A#1 Emergency Service

Back in October of 2015 we experienced a slab leak, just the words «slab leak» sent us into a panic. The plumber arrives, explains the problem and solution, however he only repairs the leak nothing else. I know he can see the lost look on our faces, so he explains further, not to worry, I know a great company that can handle everything. This is on a Sunday mind you, so I’m thinking days without water, standing water etc. After a quick phone call, the plumber tells us, Erich (the owner of A#1) will be here in a few… unbelievable. Erich arrives and not only explains the repair process, he also explains the insurance process in detail with no hint of being rushed or being put out on a Sunday evening. No contract signed that night, just a hand shake and a promise his crew will be here first thing in the morning. Honestly after that first meeting I never had to questioned anything, Erich passed the ball to Tony (project manager) and weeks later you would never know a problem every existed. Every day the crew arrived on time, worked a full hard day and didn’t leave until everything was clean even though they were going to be back in hours to work in the same areas… This impressed me the most. A Job well done!
Well fast forward a few weeks later… another leak! Our Refrigerator water supply line failed, we woke up to an of 1″ water in the kitchen, however this time I didn’t panic as much. 1 quick call and Erich had the cleanup crew there in 45 minutes. This proved to be a much bigger deal, at least in my mind, but A#1 handled this repair just like the first… kept us informed, crews always on time and they worked around our schedule when needed. The only difference this time was Tony’s involvement. Tony really played a major role negotiating and dealing with our insurance company and scheduling, re-​scheduling to accommodate our work schedule all through the holidays etc… We really can’t say enough nice things about the crews (I wish I remembered all of their names) Tony and Erich… A#1 Thank you!

If you have an emergency flood situation and expect everything to go perfect as far as your claim with you insurance company, go ahead and hire Erich’s company A#1. Like others have stated, Phase One goes great. Erich shows up, tells you how much he’s going to be there along the way to assist in the in insurance claim process. He’ll also look you in the eye and tell you that he doesn’t get paid until you get paid by the insurance company. He doesn’t care that he’s lying to your face because you’ll never see of hear from him again until he starts harassing you when your insurance company is dragging their feet (which they ALL do) to cut you a check. I kept Erich abreast of all my communication and efforts to speed along the process with The Hartford. At one time, things were held up waiting for him to submit his estimates they had questions about. I’ll get back to all that later.
As far as repairs, Erich claims the repair will look as new. Meh, I’ve had handy men do just as good a job as what was repaired in my bathroom. You can see the tape and bed lines where the sheetrock was replaced. We had to call again after sink was replaced and was leaking everywhere upon use. I would have complained and had them redo it, but I was so over this company I decided to live with in and cover with a large painting. Also, when they removed our toilet, they stuff towels down the sewer pipe and on top. About a month after the repairs were finished, we began having major sewer stench in the house. We called a plumber out and sure enough, he found several rags in the sewer sump pump that burned out the sump pump. We know it came from the A#1 guys because the sump pump only services this specific bathroom that A#1 repaired. It’s also only used by our nanny who definitely knows not to flush multiple rags down the toilet. This cost me over $ 1000 to repair the sump pump and the plumber bill.
So back to the harassing bill collection by Erich. I was getting married and would be out of the country for 2 weeks. Two weeks before the wedding I forwarded Erich all the info I had from the Hartford about the hold up on our final payment of $ 3700. I sent him the direct email from the insurance agent that the final payment check had been approved and cut in A#1’s name and was going through the system and would be sent directly to Erich. The 2^nd night of our honeymoon I began getting harassing emails from Erich saying he was placing a lien on our property and cc’ing his attorney. Direct quote from Erich, «Telling me that your Insurance company is or has issued me a check is nice to hear. But it’s not enough.» He also told me that I owed him $ 6,510.31 in the same email when in fact I owed him $ 2,722.01. When I pointed this out to Erich and his lawyer, they both quickly began back pedaling.
I have had a home flood before and dealt with repairs, claims, adjusters, and insurance companies. I pay my bills, no problem. But I have never been treated or harassed by a contractor like this ever before. Proceed with caution people. Erich has a temper and when he decides to turn it on you, you better watch out. Very unprofessional and unethical and subpar construction work. The tear down process I will say was good, but how hard is it to tear down some wet sheetrock? It’s not.

