MasterServ

I’m glad I had wait until now to find out exactly what kind of company this is with their paper «Life Time Warranty» claim. I had to repipe the whole house back in 2005 due to slab leak after moving in. They came out and sold me their «Life Time Warranty» and did a good job. I only had to call them once about three years ago to stop noise coming from outside hose bib. They came out promptly and fixed the problem.
Now recently I noticed this loud «thump-​thump» noise coming from the kitchen area whenever construction worker outside turns on and off the hose nozzle from hose attached to side hose bibs. It doesn’t happen all the time (probably because of another hose bib being used or for whatever reason to absorb the pressure) but when it happens the whole kitchen side wall vibrates behind the refrigerator. It has gotten louder and louder to the point where I had to call MasterServ to investigate.
And here is where 1 star is more than they deserve. I first call them and tell them the situation and the guy said it must be the pressure regulator failure. He said he’ll send someone out on next day to evaluate the problem. Next day comes and goes and no one showed up. I called back the following day and the same guy who scheduled the initial appointment said he was not in on that day and said he’ll send someone out next Monday. So Monday is today and the guy actually showed up.
His name was Jose, the manager or supervisor. I explained to him exactly what was the problem and the first thing that he says is it is normal. Quick shut off valve from hose nozzle is what’s causing the thumping noise. I told him the noise was getting louder and louder and was worried with all that vibration the braces in the attic may have loosened up. I asked him whether he can go up and take a look to see if any braces came off. He flat out said no. He said the braces are not loose and he will not go up. If he goes up to check he’ll have to charge me. So this guy knows without even looking what the problem is. But still he does not offer any fixes to the problem. He said there’s nothing he can do about it.
So far no mention of pressure regulator until I brought it up. Then he checked the pressure and said it was normal. I asked him again to check the braces up in the attic to make sure it is secure and he flat out said there’s no need. He wan’t going up to check without charging me.
So the Lifetime Warranty doesn’t even get you an inspection by the MasterServ despite problems clearly laid out by the owner. This guy did nothing by coming out to my home. Why did he waste his time to come out in the first place if everything we discussed can be done over the phone? I’m sure he’s charging the company for his time. I told him I will call his company and talk to the owner. So I called the company and left the message with the guy who initially scheduled the appointment. He said the owner will call me and schedule another guy to come out to inspect the problem. So far no one called and when I call back I get the answering machine.
This is the worst customer service I had to deal with in all the companies I’ve dealt with. This Lifetime Warranty is a joke. They will not even check to see whether the pipes are loose in the attic unless you pay them for the inspection. What a joke. If the owner doesn’t send someone out to fix the problem or tell me what’s wrong with the pipes they installed I’m going to contact the state BBB and leave a complaint so that others don’t have to deal with this shady company.

They originally came and repaired my home, they did a great job.

Had an appointment for a Monday between 1:00 and 4:00 — I called at 2:00 to get a status: told it would be by 4:00
4:00 comes and goes: no show no call.
I call Tuesday. Am Told it was a medical issue. Rescheduled for Friday @ 3:30. At 2:30, I get a call saying it will be between 5 & 6. Again, no call, no show.
******************
Editing Review: Jose DID show up at 7:00 PM — having driven from Riverside to Woodland Hills on a Friday evening! He did the work quickly & efficiently AT NO CHARGE!
They seriously need to work on communicating with their customers.
Changed from 1 star to 3 stars

I did choose them based on the reviews (despite their quote was high), re-​pipe was done 4 years back and it was good for a month, until one fine day started hearing Whistling noise in one of the shower. They did come instantly to fix it, and patched the walls. did a good job on it.
After 3 yrs, started hearing noises in the pipes again, called them several times, one of the technician came and found that the pipes were not secure enough (tied to the frame??) in crawl space and he said he will come back, but no response after that. called them several times. no luck.
Lesson learnt. if it is costly, doesn’t always mean that they do a good job. and stand by their products/​services.

