45.

Also, the quote they provided was obscenely high.

Mari C.

09/02/2012 12:00:00 SA

OMG....I had a clogged tub drain and a drippy pipe..they wanted $1,172 to fix that..My hubby and son went to Lowes and got pipes,pipe glue and then snaked it and fixed it within 1 hr for @$30....!!DONT CALL THESE PEOPLE UNLESS YOU ARE RICH AND LIKE TO BE OVERCHARGED!!

Scott R.

3/15/2016

Get multiple bids before getting any plumbing done by southwest plumbing. Our drains started backing up so we called southwest plumbing. Two technicians showed up the next day and without discussing any prices scoped the line and discovered that there was a break in my sewage line about 50 feet from my house and I also needed the roots jetted out. When he told me about the break was also when he notified me that the scoping of the line cost $500. He then said that if I had them fix the pipe and jet the lines they would waive the $500 scope fee. He quoted jetting and pipe fix at $6000. Since I was already in $500 I figured I would have them do the work assuming it would take a day or two and require heavy machinery for that price. Wrong! It took the two men less than 4 hrs to get the permit, fix the pipe and jet the lines. The pipe was 2 feet under ground and they used shovels to dig a 4 foot long trench and replace a 4 foot section of pvc pipe. At most it cost them $150 in parts (pic pipe and 1 yard of gravel), and the jetting cost 1300 (which is also insane) that means the pipe repair cost around $4000 in labor. That's $1000 and hr. After the repair was done I called a different plumber who quoted the entire job around $3000. Southwest plumbing is a rip off and I will never use them again. I gave them two starts only because they fixed the repair in a timely manner and the fix was done properly. But still an incredible rip off.

I.S. L.

2/22/2014

Our home had a series of plumbing issues since last winter. Hired them three times which I should have had done more research on them and pricing.

I did not get the impression that their interest was in our economic solution. I wish they suggested better options, instead of persuading you with a high cost replacement option as the kind of Must have only option.

Yesterday, my wife with a limited plumbing knowledge had to deal with kitchen faucets minor leakage. instead of a simple fix, they again suggested to fix a higher grade faucets; the material itself less than $200, with 1 hour labor. The final bill was a way over my imagination. I filed a compliant of their outrageous pricing policy to their service department. But, no further help can be expected from them.

Be aware. before you hire, review your option. Shop around and review your service provider's reputation. I regret my decision on this company. Its pricing and service are far expensive.

D F.

03/04/2016 12:00:00 SA

Homeowners do your research if you want to save money. Had an emergency and needed help with a drain clog. No real plumbing company could get to me right away, Southwest Plumbing was the only one. They got here late after the scheduled time. By the time they got here the problem fixed it self unbeknownst to me. Southwest plumbing wanted to check the status of my sewer line any way and I agreed, what a mistake I made. So, out comes the paper work, the contract. They said I didn't have a clean out and needed one after the camera scoped the line price to complete the work including camera, clean sewer lines, call for locate company, and permit came to a whopping $ 3000 and needed 1/2 up front, before they start. Wow I said. Now remember I had an emergency and when senior's have an emergency we just want it fixed. Didn't do water jetting to clean sewer and also found out didn't need locate or a permit. Bottom line, for the work i had to pay $2000 after some negotiation's to install a clean out, which the inspector said I had an existing c o just about 2 feet away. No discount for senior or veteran, what a mess I got myself into. Never, ever use this company even with a smiley face on their website or vehicles. Other companies will charge you 1/2 as much. Please people beware especially senior's that are on fixed income, when our money is gone it's gone

Amy Y.

4/22/2013

We called South West Plumbing to fix an issue we had been sitting on for over a year. We initially called them because we had a coupon (for 10% off I think) but we went with them because Farmer was friendly and professional and brought an issue to our attention (leaking pipe above water heater) that we weren't aware of. He took care of our initial problem plus the leaking pipe and one other small thing that wasn't really a problem but he said it wasn't exactly done right by whoever did it before. The price he quoted us was really good and the work took less time than was estimated. I would recommend South West Plumbing and Farmer to my friends and family.

Elliot C.

10/21/2016

I'll start by saying that we have used South West a number of time and had no real issues. Recently called them to repair a leaky sink drain which required removing the pedestal sink. Two guys arrived and proceeded to tell me that it would probably take several hours and quoted a price of $800 which I thought was steep, but I was on a deadline to get the job done. Imagine my surprise when 40 min later, they told me they were done. I questioned them on the originally quoted price and the answer was its a flat rate, you will need to talk to the service manager (note other complaints about excessive flat rate charges on yelp). Multiple inquiries to the service manager has got no response. They have lost my business for good and I would caution anyone thinking of using this company.

Barry B.

08/01/2012 12:00:00 SA

Sooooooooooo expensive, but like car repair and pet care it appears you'll pay a lot for any type of service. The customer service was fantastic and they seem to try and work around your schedule. Overall, despite the cost, excellent service.

Debbi A.

3/27/2015

If I could give them a zero I would , They must work on commision. They are the absolute worst. They inflate the issue, tried 3 fixes , none of which worked . After $2300.00 worth of guessing, and charging me everytime they pulled the toilet, their next guess was an 18K ( yes that is eighteen thousand dollars) to replace the sewer line to the street. I called the local sewer district . They were at my house in 15 minutes and determined the issue was on their side of the service pipe and fixed it for FREE!!, They told me that SW plumbing was fully aware of where the customer side was and where it ceased . They further told me they had tried to pull this same thing on other residents. Do not give these guys a chance to rip you off !

Christina M.

06/07/2013 12:00:00 SA

I should have read the reviews before calling up South West Plumbing.

We discovered we had a leaking pipe in the basement and called up South West. They came out the next day went downstairs and surveyed the damage. After about 10 minutes of poking around the two guys went outside to write up a quote. I thought it may be pricey but I was shocked when he handed me a $6,700 estimate!!!!

In the quote they said aside from the leaking pipe in the basement, all our kitchen pipes needed to be upgraded immediately and they needed to dig along the side of our house to put a pipe vent up to the roof. They were nice enough but there was diatribe of upselling of their other services I never inquired about along with a five minute explanation how they clean pipes I didn't care to hear. I just wanted them to leave.

After they finally left, I decided I wanted a second opinion, so I called Joe The Plumber. Needless to say, it only cost $200 to get the immediate problem fixed and the upgrade to the pipes (which we will be calling him to do) would only cost around $500. So $6,000 to put a unneeded pipe vent in?! Thanks but no thanks.

BEWARE!!

Unhappy C.

1/25/2015

I was shocked at South West Plumbing's pricing and upselling tactics when they came out for an emergency in August, but I had a leak and it was a Sunday, so I was thankful they showed up. While there, I had them repair the leak and replace a stripped shower stem, which lowered the cost of both.

Fast forward five months and I'm back in the same situation, a Sunday and a leak, this time on their handywork. I called and requested service to check on the replaced shower stem, which had barely been used and was now dripping when off. Unfortunately, the person answering the phone didn't tell me that South West Plumbing's warranty is only good for 90 days, regardless of the situation or use, so it would not apply. If I had been warned, I would not have made the appointment.

I was told a technician would be out between 12 and 2pm, but he didn't show until 7:20pm. So, I waited all day for a plumber who wouldn't even investigate the leak until I agreed to pay for the unknown repair, this time more involved and expensive than the last, he said. How did he know?

In my experience, South West Plumbing does not stand behind their work or value their customers. I will never use this company again or recommend them to anyone!

Susan U.

03/06/2015 12:00:00 SA

South West Plumbers are total scammers, never trust this company with your plumbing! Since I had to use them previously in an emergency before leaving town, I called them when my plumbing backed up. I wanted to make sure the two problems weren't related. They said they cleaned my main line sewer line through the inside clean up and charged me $824. Shortly thereafter, the plumbing backed up again and they came out and said they had to dig a hole in my small townhouse's front yard, build a new clean out and then jet clear the line. They gave me an estimate of $5215. Since this was a huge cost, I had other plumbers come and look at the job. The plumber that fixed the job said it was a simple maintenance that usually happens every 10 to 15 years, and there was no need for a new clean out. The other plumber solved the problem by jet cleaning it. It took about an hour and only cost $673. Any competent plumber would have tried to jet clear the line from the existing clean out before suggesting $5000+ work. When I called South West Plumbing to tell management about unnecessary work that was being estimated and the fact they did not solve the problem on the first time out, he said he couldn't look into it right away. The manager Gale informed me had the next two days off. He said he would look into it and call me when he was back at work. He never called. When we checked with him almost a week later, he said still had not checked into the situation. His employees are out there trying to charge $5000+ for something that is simple maintenance that can be fixed for less than $700 and he can't find the time to look into it? This is beyond horrible management and leads me to believe management is okay with this scammy business practice. Perhaps this not fixing the problem the first time and charging for work that is not necessary is their normal business practice. I was quick to give them my credit card for fix I needed done immediately before leaving town, and they knew I didn't get any other estimates. Perhaps I was pegged as an easy target for their scam. I can't imagine how many older people who don't check online reviews as often might have gotten scammed by this company. Tell everyone you know not to ever call South West Plumbing.

Hannah L.

8/15/2013

I live in a condo on Mercer Island and my HOA requested that that I get my hot water tank replaced. The company sent Nick P. and Evan P. They were extremely friendly and professional. They were very knowledgable about the replacement process and got the job done quickly. The company typically charges $329.50 to disconnect and reinstall the washer and dryer. They were kind enough to waive this fee for me. I would highly recommend this company!

Yossarian H.

04/03/2012 12:00:00 SA

This happened some years ago, but I wanted to write this review anyway. My sewer line was backed up, I usually go to O'Neill Plumbing, but they were booked so I called Southwest. They came out and told me the sewer line was filled with rotted roots and it would cost upwards of 3 grand to replace essentially 15 feet of line. I told them I wanted to think about it and called O'Neill. O'Neill came out, used a smaller rotor, and cleaned out the line. O'Neill told me they could replace it, but if I didn't want to I could just periodically clean out the line. I got charged $200 by O'Neill and every other year I clean it out, and that was more than 7 years ago. In looking at the reviews I see they are the same dishonest company they were when I called them.

Elena T.

02/05/2013 12:00:00 SA

I came home to a kitchen flooding disaster when my refigerator water supply decided to just start spouting water all over the place. Jeremy was at my place within 15 minutes of my phone call and was able to solve the problem quickly. My refrigerator couldn't be saved, but my sanity was. He also honored a coupon from a million years ago and so I didn't have to pay nearly as much as I had feared. Thanks Jeremy!

Michael G.

9/28/2016

I scheduled an appointment which was confirmed for noon-2pm. The issue which needed to be resolved was replacing a pressure balancing valve in my Kohler shower. I was contacted at noon and told that they didn't have a commercial building plumber at the scheduled time available and that someone would be out closer to the 2pm timeframe. No big deal...I waited and was notified again that I would not have a plumber out until 3. No big deal...2 guys showed up at 3 and I advised them of the problem. They began making excuses on why they shouldn't do the job because of how late in the afternoon it was and that if they found additional issues it would leave me without water for 24 hours. They also said they weren't sure if the replacement part I received from Kohler was right one. They essentially told me to call Kohler and use one of their reps...someone who deals with Kohler parts all the time. Thanks SW plumbing...not the one to call! At least they didn't charge me the $49 respond fee. Wasted day!

Laura W.

9/26/2016

Oh you've got to be kidding!!! They came, they stayed for 15 minutes to clear 2 clogged drains -- and they charged me $300!!!!!!!!! Sure -- they fixed the drains. But this was highway robbery, no more no less. DO NOT USE THESE GUYS!! There are other folks out there who are honest and charge fairly. THESE GUYS ARE A COMPLETE RIP-OFF!

Tom G.

2/15/2016

Called to get service on a tankless water heater. Gave them all the info for the repair including the model number which they said they would discuss with their technician so he could confirm that it could be done. They later called to reschedule a later time the next day after talking with the technician. In the morning they called to say they did not work on these heaters. Wasted 24 hours when I could be calling another company.

AM S.

03/09/2011 12:00:00 SA

I can't vouch for their service, but when I contacted South West recently, and explained what a terrible experience I'd had in 2011 (as detailed in my earlier review), they apologized and admitted they'd had some issues with a couple of guys. They gave me a substantial refund on the massive overcharge for services a couple of years ago. So again, can't vouch for their services or pricing today, as I have found an independent plumber who is great, but I give them props for addressing my grievance, even if it took a long time.

Linda S.

04/08/2015 12:00:00 SA

Note all the advertising; billboards, bus ads and TV. I know who paid for it. And you will too. $ 4000 for my neighbor working with O'Neil. Same service at $28,000 next door with SW Plumbing!!! Honestly. And now we have water standing in the street in front of this property.

Kim W.

12/28/2013

Really Good Service, he came out and inspected our water heater, we were quoted 95$ and he did not charge us, because everything looked good. Really appreciated the explanations, and him taking the time to see us. Super nice and professional.

Catherine F.

09/11/2016 12:00:00 SA

We called at 10am on Sunday and were told that we'd get a plumber by 2:30 and to wait. The leak that is under our kitchen at the wall wasn't too bad, but could have done major damage if we hadn't caught it. It is 3:40pm and the dispatcher called and told us that the plumber was tired after a long day. We're getting a bigger drip now at the water shut off to the wall, and really are up against a rock and a hard place as we go into the overnight with this problem at the beginning of a busy work week. Thanks for making us wait all day, and please know that we will only be calling Beacon from now on. You just want to watch the Seahawks game, don't you Southwest? We will never use you again, and please don't say you are 24/7 when you have absolutely no intention of doing the job...

Todd T.

09/10/2016 12:00:00 SA

This is yet ANOTHER story of this company's attempts to charge ridiculously exorbitant rates for simple work....BEWARE of Southwest Plumbing. My under-mount sink dropped out of my countertop, so I decided to have the sink reinstalled and re-plumbed by a professional vs. spending the time doing it myself. I figured it would be costly anywhere I looked, but decided it was worth saving my time to have someone else do the work.

I contacted Southwest Plumbing and they indicated they could do both parts of the job (sink reinstallation and re-plumbing) within a couple of days. When I asked for a quote, I was told by the dispatcher that the service tech would have to come out and take a look before a price could be quoted. Fair enough. A time was set for a service guy to come out two days later- was supposed to be between 5-7pm but he ended up getting there about 7:30. No big deal on the late arrival- what blew me away was the quote on the sink reinstallation- $535.00 What???
Furthermore, the quote the service guy gave me was a flat rate, printed in a big book he had with him. The quote had nothing to do with any specifics related to my sink, counter, or space.
Why couldn't the dispatcher have simply opened the book and let me know what the charge would be for that part of the job when I discussed the job with him? There's no way I would have agreed to such a ridiculously high charge from the get-go, and this would have saved me two days of having no kitchen sink. I could have called another company, or did the work myself. I did end up re-mounting the sink myself- it was very easy, and tool me about one hour or less. I guess that makes Southwest Plumbing's rates about $500.00 per hour...

I didn't even bother asking the service guy what the charge for the re-plumbing of the sink would be- I'm assuming it would be in line with the what I was quoted for the sink reinstallation, e.g. highway robbery. I just said NO THANKS and sent the service guy on his way. It was funny, the service guy seemed somewhat apologetic the whole time we were discussing the cost of the job- he kept saying things like I don't set the rates, they tell us what we have to charge. He actually appeared embarrassed by the rates (he pointed to the cost printed on the page of the book rather than stating it himself). The service guy told me he would not charge me a service call fee, but I'm half expecting to get a bill in the mail (if I do I will contest it!).

This is my first Yelp review- I have never been motivated to write one before. This time I feel the public should be warned about this company, and reading other reviews I see that I am not the only person who feels this way. My guess is that Southwest Plumbing stays in business by using high visibility and recognition strategies (I see how they pay for all the billboards and bus ads) to prey upon vulnerable customers who are desperate, ignorant, or both. If you consider using this company, make sure you are getting quotes from the competition. I AM a betting man, and my money would be on the quotes from the competition being MUCH lower.

Larkin P.

5/15/2011

I used these guys because of the advertising and coupon I received in the mail. The plumbers were very nice and knowledgeable. I had two jobs that other plumbers had told me could not be fixed. One was fixing a leak in our basement from our tub. The plumbers claimed they fixed it (and BOY did we pay), yet it kept leaking--worse. They were happy to come out again, but told us we had to have the whole tub replaced. Now the tub leaks every time we take a shower, which is way worse that every once in a while. I wish I had never called the plumbers to resolve this and had minor vs. major leakage.

Ron B.

03/05/2013 12:00:00 SA

Southwest plumbing is the worse company I ever used in my life. They replaced a drain pipe outside my home. The first part of the replacement pipe was 12K. They had to come back and replace the rest of the pipe that cost another 8K. They failed to pack the dirt back in properly after they connected the pipe. This stupidity caused a change in the water table, thus allowing ground water to enter into my home. 6 inches of water came into my house. Destroying carpeting, drywall and home furnishings. I called them to discuss the situation and no one showed up. Contacted the manger and he stated yes we know we had complaints about this person. But nothing how they could resolve my problem. If I would of read the reviews on here first I would never have used this company. Bad bad customer service. Over priced! Don't use Southwest Plumbing they will rip you off!!!
The comment/ reply from Jim from South west plumbing, regarding my complaint really is not appropriate. There was no permit, I observed their work. They did not bother to contact me to clear or remedy the situation. And they never called me to discuss. I called them and no response. Too wait on them to respond to my calls, I never got an apology or any type of service recovery. Oh yeah, I got a bill. Nothing about we are sorry we did not meet your expectations. I see more complaints on here about this company than I see compliments.

Karen K.

04/08/2015 12:00:00 SA

I had a stem that was stripped. they wanted 1400$ to go from the back of the tub. and then I would have to pay a dry wall contractor to replace the dry wall. I called another guy and he did the work for 150$ and no dry wall work. stay away from South west plumber

Stephen E.

04/01/2018 12:00:00 SA

Please please I implore you to never use them they will tell you there prices come from a book that sets the price for everything they do. For example for a circulator the whole job costs 1350.00. According to their book but they simply don't charge you this already outrageous amount but they have the gaul to add on prep work jobs that should be included in the already inflated prices. They charged additional 455.00 for what they call a system purge. This is simple a flush of the system to get any air or debris that might be causing the circulator to fail. That is 1805.00 for a circulator that I could have replaced myself for with an allen wrench and about 130.00 for the part. I spoke with a plumber friend and he said these rates are simply criminally high. Never use them I have no idea who they are paying to write good Google reviews but at least the real story is told by the endless one star reviews here on yelp.

Jason Z.

12/09/2016 12:00:00 SA

ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! I had an emergency at a bank branch. There was septic water backing up into the branch and the bank (my customer) asked me to get a plumber out immediately. I called Southwest because they are a larger company and I expected they would be managed competently. Boy was I wrong!

