Anderson Plumbing Heating & Air
Categories: Home Services Plumbing Home Services Heating & Air Conditioning/HVAC Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning/HVAC [Edit]
San Diego, CA 92020Serving San Diego and surrounding area
(800) 530-1102
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 7 am - 7 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
11 reviews for Anderson Plumbing Heating & Air
11 reviews in English
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Review from Kristen J.
San Diego, CA
9/18/2011
Anderson and I got off to a rocky start, but when I voiced my lack of satisfaction they were all over it and were great every step of the way.
We moved into our house (first house ever) in Poway at the end of April of this year. 2 weeks later, our plumbing system was entirely backed up. We called Anderson and they were great, and found tons of huge heavy-duty wipes in the pipes. Our home was a rental for 30 years and it appears the tenants had not been so kind. It was a pretty quick job and we were happy.
2 weeks after that, the system was backed up AGAIN. We had no idea what was going on and called Anderson again since the work has a 30 day guarantee. We got a tech who was totally huffy and rude. We had house guests and he publicly blamed us for flushing "wipies," as he saw more of the wipes from previous tenants that were apparently still left from the job before. I started to explain we just moved in and hadn't flushed any "wipies," but he was adamant about us flushing the "wipies," pointed to a box of baby wipes we had for my 2 year old daughter (which we don't flush -- we wipe her butt, put it in the crappy diaper and throw it away like normal people) and kept telling us over and over that we can't flush those "wipies" while pointing to the baby wipes container. I wanted to chuck the box of "wipies" at his head.
I complained via email form on Anderson's website. I got a nice voicemail back saying that they would video snake our plumbing for free since we just moved in and are having issues already and we had such a bad experience with the last tech. I dealt with several other plumbing companies after this and ultimately decided to take up Anderson on their offer since no one else was finding what was going on and their service was horrendous.
We ended up having several breaks in the main line and after trying a high pressure water clean-out and seeing that mud was coming through breaks causing multiple more blockages, it was clear we had to replace the main line as we kept having a backup every few days.
William took great care in finding where the problems spots were and made a very detailed plan and estimate of what would be involved, the costs, the approvals we would need from the city and the utility companies.
Work started when it was promised only 2 days later, and digging began. They found that the line was made from orangeburg pipe. It is a type of pipe developed in the 1860s made from wood fibers and tar. Yes, really. Basically a cardboard pipe. It explained how the roots permeated so much of the pipe system. In cast iron/terra cotta pipes, roots grow through cracks that occurred already to the pipe. In orangeburg pipe, roots just grow right through the pipe, cracks or not. When they took out pieces of the pipe, we found that you could just punch a hole in it with your finger.
Most of the pipe was under our driveway, and they used a technique called pipe-bursting which breaks the orangeburg pipe and then lays down a new ABS pipe. The work was done fast (over 2 days) and courteously. We were only without the ability to flush/drain for a matter of hours the second day before we were back online.
Hearing the difference when we flush now is amazing. It sounds like it's all being sucked down with super suction compared to before. I am so glad the nightmare of hearing the dreaded "GLUG GLUG GLUG" is over.
It's clear from our experience with "wipies" guy and a few others here complaining about other techs that all of the Anderson staff isn't totally stellar, but man, the good ones are REALLY good. I cannot thank William Chappell enough for expediting the long process we had been going through to completion. I am so happy with the work done. If you end up not being happy with the service you get, just say something and they will make sure you are completely satisfied. Believe me, other plumbing companies usually won't care, and it'll just be more of a hassle. -
Review from Amy H.
San Diego, CA
Updated - 3/2/2012
I wrote a review earlier this week and felt compelled to add another star for 2 reasons:
1) Miguel came to the house today and personally cleaned up the yard and cleared the drains in my bathroom to my satisfaction. He was extremely professional and genuinely cared about my perception of his work.
2) Anderson's management went above and beyond to respond to my concerns and ensure that I was happy with their work. Not every company would take the time to do this.
Having said that, a company whose moto is "Nobody Wow's Clients Like We Do", should train their employees to clean up properly after any job, especially a big job that cost us $2400. If the expectation is that Anderson is the "Cadillac" of plumbing, then they should reflect that from start to finish.
I will consider using their services again strictly because their customer service is good, but I will do some research on pricing first.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/29/2012
This is my 2nd experience with Anderson. The first (a whole-house repipe in 2010) went much better… Read more »
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Review from Lisa Y.
Escondido, CA
3/31/2012
I have had a mixed experience with this company. Sometimes the person they send is qualified and sometimes they are not. I don't want to waste time and money with inexperienced plumbers.
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Review from Susie G.
Updated - 10/8/2011
Even though I didn't have a positive experience with Anderson, and even though I believe companies should provide customer service LONG before a review even has the opportunity to be made public (ie on Yelp), I have to say: The owner Mary Jean Anderson seems to take a lot of pride in her company, and took much more time than I would have expected to hear me out & to let me know I truly am valued as a customer, and not someone she wants to see walk away unhappy.
The owner and I exchanged emails several times after this review was posted, and while I still felt dissatisfied with the value I was getting with Anderson at the time of repair, since then, she gave me a full refund and more importantly, a sincere apology.