Masterserv replaced all the drains and all the pipes in our house, which was much needed because some of it was the original plumbing from 50 years ago. They came in and did their job. There was a small leak under the kitchen sink which they came out and checked on and it ended up being our old garbage disposal which we would’ve replaced at the time of the drain installation if they would’ve told us that are garbage disposal needs replacing. What’s $ 150 on a garbage disposal when we have spent tens of thousands on pipes and drains. When they replaced my wife’s sink infrastructure they used a small pipe with the sink stopper mechanism inside the pipe. My wife who has short hair, hair is slowly clogging up the pipe. I can’t snake the pipe because of the sink stopper mechanism is inside the pipe. In June 2015 I called the company to have somebody come out and figure out engineering solution for the problem, which is putting in a larger pipe. It is now mid September and and they pushed us back twice to come out and service our sink. First they told us that when somebody’s in the area will send somebody out, next they gave us a time which we were going out of town for that weekend. They gave us an appointment the week after we were supposed to go out of town and then they pushed it back to October 10. Today the receptionist told me that the field supervisor José told him that it is a clogged drain and we need to have our local plumber come out and fix the problem. This is absolutely unacceptable and the reason why I am writing this review. Masterserv does excellent work however their aftercare is horrible. My suggestion for anybody looking to get major plumbing work done is to find a reputable contractor local to where you are, so that when you have problems after the job is done they can easily respond to your needs, and not give you the runaround.

Well, it seems someone new is working customer service and after reading my old review, they called and asked to remedy my situation. I really appreciate that! They came out and fixed what could be fixed. I believe in second chances and these folks have earned my trust again! Thanks!!!

My rental house was re-​piped by MasterServ in the fall of 2014. To date there has not been one problem. The team, including sales (Stevo), office staff, installers, and supervision (Jose), exceeded my expectations. The company has an efficient system, which includes a knowledgeable team that works well together. The City inspector thoroughly checked the completed work with no exceptions noted. MasterServ management also participated in the project review to further ensure its expected high-​level of performance was met. MasterServ proved to me that it’s a company that does what it says it’ll do

This is kind of a mixed review because while the re-​piping is doing a fine job after 8 years, it’s trying to get someone in authority to address a concern that is at issue with my review.
Last month we got a new refrigerator with the ice and water hook-​up. My wife was worried about the sodium content in the water, so we asked one plumber what his thoughts were. He said MasterServ should have known not to hook up the kitchen sink and outside hoses to the soft water system, because you need some hard water. Culligan Water systems says that in soft water systems, there is less than 20mg. of sodium per 8 oz. of water, so it’s fairly safe to drink. What to do?
When calling MasterServ to ask their side of the story, we were immediately referred to one of their contractors who only wanted to sell us a product/​service. We were also told the following by different people:
1. We should have asked MasterServ not to hook up the sink and hoses to the soft water system (How am I supposed to know that? They are the specialists!).
2. The sodium content in the water, if left untreated, is equivalent to three slices of pizza (I didn’t ask if that meant with or without extra cheese).
3. MasterServ could install a reverse osmosis system but then it would cost $ 1,600, then $ 1,200, then $ 1,400. I never got a second visit or an actual estimate.
4. When I called for a fifth time to ask why my initial questions weren’t answered (should they have run an extra line or not hooked up everything to the soft water system), I was told by one of their dispatch operators that they would send my question up the chain of command. That was Thursday, 10÷2÷14. I’m still waiting for a return call.
I FINALLY got smart and called the company that installed our soft water system. After answering ALL of my questions within the first three minutes of the call, the representative looked up our account and said we always had the reverse osmosis system and that we were eligible for an upgrade that was about half the cost of the lowest estimate MasterServ gave us. They came in Tuesday, ¹⁰⁄₇ and had our system upgraded in about an hour.
So the lessons learned were multiple. First, MasterServ does do a good job re-​piping houses, and that’s it. Second, they either don’t know or don’t care about much else, otherwise, they would have helped me better or at least referred me to someone who could. And third, do your research and keep asking questions. And if someone seems that they don’t know what they’re talking about, they probably don’t. Doing that saved us a lot of money.
Again, the company is good for the job they do, but don’t rely on them to take care of their customers much beyond that. Their communication is less than stellar.