We had a water leak in our slab last month and were referred to A#1 by our neighbor. Erich, the owner, showed up and investigated the problem. He explained the situation thoroughly and had his crew and a plumber out the same day. He walked us through all of the necessary steps to maximize our insurance claim. After having the leak repaired and all of the contaminated flooring and drywall removed, he turned the project over to his estimator, Tony. Tony handled the rest of the restoration to project completion like a true professional. He returned every call promptly and kept my wife and I informed and updated during the entire process.
The bottom line is, water leaks are a major hassle to deal with. You will have different work crews with different specialties working on your house. You will also have to deal with your homeowners insurance. A#1 handled our problem seamlessly and professionally. I would not hesitate to refer them and/​or use them again in the future.
Thanks again Erich and Tony!

Well, you’ll NEVER BELIEVE IT… it happened again! This time the damage was more extensive. Once again Erich and Chris took care of everything. Erich dried out the place in a few days and Chris meet with the insurance adjuster and

My kitchen was flooded. The water damage required that my cabinets be taken out, the walls be demolished & a jack hammer to remove the tile floor and cement underneath. I was distraught. If it had not been for Tony from A#1, I would have gone insane. He was always calm & reassuring. The workers he sent were kind & always did excellent work. I knew I could get always get in touch with Tony, regardless of what I needed. I cannot recommend these workers highly enough. I would not wish anyone to have this happen to them but if it does happen, call A#1 and you will not be disappointed. They did what was promised, they worked directly with my my insurance company, made calls I didn’t want to make and saved me headaches. Excellent people who treated me like a person, not just an account.

I have mixed feelings about A#1. We had a slab leak and they were great through coming out and tearing everything out and drying everything but the second part, «phase 2» was ehh. The work done was satisfactory but I agree with the other reviewers about Erich pressuring you to sign everything real quick when you are under stress and then you are just kind of stuck. He explains that the price he charges you will be an agreed upon amount determined between A#1 and your insurance company. That sounds great right? Then you just have to pay your deductible and nothing else. Well that is until you see that insurance also charges and pays for «floor protection» and «cleaning up.» Luckily our leak wasn’t so bad where our floors had to be taken out but when A#1 came back to paint, they obviously didn’t put anything down to protect the floors or clean up afterwards because I found paint spots all over my floor. It isn’t that big of a deal I guess since it is insurance’s money but still frustrating.
Also, do not expect any communication once everything is done and completed. Our stove and fridge were taken out and I was told to contact Chris to have them reinstalled. (And I should note that during the process, Chris would always answer my calls or call me back within 10 minutes.) So I called to get our stove reinstalled on a Wednesday and left a message — no return call. So I called on Friday and left a message — no return call. When it was getting late in the afternoon, and I was going to be stuck without a stove for the fourth weekend in a row, I had my husband call from his phone because it felt like I was being purposefully ignored and Chris answers right away. Apparently Erich had contacted the plumbing company who re-​installs everything and was told that they would contact us directly. Ok, fair enough. You think it is off your shoulders but can you give me a 30 second phone call to let me know that? Maybe too much to ask for from some. Also, my husband and I wanted to know the exact paint that was put on the cupboards as we wanted to do some touch up. I asked Chris in my messages and also emailed him but again no response to me. I believe he called my husband at some point.
Then we are getting into the reimbursement from insurance phase. Because of the amount, our insurance company put our mortgage company on the check. I looked into how to get this cashed and was informed we would have to submit a notarized statement stating we would return our house to «pre-​loss condition» as well as submit all of the paperwork associated with the check. Not a problem, right? Well we were still waiting for one other check because A#1 does it in two phases so again, I tried contacting Chris to confirm it was submitted to insurance so I would not have to send two separate packages to my mortgage company and confuse them. We had gotten the first check so quickly that I thought if Chris had actually submitted it when he said he did then we would get the second check fairly quick. Again, no response from Chris whatsoever until he sent me an email in which he clearly had me confused with another client. When I tried explaining this communication frustration to Erich, he just kept saying «No, that’s your insurance company — not us.» I understand that but all I was asking from Chris was confirmation that he did in fact submit the paperwork and then we will start bothering insurance to get them to pay if they are, in fact, the hold up. Erich then said that of course Chris submitted it because it was on his desk. Well, that’s great that you have that system so that YOU know what is going on but I have no idea how your business works.
So in the end, were they fine? Ya, I guess so. They did the work and it was fine. Would I recommend them? Eh — probably if someone needed someone quickly because they did come out right away. Was I extremely satisfied with their service? Not really.