After calling and explaining the nature of my emergency, I was assured that a commercial plumber would be en route within a couple of hours. I recieved a call about a half hour later to let me know the plumber was on the way. And that is where it all unraveled. After I called and let my customer know that the plumber would be there soon, I received another call letting me know that the commercial plumber that was assigned to my emergency, was being rerouted to another emergency. I called the bank to let them know the bad news, but assured them we would be seeing a plumber soon. Sure enough, I got another call around 30 minutes later to let me know the next plumber was available and on the way. Once again I notified the bank of the progress. About an hour later I received another call to let me know that the plumber assigned to my emergency, is being rerouted to a different emergency. At this point they ask me if I would like to reschedule for the following day. I almost laughed at the lady as I started to get frustrated. She tried playing nice PR lady intil I said NO, I do not want to reschedule an EMERGENCY for the next business day. Once I told her I would be taking my business elsewhere, I was hung up on.

THIS COMPANY IS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE! I wish I would have looked up reviews before wasting my time and energy on this clownshow. Do yourself a favor, call ANY other plumbing company. You absolutely cannot do worse thaN this circus. There is a reason they have 2.5 stars average. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

Terry H.

8/21/2016

South West Plumbing scheduled appt. for between 2-4 on Saturday, didn't show & I had to call them; they said running late & wait till 4-6 but didn't show; they rescheduled for Sunday & showed but didn't have the right size hot water heater in their truck. Although the company KNEW what size I had, they tried to upsell me & further claimed all kinds of things needed to be replaced. It was now getting over $2,000 & that hardly includes what the LABOR cost would be. What a ripoff! Also, right after I said no & they left I suddenly got my 1st urgent message from Angie's List quoting me a rate for water heater replacement even tho I never went online to check anything & my boyfriend originally contacted them on HIS cellphone. What? Do they sell the info when they don't get their way?

Lorraine E.

8/21/2016

Southwest plumbing says they respond to emergencies. Don't believe it! Left us waiting without water for hours! DO NOT RELY ON THESE GUYS!

Nena H.

5/13/2016

Kirk and Dustin are a great team of professionals! Came in to help me trouble shoot a problem with my kitchen faucet. They were able to fix the problem for me and while they were here they also helped with a couple of my bathrooms. At the last minute asked about helping with a gas line and they stayed until everything was done.

Lucky Rabbit C.

11/03/2012 12:00:00 SA

SWP is the absolute WORST! I called them to get an estimate on a leak in my mother's upstairs toilet. I knew the donut needed replacing and that it was the source of the leak.

My mother is a frail is 85 years old, cannot walk well and is the most trusting soul alive. When two guys showed up I wondered why a dounut replacement would require 2 guys. I asked for an estimate for the work that needed to be done and they told me it should be approx $150.00.

Well, they got ready to leave. The bathroom was a disaster. They used my mother's brand new towels to wipe up the water and dirt that they spilled all over the floor, and just left them there. The towels were stained with grease, and the floor was filthy since they tracked in God-knows-what from their other jobs. Cleaning up is obviously NOT part of ther service.

When it came time for payment, the bill was sudenly over $400! I refused to payciting the estimate they had given us 20 minutes before. Giving me no justification, other than his estimate didn't include parts and the service call one of the plumbers sat down on the couch and said he wasn't leaving until he was paid the full amount!

I told him that he could stay for as long as it took for the police to arrive. My mother, however, was so upset that I was really scared that she would have another cardiac incident. not wanting to cause a huge incident in front of her, I put the charges on my credit card, and immediatly disputed the amoutn with the bank,

I called the owner/manager of SWP, and told him i woul dpay the amount of their estimate and not a penny more. He was as unhelpful and as slimey as his employees. So no help there, until I told him that their tactics constituted exploiting the elderly and that I would be filing a complaint against them and also a police report.

I contacted the Attorney General's office, the BBB and consulted with a member of Seattle's finest. I apparently should have let the police come and deal with SWP. Since I will never be using them again, this is good information to pass along to others who are unfortunate enough to use SWP and who finds themselves in a similar situation.

That they are still in business is amazing! If they will still be in business in 5 years is a no brainer.

Sue And Bob M.

01/06/2014 12:00:00 SA

I called South West Plumbing because of their advertising discount coupons they regularly send. Our tub was suddenly draining very very slowly. 10-12 hot pots of boiling water didn't clear it.

I thought it was good news, because they arrived the next day, without charging a minimum fee for a clogged drain....plus there was no charge if they could not get it unclogged. From that standpoint, it seemed like a no risk. However, the information they provided turned out to be faulty.

I was told they could not snake my tub drain because the shower mechanism was broken, and had fallen down into the drain pipe, and was the cause of what was blocking the water drainage's path. I was told it would cost $1,200 to repair, because the repair would include opening up our wall, and our neighbor's bathroom ceiling in the unit below our condo.

Instead, I called the company that usually does our building's plumbing/sewer needs and projects, because they are familiar with our 1941 building, and it's old structure.

They said, although my tub mechanism was broken, repairing it would not solve our clogged drain -- only snaking would, which they did, because, they immediately pointed to a round metal cover on the tiled floor, directly next to the tub, which serves the purpose of snaking the tub -- because the mechanism, broken or not, would not allow the tub drain to be snaked.

For half the fee that South West Plumbing originally quoted without the $47 discount, our tub drain was perfectly snaked. That discount would of cost me more, to get the job done. BUT, South West didn't see the drain cover on the floor, and didn't realize that the mechanism did not have anything to do with my clogged tub. It was hair from the previous owner. I keep a screen filter over our tub, to catch hairs, and stop this kind of urgent need.

I would never call South West for any service ever in the future.
Sue M -- Green Lake, Seattle, WA

Michelle W.

08/07/2016 12:00:00 SA

If I could give them a NEGATIVE 5star rating, I would! After trying to swindle my elderly parents for $1000 on work they not only quoted as $250, but then never actually DID, Bob had the audacity to yell and scream at myself and another woman about how HE was a VICTIM here! That my mother (elderly and in a wheelchair!) had DRUG him into the bathroom by his hand and demanded he fixed the shower! He then proceeded to yell at us to Quit wasting my time so I can get on with my day! He eventually stormed out of the house after we questioned his customer service practices. Upon calling the office, the man I spoke with refused to even tell me the name of the manager or give me contact information. He was as rude and belligerent as Bob. Eventually he said that he was in fact the manager and informed me that he would speak with his employee to get his side of things before he would listen to me any further! At this point I will let the Better Business Bureau handle this pathetic excuse for a business! Shameful.

First Name L.

4/13/2010

Southwest Plumbing claims excellent customer service and we do the job right, every time. Sent the following email (twice) to Southwest Plumbing after they failed to show up for an appointment. We have heard nothing back from them.

We had an appointment with you today. You were to arrive between 4 and 6pm. I left work early to get home by 4pm - out of respect to you, not wanting to be late. At 4:35 the person coming out to give us the two estimates (furnace, hot water heater) called and said he'd be there in 30-40 minutes. He did not show up. At all. He did not call again.

At 6:40pm I called your company. I spoke with a woman who then passed the phone on to the man who had called us. He claimed that he had been to our house, had spoken with us, and that we had told him that we wondered why he come to our house since we had had a furnace and water heater installed just yesterday. He would not accept the fact that he had clearly gone to the wrong house on the wrong day. No apologies; and no response to the emails from Southwest.

Eddy H.

12/18/2013

SW Plumbing was the only contractor that was able to send an plumber during the cold freeze we had in Seattle a few weeks ago. They send Connor S and he was very friendly and was quick to fix my broken pipe. Connor did a great job of cleaning up his mess and did a nice quality repair job. I highly recommend SW Plumbing and thanks Connor for your hard work.

Eddy

Debbie B.

7/19/2016

DO NOT USE this company. My kitchen sink/faucet blew up and I couldn't use it. I HAD to get it fixed. I called Monday morning and they said they could come by 2pm. They arrived, the two guys were nice. I had planned to replace the sink anyway so I already had all the parts, but to replace a kitchen sink cost me $2000!!! I almost choked. I absolutely hate myself for not doing more research and checking yelp. I will never stop kicking myself. Their prices are insane.

Petko D.

12/01/2015 12:00:00 SA

Absolutely the worst plumber ever ! They sent some sketchy jailbirds who seemed to know less about plumbing than me. Their truck damaged my neighbor's house, they quoted $850 for a job O'Neil did for $225 (!) Shame on me for not checking them out on yelp ... I think they survive by bilking old people who don't have internet access and emergency work ...

Will D.

10/08/2013 12:00:00 SA

Great work led by Evan, and they were able to come out same day (Saturday). One less star only because it was expensive. Otherwise, highly recommended.

Paul C.

2/26/2011

Never use Southwest Plumbing!!! They are a total rip-off. I had a clog in my basement main line and the job was quite easy since there's an easy access to the plug out. The main line is less than 100 ft to the public sewer. I didn't have time to do the job myself so I called Southwest Plumbing.

I expected it might cost me around $150-$180 tops. However, I got a quote for $700 plus dollars... I was totally shocked with the estimate. They made the job sound like it was going to be difficult and gave all sort of things they were going to do. So I said it was way too much and the estimate was out of line. They offer to do the job for a bit over $500 instead. At $500 it's still way out of line for a simply unclogging something that was just a straight shot.

So I waited the next day until I had time and rented a 100 ft long snake to unclog the line. It cost me less than $50 at Home Depot since the job took just under one hour including cleaning the equipment before returning it. As you can imagine $50 vs. $500 that's a lot of money.

Find someone else besides Southwest Plumbing if you can't do the job yourself or just don't want to deal with plumbing.

Sharon B.

9/14/2012

The only thing positive that I can say for this company is that they were on time for the appointment made to have them come out & estimate what it would cost to unclog a pipe that was causing water to come up in my downstairs shower. I was informed that a hole would have to be cut in the wall behind the washer to repair the main line @ the tune of $600~I told them that I didn't have $600 & to forget it!
I then contacted a plumber & told him the problem & what SW Plumbing had told me needed to be done & over the phone he already knew that what I had been told was not the problem. He arrived @ my house w/i minutes of the phone call I made @ 8:30 pm, snaked the drain in my downstairs shower & the problem was rectified in less than 20 minutes! The problem was in the secondary line, not the main line & nothing needed to be done behind the washer!
How can a company justify ripping people off like this? I'm so glad that I told the two people who wrote an invoice that is unreadable, that I didn't have the money that they wanted & that I would take my business elsewhere because the total amount that I paid the plumber who fixed the problem, was $75! Not falling for this scam from SW Plumbing saved me $525!
I hope other's who are quoted an exorbitant price for something that is not even needed, check w/another company or read these review's that actually tell it like it is w/these scammers!
Do NOT contact SW Plumbing for your plumbing needs unless you want to pay a ridiculous price for something that is not even needed!

Jamee F.

09/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

We moved into our 1909 house in January of this year. Our inspector had pointed out a handful of items to have repaired, including 1) the pipes from the kitchen sink drain to the wall, similarly for the laundry room sink in the basement and had us install an airgap for our dishwasher. Granted, our inspector is not a plumber, but she indicated that this would likely be a couple of hundred dollars. Given the small expected amount for the repair, I called Southwest Plumbing, and asked that they just come out and perform the work.

The arrived on August 9th. After a preliminary inspection, they indicated that we needed a new garbage disposal in the kitchen as well (I googled the model and it is $100 at Home Depot). I think it's a very liberal estimate that the remainder of the materials were $100. After two hours of work it was all done and the bill totaled $1,500. Pretty shocking, given that it works out to about $650 per hour.

I had resigned myself that this was just the way it was and determined that I would get a quote anytime I have any work performed, shame on me. Insult was added to injury however when they charged my credit card for $15,000. That took a week for them to rectify.

On August 22, I decided to give them a call and let them know of my displeasure. I spoke with the service manager and told him in a very polite way that the customer service was excellent, the work performed was top notch, but I felt that I had been used with the price that I was charged. He said he would look into it, and give me the best price that he could and get back to me. It was a Thursday and he asked if he could get back to me the following week. I said I was in no rush and if I heard from him by the end of the following week 8/30, that would be fine. 8/30 came and went, and I heard nothing. so I called back on 9/3. At first, it was as though he was hearing about it for the first time, and then ultimately he said he found my paperwork and that I was on the top of the pile and would be the next issue that he was going to work on. I waited another week and heard nothing, finally calling back today, 9/11, 3 weeks after my first call with no followup from Southwest. I reached the service manager, and he told me that the price offered was fair, he felt it was comparable in the market and there was nothing that he could do.

I feel like I'm just ranting a bit now, but I would caution people to not let this company perform anything without getting multiple quotes, or better yet, remove them altogether from your list of people to call for quotes. Their pricing is highway robbery.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Kurt N.

1/28/2012

On the first day there was no phone call and no show. On the second day there was a 10 AM call from a restricted number which left a barely audible message. Without warning the workers showed up at three pm and worked till about 3:30. The workers told a person whom does not live in the house that they were unable to finish and they would be back the next day. The person informed them that the house sleeps late and they should make contact with me. The Third day provided no call no show. The fourth day at 10:30am the workers showed up without warning. They were loud, then left without speaking to anyone.

Never again.

CoCo A.

12/19/2013

If I could assign a 1/2 star I would. This company charges over and above reasonable rates, probably to pay for all their advertising. I called them to replace a water heater in my rental unit. They gave me an option of 3 models, but they were all the same price... huh? I didn't have a choice to call another plumber and wait for them to show up, so $2000 later for a 50 gal $1000 retail priced water heater my tenants were back to having water. They also offer a 10 year warranty on the water heater, however, it moves with you, so if you sell you your house, the warranty is null. What kind of funk is that? I will never recommend this company to anyone.

Eric F.

1/28/2013

I generally don't like or don't trust this industry in general due to the fact that there is so much guesswork and they always charge you and you're left to question the competence of the recommendations and the pricing.

Southwest seems to charge rates consistent with their competitors, they show up readily. The fixes I've had seem to be good.

Cameron W.

6/16/2011

The Guys came out and did a great job. very thorough. and very professional. ask for Farmer.

Newton B.

08/06/2014 12:00:00 SA

CALL ANOTHER COMPANY!!!!

I called on Monday to get an appointment for some kitchen plumbing (new sink needs faucet and insta-hot hookup) help. They told me they would be out here on Wednesday. 2 hours before the appointment, they called and told me they couldn't make it and wanted to reschedule for another day. Hello? I work and took time off work to make time for this appointment and now they want me to take time off tomorrow and hope they don't call me and reschedule again, seriously. I am an existing customer with a paid in full job of $20,000 for a sewer backup, and they can't keep their appointment from 2 days ago. I guaranteed if this was another 3-day $210,000 job they would be here, but because it is only less than an hour of work and should be under $100, they don't want my business. No problem, I will call a company that appreciates the business and treats repeat customers with a little more respect.

Jonathan D.

4/18/2014

We had a leaking faucet. Bobby W. came out and got it fixed. I had a few other minor issues with the bathroom that I asked Bobby about while he was on site. Bobby not only fixed our faucet, but went out of his way to address and fix the other issues that I had. I've had a few other plumbers in the area come over. The other plumbers did marginal work. All of the plumbers in the area are expensive, but South West Plumbing seems to get the job done, has knowledgable plumbers (Bobby W.) on staff, and good customer service. I'd recommend them.

John R.

04/03/2013 12:00:00 SA

I called SW Plumbing a year ago to fix the faucets in my bathtub....vintage 1940 hardware. Did an ok job...the price was high, but I figured that they were professional and charged me accordingly.

Last week, I discovered my dishwasher had been leaking through to the basement and ruined the ceiling and the floor in the basement. So, I called them back
( S T U P I D me...) and they said that there was a section of pipe that had to be replaced and the dishwasher had to be removed so it could dry out. The price was $2800 !!!..This did not include the removal of the leaky dishwasher. ( I didn't know that the dishwasher was the culprit) Stupid me, I paid it. The water damage boys came over and gave me price of $2900. to move some furniture out of the basement, and spray a anti mold fungal agent. Total rip off. I ixnayed that.

So after a week I called them back to finish the job and reinstall the dishwasher...I figured it would be maybe $200. but, no it was to the tune of $795. I just wanted this whole nightmare to be over and have my dishwasher back. They hooked it up, turned it on and left. The basement was like being in the rain forest...water was leaking everywhere !! Not only do I have a crap dishwasher, I'm out the money which they improperly diagnosed as just being a single pipe. Their response was .....hmmm, it's not our problem. It's hooked up okay

I usually am wary of big plumbing or roofing companies that spend big bucks on advertising...and Southwest is that company..just like freakin' Beacon and Jorve Roofing. Who actually pays for their big advertising tab??? WE DO !! with their outrageous prices. Do yourself a B I G favor, and stay away from these crooks.

Pam C.

09/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

Be sure to do your homework before hiring this company. I didn't. I based my decision on reviews of others rather than doing my own research.
Rheem 65 gallon electric water tank Model 83XR66 is $2,207 at South West.
It is $970-$999 at Washington Water Heaters and Washington Energy Services.
Earthquake straps: $199 at South West.
$35-$69 at Washington Water Heaters and Washington Energy Services.
Thermal expansion tank $257 at South West.
$135 at other places
They justify these price discrepancies by saying their support services are better.

David C.

6/27/2015

Conor and Aaron showed up on time, did the work we requested and charged a fair price. Both gentlemen were personable and polite and knew what they were doing. My wife and I are both very happy with the experience and will use South West Plumbing the next time we need a plumber.

Chris T.

12/16/2013

I highly recommend South West Plumbing, specifically Mike Vornheder. As an owner of relatively old house I've encountered several plumbing issues that needed professional attention. South West Plumbing has never let me down. They have a professional dispatch team that will not only send a team of plumbers to your residence but give you periodic updates so you don't have to spend an entire day waiting around. Mike and his team have always been prompt, courteous and professional. On both occasions the problem was quickly identified and Mike took the time to educate me on how to resolve and prevent the issue for happening again. South West Plumbing is competitively priced, highly responsive and their team of professional plumbers are the only choice for all your plumbing needs in Western, Washington.

Gabrielle J.

11/02/2014 12:00:00 SA

BEWARE! I am not certain how this company stays in business. I am in the design/construction industry so when my husband and I were searching for quotes for our kitchen renovation project, I had a good idea of plumbing scope required and what to expect from quotes. We still got 4 plumbing quotes to be diligent. The quotes I received FOR EXACTLY THE SAME work were $2400, $3200, and $3300. Then the quote from Southwest Plumbing came: $18,300!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well obviously we were not going with this outrageous amount, but I was left feeling infuriated by the complete insult that was this quote. My husband was the one at home when the quote was given to us... And I'm glad he was the one there... I would have kicked the guy out of my house for being so insane. What really frustrated me the most was that someone naive or just normal person (maybe not in industry) could have fallen for this scam. I just couldn't believe it. Bottom line: IF YOU GET A QUOTE FROM THIS COMPANY, PLEASE get other quotes to double check their legitimacy. Very disappointed this is happening out there. Integrity is so important to keep business and get referrals, so I just don't know how they are still in business. Perhaps their business model is set up only for quick in & out jobs, not large renovations that may take a few days work... So maybe they are ok to come unplug your toilet. We will never be calling them again.

Linda C.

01/12/2015 12:00:00 SA

After leaving work early to get to my plumbing appointment that I had made on the previous day, I came home to find a message that they probably would not be able to make it. When I spoke to th dispatcher, she said they would try. They called later and said they definitely had to reschedule, but couldn't guarantee an appointment the following day either. Good customer service is not this company's priority.

Suzanne V.