Thank you Unilocal,for without you I would never be able to tell my story about this company publicly. I have been stewing over my bad experience for some time and never thought about Unilocal.So here goes.
The one aspect of masterserv that deserves an A rating is their sales department. The salesman was everything you would expect out of a career sales person. In this economy it take some really smooth talking to convince customers to pay more for their services. This is exactly what happened with Masterserv, I did what I always do as a good consumer, I contacted three companies to receive estimates. Replacing copper pipes is pretty standard, anybody can do it. The masterserv sales representative was a real smooth talker. He told me exactly why I would pay nearly $ 1000 more for the same services. The lifetime warranty against anything that should go wrong with my pipes. He was extremely passionate about telling me that should anything go wrong, anything at all, they would be there to fix the problem no matter what it was. In retrospect I feel pretty bad about using them instead of the elderly honest sales person that represented the competing company, I bought their story hook line and sinker her. After all, there is security in knowing that even though one pays a little more I would have the peace of mind in knowing that it would be a perfect job and guaranteed for life. So in the end, I chose masterserv to replace my house with copper pipes for nearly $ 1000 more than their competitors. All I can say is I am a chump.
Here is what happened. The crew arrived at my house as promised but found that they could not fit the long copper pipes through the crawlspace entrance from my house. So they took their wirecutters and destroyed a vent opening that had been secure for nearly 60 years.
Next there was some sort of problem with the pipes near my bathtub, my tub was filled with water for hours and hours and the crew lead was in the tub with his big boots, by the end of the day my resurface tub had Big chunks removed due to the water and boots in the tub for hours. No worries right? I have this fabulous guarantee. so when the work was finished I contacted the company and let them know what happened to my vent and to my bathtub. I was assured that everything would be repaired to its original condition as promised. I offered to purchase a new bathtub and told them that they could just put it in for me and that would be sufficient. I also offered to have them refinish it back to its original condition, that was also an acceptable solution to my problem. What I received instead was a cavalier manager who essentially went over to Home Depot and purchased what looked like a small bottle of white out, he dribbled it on the spots and told me that this was his solution. Huh? Hundred percent satisfaction and a lifetime guarantee, I don’t think so! My tub looked awful and since that time those repairs have just reopened back to their original damaged condition.
Next was the issue of my vents. The vents are very important in my neighborhood because there is a raccoon problem and without sturdy vent covers they break in to the crawlspace under the house. Well, instead of repairing my vents back to the original condition, as I was led to believe, this supervisor took the equivalent of a metal twist tie, and closed the vent with that. Once again I challenged the work and was told that that is all that they would do to rectify the situation.
So let me get this straight, I spent nearly $ 1000 more because of the peace of mind that the work was guaranteed and should any troubles arise they would be handled immediately. What I got was exactly the opposite.
Now if your house has no issues whatsoever you may be satisfied with their service, I wouldn’t have known how bad they were unless these problems occurred. My advice is go with another company. There is no reason to pay more and get this type of problem resolution. Thank goodness my pipes have not failed yet, I can only imagine how they would handle that situation. I have my fingers crossed that nothing will occur there because I have lost all confidence in their ability to fulfill their promises and guarantees.