Days before putting my house on the market to sell… plumbing issue. I had someone else come out initially but they left me with concerns on the process and how to handle the insurance. A friend recommended Erich. He picked up the call immediately and came right out. He put me at ease by providing clear explanations of the issue, the process to remediate, and how work with my insurance company. Within 2 days Chris, the project manager was at my house with the Insurance Adjuster and the process could not have been smoother. Estimate went to insurance company and I had checks within 2 weeks. Water damage was dried out with in days and the remediation completed soon after.
I highly recommend Erich at A#1

It is really hard to be an expert on everything in every field. But life presents us with all these situations we must handle that are critical! I am well educated in the medical field, not building construction. You have to find someone you can trust. My dishwasher leaked. I used a plumber I had used for a major project before, to analyze why the dishwasher had leaked. When he saw the repairs that were needed he recommended A#1 for emergency repairs and restoration. Although the dishwasher had only leaked once, it had buckled the seams of the flooring; soaked a portion of the carpet; and left moisture in the drywall and cabinets that needed to be remediated.
Erich came out right away to assess, and the start of the emergency process was just as timely. They were there for the insurance visit, which was very helpful. They told the insurance company what their recommendations for repair were, and why they were needed. They remade cabinets, drywall, and moldings; painted cabinets and walls; installed new flooring; and today they put the carpet back together and did a restoration cleaning on it. All that is left to do, is install a new dishwasher.
I have been very pleased with all the workmen and the work they did. They all arrived in A#1 trucks and A#1 T shirts. They all knew what they were doing and seemed to be very familiar with the policy and procedures of A#1. There was a minor amount of not getting called back, but that pales compared to how very pleased and happy I am with the work, and the fact that my home is put back together without my being taken advantage of, or going through a lot of hassles. In fact, the man who cleaned my carpet today, cleaned the dirt out of it that the last company left in by not taking their time to suction all the dirty water out. He took his time, and it looks much better!
Thank you A#1

I had a second leak in my garage, and I called Erich back to handle it. He remembered me. His damage control team is top-​notch – Zolty and the rest are amazing, and really get the job done without making too much of a mess. That’s why I called him without reservations the second time around.
I never like the restoration phase, and I don’t like the insurance stuff where they make quotes and all that part. I’ve had this happen before with a different company when there was a flood in an upstairs bathroom. Chris is one of the best at this, in my opinion. As a homeowner, no matter who is doing this work, you need to be really on top of things this phase of the project. I can see why there are some negative reviews, it’s just too stressful with the insurance and the company deciding who does what and who pays for what. It’s the business and your part is to see to it that it gets done to YOUR satisfaction. You have to speak up. You have to check. You have to follow through. The end result is worth it.

We had a major slab leak. Our plumber recommended this company. They were quick to arrive and remove and haul away our damaged cupboards/​floor. They worked with our homeowners to help determine our coverage. This was something we really appreciated. They also agreed to not ask for payment until after our homeowners insurance issued us a check. This really relieved a lot of stress for us. Any slab leak and repairs can be trying. It took us about 2 months from start to finish. I was able to take my time finding flooring and countertops I liked. Sometimes communication was a bit slow, but in the end we are extremely happy with the final product. All the workers were very friendly and courteous. I always felt comfortable. I am confident that there is no mold or other damage from this leak that was not taken care of. Everyday when I come home I look at the final product and am very pleased with what we now have.