12/09/2014 12:00:00 SA

On November 25th I called /scheduled an appointment with SW PLUMBING to have my hot water tank looked at and possibly replaced. They were able to make an appointment for me the next day November 26th. They arrived on time and found that the dip stick in my water tank was broken and most likely the cause of my lack of water pressure and luke warm water. $5,300 dollars and four hours later I hAD a new 50 gallon hot water tank installed.
When I went to take a shower that same day there was no hot water. I checked to make sure that the thermostat on the water heater was set to high and it was set as high as it could possibly go. And this began the nightmare of dealing with SW Plumbing and its very poor customer service.
Thursday was Thanksgiving so I waited to call on Friday to talk with SW Plumbing. I had a conversation with one of the managers at SW Plumbing, (Bryce) for two reasons, one was to report that the hot water tank was not providing hot water and to check in about the cost of this 50 gallon hot water tank. I was told that he would need to look at the invoice which he would not receive until Monday and that there was nothing he could do for me until then.
I waited until Monday to hear back from Bryce but by late morning I decided to call. He did take my call, and he let me know he had not yet looked at my invoice. I told him I am still not getting hot water and I wanted someone to come out to my house. He told me he could get someone out there on Thursday. I told him that was not going to work and I wanted someone at my home that day.
Later that day I was told that someone would come out at 5PM. On my way home to meet the plumber I received a call from Gayle with SW Plumbing letting me know he would be late. I thanked him for his call and waited at home. At almost seven my phone rang and by the time I answered it the call had gone to voicemail. It was Gayle from SW plumbing letting me know he has been unable to find my home and he was leaving. The caller had a NO Caller ID and he did not leave his number on the voicemail. I then contacted dispatch to ask them to contact Gayle so that I could help him get to my home. They told me they would contact him and get back to me. Dispatch did not call me back and after an hour I called them back. They are also were not helpful, did not provide good customer service and had no idea what was going on. They had no solution and acted like it was a problem that I was even calling.
On Tuesday I contacted SW Plumbing and then again on Wednesday. I told the dispatch office that I wanted them to send someone out to get their water tank and I would find another company to help me. I contacted another plumbing company , Puget Sound Plumbing and told them the situation. The officer manager said she would contact SW Plumbing to find out about them paying them to come out and fix the hot water tank for them since it would be such a hassle for me to have a whole new replacement.
Wouldn't you know they told Puget Sound Plumbing they would send someone out that day, Wednesday a full week after having the hot water tank was put in by SW Plumbing. I met the plumber at my home and he took a look at the mixing valve. He told me I could take off the valve and clean it but I may not be able to re-install it and it is very expensive to replace. Or I can move the lever on your valve to see if it makes a difference. He also told me he could not remember where the lever on the valve was facing when he initially replaced the hot water tank. He thought we should first try to move the lever to open the valve more and see if that would fixed it. He opened the valve, it seemed that there was some hot water and off he went. He told me to call him the next day if I was not getting hot water. Later that evening we had no hot water again. The next day I called SW Plumbing and asked for the plumber to call me. He did return my call and told me to try to open the valve up more.
I ventured down to the garage and looked at that lever and I read the instructions on the lever. Lucky for me I did because I was told the incorrect way to move the lever. I read the instructions on the lever that controls the valve and there it was FINALLY HOT WATER!!!!!!!!!
The heating system I have in my home is considered/called Radiant Heat. The heat is located in the walls and the hot water is used for heating. I knew nothing about what or where the valves were or what they did other then I have many pipes on my garage wall for the plumbing. During this entire week we had freezing temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and we were without hotwater.
I was told I would receive a small refund and I have not received that. I have not received any courtesy call from Bryce, Gayle or anyone else at SW Plumbing.
I will never use SW Plumbing and I am telling all of my family , friends and the Better Business Bureau about this company . I hope whoever reads finds this he

Retired L.

04/02/2007 12:00:00 SA

THIS COMPANY INSTALLED A NEW SHOWER VALVE, WHICH I FURNISHED, IN AN OPEN WALL I WAS HAVING RETILED. THEY DID NOT EVEN HAVE TO OPEN UP THE WALL TO GET TO THE PIPES. WHEN THE TILE MAN RETURNED AFTER THE PLUMBER LEFT, HE WAS STUNNED AT WHAT THEY HAD CHARGED ME.
SINCE I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE COST OF A PLUMBER, I STUPIDLY SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH THEM FOR A CHARGE OF 753.28 +67.04 TAX, TOTAL OF 820.32, FOR A LITTLE OVER 1 HRS WORK, THE ONLY SUPPLIES THEY FURNISHED WAS A PIECE OF 4 PIPE FOR THE FAUCET, THE NEW VALVE THEY INSTALLED CAME WITH THE FAUCET I HAD ALREADY PURCHASED.

I WAS INFORMED THAT IF I DID NOT USE THEM I WOULD BE CHARGED A 39.95+TX DISPATCH FEE JUST TO LOOK AT THE JOB. THEY DO ADVERTISE NO TRAVEL CHARGE BUT A DISPATCH CHARGE MUST BE DIFFERENT.

SO, IN GOOD FAITH, I PAID THEM BY CHECK. WHEN I CALLED THEM REGARDING THIS INFLATED CHARGE, THEY INFORMED ME THAT WAS THE PRICE AND I SIGNED A CONTRACT AND WAS TOLD THE PRICE IN ADVANCE. IF I STOPPED PAYMENT ON THE CHECK THEY WOULD PUT A LEIN ON MY HOME. THIS RETURN CALL ONLY CAME AFTER LEAVING MESSAGES THEN FINALLY I LEFT THE MESSAGE I WAS GOING TO STOP PAY MY CHECK.

MY HUSBAND WAS OUT OF TOWN AT THE TIME AND HE IS THE ONE THAT DEALS WITH THESE SITUATIONS...NEEDLESS TO SAY WHEN HE GOT HOME, HE WAS ANGRY.(PUTTING IT MILDLY)

ANOTHER SENIOR CITIZEN RIPOFF!?

AFTER THE FACT...I CALLED SEVERAL REPUTABLE COMPANIES AND FOUND THAT THE JOB SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT 150.00-200.00 ON THE HIGH END, FOR ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS WORK.

PERSONALLY, IT WOULD BE WORTH THE 820.00 TO ME, TO HAVE A STORY PUT OUT ABOUT THIS RIP OFF COMPANY. I THINK THE SEATTLE AREA NEEDS TO KNOW HOW THEY OPERATE. WHEN I QUESTIONED THE TECH ABOUT THE PRICE, HE INFORMED ME THEY HAD A FLAT CHARGE, NOT AN HOURLY RATE TO SAVE THE CUSTOMER MONEY THE ENTIRE BACK COVER OF MY PHONEBOOK IS THEIR AD STATING THE SAME. THEY ALSO ADVERTISE A SENIOR DISCOUNT WHICH I DID NOT RECEIVE.

I will post this on any site I can find to warn other unsuspecting home owners about the charging practice this company has.
i have no complaint about the work they did ...but I do not have the same income as Bill Gates.

Tim T.

6/27/2011

My experience with SWP was totally different than most of the people who only take the time to comment when something doesn't go their way.

I had attempted to do some home improvement projects on my own and quickly discovered that I should have had a professional do the work instead. I had purchased a garbage disposal and thought what a synch just hook it up where the old one used to reside. Not so easy! Once I had spent time shopping for what I thought was the perfect fit for my sink and too much time on my back under the sink with a flashlight, I called SWP and the person on the phone took my information down and was very polite and professional. The two plumbers showed up on time and gave me options to repair what I had punished over the last 4 hours. They gave me a price using my disposal even though they could have tried to see me one on their truck and the quote they gave me was very fair. They ended up replacing every pipe under the sink and it looked like the skies had opened and shined on the job. I had perfect looking pipes and absolutely no leaks of any kind to this day. The didn't charge me extra for the hardware and even showed me a coupon that was better than the one I already had. What a deal!!!

I do have a couple of projects for this summer and have already called them for some advice on how to keep the projects on budget. They'll be back at my house at least 2 more times this year and I'm confident they will impress me just like they did last time they came out.

I have recommended them to my friends and even my boss so you know I must trust them.

Kelly M.

7/13/2011

My parents hired South West Plumbing to repair 2 toilets in their home that weren't flushing properly. A plumber came out, looked at their toilets and told them both toilets needed to be rebuilt. He referred to a book for the set cost for each toilet and after my parents approval, did the repair in less than an hour, replacing most of the parts inside the tank. Both toilets now flush properly. My parents were happy with the repair.

The reason I am writing this review is because I feel south West Plumbing grossly over prices their services and takes advantage of those who don't know any better.

By sheer coincidence both my brother and I recently replaced the flushing components of our toilet tank in the last few months. The parts cost me $18.00 and took 30 minutes. My brother paid $10.00 and also took 30 minutes.

South West Plumbing charged my parents $616.00 to do this same repair. Which equates to about a $500.00 labor charge for less than one hour of work.

$500.00 an hour for labor. There is no way to justify this.

John S.

10/13/2012

My elderly parents needed a rusted out cast iron T drain fitting replaced under their kitchen sink. After a friend suggested who to call for help, South West Plumbing gladly came to tackle the job. Including the power rooter job they did on their two inch drain pipe, the two employees were done and gone in just over an hour.

THE BILL: $839.00!!

When challenged later by another family friend about this exorbitant bill, they dropped their charges by $200. What kind of a way to do business is this? Maybe the friend should have pushed harder to get the final price down lower still.

Be very wary about hiring this company! Yes, they got the job done, but I am left feeling that South West Plumbing is a predatory business looking for the unwary to agree to their crazy pricing scheme!

Ross M.

3/18/2013

Conor Studley and the rest of the South West Plumbing crew did a great job correcting our plumbing problems. Conor in particular was a big help in breaking down in layman's terms what exactly was going on with our sewage system and our options in terms of fixing it. He also went above-and-beyond our expectations in a number of different areas to make sure the entire process was as easy for my family as possible. I highly recommend Conor and South West and will not hesitate to call them again should we have any future plumbing problems.

Don N.

03/01/2018 12:00:00 SA

Do not use this company. My parents live with me(my did is 85, has alzheimers and is in a wheelchair) and during the recent cold spell, we had a pipe break and flood our crawlspace. Our furnace is in the crawlspace and was fried by the floodwater, so no heat. After getting the water pumped out I called these people first thing in the morning and advised of situation and they assured me that they could get someone out the same day. A little after noon the dispatcher called me and advised that they were working on getting someone out. waited, waited and waited. at 5PM I called them and they said they might be able to make it out the next day. I again explained the situation to them and they had no concern about leaving a incapacitated 85 year old man in the cold for another night(or longer). I called another company after getting off the phone with them and they had someone to my house within an hour!! Southwest Plumbing, the one NOT to call.

Lera W.

6/18/2014

We had a pipe burst and the pipe was already exposed. They wanted to charge us an arm and a leg, which was four times anyone else had offered. Highway robbery get at least three estimates when you need to get some work done.

E M.

10/22/2009

I initially was drawn to this company since they don't have the absurd charges of $118 just for showing up, then another absurd rate every 15 minutes. They come out (free) and give you a bid for the whole job. Since I was out of town, my property manager handled this one. My problem was a clogged drain in the driveway. The bid came in at $300, which was accepted. When the time came, they came out with a snake and cleared the pipe. Total time: 30 minutes. This is equal to $600/hour!!! Not even Johnny Cochrane got that for defending OJ!
Then I got lip from the plumber when I questioned the charge (bid) for such a short amount of work.

Bottom line: This company is a rip-off and they know it. My review is posted here so the rest of the world can know it as well. I'll never use them again, and I'll make sure my friends and property manager never do either.

Steve A.

04/11/2011 12:00:00 SA

Aggressive and deceitful. DO NOT USE THIS company. I had a clogged sewer line, SW Plumbing came out and attempted to snake the sewer line with no success. They brought out several experts from their company and stated the clogged line was under my driveway. They were going to dig up my driveway to repair the broken sewer line estimated starting cost about 9K, if they had to dig out to the street up to 15K. I couldn't believe it, they wanted to start first thing the following morning and were pressing me to sign the go ahead to begin the work.

We had another company come out, do the same snake on the sewer line, after about 1-2 hours the line was clear and no break in the sewer line. When I informed SW Plumbing they weren't getting the job and that is was fixed the tech came to my house unannounced at about 9pm asking for payment for completed services. OUTRAGEOUS!

Then we complained to the BBB and after several follow up responses received a letter from SW's attorney basically letting us know to stop or else legal action could result from tarnishing their reputation with the Better Business Bureau.

We had the video tape from the other company to prove there was no break in the sewer line. This company is deceitful and vengeful and I will tell everyone I know NOT to use them. Trust me and stay away at your own risk!!!!

Erik R.

3/19/2013

Troy was on time, delivered a very quick and accurate assessment and gave me a quote on the spot. I needed a new hot water heater and when I asked how long before I could get a new one, he did it in 90 minutes. He was clean and not disruptive. He even went the extra mile to ensure my issues were resolved and that my filters were clean. Great service. Pricing was a little spendy, but considering the timeliness and the fact that I would do it wrong, it was well worth it.

Christopher R.

5/30/2013

Mike V. and his coworker Mike were skilled, experienced and timely. Mike V. handled our plumbing issues honestly and and effectively with no clean up needed afterward. They were in and out with ease and informed me clearly of our issues and the different ways of handling them. I appreciated Mike V.'s special attention to detail in explaining the repair work in layman's terms. Mike installed our new water heater with stealth precision and giving me the hands on experience of actually turing on the water heater myself. My only regret in the experience is that I forgot to use my coupon for $45.50 which was the main reason we called South West Plumping. Pennies compared to our $3200 bill but every penny counts for us. I would definitely recommend Mike V. and his coworker Mike for your next plumbing job!

K A.

10/05/2013 12:00:00 SA

Terrible customer service. I waited all morning for my appointment (they gave me a two hour window) and when the guy never showed I had to call to find out where he was. They told me he was still another hour away. It would have been nice to get a call from them telling me he wasn't going to make the appointment. I cancelled with them will go to someone who actually values my time.

Lars W.

9/29/2015

We just had Farmer, a plumber with Soutwest out to fix a leaky faucet and they came out as scheduled and fixed it within an hour. It was a complicated faucet that required special tools. They were professional and did a great job. This is the second time that they have come out. About a month and a half ago they came out and cleared a clogged drain to the washing machine. Again they did a great job that included a video inspection of the main line that showed that it was old but OK and not in need of additional work. I appreciated the honest feedback. I would highly recommend them.

Jennifer C.

12/31/2017

Horrible customer service. I scheduled an appointment a week in advance and called to confirm 2 days before. They told me they forgot to put me in the system but would make sure I was and would call me the morning of the appointment first thing to let me know when in the four hour window they would be there. They didn't call until two hours into the window and told me they wouldn't be making it but could bump me to the afternoon window. I took the day off of work and then they didn't call until almost 4 pm to tell me they wouldn't make it at all that day and asked if I would want to reschedule for the next week. However, they couldn't guarantee they would make it then either, I would just have to sit and wait and see. I asked to have a supervisor call me and no one did. I called back a week later and it took over an hour to get to a supervisor and the receptionist was clueless on how to do anything. I would not use this company. Moreover, they charge $50 to come out. I used another company after this experience and they got to me the next day in a two hour window and they only charged $39 to come out and that was credited to the work they did.

John M.

6/15/2012

I'm going to give South West some credit here, compared to the majority of the reviews. Had a leak in my main water line running up to the house, I dug a hole and found the leak, thereby making it plenty easy for any plumber to get to and repair. South West came through with the fact that I called at 9:00 PM (when most places are closed and you'd get a voicemail) and they scheduled me for an appointment at 8:00 AM the next day. The guy called me at 7:00, said he'd be there between 8-8:15, and showed up at 8:10. I had a $69 coupon (direct mail suckered me in since I needed this repaired ASAP) and the repair took an hour or so and cost me around $200.

Overall I would recommend them if you have done the majority of the heavy labor yourself and need to bring in a professional for a quick fix. They were right on time, easy to schedule an appointment with, and very professional.

Now let's see if the repair works!

Patrick M.

12/20/2013

Dang I should've consulted YELP before purchasing this service. $328 (305 plus tax?) later and I'm kicking myself in the butt. These 2 guys came out with their evil little book and said replacing my TINY rubber washer was going to cost $300. I should've asked how much they intended on charging me before letting them into my house. DO NOT use this service. I feel cheated because they said they needed to replace the whole thing first! $750, then they drop the price 400 and tell you thats the 'price per job' for just a fix. Also 'our work has no warranty' is their lame excuse for if your stuff breaks next week. Bad company. I feel cheated. And I'll never use them again. Buy the tools myself and just sit on youtube is what I'll do next time.

Dale S.

09/05/2017 12:00:00 SA

I'm a general contractor and needed some emergency service on one of our projects on a Saturday when my regular plumber wasn't available. I called South West first on Friday evening and explained that I needed them at a house that I didn't own, but I would be paying for the service. They told me they needed authorization from the homeowner for me to pay for the work. Huh? Well, okay, my client sent them the required paperwork and we had an appointment scheduled for the next morning. South West were going to be there before noon and would call me 30 minutes before they got to the site. The next day I was waiting and the time window was closing and I hadn't heard anything, so I called their office again to get an update on the time. I was told that the authorization paperwork had arrived when there was no manager on duty to approve it and it wouldn't be approved until Monday. They were going to go the whole day without telling me this. Meanwhile, my client and I were both counting on the schedule we were given the night before. I called Beacon and they sent someone out within 2 hours and had no issue with whoever was paying. I won't be calling South West again.

Bob W.

11/03/2014 12:00:00 SA

I had southwest plumbing give me a bid to replace a hose spiggot that was dripping. Southwest plumbing wanted $700.. I was shocked..Wow! I had 2 other plumbers give me bids. $300, and $200. I went with the $200. BEWARE of Southwest plumbing!

Rita V.

10/09/2014 12:00:00 SA

A decade ago I experienced upselling, over charging, and trying to convince me that my friend was getting a good deal. This case involved an older woman I was helping out, after she was sold a disposal she did not need, for a very high price, I tried to negotiate, after the fact. They eventually returned $100 to the customer, after charging about $1200 for a new disposal! I personally would not use them.

Peter B.

12/05/2013 12:00:00 SA

Terrible service! If I could give a 0 star rating, I would. They failed to show up at first time appointment and then pushed back two days. Two days later, they canceled again.

Avoid.

No coupon is worth it!

Richard N.

11/22/2015

Almost $600 total quoted for a leak that took another plumber 30 minutes and $20-30 parts. They do not give a quote until they show up - so I owed $50 for them showing up and giving an inflated estimate. I have never paid a plumber $1000 an hour before but here is a company that shamelessly quotes that as an effective rate. I would NEVER CALL THEM AGAIN. A great rip off in my opinion.

Gina C.

10/06/2010 12:00:00 SA

Oh how I wish I'd read these reviews before calling SWP!!!!