We own an old two story Mediterranean style home in San Bernardino built in 1926. We contracted with this company this past July to repipe and replace the superstructure cast iron drains. The work got off to a rocky start. The sales rep had promised some things that we’re not itemized in the contract and needless to say, we didn’t receive that work. The crews came in and did all the work fast, but fast is not always good. They mistakenly demo’d an area of ceiling in our home that we had specifically asked them to not demo. They deliberately did not reconnect the irrigation system. When insisted that they reconnect the system they wanted to charge me an additional $ 300.00. There was a bit of back and forth before they agreed to reconnect the irrigation at no additional charge. As the back and forth was going on I checked the contract and found that it clearly state that my irrigation system for the front and backyard were to be reconnected.
Below is an email message that I sent to MasterServ on August 27, 2014. I was not able to attach photos to this review. I have not received any response to my email as of today.
«We hired an HVAC contractor to replace condensing units (outside) at our home. I notified the contractor of the lack of air in an area of my home that I know for a fact we received heat air in the past. Attached you will find photographs taken by the HVAC contractor when he checked the ducting underneath our home today. You will notice that in all the photos repipe work has been performed where the ducting has been pulled loose or smashed. We now have spend more money to fix the duct work damaged by your crew.
I also attached a photo of the vent area in the small upstairs bathroom (photo 6) where my husband told the demo crew twice to be careful to not damage the vent. The vent is made of non-​friable asbestos. Your crew damaged the vent even after two precautions. Our HVAC refused to work on the part of the job until the asbestos was abated. There is a photo of the paid invoice to AQHI (photo 7) to remove the damaged portion of the vent and seal the exposed edge of the port of the vent remaining. You can see from the photo of the bathe vent that there is new sheet metal collar the HVAC contractor had to install before he could attach the vent cover/​grille. The HVAC contractor charged an additional $ 100 to have fabricated and install the collar to replace the portion of the wall vent damaged by your crew.
Photo 1 shows ducting remove from connection going up into wall.
Photo 2, 3 and 4 shows ducts smashed.
Photo 5 shows the ducting that was remove from connection in photo 1. The ducting end was just left to blow air under the staircase.»
If you choose to do business with MasterServ just beware of the issues that may come up based on the experience of those of us who have had serious an costly issues as a result of this contractor’s poor methods.

MasterServ re-​piped my house 10 years ago and they did a good job. I liked the fact that the city inspections department trusted their work enough to allow them to self-​inspect and issue permits.
Their price was a bit higher than other plumbers but the quality was worth it. I’m writing this review now because I called them recently to deal with the dripping shower valve they had installed. According to the wording of their warranty and also the shower valve manufacturer, the value was guaranteed for life of the owner.
At first they said they would replace parts in the valve at no cost but they needed to charge me $ 140 labor fee for the plumber because valves require maintenance and were not covered by the lifetime warranty. After much ado, I spoke with George the owner and he decided to do the right thing and fix the valve for free.
So I recommend the company because they do good work and they back up their work. However, just know that maintenance items like valves are not covered in the lifetime warranty that the salesman will emphasize as a reason you should do business with them.

These guys are professional with a capital «P» I highly recommend them. Stevo came to our house and explained our options, the products and how they would be installed. He was very knowledgeable and there was no pressure. When we called and placed the order I explained I was concerned the install would be done the way he told us. The first day both he and the area supervisor Jose came out and discussed the job with us and the installers.
After placing the order we got an immediate call from Cindy who set up the install 2 days later. Erlinda coordinated the work and called us the night before to confirm and the next morning to let us know what time the team would be there. The installation went smoothly, the two men were fast and hard workers.
The city inspector passed the work and told us MasterServ does good work and doesn’t destroy walls like other companies do. After the inspection the two men came to patch the walls and stucco the outside. They finished in one day. We couldn’t even tell where the holes were when they were done. Each day the workers left a clean job site. Everyone was friendly, helpful and had great communication.