I agreed on S G. Laguna Niguel, CA
Any decent company can help you on the emergency service. But A#1 was a disappointing experience for me.
When it is the first time you go through it, you are under stress. So you will fall into a lot of traps like I did.
Erich would be nice to get you start Phase 1 or/​and Phase 2 and sign contract. Once it happened, he did not even remember who I am when I called. Chris Jone is not a great project manager. Never followed up with me during the work, I have to ask and remind him to submit estimate to the adjuster and insurance company. I have to ask for certificate of completion, I have to ask when I should see the carpet so that the restoration can be completed as soon as possible. He is supposed to be the project manger and not me. When I ask him to explain what are approved in the insurance company’s estimate, he did not spend the time to explain. I learned that it is not that difficult to review the adjuster (insurance) estimate and you can call the insurance company to ask. This company got profit from our ignorance of the process. The insurance company approved 2 coat for painting, four walls and bathroom and the carpet supposed to cover the bathroom They would conveniently forget and order 1 coat of paint and ignore area where the insurance company approved for carpet and paint. I had to ask them to readjust and even then they would skip some of the area. They used subcontractors and these subcontractors do not necessarily get decent money for what the insurance approved and they were reluctant to do «extra» work they do not know of. You have to put an eye on who came out to fix your place. A lot of them are not from any company, they are doing it as side job. The carpet installers came to my place and I asked them which company they work for, they could not answer. I asked to keep my old carpet and pad. They would give me excuse to take them away.
Look at the insurance estimate carefully. The insurance company gave 10% overhead and 10% profit (at least that is from my insurance company) and A#1 went out hiring people to do the work at whatever price and profited from it. Watch out the quality of material they ordered for installation. Most likely they are at lower grade. In addition, a lot of them they put in the estimate, they will conveniently do not do them and collect the money any way.

All I can say about A#1 Emergency Service is Excellent Service! Wow! Great Job all around could not have asked for anyone better than this company! All the damage fixed as if there was no signs of any damage at all! I am still Quite impressed and in Awe! Thank You For All of a Your Fantastic Amazing skilled workmanship! Thank You Eric! Highly Recommend You to everyone! The Preston Family

So thankful my plumber referred me to Erich at A-​1 !!! What a disastrous plumbing issue that forced us to rip open our ceiling etc, Erich and Chris and staff were quickly available to start the go between with our homeowners insurance including the drying process and getting our home back in order!!! Would definitely contact A-​1 Emergency again for any home remodel or emergency restoration!

Honest, hard working company! Called them and they came right away! Erich talked
Me through the repair process and how everything works with the Insurance company. Very Helpful. Recommended a great plumber Aplus (Ralph) who was great. My project manager was Chris who is family oriented, honest and took good care of me. Everyone who works for them are top notch.

AMAZING! EXTREMELY HELPFUL! PROFESSIONAL! HONEST and HARD WORKING! THESE GUYS ARE A BLESSING during my unfortunate situation.
As a new homeowner I had no idea what to do when water started seeping up through my kitchen’s tile floor. My home warranty company connected me with a plumber who came out and conducted the initial leak detection but as to what to do about the water damage and repair to my new home I was completely lost. My plumber referred me to A#1 Emergency Services. Within a matter of hours, Erich and his team were at my doorstep ready to help. He was extremely knowledgeable and very thorough in his detection and documentation of my damage. He was incredibly helpful through the issuance claims process as well. After our first meeting I felt comfortable and relieved that I had his team on my side. Once the wet material was removed and my walls and floors were dry, I was introduced to Chris who managed the entire restoration process of my home. He was present during my insurance adjuster meeting, answered every question and phone call, coached me every step of the way. He even worked on the weekends to accommodate my family’s schedule. Chris and his team took care of everything! Now my home is better than it was before the leak. Thank you Erich! Thank you Chris! Thank you Zaulty and Max! You guys a so great!

