Gruber Plumbing

My Whirlpool water heater burner assembly broke (it was recalled), and since Gruber Plumbing is the only plumber approved by Whirlpool who services San Francisco, I was so worried by these reviews that it was going to be a really terrible process. Instead, I found Mr. Gruber to be super responsive, he came the same day I received the part, and he quickly and efficiently replaced it and got my water heater working again.

He is an older gentleman whom I spoke to respectfully, and he spoke respectfully to me, and I made sure to clarify in advance exactly when there might be charges and what parts might be free, which he was happy to do. In the end, I got the part, shipping, and labor for free under a combo of the warranty & part recall. I actually had way more trouble with the Whirlpool customer service reps, who told me something different every time I called, and I wonder if that might be why some folks are having different expectations about what's covered or not.

One caveat is that since I didn't have to pay him, I don't know what his regular rates are, but I do know that $375 an hour (or more!) is pretty standard for plumbers in San Francisco, and there's not much we can do about that!

Disclaimer I didn't end choosing their service. I found them through google search for sewer video inspection, when I called and asked a few questions about my situation, he just said, "I don't know" and just gave me an estimate of $495/hr. I was left so confused, maybe he was having a bad day, who knows

Believe the reviews posted. Phil Gruber is not a honest or reliable plumber. He will charge you $500 and leave you with a broken water heater. Do NOT use Gruber plumbing; find an alternative.

This guy is a rip off. I got charged $600 to unclog a drain. Half way through when it was looking like he couldn't unclog it, he reminded me that I would have to pay him if he completed the work or not. I hired him because he is local and he told me $375.00 for what I thought was the job. Nope it's $375 an hour. DON'T HIRE THIS GUY! To be clear I don't like writing bad reviews for small businesses but i think it's important that consumer's know what he charges.

I have a pretty new water heater from AOS. Been having issues with it turning off. Called AOS and they referred me to Gruber Plumbing. I called and he said he could look at it but it would $375. I had to choice since AOS referred me to him. He came out, looked at it, and recommended a couple of fixes. I had to shallow the $375 fee for just consulting but no work.

When I asked how much he would charge for a 3 foot section of replacement duct work he quoted $800. None of the $375 would apply to the $800. I'll probably call AOS and just let them know what Gruber is charging just to come and see a water heater.

I called Gruber plumbing because they were on the recommended list from the water heater company. He came out and charged us $395/hr. He was there for 2 hours and it worked for 6 hours and broke down again. He fixed nothing and was going to charge us more if he came out again. I would not recommend their service at all!

5 stars for Gruber Plumbing. Whirlpool burner replacement done in less than 30 mins. Fast and professional.

After six years the burner assembly on my 50 gallon Whirlpool water heater failed. Normally, the 12 year warranty only covers labor for the first three years, but because there was a recall on this part I didn't have to pay anything. Whirlpool customer service referred me to Phil Gruber who returned my call within five minutes. We scheduled an appointment for the following day.

His only requirements were enough space to access the water heater, a parking space for his van, and observation of the Covid restrictions (masks, etc.). He arrived on time with the part needed. He performed the installation quickly and successfully. His demeanor was polite, friendly, and professional. I can't comment on his prices, because that is between him and Whirlpool. I have no complaints whatsoever. It is wonderful to have hot water again. Many thanks to Phil and Whirlpool customer service.

My Whirlpool water heater's burner was broken. It's still under warranty so the company sent me the new burner and asked me to contact Gruber Plumbing for the installation. Some comment says Phil charges money for just showing up. I was concerned and asked him about this before he came. He told me he only charges if the water heater is not easily accessible, which is not the case for me. I called him in the morning, he showed up before noon, installed the new burner. No charge. The entire process went pretty smoothly.

He (old man named Phil) charged 650$ for just a 10$ water sink valve and 5 minute to change. It is NOT expensive. it is ROBBERY. Just we have not much experience in plumbing so we are fooled by him this time. Never should call this company again

Run! Fast! My wife called Gruber Plumbing to inquire about a warranty repair for our water heater. He requested a picture of the label to confirm the info and then said he would come out to take a look. Again, our five year old water was leaking and we called for warranty service. He never mentioned on the phone that he charges a $375 service call fee to look at the water heater.

When he arrived this morning, he told my wife as they stood in the garage that he charges $375 just to show up. After telling her that there was no warranty and that he wanted $2600 to change the water heater, she said no, that was to much. He demanded the $375. I spoke with him on the phone and he was very direct. I could not understand how he could charge such a large fee without advising us first.

I told him that this was very dishonest and he went on to insult me. We had no choice but to pay him. After reading other reviews, it seems this isn't the first time. Oh, we had the water heater replaced today for $1500. call Bay Area Water Heaters! They were amazing! Great price and great service. Not only will I never again do business with Gruber Plumbing but I recommend that you don't either. I've been in residential construction for 30 years and this behavior is not ok.