I had hired a different plumbing company (Gary Fox Plumbing) but after they failed to show up...TWICE, I called SWP. The dispatcher was friendly and an appointment was scheduled for the next day. They called me to let me know the guy was on his way and he showed up within 1/2 an hour. He was friendly and knowledgable but after he quoted me over $300 to do a job that took less than 10 minutes and that I supplied the part for, I was irritated. Because I'm in a cast on my leg and can't get around like I normally would, I agreed to have him do the work. If I could have gotten into the garage to shut the water off and then back upstairs to the shower, I could have done this job myself. Now, I'm kicking myself that I agreed. He brought me some pebbles that he said were clogging the cartridge in the shower ...... I'm doubtful..... Now I have two other problems with the shower that weren't there before! If I were able to check his work, I promise he would not have left it like this.

This type of business behavior is unacceptable. When they called me tonight to see how my service went I complained about the price. The woman was friendly and let me leave a message for a service manager, who never called me back. I'm interested to see, after similar reviews I've read, if there will be any resolution to my complaint. I will be composing a rough draft to the Attorney General, just in case. I work too hard to be taken advantage of in this way. I should have done my homework and now I can say I have learned my lesson.

I hope you won't make the same mistake. BEWARE!

Ave G.

1/25/2011

these so-called repairmen at this company are awful, dishonest, disrespectful, and a JOKE! They ripped me off for replacing a small defective part on my toilet that I could of done myself for a whole lot less and a better job of it if I would have know better. The guy was rude and said I would have to pay $75 for him just showing up. I felt trapped and taken advantage of. Terrible job, terrible company. DONT use these guys- contact someone else as I unfortunately learned my lesson.

Dinesh K.

7/17/2011

Horrible experience-- WIll not recommend to anyone.
Firstly this guys shows up 2 hours late, beyond the 2 hour window during during when he should have been there.
Secondly, takes less than a minute to examine my pilot and burner and comes up with a quote of 1350 + 250 to replace my whole Water heater.
Also, says that to service the burner and thremocouple would be as expensive to replace the whole heater.
Was trying to rip me off, as this was during the weekend and he knew that I had far less choices.
If you speak to them on the phone they will say that there is no cost, for them to come down to take a look at your probelm and it is up to us to take the service based on their diagnosis and the quote given, but then the guys started heckling me to pay him 179 dollars since he came all the way down.
Will not recommend South West plumbing to anyone. Will report these guys to BBB and Jesse.

Jorg E.

02/06/2013 12:00:00 SA

OMG what a rip off. Got a new gas stove for my wife and called southwest to run a gas line. 2 guys/1 fitting / 14 feet of hose/2holes drilled/stapeled hose to wall/by the way real attractive. One hour $1600.00 can you say bend over.
not sure how you guys hid my review but this edit might bring it back so others can see what rip off artists you are

Caleb G.

11/10/2013 12:00:00 SA

Horrible overpriced never knew a single person that had a good exoerience with this company. Have some pride.

Kari H.

5/29/2014

I wish I could rate them as no stars but they were friendly so I suppose they deserve one star. My husband installed an air gap incorrectly it seemed since it was leaking (basically lots of water under the sink). I called two other places but they were booked for the day and we were desperate. Southwest plumbing could come out that morning so I scheduled them! I suppose I should have known there was an issue since they weren't busy and the good places were booked up!! Anyhow, he gave me the bid of $500 and said what all needed to be fixed which sounded like a lot of things... sort of. 45 minutes later and replacement of one hose he was done. Tested it but there was still spraying water - undid everything and then said the faucet was broken and needed to be replaced but I'd need to pick out a faucet and call them for installation. So, they came to our house and we had leaking water under our kitchen sink and they left after I'd paid $500 with water still leaking under our sink... My husband found the problem as a hole in the supply line to our faucet. Replaced the supply line and leak fixed. Still can't possibly understand how fixing a leak for the air gap costs $500. I just finished talking to the plumbing manager about the cost and basically they aren't going to do anything. I also complained that they didn't even fix the problem - leaks under the sink!! I will never, ever hire (even if we are desperate again) Southwest Plumbing. They charge by project not hour which they claim will save you money - don't be fooled. If it saved you money they wouldn't do it. I think they are an unethical company which shouldn't be in business. How you could charge $500 for 45 minutes in good faith is deplorable.

K H.

10/11/2015 12:00:00 SA

We had a pipe leak under our bathroom sink and called for help. Vincent and Art came and they were both incredibly professional and explained everything they needed to do. They discovered some old pipe work that needed work and were very upfront on the cost and need for repair. We have requested them to come back out this week to replace our very old hot water heater. Highly recommend Vince and Art. Great team! I only gave 4 stars because they are a bit pricier than the competition.

Joan H.

10/01/2015 12:00:00 SA

Rigo and Alfredo were very professional. I believe that I was charged a lot for the approximately 18 of pipe. They literally cut it out and glued new one in place. It only took about forty five minutes. Next time and I hope there won't be one I plan to do some home work.

Jenny H.

10/01/2013 12:00:00 SA

I had a home warranty and they used this company to replace a few leaks in my home. They replaced valves under my bathroom sink that were leaking and a leaky shower valve. The next day my downstairs bathroom and hallway were flooded. Sure enough did not fix the leak and ruined my hardwood floors. I called and left several messages regarding the damage done to my floors and sill leaking bathroom. Never received a return call, then when I called again they took no responsibility for the floors.

Connie K.

9/21/2015

It's an old house with old pipes and valves and years of service calls. Of all the plumbing companies I've had out here, I appreciate the honesty and expertise of the staff at SW Plumbing. Their customer service is outstanding. From my email to them about an issue from a previous job, 2 of their top people came out to see for themselves. The followup technicians, Vince and Art, were knowledgeable and effective, as well as considerate.

Vin L.

9/15/2015

Troy H. was very respectful and knowledgeable. He provided all quotes asked for and never tried to upsell me even with our not getting everything done I wanted a quote for. His assistant Colin was also very nice and works well with the customer. Prices overall are decent. Only hiccup was our first evening appointment was canceled due to another job taking too long. On the plus side the dispatch called us to let us know and the company worked with me to get here on a day that fit my schedule.

Taj C.

8/30/2015

The guys were good. They showed up on time and dealt with some nasty stuff. Because we had some idea of what was wrong, I think we did okay with the price. Otherwise I had a feeling we would have paid more for a drain snake.

Tricia D.

11/25/2015

We called to have someone come out to fix our clogged drain and they said someone would out between 10-12 the next day. While sitting and waiting around they decided to call at 11:00 and tell us they can't help us because our septic hasn't been pumped in the last 12 months. Would have been nice to know this when we first called and they SCHEDULED our appointment. Won't ever be calling them again. Horrible service.

Amanda S.

11/28/2010

If there were a lower rating than one star, Southwest Plumbing would get it. However, the magnet that came in the mail was what made me call them...so props to the marketing department.
Two men showed up to my house to investigate a periodic leak in my kitchen ceiling of a two story house (kitchen on bottom floor). The trainee trekked on in with his muddy shoes and went upstairs to see if he could figure out where the drip was coming from. When he left, we noticed that he left all the bathroom cabinets open. I had a badly sprained ankle at the time so I was sitting on the couch as the primary plumber stood over me and gave me every worst case scenario story (ie: there was a woman whose whole ceiling fell down on her) and then told me that my $2000 deductible (mind you my insurance though very good will not cover the cost of the pipes, just the damage done to the property and repairs required to fix the property damage) would only cover part of it...who knows how much damage will be behind that drywall when we get in there. When they left, I didn't know what to do or how I was going to find the money to get this fixed with all my current medical bills piling up. My roommate (we are both females) suggested after they left that maybe we should turn on the shower upstairs (directly above the leak), run it for about 5 min, and then see if the dripping increased. It turns out...it did. The guys had not even tried that idea, nor did they suggest any other options. I then had a friend come over and cut out a small hole in the drywall, re-caulk the part of the pipe that was leaking and patch the ceiling back up.
Basically, I was not impressed with the service I got and will never use them again.

Gustavo L.

09/12/2011 12:00:00 SA

Way overpriced!!!!

He spent about 10 min, charged me $164 and used my supplied parts. To make things worse, refused to use the $35 discount that was advertised on their yelp page. He said it wasn't enough work to be able to use it. Never again!!

Judy C.

11/29/2011

*********READ THIS!!!! *****************
I called S.W. Plumbing to fix my furnace since I had a sticker on it showing they'd serviced it in the past. The guy, Don, arrived and worked for 10 min. then told me the furnace was DEAD! I asked what exactly was wrong and he fumbled for words and told me it had a short somewhere...

He then presented a bill for $4,700. for a NEW furnace. I am sure he saw a woman alone in a cold house. Told me he could have it installed in 2 hours! Really!?

I sent him packing and found a local company SEATTLE HEATING AND A/C. This is a local company and they discovered there was a broken switch. I paid $369. for over two hours of work. DONE!

DO NOT USE SOUTHWEST PLUMBING! IF IT COULD RATE THIS COMPANY MINUS ONE STAR I WOULD. I AM ALSO REPORTING THIS SCAM TO BBB!

Dana C.

1/14/2012

I called southwest because my furnace stopped working.Scott P. their technician came to my home and diagnosed my furnace as shot. I was then quoted $4100.00 to replace it. I was a bit skeptical,so got a second opinion.Long story but had it fixed for $109.00,all it needed was a good cleaning and I am warm again. Southwest is dishonest and too expensive.

Diane H.

5/18/2012

Used a coupon for plugged toilet. It took a couple visits but Jim did an excellent job taking care of the problem. No more plugged toilet. I respect a business that really takes care of their customers if the problem is not solved. This is one business I'd use again. Thanks again.

Jen D.

8/22/2012

THIS IS A COMPANY TO STAY AWAY FROM!!!!! Richard FARMER their on call plumber came out to give a quote and I have never seen the likes of anything so shady. 1 min inspecting the situation and he asks me if I am on heart medication...the quote is $855.00. When I voiced my concern over the price he asked me to hold on a minute. He went out to his truck and returned 2 min later...well for you I can do the job for $300.00. This guy is a joke, a used car salesman!!! If I leave here today I can't give you that price if I have to come back. This company is scamming people in need. I ended up calling another company that came in and did the work for less than $75.00 so how much of that $855.00 would have been profit in their pockets???

Lue B.

10/04/2012 12:00:00 SA

I've used Southwest Plumbing for years but never again! In the past I've received courteous service & whenever the plumber was delayed, he'd call. Great service. Besides that, I collect their coupons that are readily available.

Last week I called & made a reservation and the plumber was a no show. When I called one hour after the window I was told that my reservation was not in the computer.

I made a 2nd reservation and as the window had 15 minutes remaining, I called SW. I was told that the plumber was delayed. I could not wait longer because I had an appointment and rescheduled for Saturday. The woman said they had 2 addressed for me asked me if my address was XXX. I said no. I've lived in my current house almost 20 years.

By Saturday, however, I was no longer trusting the process so I called SW at the beginning of my window to confirm the appointment. The woman who answered paused, then asked me to HOLD. She came back on line & said, When did you make this appointment? I said, Oh, no! They haven't screwed up my appointment again! She replied in the RUDEST tone imaginable, I didn't ask you all that! I just asked you when you made the appointment. Hold on! I have to call my dispatcher. CLICK!

She put me on HOLD again and the next voice I heard was a man saying, Hello. I asked if this were SW Plumbing. I told him I was waiting for the woman who said she had to contact dispatch and he said he was in dispatch. I explained my situation. He looked in the computer and said he'd call me right back.

After an hour he returned my call telling me that SW had been to my home several times and I had been a no show so they had put me in the Do not service file! I have NEVER--not ONE TIME--been absent when SW Plumbing came to my home. Not ONE TIME! I assured the man of this fact and he said, I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do. They've put you in the 'Do No Service' file!

I politely thanked him for returning my call and assured him there are other plumbers in Seattle and that I would not be bothering SW again. I won't.

C A.

11/02/2012 12:00:00 SA

Upsell upsell upsell, bordering on extortion.

I had a drain issue and they came out, looked at the drain, and said I needed to replace a very specific piece of pipe further down the line. It's possible this was right, but I said I wanted to get a second opinion and was basically told that they were going to charge me for the visit (having done nothing) which was half the price of what it would have been to have the pipe replaced.

I also had them out to do some routine sewer maintenance and they used scare tactics to try to get me to do multi-thousand dollar work on my sewer line. Thankfully this time I said no and got a smaller local company out to give me a second opinion.

Two stars only because they came on time and were courteous.

Piglet R.

11/07/2012 12:00:00 SA

They came to our rescue a few months ago to repair our boiler for our circulating hot water heating system. They replaced the pump, and did a diagnostic. We were told that there were 'problems' with the boiler that needed to be addressed, and/or a possible replacement of the system was needed, and to call them back for an estimate. We never called since we got a bad feeling from the tech who constantly told us how much he hated working on boilers while working on the boiler.

The boiler acted up last week when we turned it on for the winter. I called another repair group today and they told me the reason my boiler was acting so strange is because the last person to work on it set 2 valves in the incorrect position, shutting the water off to the system. They did a diagnostic and said the system is in awesome shape and should last a few more years, no other repairs needed.

I feel totally scammed by South West. What a bunch of dishonest people.

Mr. C.

12/11/2012 12:00:00 SA

My review of Southwest Plumbing is not good. But its important and fair for me to be honest. Because they did not get the job they bidded on. So I do not know weather the job would have been done correctly.

It was about 7 years in 2005. My smaller electric water heater burned out at my house in Seattle. I went to Home Depot and bought a new one. It was a smaller one. Not tiny but not a big fat tall one either. I personally brought it down to the basement, unpacked it and litterally sat it right next to the other one. All the 2 technitions needed to do is disconect the old ones electrical connection and plumbing connections and trade there location. Physically they would had to move both of them 20 about inches.

I was going to handle all clean up and the disposal of the old water heater. The circuit to the heater was of coarse turned off and I also prepared by simply turning the water supply knob off. The job would have taken them 20 to 25 minutes. Maybe less.

The head, more dominant technition gave be a price tag of $700.00!
Keep in mind this was about 7 years ago in 2005. I paid the minimum charge for them to come out. Which I think was $40.00. I should have been suspicious of this first Red Flag. The female dispacher would not even give me a ball park estimate of what it might be. Even though I told her to the best of my abiltiy of the work and easy acsess of the job. She would not even comment on any ball park price. As I recall it was like she was under orders not to comment' on any price.

The $700.00 on this job was an obvious GAUGE JOB!. I suuspect there are a lot of home owners that run into the same thing. The luck ones are the people with the presence of mind to pay the minimum charge and look carefully for another plumber or even a competant hany man.

I have heard that the owner of Southwest Plumbing is a good guy that even ownes his own yacht. He runs a very high overhead expensive operation. His fleet of trucks with 2 men per truck. His head quaters on Delridge way in West Seattle. With the spendy out side thermometer sign. You don't have to be a math wiz to figure out that having his picture on the back of city buses in both Seattle and Tacoma and problely other locations is very spendy for him. He is an abitious guy. Theres nothing wrong with that. Keep in mind. His expenses is passed on to his customers who are getting over charged!

Last but not least. He may be a guy that nets a million a year. Then again he may not be. Looks can be decieving. He does provide jobs to people and I have heard he is a good guy. I just want this to be an honest review on Yelp. CM

L A.

03/12/2013 12:00:00 SA

I would not recommend anybody to use the services of this company. Their repairmen are not trustworthy.

One cold winter our furnace stopped working. Temperatures out side were below freezing and inside around 50 degrees. To warm things up, we used the fireplace. Since it is an older home, it also had a blower which did an OK job heating the main living areas. We could see the temperature in the house using the thermostat.

We called South West Plumbing from advertisement in phone book. We were a bit desperate and didn't get other quotes. The repairman checked out the furnace, came into house clomping in dirty boots, pulled the thermostat off the wall and did some analysis I assume. Prognosis was that our blower was damaged and not worth fixing - $1000 charge.

After he left, we noticed the thermostat was no longer working, and we were still unable to heat the house using furnace. Hauling wood was getting old. The thermostat was working fine before he started taking things apart - and was broken after he was finished - coincidence?

We called and repairman came back to the house to inform me the thermostat was broken and not worth repairing. He did not have my style of thermostat in his truck, but did have a more expensive ~$500 model. I was again in a tough spot, as we needed the house warm, with 3 kids under 5 years old, so signed the paperwork.

I felt like I was held up, ripped off, and trying to work with the company about this left me totally unsatisfied.

Val H.

04/05/2013 12:00:00 SA

Like many other people said, I wish I'd checked Yelp too, before I called South West Plumbing. Someone else mentioned that they must be able to afford heavy TV advertising from the EXORBITANT prices they charge. I think that's very true.

I'm a 50 year old woman, and I take care of my 87 year old mother at her house. I had originally called my husband to come from Port Townsend to Redmond to fix what I thought was a totally fried garbage disposal....I mean the thing was more than 30 years old, and wouldn't run when I flipped the switch, and I smelled a burning electrical smell. Husby told me to try pressing the reset button on the disposal, but nothing happened. He was all tied up with his work, so we decided we'd better call a plumber out to Mom's house to install a new disposal. I mean how much could it be? I expected anywhere from $200 to at most, $500 for the job. Parts and labor.

I'm pretty handy, and have done some very minor plumbing work in my lifetime, but I didn't trust myself to buy and install a new disposal. HOWEVER, I'm very knowledgable about disposal prices, because my husband recently replaced our unit in Port Townsend. We paid $99 for it. It also took him less than a half hour to install it. So my estimate of around $99 to $200 for a disposal plus labor, I figured was about right.

I looked in the phone book for a plumber. I chose South West because A) I remembered them from heavy TV ads (that shoulda been my first clue) and B) there was a coupon in the phone book for $39 off any plumbing job. I called and the receptionist was extremely friendly. I wanted them to come out the next day, and I chose a time window of 1:30 to 3:30.

They showed up early, by about a half an hour. That was OK with me. Like others mentioned, there were two of them, a journeyman and an apprentice. The journeyman confirmed with me that I was having problems with the disposal, and I told him I was sure it was fried. He said, well, maybe not. It could be jammed, and I SWEAR I heard him say that they wouldn't charge me if that were the case. So he got under the sink and showed me that there was an allen wrench attached to the side of the disposal, and all I had to do was stick it in a hole in the bottom of the disposal and twist, and that would unjam it. So *I* did as he told me. (Yep, I did the WORK). And wouldn't you know it, I switched on the disposal and voila! It worked.
So I thought that was it, and I was happy I wouldn't have to pay anything. Not even a call-out fee (which I expected). BUT WAIT. He said that by the sound of the disposal, he could tell it was on it's way out, and perhaps, since they were already there, they might as well replace it, so I wouldn't have to call them out again in the future. I said, well, OK, and asked him how much it would be. He brought out the EVIL BOOK, and gee, the prices for disposers was right there on the first page. Hm. He said the best disposal to get would be a 3/4 HP that was very powerful and had a 3 year warranty (although he said the disposal would also last as long as my current one). Price? $1000!! I told him I didn't really need a disposal that would chew up rocks, since I put most of my food scraps in the compost bucket anyway. So I asked how much a cheaper disposal would be. There was only one other option.....the cheaper disposal was $795 not counting labor. Ha.......I knew that top of the line disposals didn't cost anymore than about $350 or so.