I just recently had water damage in my home, which could have caused me a great deal of stress, but through my plumber I discovered A#1 Emergency Service. Erich the owner was very good at letting me know it would all be taken care of as efficiently as possible. He and his staff were great at communicating through each step of the process. I felt very lucky to have found such a trust worthy and knowledgeable crew of people to put my home back together. As particular as I am I was very impressed with the end result. I would definitely use A#1 again or recommend them to anyone I know who needs this type of service.
Sincerely, A very satisfied customer :)

They did an excellent job and was a fair quote. The were prompt, fair, clean, courteous. We did not use insurance. My only complaint is that they should have made it more clear that the quote was only for removal and not removal and repair.

Thanks a lot Erich… For your quick response to the dry out after my slab leak…
You and your crew were thorough and contentious in removing the wet flooring and moldings and cutting the drywall to set up the drying equipment. Then you came back and checked on things as the drying continued. You even vacuumed up afterwards…
I really appreciate that you handled the demo completely from start to finish. You know what you’re doing… And your crew is really polite. And you came when you said you would. Great job…
Then your project manager Chris came by to meet with the adjuster and write up an estimate to submit to the insurance company. He actually had his estimate submitted almost a week before the adjuster.
Thanks for being so prompt…
John R.

We had a pipe burst in our upstairs bath that did a lot of damage to our entire downstairs. Our plumber referred us to A#1 and I’m glad they did. We have never filed a claim before, and I can definitely see how the entire process can get overwhelming fast. A#1 was great about answering questions, and working with us every step of the way. The owner (Erich) is a pro, and he is very, very familiar with insurance procedures, which you definitely want your contractor to be! This is really a top-​notch company, and you won’t be sorry you hired them.

The 3-​star rating on Unilocal is defined as «A-​OK». This wasn’t an A-​OK experience and I still don’t understand why. Let me explain:
The Owner was great in helping us get a plumber to our location. Plumber was here in about 45 minutes thanks to these guys and I really appreciate that. Note that the plumber was from a different company, but nevertheless, A#1 helped get them out here. Plumber took care of his job and then A#1 showed up not too long after. We talked about the sewage cleanup that had to be done and the owner showed us some spots that had moisture and some places that need to be repaired. He told me that A#1 does everything from cleanup to the repair necessary. So he went back to his truck to grab the equipment he needs. Mind you, he came with one of his employees (really nice guy). I offered them gloves and asked if I could get anything else. Right about then one of the other owners showed up. I left the room briefly to wash my hands and when I came back the owner of A#1 had left. My colleague said he got angry with him and left. A#1’s owner started packing up. When we asked what’s wrong, what was said that offended him or was an issue, or what even happened, he said «nothing» or he just wouldn’t respond. I finally asked him to just communicate with me and tell me why he’s leaving. He said he had a more important emergency. I asked, «is this the kind of review you want to put out there for people?» and he said to not «go there» and leave him a bad review because he would give my business a bad review (for what? we didn’t offer a service to his company), and told us to have a great day. Then he packed up left us with a mess on our hands. Had I known that’s how it would played out I just would’ve called someone else.
Listen, I have no doubt that their work is great and would’ve solved my problem. I was ready to spend more than just the cleanup and have them cut into our drywall, etc. But now I’m just confused. Maybe he didn’t mean he could do the drywall repair but rather could call someone to do it? I don’t know.
Ultimately, the reason for the 2 stars is that I can’t stand dealing with people who act like children and ignore communication and can’t handle a problem in a professional manner like an adult. I’m in my 20s, and if you’re older than that and can’t communicate like an adult, let alone a professional, then that’s just sad. I hope others have better experiences, but I just needed to put in my 2 cents on a website that asks people for their personal experiences with different businesses and services.