We had a great experience with the actual plumbers from Masterserv. They were so professional and they worked FAST! Plus the price was way less than other quotes. One of the plumbers even caught my baby when he fell off the curb. Everyone on the office end is very nice as well, though sometimes they will call you several times within an hour if they need a question answered but not return a call from you for several days. I am only leaving the one star off because the dry wallers are TERRIBLE!!! The patching on all of our walls looked like a four-​year-​old did it. It was so messy, didn’t look like it was sanded at all, there were splatters of whatever they use to seal the holes all over the place. We had to have them back out to re-​do it and I still think it looks totally sloppy. But as far as the plumbing and office staff go, five stars!!!

Great job on the initial installation in 2003. Unfortunate leak in 2013, but MasterServ is stepping up to the plate and being very professional in honoring their guarantee.
Well done MasterServ.

Cindy and George were both very personable and efficient. George rearranged his schedule as I was going out of town, in order to come to the house. I called him for what I thought was a slab leak which meant a repipe situation, a big investment. Upon his arrival I showed him the water damage and situation and asked what his opinion was, did I have a slab leak? He ran a couple of water pressure test and determined I did Not have a slab leak but probably a drain or dishwasher hose leak. Taking the time to run the test, and be honest, cost him a job with me today but I will defiantly call Masterserv when the time comes to repipe. Thanks George!

I was very impressed with the level of professionalism from everyone I dealt with. Tamara in the office was very efficient. The sales man, Stevo Hines, worked around my schedule to come out and give us a quote, and was so confident and knowledgeable about the products that I felt very comfortable giving the company my business. The pipe crew, lead by Jose and Miguel, worked from 8 am to 8 pm to finish the job quickly and the plaster guys finished the next day. Everyone did a fabulous job. Our house was completely re-​piped in 2 days. I would highly recommend this team for your re-​piping needs.

way back in 2003 we contracted with masterserv as a result of radio advertising but no personal friends that had used them. I thought their initial work was good and I was really satisfied. Two weeks after the job was finished we had an issue and getting any assistance was difficult but it did finally get resolved and again I thought I was satisfied.
Which brings me to 2012l last week when I started a remodel on a bathroom that they worked on I was disapointed when my contractor show me that when they put holes in my stucco the area was not patched correctly no water proofing and no sealant. So I called and didn’t get a response and thought well we are going to have to re stucco and put up waterproofing as a result of the changes we were doing so chalk it up to a bad choice and will not give a good review if asked.
That was until today. My house is in a fire area and we have a fire system that the city required be put into the houses in this tract. So when we had to move some of the heads we called in the original company that had put the system in and then had preformed the test on the line when we bought the house (1997) we knew it worked then. So after they moved the head and went to turn the system back on we were surprised to find that there was no more water in the line… in fact the water line was no longer connected to the system and there is foam where foam should not be hiding what they believe will be the break between the water line and the fire system,
I called and we will see what happens tomorrow but I am not expecting much.
They might be reasonably priced however their guarntees and warrenties aren’t worth the paper they are printed on and once the check is cashed … you are not very importiant to them any more.