Then he got sort of patronizing toward me. He insisted I needed that 3/4 HP. I said I really didn't have the funds to pay $1000 for a disposal, but thank you anyway. He then kept pressuring me, and I could totally tell he was out of plumbing mode and heavily into upsell mode. I kept saying no, that I would deal with my old disposal as long as it worked, and then think about replacing it later. He kept at me, and I almost was at the point where I was going to say, please get the hell out of my mother's house. I kept politely saying no, and he finally gave up. So THEN he gets out his invoice book. So I asked him, are you charging me a call-out fee? And he said no, it's $200 to unjam a disposal. Huh? I twisted the stupid allen wrench; *I* should be getting $200, not HIM. And I KNOW (well I think I know) that I heard him say the unjamming the unit was free. I bit my tongue and wrote out a check for $200. Yeah. $200 to tell me to twist an allen wrench. RIP OFF.

After they left I did some research online. I found disposals that had more HP than 3/4 for MUCH less than $795 or for that matter, $1000. I realized the prices he quoted me were more than 100% mark up!! I actually tried to find disposals that cost more than $795. I didn't find any.

LIke the others, I can say they were polite, professional, attentive and very friendly. But that doesn't make up for totally ripping people off.

So.......my husby will be coming out to Mom's in the next couple weeks and he'll be installing a $99 disposal for free.

Kara And Rob L.

08/04/2013 12:00:00 SA

We recently bought a house and the smell of gas was really really bad , we phoned South West Plumbing who answered immediately on a late Thursday evening , gave advice to switch off the gas supply and sent Bob around the next day .

Bob phoned us to inform us of his expected time window , was on time, diagnosed the problem quickly and fixed it promptly. We were very satisfied with the service we received, workmanship done and will definitely use South West Plumbing and Bob B again .

Then only reason this is not 5 star is the cost of this was way over anything we imagined , again Bob went out of his way and appled any and all discount he could but it cost us $750 to replace a piece of pipe according to their flat rate book !

Hooray H.

8/22/2014

This is a place that would tell you at 1:57 that they cannot come for the appointment at 2:00. And the lady called sounds so happy.

Noah M.

07/07/2015 12:00:00 SA

Horrible customer service. Called on a Friday about getting my A/C looked at, after 4 days when they were finally scheduled to come out they no showed on the appointment even after being called several times and pushing the techs window out later each time I spoke with them. No apologies, no explanations, will never call again.

Barbara R.

11/29/2016

Absolutely HORRIBLE customer service. On Monday Nov. 28th I was given a 3-5 window for service. I arranged my schedule (including missing my daughter's soccer game) accordingly. At 4:30 I called to see what the ETA was. I was told by Mark, in dispatch that it was very busy and it would possible be closer to 7pm. At 7:15 I called again and Mark apologized but said they would not make it that evening but they would for sure be there the next day, Tuesday, Nov 29th between 1-3. I canceled a doctor appointment to be home at that window. Guess what? No one showed up. I called at three and Mark claimed he had talked to me already to tell me they would be late. Not true. I was then told it might be after 5. Guess what? I had to ask my ex husband to stay at the house so I could coach basketball at 6. I called them and was told that Mark would call me back. He did not. After getting home at 7:15 and still no plumber I called again and was put on hold for 15 minutes. Then I asked the receptionist to physically tell Mark to call me. She did so. Still no call. After calling back and being put on hold two more times I finally talked to Mark who said no one would be able to come out that evening. I told him how disappointing their customer service was and told them we would use someone else.

Liam M.

7/18/2016

Chose southwest plumbing at first because they were available at 7pm on a Friday night. The receptionist had no knowledge and would not discuss any project details or likely costs/labor time at all on the phone but insisted on a $49 assessment fee first. The southwest plumbing tech then quoted $1000 to run a line from a new kitchen sink to an existing drain after a countertop remodel. I called a another plumber in west seattle (near our house) They discussed the proposed project with me over the phone and estimated about 30-60 minutes of work with a waivable $55 assessment fee to confirm his estimate. His team then did the work in about an hour for $225 including parts which was very reasonable and the service was courteous and prompt. Got the sense southwest is a huge company with a large overhead and poor communication between the person answering the phone and the techs. They care more about overcharging than keeping business. As a new homeowner I will be going with another plumbing service for the inevitable plumbing issues that come with homeownership.

Dave W.

6/16/2011

I had used them before with decent results. This time was different. I had a clog in a toilet which I had already snaked to no avail. I spoke to them and gave them this information. They send someone out, who tries to snake the clog to no avail of course and then tells me it will be $200 and you probably need to replace the toilet. I asked him how long it took and he said not sure, I just look in a book and charge what it tells me. He then quotes me an additional $900 to replace the toilet. Ridiculous!!!! ( I did it myself for $160)

So I try to complain to the service manager and of course his inbox is full, probably too many complaints. I leave a message with a live person to have him call me and off course he never called.

STAY AWAY as there are so many other options in Seattle.

Phil A.

09/10/2012 12:00:00 SA

Please be careful people! I had them out for an estimate to replace a shower faucet and they said the part would cost 499.00 and the labor just over $200 - I asked the guy if he was sure about the price of the replacement cartridge and he double-checked and said it was the right price. I knew the part would be somewhere between $40 and $50 dollars and gave him a chance to correct himself but he looked me right in eye and lied to me!! I went out and bought the part myself for $48.00 and had a friend who knew something about these do it for me.

I wonder how many unsuspecting people fall for this sort of deliberate shakedown(?) This company will NEVER hear from me again

Joe C.

10/08/2012 12:00:00 SA

It is a very unpleased experience. I have to settle my dispute in court.

Completely betray consumer trusts, and always persuade customer for buying those experience services that you don't needed.

I will never do business with this company again. Goes for your local plumber!

Gerlinde K.

12/05/2012 12:00:00 SA

We operate a pet store and had a faulty unit heater. We asked for them to come and were advised that somebody would come within a few hours. We provided two telephone numbers and after they failed to show up we were told that they do not send technicians out without another telephone call. While it is not freezing yet we have some animals that appreciate the warmth of a good heater.
We would not recommend this company to anybody

TK K.

12/29/2012

Avoid these guys at all costs!!!

I feel obligated to share my experience with this company so that other folks don't repeat the same kind of tragedy.

On Monday evening, we noticed our toilet start to clog. When I flashed it, water backed up and was going to overflow. Some sewage water also came out of the bathtub.

So we called South West Plumbing and they came next morning. My wife signed a contract to pay $430 to snake the pipe (which I now believe is outrageously expensive). They took off the toilet and tried to snake it through but it didn't work. It was at this time I read Yelp reviews and began to be very concerned about their work.

I decided to go home early and have direct talk with them. When I returned, they suggested a camera be used to see what is really happening inside the pipe (which they said they will do without charge). They kept saying they have no idea how much the overall cost will be but said it could be between $1,000 - 10,000!!!
Then I asked what happens if we decided to not to use them any further.

What they did was just unbelievable.

The plumber rewrote the contract and asked us to pay for taking away and putting back the toilet. Price? $220+tax! Not only is it illegal to make a customer pay for the service he/she didn't agree to, they also did it in front of my eyes. And of course, they were not going to do a camera thing.

Before they left, they told us that our crawl space is full of sewage water and the toilet cannot be used at all. But the fact of matter is, they didn't even go into the crawl space (it turned out they were wrong)

Oh, I also forgot to mention, they left black smears on our white walls when they pulled in a hose.

Use this company if you would like to pay for more trouble.

Andrea L.

7/16/2015

We needed (2) outside hose bibs replaced and wanted to install a new garbage disposer that would work with our septic system. The South West technicians listened to our request and provided us with a solid estimate. We agreed to have the work done. They worked efficiently and in a very professional manner. Upon completion of the work they clearly explained what they did and made sure the work area was clean before they left. We would use them again and recommend them to other customers.

Josh G.

11/19/2014

Of course when the weather turns super cold, our furnace goes out. Everyone I called was booked up for weeks. South West was able to send someone out the next day. Dominic wasn't able to fix the unit that day, but came back first thing Monday morning with the parts to get it done. What I thought was a particularly great piece of customer service was Dom called me that night when he got home at 6:30 just to make sure our house was warm. The repair wasn't cheap, but the service was great.

Sally T.

12/27/2009

When I managed to grind a shot glass up in my disposal, I called South West. They arrived a couple of hours after they said they would (but a nice dispatcher kept me informed).
They told me up front that they bid the job and do not work by the hour. I should have hung up at that moment.
They looked at the disposal and announced that because I'd loosened some screws trying to see if I could fix it myself, the seal was broken and would have to be replaced. This was all said in a very dramatic fashion with lots of head shaking.
Even more worrisome to them was a little rust inside the machine. They said I should replace the whole thing. I asked if the rust was affecting the performance and they admitted it wasn't but insisted it would be wise to buy a new disposal for only $700.
By now, they had my disposal taken apart and the shard of glass removed. I stopped them and asked for the bid. Five minutes had passed they they were figuring it might take another 10 to 15 minutes. They got out a laminated book and looked up something then announced it would be almost $400. I'm sure some people would look at their disconnected plumbing and say okay but I told them to put it back the way it was and leave.
I called Roto Rooter, who appeared within the hour, quoted me half the price, threw in a part and a free conversation about the Ukraine. Roto Rooter also quotes the job. If I wasn't in a rush, I'd have called around until I could find someone who would work by the hour. Quoting the job just invites shabby work and an inflated price.
My sister-in-law shared her SW story after I complained at Christmas dinner. She called them when she had a clogged toilet. The snaked it and had the problem cleared up in five minutes. They wrote her a bill (no bid beforehand) for over $500. She paid it but protested it later on and after threatening to Get Jesse they reduced the bill by more than $200. Only problem is that it took three more calls to get them to actually mail the refund.

M C.

2/28/2017

I have used Southwest before and been extremely satisfied (which is why I gave them 2 stars instead of 1), but recently we had a water leak that required a plumber to be called. Southwest is a straight price company vs hourly work company. In the case of the work that was done, it was communicated to me that the job would cost a certain amount, which seemed a bit high to me, but at the same time the plumber communicated that it was a complicated job to do and would take a while so we approved the work. We should have known better. They were in and out in 3 hours, and while they did good work, we were charged well over $400 an hour to do the work. The manager maintained that we saved a lot of money because we weren't charged for pulling out and reseating the toilet (due to the water damage the floor has to be replaced so the toilet wasn't going to be reseat anyway). I was a repeat customer, but I will be finding a new go-to plumber.

Elmo G.

06/10/2009 12:00:00 SA

prices are exorbinate; job finished incorrectly and had to be fixed. they charged me over $500 for a five-minute repair job. no apologies or explanations for the fact it wasn't done right the first time.

this company also has a very poor rating on Angie's List.

unrelated to the service issue i called them on, my faucet started leaking mysteriously after they did a whole-house checkover (another reviewer mentions this practice)-- i was not around when they checked my faucet and now it is dripping. it was fine that morning, no history of problems.

at the end of the visit, they kept emphasizing to call them when the faucet started acting up. i will not be doing so.

Mary H.

9/30/2014

Who likes to call a plumber, you know it only means $$$. I checked online for reviews on plumbers and found many positive ones for South West Plumbing. I understand why now. Easy to make an appointment, very friendly customer service agent who booked it. They gave me a 2 hour window of time from 11am to 1pm. At 10:30 they called me to let me know they were on their way, a few minutes before they arrived they called again to let me know they would be at my door in less than 10min, so arrived at 11am. Two CLEAN nice and polite plumbers came in and went right to work after my husband explained the issues. They laid carpet down so not to make any mess and worked very hard to clear the drains. Then spent time explaining to us exactly what they did and gave us some maintenance drain cleaner and made sure I knew how to use it. VERY Professional along with being very polite, my only regret was not having some cookies for them because they did such a good job and were so nice. I then received a phone call a few hours after they left to make sure I was happy with their service. I am saving this contact just in case they are needed again down the road, I found them very professional, polite, and top of their game for repairs.

Lisa K.

01/02/2017 12:00:00 SA

I had a plumbing emergency (sewer backup!) and was desperate. I did not have the luxury to vet plumbing companies. I chose SW because they could come the same evening. The job, solution became more and more complex as the evening wore on and my attempts to understand were met disrespectfully by the job supervisor. He actually threatened to leave and give me a day or two to think about it. Because I had no viable options at that point, I agreed to pay what I assumed was an obscene amount of money for them to finish the job. The next day, when the job was to be completed, the problem and solution changed and I was told I should have more work done then and there, paying thousands more to prevent the problem from happening again. I choose not to and requested their recommendations be provided in writing. I was told that I would be given this when I paid the remaining half of my balance which I did the next business day. No written recommendations were available and I was told the job supervisor had them. Within a day or two, I received a call from a woman inquiring about my level of satisfaction. She was the only positive interaction I had with this company and I was honest with her. She told me that a manager would be calling me right away. A week went by and I never heard from anyone and the job supervisor had not forwarded the written recommendations as I had been told he would. I called back and spoke to a manager who did not address any of my concerns which included my downspout drainage being buried at an angle so that it was backing up into the gutter, the disregard for my yard and never receiving the written recommendations. I had another company come out for a second opinion, based on what I was verbally told needed to occur. I now understand why SW would not provide a written recommendation given no additional work is necessary. Although, it is no fun to work with sewer related issues, it is not an excuse to take advantage of people in desperate situations. I wish there was a no star option!

Mimi L.

06/09/2013 12:00:00 SA

Dishonest and want to do unnecessary work to make more $$

Due to a physical condition I decided to leave the work to the professional this time. So I called South West Plumbing for an in home estimate. They came in took a good look and told me that I need to replace the whole kitchen faucet because it's broken. My garden faucet needed to be replace. And for that, the plumber said he has to take apart part of the wall to find the pipe so he can replace the broken part. You know, as crazy as it sounds. This guy did a dumb move setting it up like this. Usually I don't have to take apart the wall to fix something like this. But he left me no choice. If I was doing it I would not set it up this way. He said it with confident. He gave me a detail list of price on each project. It was a total over $800 dollars. That's not including patching up the wall for the second project. I thanked the plumber and his technician and that was the end.
The leaking kitchen faucet could be fixed with a simple change of rubber ring. And the broken garden faucet just need to be replaced. Both parts should cause less than $10. Now I don't mind paying for the labor since I can't walk or bend down normally. But this so called professional wanted to charge me more for work that's completely unnecessary. He said he's been doing it for over 20 years. You would think that for a guy so experienced he would know how to fix it like a pro. But from I've seen, either he knows too well or he doesn't know anything at all. I dislike service providers that are dishonest to their customers. This is a company I will never call again.
If you need plumbing work done in your house, get at least 3 estimates. A good service provider is hard to come by now a day. Like my friend said, sometimes an in home estimate is for them to come in and see how much you can afford base on how nice your house look. Don't be afraid to spend a little more time shopping around for service providers. It will save you a lot of $$!

Jenny B.

02/10/2012 12:00:00 SA

I wish I had read yelp first. Way too expensive. I feel robbed. They were so nice and professional, but $800 for a new faucet install? Really? I don't even like the faucet style.

Celeste G.

11/03/2014 12:00:00 SA

I had a plumbing problem and Jon and Dan came to the rescue! They were extremely professional, on time, polite, and knew exactly what they were doing. Thanks guys!

Ramesh S.

02/07/2012 12:00:00 SA

I called them to get a Quote for replacing 10 angle stops and to check what was wrong with my water heater. For the 10 angle stops they gave me a quote of 1583, whereas the competition gave me a quote of 390. I was staggered by the difference and checked if it was for the same parts and it was. They just took a look at the water heater and said it is almost out of warranty and to check what has gone wrong and repalce it would cost me more than to replace it. They gave me a quote of 1283 to replace the water heater. On a whim I called GE, the manufacturer and the heater had about 6 months of warranty left and they directed me on the phone to do the diagnosis and found that the element needs to be placed. I called another plumber and got it replaced for 90 bucks.

Scott C.

05/04/2015 12:00:00 SA

I can hardly pull myself to laeve a rating! My mother's toilet quit working and she called SouthWest Plumbing. What a HORRIBLE mistake! My father passed away leaving my mother to deal with the household problems that she has never had to deal with before. she was extremely upset when she called me and told me they were going to charge her 19,000$!!! The 2 men from the company were still there by the time I showed up with my Friend..Who is a true plumber! They were shaking there heads like they could not believe i had told her to get a second opinion! They told my mother it would take 4 days to find and fix the broken pipe and may need to rent an excavator! I told them thank you for coming and we would call if we decided to use them. They left but not until they took my 77 year old mother for over $500 dollars! I am disgusted! How do they sleep at nite! They are a bunch of work on commission RIP OFFS! My friend fixed the pipe in a day and saved her $18,000!!! This company is a mius 10 in my book! You want to be ripped off...then call SouthWeast plumbing and make an appointment!

R.E. S.

12/26/2014

Do not use them. I feel totally ripped off by South West Plumbing. This company has come to my house 3-4 times in the past year for the same problem, a clogged drain. I've spent a couple thousand dollars, purchased a new toilet (not cheap) and the problem persists. They were never here more than an hour, but they NEVER FIXED THE PROBLEM. When I called to complain one month after they had been out to service a clogged drain and less than a year after the new toilet, and the drain was once again clogged, I was told they would check the warranty and come out to service me free of charge if it applied. Of course I never hear back. ABSOLUTELY THE WORST. Not endorsed by the Better Business Bureau even though they have been around since 1974,

Patrick B.

02/10/2015 12:00:00 SA

had them come out to give me an estimate to install a new kitchen sink and faucet, we purchased the exact same size sink but a single drain instead of the current double is the biggest change...got a written estimate for $ 1750 and change...whatever! we landed up hiring a general handy man who installed it for just under $350 and that included an hour of travel time charge! yuk! do not be fooled by the super sweet appt maker on the phone ...she was super polite and informative but when they get to ur house the fangs come out! run fast from this company

D P.

12/12/2014 12:00:00 SA

I am totally embarrassed; I was scammed, better than anyone else, by Audie at Southwest Plumbing!
I called Southwest plumbing to verify the integrity of my gas line shutoff valve on my stubbed out gas line to the gas kitchen stove. (at the request of the appliance installers)
Audie advised me that he could only warranty it if I agreed to replace the valve, and I did.
My insurance company asked for justification why the replacement was nearly twice the reasonable and customary cost for this replacement.
Every time I called Southwest Plumbing to get this justification, they were hostile, would not offer any justification, and offered me a $50 rebate.
I had two additional companies provide me estimates for this same work, and both were less than 50% of of the cost I paid Southwest Plumbing.
In addition, I was advised that the valve installed by Southwest Plumbing, was a unique valve, tied to a unique gas line to the stove. When I called to see if my current gas line connector was compatible, no one ever returned my call.
But wait, good new! I did recently receive a nice Christmas Card from Southwest plumbing,

Darren N.

12/10/2016 12:00:00 SA

My experience with South West Plumbing started off a bit rocky. I filled out their online form for scheduling service and all I got in return was the sound of crickets. I then picked up the phone and scheduled an appointment with a human. Perfect. I was told they would come out that same day between 3:00 and 5:00. But, no call from the dispatcher and nobody showed. Hmmm... could I have misunderstood? More on that in a bit. So, the next day I get a call from dispatch telling me they would be at my place at the scheduled time. Great! So, the guys show up in the evening around 5:00. Brent Bates and Drew Everett were on the task. They quickly found the problem -- leaky pipe underneath the house. Both of them were very professional and had a lot to provide in terms of explaining what type of pipes I had, how they worked, the newer technology for no-frost pipes, etc. I thought they were both awesome, worked quickly, and slam-dunked the repair. I would definitely have these guys out again if necessary. Now, about the possible misunderstanding on the schedule. I was given an extra 5% discount for waiting an extra day so, evidently no misunderstanding. So, the scheduling bit of my experience was not that great but the actual plumbers doing the job were excellent. I would give 5 stars if they had responded to my web application for an appointment.