The water heater did not work and wad on recall and I got the chance to work with Phill. He came in twice and ordered parts. He was professional, knowledgeable and showed up on time even during the coronavirus challenges. Thank you Phill for saving the day! Highly recommend

This guy is class act. I call and ask if he can come out and look at my clogged sink. His website says "free quote". He offers $375 for an hour service call. I ask if that would include an estimate if it is a problem that will take longer than an hour. Apparently he doesn't understand what an estimate is, or what a quote is. He seems to think a "Free quote" is telling me his hourly rate on the phone.

That isn't a quote at all. How can you be a business person and not know the very basic language of your business. A quote is coming out, assessing the problem, and giving me an estimate of the time it will take to fix the problem, along with an estimate of the materials you will need to fix the problem. If you require a service call, I understand that.

If you can fix the problem within the hour, then the service call fee should take care of the cost. I understand that too. but to not be able to say you'll provide an estimate of the amount of work something will take is ridiculous. ESPECIALLY at nearly $400 an hour.

We've been having weekly problems with our water heater going out since installed in December 2018. After numerous calls with the manufacturer and suggested "fixes, " the manufacturer provided us with a list of 3 plumbing companies that do business in San Francisco. Phil was by far the most responsive. He showed up on time and, because he understands not just water heaters, but other factors like venting, combustion, etc. required for optimal operation, he was able to quickly figure-out the burner issue and fix our water heater plus show me the pages of the manufacturer's guide where I needed to make additional changes. Thanks Phil!

Phil is great and was a pleasure to work with. After my Whirlpool gas water heater broke, first burning with a loud roar, and eventually failing to re-ignite after the insulation on the ignition wire failed; I called their support line and learned the burner/ignition issue was covered under an open recall. They shipped me a replacement burner unit, and referred me to Gruber Plumbing. Having called Phil on a Saturday and left a voicemail, he returned my weekend call an hour or two later and confirmed his availability to install the burner once it arrived.

When to my surprise the burner arrived a day early, on Monday morning, Phil was able to fit me into his schedule and replaced the bad burner and the gas controller in the early afternoon, restoring hot water to our home. Thanks for the rapid replies, and quick turnaround in fixing our water heater!

Gruber Plumbing is the most dishonest plumber that I've ever encountered in my lifetime. The owner, Phil, is not trustworthy and only thinks about getting paid. When our water heater broke, we called Gruber Plumbing because they were the approved plumbers from our water heater manufacturer. My wife and I went with them in order to satisfy the conditions under our water heater's warranty, where parts and labor would be covered by the manufacturer. Phil, the owner, came over and saw that we had a water recirculation pump installed in front of the water heater and told us that he needed to move it in order to fix our water heater's burner.

He quoted us $350 for the additional labor -- $250 to remove the pump and another $100 to put it back. My wife and I aren't plumbing experts nor handy, but that amount seemed high to us. When we asked him why it cost the amount it did, he responded in an extremely condescending tone "why does anything cost money?". The conversation continued in a similar manner.

We asked more questions and he had responses to the tune of "I don't know why you would do that", "see. that's what happens", etc. He was so scornful in his responses that it brought my wife to tears! At this point, my wife and I were going on two weeks without hot water and we were desperate to get it fixed. I knew of another plumber that would be able to put back the pump, so we suggested to pay Phil from Gruber Plumbing the $250 to remove the pump and fix our water heater. Phil responded by increasing the price to remove the water pump to $350, citing that the previous quote he gave us minutes ago was no longer valid.

We were in total shock. Even though my wife were desperate for hot water, this didn't seem right. So, we refused and he left. I ultimately called another plumber and we were willing to pay whatever the price. When the other plumber came and saw the same situation, he simply used a wrench to loosen the water recirculation pump and rotated it a quarter turn. It took less than one minute and he didn't have to remove it. He was then able to fix our water heater. Gruber Plumbing is not trustworthy. I do not recommend them.

This post is over a month over due. During one of the heavy rain/wind storm last month, our water heater would not heat up. We were forced to take cold showers that day as we could not get a plubmer to come in on such short notice. On one of our last calls, we called Gruber Plumbing and talked to Phil. He too, could not come on the same day to see us due to his schedule, but he was kind enough to troubleshoot the problem. Phil knew exactly what was wrong, our burner was not turning on due to a problem caused by the heavy winds.

We were afraid of turning off the very dim pilot at the time for fear of not being able to ignite it again. He instructed for us turn off the pilot for at least 10 to 15 min and then restarting it. It worked and I was thankful to be able to take a hot shower on that very cold day Thank you Phil, we will be calling you with any future plumbing problems.

We bought a new water heater and the pilot light would not stay lit. Called the mfg and they called Gruber Plumbing to come out to do the warranty service. At first Phil the owner came off as a bit of an jerk, but when he showed up he was fast and efficient. He replaced the thermocouple and the pilot light stayed lit and we have hot water!

To bad there isn't negative stars. I was having trouble with a BRAND NEW Whirlpool water heater. I called Whirlpool's tech support number, obtained the required authorization code for warranty repairs, and a referral for a plumber in my area (Gruber Plumbing). Called their number and left a message. He called back and spoke with my wife.

He was very rude and insulting to her ( NOT very professional in my opinion). A word of advice, DON'T buy Whirlpool! Because when it blows up and you call Whirlpool Technical Assistance, they will refer you to rude and insulting "professionals."