Are you kidding me? This company is the absolute best. This type of company is what makes America great.
Reasonable prices and a fantastic work ethic. If you need to repipe your home, call them! We did because the plumbing was over 50 yrs old and rust water would come out first for 5 mins if we did not use any fixture (toilet, shower, faucet) for a while… it was time to stop poisoning ourselves with rust.
I listened to their commercial on KFI AM 640 every day and finally I asked them to call me for an estimate online. They are very prompt and understanding and want your business. This is a big efficient company but with a family plumber feel and work quality. I tried to find any bad reviews for them, and there really are none. The estimator who came to our house said out of 3000 jobs, there were 15 complaints. Those are pretty darn good stats.
The estimator comes out, draws up your home and gives a price. If it’s ok to go, it’s like some money down, and then you pay up to 80% after all the repiping is done. Then they get a city inspection (makes everything all legit) and then they drywall and the remaining balance is due.
You have to ready your house by removing items off the walls and closets so they can get to the pipes and repaint the newly dry walled areas, but that’s basically all the work you have to do. They are SO CLEAN with everything, a little dusty, but it’s amazing. Every evening it was as if nobody was even there during the day and the holes they make are reasonable.
They finished repiping in 2 days for my case! Then another 2 to finish up, get inspection, and drywall. RIDICULOUS considering we had 4 bathrooms and 3 sinks and the lawn sprinklers too. They basically build a whole new piping system and reconnected the water to the new pipes from the main, brilliant. They go under your house if your floor is raised or over in an attic space (hopefully you have one) if slabbed. They will figure it out. My water is now really clean and comes out with a lot of pressure.
I highly recommend this company. We tried to get another estimate and the man didn’t even seem like he wanted to do it because it looked too difficult. His price was also roughly the same, less but definitely not worth the extra quality speed and peace of mind MasterServ offers with their slightly higher price. He also said it was going to take 1 month vs. MasterServ’s 1 week.
MasterServ has a full crew and only repipes so you know you can trust such a specialist. We chose Copper because we do not like plastics/​PEX but it’s really a personal preference/​budget issue.
Please hire MasterServ! At least get an estimate. I think they have a NorCal office too. Don’t be afraid to haggle/​ambitiously negotiate. Just do your part by readying the house, paying them asap, and repainting new drywall.

Hmmmm, let’s start with nothing went right. They re-​piped our home in 2003 and we are still having to correct their mistakes. The crew did not speak English, so they had to bring in a shoeless guy who was sleeping in the car every time we noticed they were doing something wrong. When our phone bill came, there were long distance calls to Armenia. They did not use the correct size pressure regulator (which we had to replace). They did not strap the pipes to the wall (which we had to pay to have done),
They have a slick sales presentation and they are quick to tell you how wonderful they are. We bought in and boy did we pay for it.

The majority of my reviews usually involve restaurants or bars, but I just had to give some praise to this particular business.
I purchased a house a few months ago. The home inspection showed that the house was in good condition, but the plumbing was very old (40 year old galvanized). The pipes still seemed ok overall, but there were certain spots of heavy corrosion.
After having a few plumbers give me estimates, it was decided that our best option was to have the house completely re-​piped. I had gotten a few estimates. One company quoted me over $ 12,000!
I contacted MasterServ because the home inspector I used recommended them and said he’d used them on his own home in the past.
The people are MasterServ are very friendly & professional. They always addressed me as «Mr. [last name]» versus just «Chris». Not really necessary, but still nice to see businesses that show some etiquette.
They had an inspector that came out, checked all the pipes, and drew me up an estimate that matched the same work and materials that the other plumbers were offering, but at about HALF the price of the $ 12,000 quote. This included re-​piping the entire house with Type-​L copper, all the way to the main water line.
The work started immediately. With only 2 guys working, it only took them 2 or 3 days to complete the project. There was no interruption to my water service the entire time they worked, with the exception of maybe 30 minutes to 1 hour on the last day.
What they did was construct the majority of the piping system before removing my old piping, to ensure the least amount of water service interruption. There was very minimal damage that needed to be done to the walls, and they patched everything up so clean that it looks like nothing ever happened.
On top of that, they leave absolutely NO MESS. Guests could come over and they would’ve never known work was being done to the house.
The workmanship was fantastic. My hot water is running stronger than ever. And the work came with a lifetime warranty.
Some things I will mention…
The price I was quoted is specific to my home. I won’t list the exact price as a courtesy to the company. Every home is different and there are several factors to take into consideration. Keep that in mind.
Also, make sure that any work to be performed is written clearly in the contract and that you confirm this with both the appraiser (who gives you the estimate & draws up your contact) and the plumbers who do the actual work. I had a small dispute where the contract stated that they were suppose to install a water line to my fridge, but the plumbers evidently weren’t aware this needed to be done. It got resolved quickly.
I highly recommend MasterServ for your re-​piping needs. Good people, good service. The testimonials speak for themselves.