Carol H.

8/29/2013

I live near Woodland Park Zoo and the sink to my washing machine fell off the wall it was anchored to. My basement was flooded with over 1/2 inch of water. They sent Jesse over to fix it . $1.300.00 later I had a new sink and a basement full of water. I asked Jesse if he had a SHOP VAC,. he said he only has a dry shop vac. A PLUMBER WHO DOESN'T HAVE A WET/DRY \SHOP VAC, GIVE ME A BREAK,. He told me to just mop it up myself. I am 65 years old, bad knees etc. My amazing son came over and mucked up the basement. My late uncle Archie was a plumber and he used a shop vac on the basement where I was living when I was about 10., South West came out years and years ago when my water heater flooded and they used a SHOP VAC to clean up the mess. I think Jesse their tech was just lazy. Had my own shop vac not gone out on my I could have cleaned up the mess in 20 minutes. Turned out it took a few hours to sweep the water to the drain pipe etc. SW Was prompt in arriving but I was not at all happy with the mess they left this time. GRRRRR UPDATE 9-4-2013. I GOT A CALL from Greg, the Manager at South West, He apologized profusely for JESSEs actions. I had a problem come up over the weekend where I need to have outside faucets replaced. Greg said that he can make this situation right for me. Shoot me in the foot but I am going to give them a 2nd chance. My previous experience with South West many years ago was good. So I am giving them another chance. I will post my results. I hope that it will be favorable. Carol..
.

Kristine F.

03/11/2014 12:00:00 SA

CRAZY PRICES!!! Called SWP for an estimate to repair a few issues around the house. After reviewing the estimate, almost choked. Any idea how much to install hammer arrestors? Try $315. Any idea how much to rebuild toilet tank? Try $274. Walk into your local home improvement or plumbing supply store and price these items out and you'll discover their labor/mark up is HUGE. Needless to say, I wrote a check for the dispatch fee and said adios. I will say they were courteous, on-time- but way over priced.

Robb R.

4/30/2013

I had just bought a new house and experienced one of the worst case scenarios - one of my main outflow lines had collapsed and now I had a bathroom full of sewage. On a Sunday even. This is the first time I've ever had to deal with a major plumbing issue (I've rented up until now) and South West Plumbing was awesome. This ended up being a 3 day operation to replace the main outflow line and I was very lucky that South West sent Andrew B. out to help. He was incredibly patient, answered my questions, explained all of my next steps, and always made sure I knew where they were at every step of this process. I've experienced great service before, but this was above and beyond. He and his crew were the bright spot through this whole ordeal. Also, kudos to South West for having Andrew stay with the entire job until completion. It was awesome working with a familiar face throughout the entire process. Hopefully I won't have any major plumbing catastrophes again anytime soon, but if I do I'll go back to South West and ask for Andrew B.

Francis S.

8/28/2008

Beware -- avoid this company at all costs. They play hardball. We called South West a few years ago to do some work -- ended up charging us a fee to just get an estimate. They quoted an overpriced rate for the job and we agreed to it (we just wanted it finished and didn't have time to get a second quote -- big mistake). The next day one of the lines they installed broke and flooded our house. South West accepted zero responsibility and refused to even refund our money. Fortunately, we have a good insurance company and our credit card company backed us up and we had our money refunded. This is a very shady company -- their promise of 100% satisfaction is a lie. If you need plumbing work take some time to find a real plumber and ignore South West's flashy ads and marketing campaign.

Jake D.

11/04/2014 12:00:00 SA

We had a leak in our basement ceiling, the guy came out and wanted $600 just to rip out some of the ceiling and take a look, then he could tell us what the cost was to fix the plumbing and we would have to deal with the damage of him him ripping out the ceiling. He also said we had galvanized plumbing and he would replace it all for 13k, we aren't having that done but thx for the offer. He was rude to my wife and very unprofessional all all around. We told him to take off and he got all pist off and had my wife sign something that says we refused his deal.

John M.

7/19/2011

I always attempt to shop local and use local services. When you have a plumbing issue, you usually don't have time as a luxury. I had a sink with a leak that I just couldn't resolve on my own. I called these guys and they responded well within their two hour window. They charged $404 for 25 min's of work. They barely snaked the drain line and worked a little bit with the existing lines to stop the leak. Because they didn't install the piping, they wouldn't even warranty their work. All I could think about were folks on a tight fixed income budget and how this would have taken food off their table for a month. They are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. I'm kicking myself for not reading their YELP reviews before just calling them. Lesson learned!

Kira f.

8/21/2011

Installed a toilet and had to return in days to repair told me i needed a $2000 install. Another company said Southwest is well known for this scam.

Phyllis B.

8/18/2013

I would never ever use South West Plumbing again. All I wanted was a bathroom sink unplugged. They charged me $440 for a faucet, $250 for a stopper and $299 for a popping assembly. They then tried to sell me a $1,100 hot water heater. Bob felt my drain was gurgglig. He reported he is a perfectionist and wanted to charge me $500 to fix it and make himself feel better. Watch your pocket. I am fixing up my house next year and I will never use them again. I wouldn't recommend them to my enemy. All they care about is stacking up charges and gouging you with over priced items.

Cindy K.

02/12/2014 12:00:00 SA

Be warned--they will charge you $100 to come out and write you a long list of very expensive repairs. I have a dripping faucet, and they quoted me over $1000 without getting within 5 feet of the problem, much less actually touching the problem. I've had many conversations with the company, and they refuse to refund my $100 that they did not earn.

Matt M.

1/16/2011

I would not recommend sw plumbing. After pulling my toilet for 400.00, the damaged my linoleum floor with chemicals and would not take responsibility for it even after speaking with management. Too bad I can't dispute the charge.

Milt S.

1/14/2012

Another Southwest story. You've heard it before. Our toilet was leaking at the turnoff valve. That's it. It just needed a fix. Two very friendly Southwest guys arrived, put on booties and checked it out. One of them went outside to check our water pressure. The guy said that our toilet was old and that they could replace it on the spot since they had one in the van. Cost for the bright white toilet that would be a mismatch with our beige tub & sink? Oh, about $500 installed. The guy that checked our water pressure came back and announced that our pressure was low and it was probably the old pipes. His recommendation was a total pipe replacement which would have been $8,000 to $10,000. Could we schedule a appointment for the work? Hell no! After several aggressive attempts to bump up the number of jobs they could do on our house, we were glad to kick them out with just the valve fix and new washer hoses.

We've had not a problem with the work done, but man, they really, REALLY try to hit a home run with extra unnecessary work. I guess they need the extra cash to pay for all the commercials and full page phone book ads.

Bottom line: friendly people, problems fixed, but expensive and hardball sales tactics.

Jennifer R.

5/16/2012

If I could give less than 1 star I would. Biggest waist of time and money. We had a water heater issue that we were charged 700. for from South West Plumbing that was fixed for all of 2 minutes. They said that if there were any issues after they left they would come back to repair it for free. We called an hour after they left to only find out that we would be charged another 400. for them to come back. They never fixed it and we went with another guy that had to change out a part that only cost 200. total.

Elizabeth A.

12/18/2013

I would never use this service again. They operate as separate business units out of their trucks and hard sell you products that you do not need. They advertise that they charge by the job and not the hour. They told me there would be a call out charge of 95 dollars which is fine. After assessment they quoted $300 and told me I would have a flood the next day if I did not get the work done. I felt frightened and intimidated by the technicians. Then the job only took 15 minutes to replace a single shut-off valve. I was physically sick after their visit. When I contacted customer service they told me I had signed for the work to be done and therefore I have no come back. Quoting by the job and not by the hour is obviously a complete rip off.

Alex H.

8/24/2013

Pretty good overall. Came on time, did the job. A little sketchy because right after they fixed one part of our plumbing another part failed... Also a little pricey.... but they got it done.

David M.

3/25/2013

I had a couple of drains that stopped working in my home. I had a buddy come out that is a handyman type and he tried to clear them to no avail. He came to the conclusion that I probably had a broken pipe and needed to get it repaired by a professional plumber. He called a licensed plumber friend of his and got a rough quote of $1500 to $2000 to fix it. It took me awhile to save up the money and I called Southwest to give me a firm quote once I was ready because I saw their number on a magnet on my fridge. I wish I had tried Yelp first! I had added another 50% to the estimate just in case it was low and so had about $3000 on hand. I explained the whole situation to both the dispatcher and to the plumber himself when he arrived. The plumber and his helper looked at the plumbing inside and then went into the crawlspace to check the pipes themselves. Their conclusion matched my friends. The pipes from the sinks and the washing machine needed to be completely replaced down to the main line leaving my house. They would have to tear into my walls but would try to make as little of a mess as they could. It would take them probably two days to finish it. Total quote came out to $6300!! My wife then recommended that I call Spartan Rooter for a second quote as she had used them many times at a local Dairy Queen she had managed. I explained the exact same thing to them and they also sent a guy out the same day. He recommended that we just try to clear the pipe and that he highly doubted that it needed to be replaced. About 45 minutes later all of my drains were once again working great and my wallet was lighter but a measly $303.00. Now to set the story straight the SouthWest plumbing guy did say he could also do that but that we would also have to replace the traps (whatever that means). It would cost $1500 and he didn't think it would work and that we would just have to pay the higher amount anyways. He also told me that the pipes were old in my house and I should really think about repiping the whole house. He gave me a non-official off the cuff quote of about $18,000 for that entire job but urged me to consider it. I will echo the other reviewers here in that South West plumbing was prompt and everyone I spoke with was courteous and polite. Their pricing seems exorbitant however and I have a problem with them jumping to the most expensive conclusion. I will certainly call Spartan again next time I have a problem. No, I was not a customer as I didn't have them do any work. I merely got the same free quote that many other organizations also offer. Thanks for reading this review and good luck with your plumbing needs!

Darrell V.

09/06/2013 12:00:00 SA

OMG does anyone else see only great reviews for South West Plumbing????? REALLY!!!!!! South west plumbing replaced my 81 year old mothers hot water tank. The original estimate was just shy of $1000.00 which was in the ball park with other companies.$2900 and change later the job was complete. Their estimate called for installation per code but all the the extra charges were PER CODE. After my complaining or maybe we should call it....... bitching they cut the cost in half. To add insult to injury my mother made the guys lunch, go figure.

Diane R.

3/15/2014

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY AS THEY PREY ON OLDER PEOPLE. I had a sewer line break and they charged $14,196 under duress for a job that costs half that much to repair. I know this because they would not do it for less than this amount, then they quoted on the rest of the repair as costing $60,000.. I had other companies out to do bids on the rest of the work beyond what I paid as the emergency repair and all were half or more of what South West charges and all said the company is known to prey on older people. All of the representatives work on commission. I will have another company do the rest of the repairs, but every company says the $14,196 was price gouging and I have reported them to the Better Business Bureau.

Hildie S.

11/11/2010 12:00:00 SA

Southwest Plumbing and many of the large plumbing contractors are getting out of control with pricing. They send two nicely uniformed plumbers (one is in training), they tell you that you must pay $40 just for them to come to your house, regardless if you choose to move forward with work and then they show you a plasti-coated book of all the over-priced services.
I had a trap let loose while my elderly parents were visiting. I am NOT handy. I called them. They came. They charged us some ungodly price for this work (my recollection was like $165 or $265). It was so absurd, I've blotted it from my conscious mind. The plastic part they installed is about $9 at Home Depot and the two men were at the house for under 15-20 minutes. I know the apprentice learned ALOT that visit.
I have never and will never call them again. And I will warn all of you, Beacon, O'Neill, all the big names you see out there, do the same thing. They call it overhead. I call it underhanded.
In the case of plumbing repair, find a smaller firm who will bill you fairly for the work they do, not for the administrative costs of a bloated, overgrown business model.

Jolene G.

1/19/2011

This company can't be trusted! Sure they are prompt and 'professional' in their response but they will definitely try to convince you that you're in dire need of an expensive, full priced replacement when all you really need is a part. What they quoted as an $800 repair (total replacement of a hot water heater pump) was fixed with an $85 cartridge by my resourceful and wily tenant. Get a second and third opinion if you try them first.

Andie C.

4/22/2013

My hot water heater gave up the ghost about a month ago and my neighbor referred me to South West Plumbing. The plumber showed up, quoted me a rediculous price and when I balked at it he managed to find a bunch of discounts that got it down to an amount I could almost live with. After a few hours the new heater was installed, paid for and off he went. Almost immediately I knew there were problems. First of all, when heating, I could hear the hot water heater running in the garage from inside the house like I had a furnace (I don't) blasting away. Then when the heater shut off, it let off a loud gonging sound. After talking with several people, all who told me these things weren't right, I called SW back. They sent out the guy who installed it and he said that it should not make the gonging noise but he was unable to make it stop. I called SW again and asked to have a different tech come out to see if he could figure it out. This guy listened to the noise and said he had no clue. Finally, yesterday, the original plumber came out and had figured out that the heater's instructions require at least one foot of pipe above it and mine had about 6 inches. He installed the pipe and now after almost exactly a month and 4 visits from this company, my very expensive hot water heater is functional and not making odd noises.

If you think all this is why I gave such a low score, you'd be dead wrong. What makes me so frustrated with service companies these days is the total lack of respect for customer's time. Each of these appointments I was quoted a 2 hour window for when the plumber would arrive. Never did the plumber arrive in that time frame. And one day I sat home the entire day waiting and only when I called at the end of the day I was told he wasn't coming at all. In all, I sat waiting for a plumber for more than 48 hours during those 4 visits.

And the real topper was the dispatcher Lila. Not only does she have the general demeanor of a long haul truck driver (sorry, no disrespect to the long haul trruck drivers out there!) but she had the audacity to argue with me that one of the plumbers had gotten to me in the designated time frame (she was referring to the guy who never showed up on the appointed day but finally came out the NEXT day!). Is it not bad enough to have your time wasted, over and over, but then to have their representative argue with you about the abuse? Salt, people.

I reported this all to the customer service manager Gayle, but he told me he had never had any complaints about plumbers being late. (I later found out he's been working for SW for about one week.) I would like to have a conversation with the owner or someone who cares about what customers have to go through when dealing with SW but I doubt I will hear from them. I got to pay over $1,500 for a hot water heater, the loss of 48 hours of my personal time, and a whole lot of insulting aggravation. Sounds like a bargain to me! Not.

Closing note - I not only would never use SW again, I would WARN friends and neighbors away from them.

Cindy R.

11/15/2013

Never Again! I called South West to fix a clogged sink drain on the side of the sink with the garbage disposal. The plumber said it would be $300 to unclog the drain or $949 to unclog and then replace disposal! Complete rip off! As he was already here and working on the sink I was stuck paying to have it unclogged, but who pays close to $1000 for a garbage disposal!?

Charlie S.

2/15/2014

I don't recommend this company to anyone unless you need something done right away, but you had better be willing to get price gouged because they will do that. If I hadn't been doing a birthday/valentines dinner I would have done the repairs myself and saved $900. I installed the broken plastic pipe 29 years ago, but it cracked due to age and freezing temperatures. I'm also sure that if I had done the work, it would have been more professional looking when I was done. This is a lesson learned on my part, but for anyone else call a local plumber that charges by the hour, and make South West your last resort.

This is a copy of what I sent to south West Plumbing today for the repair I had done on 2/14/2014.

I had one of your plumbers out at my home yesterday 2/14 to repair a cracked kitchen drain pipe that was under the home. It was a pretty straight forward repair that was needed. Bob B who was the plumber evaluated the repair and gave me an estimate of $792 (the total bill was $971) which I thought was rather excessive since there was probably only $75 worth of parts needed at the most, and he was only here two hours tops. I also expected that supposedly being a professional, he would have been more accurate in his installation as to not push out one of the inner sink cabinet side boards. What I'm saying is for what I was charged, more time could have been spent on doing a better job. He also broke the cabinet facing brace between the sink cabinet doors, which I pointed out to him was weak before he even started the work. He also laid out some plastic under the house (my home is a modular home) to use to crawl on that he left saying I'm leaving this for you to use if you need to, he didn't ask me if I'd like it for later use, he would leave it. I actually think he just didn't want to pick it up and take it with him. I do have a positive note. I was given a time that a plumber would be here, the arrival was faster than I expected, and the call after the service about how well I was pleased with the service was good too. It was a busy day for me yesterday and I didn't have the time to get into a long and drawn out conversation about how I really felt. I could have done a more professional looking job, but due to my back surgery and lower back problems I decided to call a professional. I think I was wrong!

Jon U.

8/25/2009

These guys dogged me and left me hanging. I had a project downtown Seattle that needed to be done right away involving 4 gas line. They told me they could do it when I scheduled it the day before, but when it came down to it, they said no, we only go to 2. That cost me a days labor on the project and a pissed off customer.

Alison O.

07/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

Dont waste your money or time on them! Read the reviews!!

Had Southwest out to fix my kitchen sink drain that was clogged. I was really busy that day and didnt do ANY research, just called them cause the previous owners had stickers on the garbage disposal. What a mistake. They charged me $230 and didnt even fix my drain. They told me the pipes outside must be broken cause their snake went out 75 feet with no luck. They had a solution that had them rerouting new pipes under the house and decommissioning the broken pipe outside. I was falling for it. It seemed sensible and my kitchen sink was not usable. It was quite expensive though. Also while they were here, they did me the curtsey of inspecting every facet in the house. Supposedly there was quite a bit of leaking going on, and a few pipes and the water heater were about to explode. That is what he told me. Explode. That's scary. He gave me a quote to fix everything, and asked me which jobs I wanted him to do today. He was shocked when I told him I needed to get a second opinion. He thought he had me in a tight spot cause I wanted my kitchen sink back, oh, and the exploding thing. Thank goodness I know the value of a second opinion. I sent them on their way, even after he tried to lower the price a little.

Had another company out and he cleaned out my kitchen drain quickly and for less money AND told me to save my money on a re-pipe, things looked fine and nothing was going to explode on me. He also told me a good drain cleaning should last me at least a year.

Either I was being scammed or Southwest doesnt have the right skills or equipment to get the job done. I will let you decide which you think it was. I know my answer though.

Those Southwest plumbing stickers are getting covered over right now!!

Jerry K.

7/23/2013

Definitely stay away from these people. The middle management can't be trusted. Company installed shower valve and trim in my bathroom in 2010. Invoice stated clearly 5 year warranty on valve. Company agreed to send someone over to replace cartridge. Tech arrived with instructions to charge me. I started to call manager and he changed his mind. Refused to do any labor and gave me a cartridge which was the wrong cartridge. Have to reorder the whole valve and pay for installation with another plumber. Save your time and spend the money on personal pleasure - don't use these people.

Kelly C.

07/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

Mike V was very knowledgeable, courteous, and did a great job explaining what needed to be done every step of the way. He and his partner were very professional and go the job done quickly and we were very satisfied with the results. I will call Mike V again if I need a plumber!

Eva M.