I respect anyone who runs a business and is willing to accept the flaws of their business, to hear customers out, and work on them!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/15/2011
I bought a Kudzu "Great Deal" for Anderson Plumbing (sort of like a Groupon), and I really should… Read more »
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Review from Brigette Z.
San Diego, CA
7/12/2008
Receptionists are very attentive, and they make you think you're going to get awesome service. My plumber was *terrible* and he could only clear one of the two drains that needed clearing ... the tub was "too old" for him to do it. So why has my 1938 Kensington home successfully had its drain cleared before? Oh, that's right ... because the sloppy, but inexpensive and apparently competent Bill Howe Plumbing had done it before.
I was charged $275.00 for one drain, and the plumber wasn't even apologetic about his lack of experience. He even tried to upsell me after the fact with a warranty.
I then called SOS Rooter and they came out and cleared the tub within the next hour for $175.00. They tried to upsell me, too.
Anderson's biggest mistake was calling me the next day to ask me how it went. They ended up giving me a refund and told me this plumber would need to be retrained.
What a waste of time ... I guess I'll go back to Bill Howe next time. I'm mad at myself for even trying anyone different and getting such a headache out of it. Anyone know a good, reasonable plumber?! I'm obviously still looking! -
Review from Joey M.
3/19/2011
So in the last month my parents decided to put their home on the market. Being that the market is so competitive; they realized they had to dump some money into fixing it up. Now only one problem with that, my parents live in Whittier, and the home is in San Diego. Lucky for them, they have a son who lives in San Diego. Yep that's right I was given the task to get the home ready to sell.
Well one of the first issues I noticed was we had some leaky pipes, and the water pressure was really low. To make matters worse, I noticed some rust colored water would come out of some of the sinks. I really wanted to ignore the problem, and just pass them on to the next buyer. After speaking to our realtor, he told me with so many homes on the market buyers will just walk away if they see any small issue.
Now the fun part, finding what was wrong, and someone to fix it. I called my normal plumbers (who I had success with in the past), and got them out to see what was up. They let me know I pretty much had to get most of the home re-piped, and it was not going to be cheap. They explained the pipes in my home had a buildup of rust, and corrosion inside the pipes. This was restricting the water flow, reason for low pressure. The bad news was they did not do that kind of work. I jumped back on Yelp, and got a few numbers of people who did that kind of work. One of the first places I called was Anderson Plumbing, Heating, and Air. I was a little skeptical of this place at first seeing the low overall rating, but if you really look most of the bad reviews look fake. I decided to try this place and some others to come out and quote. After getting about five different plumbers out I got the best price, and vibe from Anderson Plumbing. From the get go these guys were responsive, professional, and fast. Each day they arrived on time, and did what they had to do. One of the plumbers Victor Jimenez answered every question that I had, and was really helpful. I never had any issues with them and they even finished on time. They did a great job and fixed every problem I had. The best part was they did the job, and never once did I feel like I had worry about the work they were doing.
I would recommend these guys to anyone! Anderson Plumbing, Heating, and Air were first class!
Now on the sell this home, anyone interested? -
Review from Phil R.
San Diego, CA
5/2/2011
Fernando rocked. Late night call. Kind of a pain in the ass job, but he did it professionally. Great communication. Arrived on time. Up front pricing. Great job overall. Highly recommended.
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Review from Keysha S.
San Diego, CA
Updated - 6/16/2011
Within hours of my last post, Mary Jean Anderson called me directly to apologize and straighten out my water heater problems. She handled the case herself at that point and was very eager to rectify the situation caused by her employees. I ended up getting a new water heater installed that would fit in my closet, at no cost to me. The inspector came and signed off on it. It was, in the end, a pretty ok experience. I just wish it hadn't happened in the first place. The guy who came back to install it, Michael, was also very courteous and apologetic this time. Not sure about Kyle.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/3/2011
Terrible experience all around. I bought a new water heater from these jokers after doing extensive… Read more »
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Review from Micha M.
San Diego, CA
8/28/2009
I was shoked to see the low rating for this business on here. I used them recently and have never had sunch a great experience with a plumber. The person they sent to the house was extremely friendly and explained everything well. They were all about the details and even put on show covers to protect my floors while they worked. To top it off we had a issue with the same faucet a few months later and they came back and took care if it for no charge no questions asked. Thanks Anderson!
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Review from Wendy P.
Santa Monica, CA
Updated - 6/8/2010
I am referring to the service I received at two of the condos I own in San Diego. Not sure why it would be assumed that because I currently live in Santa Monica, I could not comment on a company in San Deigo since I lived there for three years and have owned property there for over ten years.
Listed in: Contractors
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/6/2008 First to Review
I used these guys for years without any problems. They aren't the cheapest, but they were reliable… Read more »
Comment from Mary Jean A. of Anderson Plumbing Heating & Air 6/8/2010
This is an out of area comment. We service San Diego County.… More » -
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Review from Jeff C.
San Diego, CA
2/2/2009
I believe there was a name change to just Anderson Plumbing. We had a slab leak and we made the decision to repipe the whole house. The work was done quickly and professionally. The plumbers were very careful of our floors and cleaned up every night. I felt the price was reasonable for all the work we had done. We did have a kitchen cabinet dropped on our new counter top. It cracked the corian but they paid for someone to come out and make the repair. I know problems will come up and it is how you handle them that makes all the difference. I would recommend them to a friend.