12/10/2014 12:00:00 SA

South West Plumbing was recommended to me. Their plumber and his trainee arrived within the specified timeframe. I had two small plumbing jobs, one to cap off my washer/dryer outlets to avoid leakage and the other a mildly slow bathtub drain. The latter I could have fixed myself using a you tube video, but decided to get a quote anyway. I had figured at most a quote of about $200 for the entire job. The quote given me, with a smile, was about $500 for these two miniscule jobs. I refused immediately, pointed out that the quote was unbelievably high and SWP took its leave. All professional and low key, no drama. I received a follow up call an hour later soliciting my feedback. I responded with my surprise at the extortionate quote. The lady on the line laughed and said she understood that plumbing work was expensive. I'm 64, retired, not a plumber, but not an idiot either. I got on Craigslist, called a handyman service, interviewed them over the phone. They came out same day performed both jobs within a 40 minute framework, for a total of $60. Including the cap-off parts. $60. I gave the handyman a nice tip, obviously. So, that's my experience with South West Plumbing. Pleasant, professional, and way overpriced.

Joy C.

12/26/2013

My 94-year-old neighbor's kitchen faucet handle was loose, by the time Southwest Plumbing was done with her at the end of the day, she's got a $800 brand new faucet with a built in spray she can't use due to her arthritis, a $1500 new hot water heater to replace the one that wasn't broken, $725 to repair and replace the pipes and valves that cracked during the above installation, and a $3000 bill. We are talking about a little old lady who lives on social security alone who needed a simple job done that only requires an Alan wrench and 30 seconds of labor. The only reason Southwest Plumbing even gets a star is because there is not a choice for less.

Marilyn L.

12/06/2013 12:00:00 SA

My son called South West Plumbing to see why the furnace was acting up. 2 guys came out and looked at the furnace and said we need a new one for almost $4000.... charged me $300 and did nothing but glance at the furnace. I asked why the Co2 monitor did not show anything wrong and he said all of them are junk... I called the gas company and they said the monitors work just fine....... is so unfair Seattle allows companies like this to operate in the city....... I am going to report them to the licensing dept..... what a rip off company!~!

Lynn D.

12/01/2013 12:00:00 SA

I called South West Plumbing because I had a coupon thru Val Pak. When I called to set up the appointment, I explained to the scheduler this was for a rental we own. I explained the renter needed to leave by noon to get to work and that I would not be on site to pay for the services. She assured me the person would be there between 9-11 and that I could call in after the services were completed to pay over the phone.
The next day I received a call that they were running late and would need to reschedule for the next day. The next day when I spoke to Evan he quoted an astronomical price and told me it was COD and I needed to be on sight to pay him at the conclusion of the work. I decided to call a plumber I used previously who does phenomenal work. The work Evan quoted as close to 3K Shawn did for $1215.00 and I was able to send him a check after the work was completed. SW Plumbing is a rip off!!!!!

Rachel C.

11/25/2013

I wish I had checked yelp before using Southwest Plumbing. Our insurance company hired an independent consultant to investigate the work and pricing. The findings were that Southwest Plumbing severely overcharged us. When presented with this information the company ignored it and told me a negative review online didn't bother them.

Oscar G.

11/23/2013

Rude customer service, slow dispatcher, not as advertised. They say they are on call 24/7 but that is untrue. I called on a Friday night at 645pm to get someone out to fix a water heater. I was told that they could have a plumber out next day, 8-10am because all of the plumbers are working on sewer projects. What? I asked how that can be considering they advertise 24/7 service. This is the 3rd visit regarding the water heater that SWP installed - lifetime guarantee! I accepted morning appmt nonetheless. I am sending this review because I had to call at 1030am when no one showed and was informed that the tech assigned to my job has truck issues. I would get another tech to my home by 11am. I just called at 1130am to check in status and am told they can't locate a tech who can be here today but are doing what they can! What? I am seething as I write this review. The only reason I don't call someone else is because SWP installed the lifetime guaranteed water heater and I plan to have them fix it at no cost to me. I am still waiting.......

R T.

11/15/2013

Terrible! I was told that a technician would be at my house between the hours of 10-12. 12:30 rolls around and the technician was a no show. I called back and was informed the technician would now arrive definitely before 1:00. 3:00 rolls around and still no show. I called and spoke with an exceptionally rude receptionist who had the audacity to say that this was the plumbing business and I could just cancel the appointment since she could not provide an updated ETA for the technician to arrive. At the very MINIMUM, a courtesy phone call to report that they were running behind schedule was warranted. Not only will I never use this service again, I will now go out of my way to not recommend them. ****AVOID****

Kim M.

07/01/2011 12:00:00 SA

Southwest Plumbing came to my rescue!! It was a Sunday and I had a pipe break in my basement. I didn't get charged extra for coming out on a Sunday and they were so quick to fix everything. I think the best part was that they were clean and I felt like I could really trust that were taking care of me. I'd use them again.

Jerry C.

10/26/2011

I had one bad experience with these guys and this is all it took as I will never call them again, questionable business practices to say the least. I'm in property management and tell all my clients to stay clear of these guys. Take a look at the Judy's Book review site, something looks kind of fishy here don't you think? Someone is obviously trying to sway the public opinion out there with all 120 reviews at 5-stars and all guest reviews. Not even the best company in the world could have this kind of batting average, buyer beware.

Karleen S.

11/10/2012 12:00:00 SA

NOT reliable. SWP was scheduled to come out between 8 - 11 am on Saturday 11/10/12. They called at 11 am to say their plumber was running behind and he can't come today at all and would next week be OK. Well, NO...it was not OK because we have a dishwasher delivery/installer coming same day between 1 - 4 pm. SWP told us they have no other plumber to come out, so we said OK then you're done with us. Their incompetence created a conflict with everyone involved. We will never use them again.

Ruth D.

5/29/2013

Our school had a plumbing issue and Southwest sent Dominique U. who not only fixed the problem but went over and beyond to help us. He was patient with the children who of course wanted to know everything he was doing. He impressed me enough to want to recommend him for anyone in the Seattle area.

Kenneth K.

10/15/2013

I should have check out Yelp before I called Southwest Plumbing. I have toilet leak and called them for estimation. 2 uniformed employees (apprentice and master) showed up. After investigation, they quoted me +$2000 for fixing a leak and also installing a vent. It was very pricey but I took it because I am in hurry to fix the leaking problem before it flooded my crawl space. After they finished the work within same day, I was shocked with what I saw - a big messy hole next to my toilet bowl. I politely asked them to fix the hole and the master plumber told me that they are not responsible for any damages to the wall or floor during their installation/fixing work. I was shocked with the response and I called their office and talked to service manager who asked me to hand the phone over to the plumber. But he ignored me and refused to take the call. Few minutes later plumber came in the house and tried to fix the hole. (I guess he talked to his office). He just simply covered the hole with a piece of plastic and edges are not covered properly where you can see zig zag at the edges. The finish work is very rough.

After they left, about an hour later, I went to check on the toilet again. Now I can see through the wall from the edges which have few big holes because the glues/patches fell off the wall. The work is very unprofessional and quality is bad. Then I went to check on the leak and found that toilet bowl is still leaking. I spent $2400 but the original leaking issue still not fixed and additionally I get a hole on my wall.

Their web site claimed that they are professional and friendly. Unfortunately my experience with them is completely opposite. Now I have to look for another plumber to fix my leaking problem.

Kate K.

9/24/2013

Don't. Just don't. They will over charge you, they won't fix it and you will have to call someone else. Basically, they are a bunch of crooks.

C M.

12/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

Don't Waste Your Time.
South West plumbing answered their phone and rolled a truck to my home the next day. That's the Only good part. They then charged $104 just to send the truck, but not to do any work yet. Two men showed up, one sloppily dressed and very clearly uninterested, the other busy with paperwork. I showed them the split pipe that simply needed to be cut below the split and capped. They couldn't/wouldn't do it - said they didn't have a pipe threader. They did not ask some appropriate questions that would have helped define the problem further, instead they made assumptions about the problem. The paperwork guy of the two then gave me Rip-Off level estimates for multiple levels of repair, straight from the company playbook. He did not use his mind to think, to troubleshoot the problem, and to do the best he could do for me as a real plumber would - he apologetically read the playbook to see what he would be allowed to do, what name code the service, and how much to charge. Not a tradesman, a drone.
I said No Thanks - their prices are Ridiculous - paid them their $104 dispatch fee and sent them away.
With a little problem-solving type thinking and some help from a Non-Plumber I was able to fix the problem myself with a trip to Lowes, No special tools at all, and a $1.57 part. (Yes, One dollar and fifty seven cents.)
Seriously, don't waste your time or money with these guys.

Susan D.

10/06/2014 12:00:00 SA

I called Southwest to first find out what the minimum service charge was to determine if we even wanted to have someone come out. The woman that answered said she wasn't a technician and that they didn't give any cost information over the phone--when the technician arrived, he or she would give us an estimate. She would not provide ANY idea what the minimum amount might be. There was no charge to have them come out for an estimate, so we scheduled an appointment between 2;30 and 4:30 pm the following day. About halfway through that time slot, I received a call and was told they wouldn't be able to get to our appointment that day and wanted to reschedule on Monday. (It was Friday) Not much choice but to say OK, so I did. Today it was a little after 1 PM and I called to make sure they were coming. The woman said that the computer said they were at our house working. No, they weren't! They got lost on our street (even with specific instructions as to the color of our house and exact location) so my husband went out to the street and finally waved them in. My husband already had the toilet pulled up, ready to go. He had a hard time getting the wax seal to seal properly because of the height--only reason we called a plumber. We were told it would cost about $300 for them to put a double seal and another ring on top--then put the toilet back in. That should take about 20 minutes, so I asked why it would be $300. One of the men said when he goes to the doctor, he doesn't ask any questions---in a very rude tone. Obviously we said--we're done here and they left,

Sindy M.

05/05/2010 12:00:00 SA

I contacted Southwest to install a new gas line about 3 1/2 years ago. They charged me $790.00 plus tax at the time and stated they installed a tee so that I could hook up a second appliance at a much cheaper rate. I recently purchased a gas stove and called them back. The tech's came out right away and I told them they would most likely just do the job. They gave me a written estimate after looking at the original work and it was for $1500.00!!!!! I OH MY GOD are they crazy?? Obviously I called the office and THREE DAYS LATER I got a call back from the manager who acted soooo sorry. He said the techs were new and didn't know how to bid the job and he could come back out and do it for $520.00 I have since had another local company come out, had it all hooked up (including new lines for the stove for $320.00. DONT LET THEM NEAR YOUR HOUSE!!!!

Harry S.

5/23/2010

Very expensive for the work they do. They claim not to charge extra for nights or weekends, but that is because that charge so much normally. Called them when I could not keep the hot water heater pilot lit on a Sunday morning. Came out promptly and gave a written estimate. Unfortunately I did not realize the part that needed to be replaced was $10 until after they left and had charged me $450 plus tax. Called them and talked to the office manager and was told it was a fair price - yeah right. Will never use again. Wish I read these reviews in advance.

Kari A.

12/29/2010

My experience with Southwest Plumbing was similar to that of many of the reviewers here. They are basically scam artists. I called them to replace my water heater. It was a Friday, and I was desperate to have hot water for the weekend. They talked me into a much larger water heater than I needed for my small house and then talked me into some sort of expensive flow control valve that I'm certain I didn't need. To top it all off, they forgot to turn the electricity to the water heater back on before they left, so when I got home from work that day, the water was still cold. I can't believe I was stupid enough to pay $3500 for a water heater!

Maria Ruthe S.

1/15/2012

NEVER CALL THIS COMPANY if you have any sewer or plumbing service, YOU WILL REGRET IT your entire life.This is a RIP-OFF business. Be aware of this sneaky business. All I need is cleaning 4 of french drains. 1st estimate I agree is $800, then 4 more hous later they said it need more work to solve the problem and put me in the position to agree to pay another $2,500 so they will come back the next day. The next day, they said I have a bigger problem that will be fixed ONLY if I agree to pay $11,000. What a RIP-OFF business. I wonder how the dirty business like this still exist??? Thanks God Metroplitan Sewer will fix the problem included the city of Seattle inspection for ONLY $1,000.

Jan H.

6/25/2012

After I complained, SW did call me and said they were going to look into why I was not given a written bid. Still think they charge too much, but maybe they do care a little.

Robert G.

8/17/2012

Needed some work done and they of course charged us a ton and then when the job was done one of the workers rewarded himself with my girlfriends diamond earrings! They were called to be notified, they threw out the well we're licensed and bonded answer. Were they sorry they didn't mention it, they basically treated us like we were the crooks. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE! After the defensive answer they said they would call us back only to have NO ONE CALL. Apparently they were going to question the crook whether he took it or not....Hmm wonder what hes going to say. When I freak I'll call Beacon. Thanks for charging us a ton for the work and taking her diamonds.

Nick G.

1/30/2013

They were on time, but gave an outrageous quote for just hooking up a kitchen sink. They were almost double what other companies quoted. Nice guys but I would not call them again. Their sales pitch on why it cost so much was way off.

Mike B.

2/23/2013

Was just bent over by SW plumbing today. Yes, my bad, but WTF? snaked my toilet and the sewer line going out, was here for less than 2hrs, no parts needed, $770. Don't use these clowns, i paid the price for being an idiot, don't do the same.

Lisa R.

3/30/2013

Don't call Southwest Plumbing! Read on--

I wish my husband had read these reviews before calling Southwest Plumbing! OMG.
Their prices are so outrageous. They charged us $1741.00 for three hours of work with a few new pipes behind the sink. Yes. They did fix the leak but $1700 worth??
The removed our dishwasher out to our garage so they could see if there was water damage. A little. We could take care of it. When we went to put the dishwasher back in my husband decided to call SW (big mistake) back to put it back in. They charged $780 to take the dishwasher from the garage (10 feet) and put it inside the place where it came from. No construction work except put in a new hose or two. Two hours work. Oh, they had forgot to charge us $260 to remove the dishwasher in the first place so they tacked that on.
They left. Load up the dishwasher and it leaked all over the downstairs! Called them back and all they would say is hmmm. the seals must have dried up when it was in the garage. Nothing we can do. It's Bosch's problem now. We paid $800 to have a useless dishwasher reinstaled and we will need to buy another soon.
Don't call Southwest Plumbing!! Go with an independent who wants to keep customers and treat them fairly.

Alex G.

4/29/2013

Bobby W. was a wonderful technician! He was on time, very friendly, respectful of my space, and very tidy clean-up. In addition to doing great work on the job I needed done, he went above and beyond: due to injury, I needed him to move stuff in my garage and he put everything right back where it had been. Plus, he made a quick repair on a loose register fan that was certainly not part of his job. All with a smile. Bobby W. and Raul are welcome back in my home anytime. Thanks guys!!!!

Mary Ann B.

05/05/2013 12:00:00 SA

I don't even want to give them a 1-star. This is a company that will scam you every inch of the way. Just had a front of house hose faucet replaced and it took them maybe 20 minutes total time. These lousy crooks charged me $800 and i even had a $40 coupon. Don't ever call them. They will rip you off. They should be closed down. I am reporting them to the better business bureau! They should be run of town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anselmo P.

05/12/2013 12:00:00 SA

Dominique recently repaired a sewage pipe at my parents house.Very good work and professional. They explained everything they worked on and made sure to show us the problems encountered. Cleaned up and put everything back that they had moved to start the job. Would highly recommend.

Dave S.

7/26/2013

When a company is advertising on busses, billboards, mail coupons, and pay their employees by commission basis someone has to pay for it. My aunt and uncle both in their 80's got hosed for $18,000 for a plugged drain. They were told that it was important that they get the job done quick because it was a major problem. They started on a Saturday did not work on Sunday, Monday and finally finished on Wednesday. On the day they were finishing up they found another pipe that needed to be replaced for $2000.00 more. One week later the drain plugged up again and water filled the laundry room. All of the employees of SW must be the ones who write all of the fabulous comments on facebook. I once made a negative comment and it disappeared.

Jeff F.

8/27/2013

It is becoming very clear to me know that South West Plumbing could remain themselves as crooks with a pipe. It would have better to just hit me over the head and rob my house. I had a dripping facet replaced. It took them maybe 25 minutes and they charged me 500 dollars (with their special discount.) They also looked at my garbage disposal (for no specific reason) and I was quoted from one of the plumbers that I wouldn't touch it for under 1100 dollars. Well now I am replacing the disposal myself. It won't be more than 200 dollars and I am doing the job myself and believe me, if I can do the job, any one can! It is called tuition. I paid five hundred dollars to learn to check out Yelp first and to shop around before I fall for some coupon scam. But as least my 500 dollar facet isn't leaking. Yet.

eric d.

4/23/2009

I've used South West Plumbing. There as good as the next guy. Some peoples expectations are unrealistic. These guys show up do the work and leave. If there is a problem, they come back to fix it. No big deal. The prices seem ok when compared to other professional companies. I will not use a handyman or some hack in a beat up van. I buy my tires at Goodyear, I buy my clothes at Macy's, I don't eat at the sizzeler, and I buy appliances at Sears. I like service and I don't mind paying for what I want. If you are a do it your self person.. fine but dont complain about the price a pro charges. just don't use him. I know plumbers make about 100k a year and that the trucks and insurance etc must be expensive...so pay the price, get on with your life, and relax. Bargain hunters end up with bargain quality

T D.

06/08/2010 12:00:00 SA

I called Southwest Plumbing when my basement flooded. I had just purchased the home and didn't know what was going on. They charged me $89 just to come out. It turned out that my sump pump had died. They quoted me $1,888 to replace my pump. I could not believe that price. The pump would normally be warrantied for 90 days, but if I purchased it through Southwest, they would give me a whole year. And they would make sure the sump was nice and clean. Wow, lucky me. I was so upset because I had no way to pay $1,888 for anything. I sent them on their way.
I went to Home Depot and found the correct sump pump for $250 with a 5-year warranty. My brother-in-law put in it for me in less than an hour.
These guys prey on people in emergencies or who don't know any better. They never get repeat business because people get burned once and never call again.
In my opinion, they are absolute crooks. Every time I see their stupid commercials or trucks, it makes me furious. I have no idea how any of them sleep at night. They know the rates they charge are beyond ridiculous. STAY AS FAR AWAY FROM THEM AS YOU CAN!!!!

Molly M.

06/12/2010 12:00:00 SA

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! Yes, they arrive on time, wear little booties on their shoes, and seem very knowledgeable. But I had sewage backing up into my bathroom from my septic tank. I was in a panic! Southwest sent two guys who opened my septic tank and told me it was a septic problem, not a plumbing problem. So I spent almost $500 to have my tank pumped. In doing so, the septic guy told me the septic system was in good shape, and when draining it did not solve the problem at all, I had to have the SW plumbers come back. At first it was one guy, but he spent an hour and a half and said he would have to come back the next day with his apprentice because this is a two man job. So they came back the next day, removed my toilet, snaked the line to the septic tank and didn't find a problem until they got all the way to the end of the line where tree roots had grown into the baffle and it was blocked. They put a camera in the line and also told me that I had a cracked pipe, for which he recommended a special process called pipe lining so that I would not have to dig up the deck that covered the line. He told me that all told, the cost would be $11,000, and asked for a half down payment right there, also making an appointment with the subcontractor to come out and do the pipe lining procedure. I was stupid... I gave him my credit card and made the appointment for the pipe lining.

It was all a scam. Over the next two days, I got other bids from three other plumbers recommended by friends who said pipe lining was ridiculous, and one even recommended that I hire a professional to take new camera shots of my line again, so I did. This guy's camera worked much better than the one the Southwest guy used and I could see that my pipe was clean, AND he could not see a crack on the inside of the pipe at all. This guy had been in the business 35 years, and he said all I had was a small maintenance problem and that if I just checked the line and cleaned the baffle once a year for a cost of $150 or less, I would be absolutely fine. His words: If this was my house, I wouldn't do a thing other than check the baffle again in a year.

This same guy said he had just come from consulting with a woman who had a plumbing problem, but he figured it should cost no more than about $5,000 maybe $6,000 at most to fix. Southwest had told her it would cost $33,000!

Southwest did credit back my credit card, but they charged me way too much for the little bit of work that they did, so even though I got most of the money back, I still feel ripped off.

The Southwest plumbers all work on commission. They act like they know what they are doing and convince you that you need their expensive services, but they are scammers. I will NEVER EVER use them again.

LaDonna R.

2/25/2011

I do not recommend Southwest Plumbing. I had a leak under my kitchen sink and another hose break. Southwest came almost immediately. They said I either needed a new faucet or they had to drive to the store to try to find a part to repair the old new. I decided on a new faucet. Also, my hot water stop angle was leaking. They repaired the hot water side then replaced the cold water side. My bill was $1396.18. I thought this was totally out of line but agreed to the work. The next day I checked under my sink and the hot water line was still leaking. They returned and this time replaced the angle stop. I'm very dismayed that I agreed to the work and I didn't check with other companies first. Totally outrageous charges.

Bonnie W.

07/12/2011 12:00:00 SA

Steer clear of these rip-off artists. My master shower head started leaking suddenly. A steady little stream of water, not just a drip. I watched a video on YouTube on how to fix it, but it looked a little complicated so I called Southwest Plumbing and they came almost immediately. One guy went to check the water pressure to the house (I don't know why) and the other guy started writing up an estimate. The first guy came back in with a Digital Camera and took several pictures of my shower handle, but no one ever touched the handle. The estimate was for $785.00, but open ended as they may break something and need to replace it and that would cost more money. They were going to have to research the handle and try to find out how to get parts.
I told them to leave--that price was ridiculous for fixing a simple leaking faucet. I called the plumbing company that installed the plumbing in this house when it was built. The guy came right out and couldn't believe the line the SWP guys were feeding me. He fixed it in 10 minutes and it cost $85.00.
You will pay 10 times the actual cost if you hire these guys.

Watch D.

9/26/2012

Please, please, please do not use this company. They appear to be professional, but they are just two men in a uniform trying to take advantage of your unfortunate situation. They charged $285 for a leak search, which just resulted in them cutting holes in my ceiling. By the way they have not intention of repairing any damage they do. Then they gave me a $1200 quote to fix my pipe. It became fishy when the tech asked to see my bathroom, then he couldn't even remove a overflow cover on my bathtub and he really only wanted the brand name, so he could say I need to go to my truck to look at my book. So the two of them go to their truck write up a weak non-descrpitive invoice almost like they are guessing how much they can get out of you. We live in a nice looking house, so that drove the price up. Anyways, I called someone else and got it fixed for $100, yes that's right $1100 cheaper than the rip-off quote from South West Plumbing.

Stay away unless you want to be scammed.

Ann T.

03/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

Absolutely do not recommend these people. They charged an exorbitant amount for the work they did (it was kind of an emergency situation, so we didn't get bids, but we were told by two other companies after we had the work done that they charged far more than they should have...like $500 for a few feet of plastic piping, and paying for two workers to do a one man job). They also reconnected the cold and hot water in REVERSE, which my husband then had to fix. The only pluses that I can see is that if you have an emergency you can get them to come out quickly and on short notice. There are other companies on Yelp that would be much better...I REALLY wish I would have checked the reviews here first before going with South West.

Martha W.

05/04/2013 12:00:00 SA

We have an 80 year old house and the sewer line backed up. SW Plumbing came out and scoped the line, and found that the line was broken in spots and had a significant amount of rocks and dirt inside. They described a reasonable method for replacing it, so we went with them because we didn't have time to shop around. As far as the plumbing went, I think they did a reasonable job. However the job required digging two LARGE holes in the yard, with a lot of dirt strewn around. One of the holes was near some recently done landscaping, so they had to remove parts of a stone wall we had just installed last summer. They assured me that they would take a picture and it would be put back just as they found it. It was not. It looks similar to the picture they took, but basically they left a big pile of dirt next to the wall, smoothed it over, and slapped the rocks back in a similar pattern to what they were before. So now we have to spend half a Saturday digging up the excess dirt to un-bury parts of the wall and reconstructing the part they had removed..

We did pay them yesterday when the job was done, and I regret doing that because of the issues I now see with the stone wall. However, I think we paid them because we just wanted them out of here. The head guy came to my door in the middle of the job yesterday (still a huge hole next to the house and a pile of dirt on the back deck, and half a dozen workers stomping around) and demanded the balance of the payment, $11,000. I told him we would pay them when the job was complete and we had done a walk through. He acted annoyed and put out, as though I was being entirely unreasonable. He told me he was the only one who could take the payment, and since he had plans that evening he would not be able to return that evening (job was going to be done around 6:00). I told him sorry for the inconvenience, but we don't shell out an $11K balance on work that it not yet completed. Again, he acted like I was really making his life difficult. Since we gave him no choice though he did come back that evening.

Also, after talking with some of my neighbors about similar plumbing jobs in their houses, I'm sure we were over-charged.

David S.

3/26/2013

Be careful with these people! They get out there fast and provide good service but they are expensive! I had them replace a water pressure regulator and an expansion tank and the bill was was almost $1,300. I later found out that the cost for the pressure regulator at Home Depot was around $70 and they charged close to $700 installed. Someone has to pay for all those commercials!

Orly W.

2/20/2014

I experienced the exact same story Paul P. went through regarding a blocked sewer line. Southwest technician EJ tried to scam us into $4500 to repair a broken line, root-clogged line, or collapsed line depending on which lie he was telling. Told them I would have someone else take a look. Mr. Rooter came out with the right equipment (Southwest deliberately used an undersized & short snake to make sure they wouldn't accidentally unclog the line) Southwest also lied about the camera work, insisting the picture would be black at the blockage, and nothing to see. When I pressed to view the blockage, mysteriously there was a color screen with no sign of said blockage/broken line/root clog. Mr. Rooter was prompt, fair, and made sure they got the job done. Mr. Rooter charged $302 to complete the work that Southwest initially charged $409 for and left me with a clogged drain. Southwest was determined to pressure me into a $4500 repair. The $302 repair from Mr. Rooter would have cost me nearly $5000 through Southwest Plumbing. I received a full refund of my money from Southwest after taking the issue up with their service and sewer mangers. Please be very wary of this scam. I would not recommend Southwest for any kind of repair unless you are happy to flush your cash. One star is one too many.

Kathy S.

7/22/2013

do i have to give one star?. these guys came out to my house & wanted three grand to fix a sprinkler leak. they are such scammers! gary at beacon fixed it for $400. he said if th charged their prices, he would not be able to sleep at night. southwest are scammers! please call gary at beacon. i have also heard avout joe the plumber. just do not let southwest rip you off like they have done several timesto me but not this time. go elsewere, such ripoff artists..scott is a good one gy the way. smooth..expert ripoff artist

Louis Y.

12/01/2011 12:00:00 SA

URGH!!! Do not call SouthWest Plumbing, unless you enjoy very high prices -- in fact, greatly overpriced services. They tell you proudly that they don't charge you to come to your house and estimate the work needed, but once they arrive, their prices are outrageous! My toilet was running and I called for service. I told the woman who answered that I had a coupon/card for $60 off and she verified that I could apply it to the work needed. When the 2 guys came in, they identified the problem as needing a new flapper. It took 3 minutes to replace and (I've since learned) the part is only a few dollars at Home Depot. Yet, they charged $86 plus tax. When I handed the guy my coupon, he claimed he had already subtracted if from an even higher amount. It's hard to believe, given this was for a 3 min job that used a part that cost a few dollars. I also asked him to estimate a few bigger jobs I have, and he spent quite awhile going through a pricing book and writing down estimates. Everything was very high, and when i commented, he said he was giving me discounted prices and could offer me 5% more off if i did all the projects. Seemed odd, since he claimed he was already discounting all services. I called two prominent, highly reviewed plumbers this morning and got substantially lower estimates for each of the projects, with no discount mentioned. This company seems focused on quoting very, very high prices and then claiming to discount while still charging very high prices. I suggest you call a different plumbing service, one who is honest and pricing their services fairly.

Karen V.

7/21/2012

My Dad called South West Plumbing because we received a magnet from a phone book so we just called them first. We were calling because the toilet was plugged. We knew it wasn't because of the septic because we had just emptied it and there wasn't any back-flow with the bath tub or sink. The other bathroom was fine. This woman answered when we called and said that they would come out and give an estimate but could not over the phone. She said they would be here in the time frame of 8-10 and we asked if she meant the evening we called (yesterday) and she said yes. By 11:30 they had not shown up. The next morning, my father called them and they gave some lame excuse that they tried to call the phone number we gave them but it connected to a business. My father thought that it was trickery in order for them to charge more. Having his problem be drawn out to get more money. So we asked if we could have a quote on the phone. We didn't want the technicians to come out if they were going to give us a ridiculous price because we send them back (without giving them a penny). She told my Dad that it would cost $190 just to put the snake down the toilet. My dad said that he did all the plumbing under the house, he put the toilet, bath tub, and sinks in. He also put the copper plumbing in. He thought it was ridiculous because he could buy a ring and take the toilet apart and run the snake easily through by him self (for the cost of a ring that seals up the toilet to the pipe). We now called Rescue Rooter and they are being reasonable and charging $95 (saving $95) I asked my dad why he couldn't just do it himself and he said he doesn't know how to do the snake but he does know how to take apart the toilet. We usually don't give too many bad reviews but everyone is cutting back and taking less so the economy can recover. South West Plumbing doesn't take that in consideration. But there are companies that do understand that and are willing to give people a break.

Kristine H.

11/06/2012 12:00:00 SA

just as others have said I wish I had checked out yelp first. came out yesterday to fix a leaky kitchen faucet that I knew needed to be replaced. the work was fine and they were nice but the fee was beyond unreasonable. Overcharged by at least $200-300 and I couldn't believe you can't get an itemized breakdown of the charges? if I wouldn't have been in a bind taking time off work for them to come would have told them to forget it.

Pieper P.

01/08/2012 12:00:00 SA

My sister does not earn very much money at all-in fact she struggles. She has had four hip surgeries and needs to watch every penny. After sharing that they still decided to rake her over the coals. I informed her to get another estimate after hearing they charged her $700.00 for a new faucet and small leak in the pipe under the sink. Mr. Nice guy kept telling her what a deal she was getting. After paying them about $8,000.00 for a leak in her pipe over the garage and the kitchen sink they wanted an additional $18,000.00 to install the waterline from the corner of her yard to the house. She informed him She would be getting other estimates-he did NOT like that at all!! These guys were giving her a break after getting management approval for $96.00 a foot! That's triple the cost per foot than most! The highest I could find after calling around was $50.00 per foot. South West usually charges $120.00 a foot!! I guess they thought she should be grateful ....hmmmm uh No Thanks!! Go to Allen Plumbing!!

Donna H.

2/24/2011

I would never recommend South West Plumbing, not even to my worst enemies. We had a leak in our sprinkler system, and we called South West Plumbing because we had a magnet on our fridge advertising their services. When the 2 men showed up, they took a quick look at the problem, said they would have to try to find the valve underground to turn off the water, which sounded like it would entail a lot of work and tools in the search. He gave us a quote of $164.00 + $15.58 tax to find the valve and turn it off. Then he dug up two shovelfuls of dirt and reached down and turned off the spigot as easily as if it had been an above ground spigot. He knew exactly where to dig and he knew how easy it would be to turn it off. I believe that he took advantage of our ignorance in making the problem seem bigger than it was and took advantage of an opportunity to charge us a lot of money for a simple fix.

David F.

5/15/2011

Totally corrupt - CALL SOMEONE ELSE. Without looking at what really needed to be done, their tech quoted $385 to do a simple solder of less than a foot of 1/2 copper pipe to a sillcock, when I'd already done all the basic setup and removal of the bad pipe - and I'd already told them that it was prepped and ready to go. When I objected to the price and mentioned that it should only take about an hour, he volunteered emphatically that it would take *LESS* than an hour. With that information I was certain the job wasn't worth that much money, and told him so. He asked what I thought was a fair price, and I said nothing over $200. Without hesitation, he said How about $250 plus tax? I was shocked how he could drop the price by 35% so easily - clearly, that was simply price gouging, trying to take advantage of someone with a nice house who seemed desperate. Of course, he had to call his manager, who he couldn't reach - and thankfully they left without doing the work or trying to charge me anything. If you want honest service at a fair price, DO NOT CALL SOUTHWEST PLUMBING.

Lily Anne B.

04/03/2013 12:00:00 SA

great work from South West Plumbing! request Audie, he and his partner do a great job assessing the issue(s) and determining the appropriate fix! what i thought was going to be an expensive, timely, and big issue; Audie evaluated it and gave his expert advice on fixing it and SAVED ME A LOT OF MONEY! what other plumber would save you money? call them and ask for Audie! he will take care of you.

Erin B.

12/31/2013

We called South West plumbing to replace a water heater in Nov. We had used the company before to investigate a leak and found the technician to be courteous, clear, and professional. Our experience with the water heater was a completely different experience that we will not be repeating. Our major gripe: this company charged twice the going rate to replace our hot water heater!! It was a straight-forward job, nothing fancy, no extras. There was never any explanation given as to why and in fact we were never even left with a copy of our work order or receipt of payment. Which brings me to our secondary gripe: unprofessionalism. Costs were not broken down. The technician was a disorganized chatterbox who spent more time talking on and on about unrelated things (including telling culturally inappropriate jokes and remarks about his gonads!!!) than he did fixing our plumbing issue. The technician was so inefficient and unprofessional that even if the cost had been fair, we would never call this company again. We ended up calling another plumbing company in to finish the job because we couldn't tolerate the lack of clarity and courtesy.

Holly H.

09/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

As others have stated, do your pricing homework. This place completed the job just fine, but only after we got the final bill (and did some comparison pricing---yes, I realize this should have been done first!) did we realize that we felt we had been swindled. We will never use this company again . . . pricing is beyond ridiculous. Perhaps in an emergency or if money is no object this would be a fine company to use, but if you'd like to save thousands of dollars (literally), I suggest finding other places to send your business. I find their statement on this page: we go out of our way to make every one happy with every thing we do for them to be hilarious. When we called to discuss the ridiculous discrepancies in pricing compared with other local companies, they were unwilling to bend in any way. As if I wasn't already annoyed enough about their mascot waving at me on every truck and billboard . . . it's now been made even worse by their out-of-this-world pricing. It is in no way warranted. I literally could have gotten two of just about everything we purchased at other companies. Very unfortunate, and not something people might know if they had not taken the time to do the pricing research.

C M.

12/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

Stop, so not use them!!! As far as I'm concerned, these guys are rip off artists. I had an experience with them two months ago and I'm still angry about it. There was a clogged in the pipe going from the house to the road in a rental we have. We needed someone out quick and didn't have time to search around and check reviews as it was on a Saturday afternoon and we were running around. That was the worst mistake I have ever made. As soon as they would fix one thing they said we needed to fix more and more and more..... One thing led to another and they managed to get $7000 dollars out of us before we said enough. They still never replaced the entire pipe and threatened to not warranty their work because they did not feel everything was done that needed to be. We now know that work they did should have cost less than half of that. When we didn't respond immediately to their call for final payment, they showed up at our house at 6:30pm on a Friday night demanding payment. They were lucky I was out of town or I would have gave them something other than money and sent them on their way. Unbelievable, I have never had such a bad experience in my life and I have told everyone I know that SW Plumbing is definitely not the ones to call. How they run their business is immoral and should be illegal!

Gene D.

8/19/2011

I called Soutwest to ask their advice on repairing a possible rupture in the main water line from the meter to the house. After a very casual inspection of the area in and around a suspicous area that was damp and fairly close to the meter, the one plumber (they send two per truck) stipulated that I probably had a break in the line that was probably caused by some tree or other roots from bushes, etc. He suggested that my best solution was to replace the whole line from the meter to the house. They would use a boring device that would not necessitate tearing up the lawn. When I (meekly) suggested that we look into the possibility of a repair, the senior plumber ( I suspect the other was a trainee- he didn't have much to say) told me that would be a waste of time and was costly to hire the detection service to locate the leak(s) when his years of experience qualified him to correctly diagnose the problem. The cost estimate was over $7,500.00 plus tax and that would not include drilling out part of the sidewalk or core drilling into the foundation of the house if necessary. After recovering from the shock (I'm a retired senior) I called my grown daughter and she in turn called a worker from labor ready to assist us in digging some trenches that revealed a ruptured fitting that was replaced along with a section of pipe. Total cost - including the worker from labor ready was under $200.00) I will never forget this possible SCAM.

Cierra P.

05/02/2013 12:00:00 SA

We just bought an older house and inherited some issues with the plumbing. Since moving in we experienced slow draining from all the drains in the house. One night, toilet sewage began to overflow into our bathtub! Any water used in the house began to overflow into our bathtub, it was a mess! And being new homeowners we did not have a clue of what to do. We did some research and realized that this had to be a backed up main sewer line. We decided to call South West Plumbing to get a quote, and to see if the problem was just a backed up line. Jeff came out to the house and did not indulge very much into solutions for the problem but it was just a backed up line. He said he'd have to go through the crawl space to snake out main line. He wanted to charge $700 to do this because it was an inconvenience to go through the crawl space (to the clean out) and bring the machine through the house. So we went to Home Depot and my husband rented a 75 foot long snake and cleared out the clog! My husband did not have to go through the crawlspace, we went through the hole where your toilet sits. So we saved $625 to do the job on our own! Needless to say, we wont be recommending their overpriced service to ANYONE and will NEVER be using this plumbing service! It pays to do your research and be a little handy!

Hallidie H.

07/02/2013 12:00:00 SA

called for a leak under the kitchen sink. came in the time frame requested and on the same day as I called. after than down hill. supposedly fixed the leak then said I needed to replace the plastic drain piping under the sink and have you seen this drain? $ 700 later they left (price included waiving the $200 show up fee). only to find leak under the sink is now a deluge and one of the newly installed pipes also leaking. called again. first team missed the window they were expected and I had to leave. second team came so as not to inconvenience me for the weekend. they actually fixed the original leak in the groehe faucet (while trying to talk me out of that faucet) and then replaced the new pipe underneath since apparently it had been striped. but I got to pay another $200 for this call because the repair was only partially related to the earlier one. now I have bits of black plastic in my faucet and lower water pressure in the sink. but no leaks underneath. one star for showing up on time for the first, and a second star for actually fixing the original complaint. but $1000 spent on stuff that apparently I didn't really need (or so the second team implied. done with these guys. do not call them.