GRJ Enterprises

Leaky water heater still under warranty. Manufacturer suggested two plumbers in San Diego, including GRJ. Called and talked to Deborah. She gave an estimate $ 200 less than Perry Plumbing (which is also a good outfit). The installers came out on time and did a very nice job. Swapped out the water heaters in less than an hour. I was all ready to get mad at them for damaging the water heater enclosure, but I got fooled. Either there was no damage or they did some magic because everything looks fine and works great. The people in the office, especially Deborah were organized, knowledgeable and efficient. No muss, no fuss. A really good experience for me.

I was beginning to panic as my elderly father’s water was starting to go on the fritz (pilot light went out) and I would be leaving to go out of town in a few days. I had worked on getting it fixed all weekend and only had a few more days to get it taken care of.
We were initially told by an SDG&E tech that the safety in the control valve was becoming weak and needed to be replaced or the pilot light might go out again and the ignitor button didn’t work. We had a plumber come out and do other recommended work, (which initially was quoted at $ 140 and by the end blew up to $ 444) he said he does not troubleshoot that part of water heaters. I was told this in the beginning so I knew I’d have to call a second plumber. I had also been told by other plumbing companies that I would need to just buy a new water heater and was quoted a price of $ 1200 for a 40 gal. tank and install. It also seemed that the control valve is a part that is hard to get (A. O. Smith Promax, 30 gal. 2008 model) The second plumber wasn’t able to get the part and if he could, didn’t want to risk putting it in and have it not work, however he referred me to GRJ.
I spoke to Debra. She was very knowledgeable and knew the common issues with this water heater (the screens at the bottom can get clogged with dust) and that the part SDG&E recommended to be replaced rarely fails. She quoted an extremely reasonable price for a service call and on the parts which may not be needed (pilot assembly, gas valve).
I set up an appointment and am very satisfied that I finally found the answer to the problem of fixing this water heater and at a reasonable price with such great customer service over the phone by Debra! I wish I had their number early on. I would have called them first!

The Whirlpool water heater in my home is only two years old and recently stopped producing hot water. I called Whirlpool customer help line. The representative informed me the warranty only covered service labor for first year but that parts were covered for 6 years. The representative identified two San Diego companies who are Whirlpool warranty service providers. I phoned GRJ Enterprises and was impressed with technical knowledge of Debra who asked a series of detailed questions to assess the situation. I was also impressed that GRJ technician Doug was dispatched the same day and successfully replaced a defective valve. Note the valve was «free» as it was covered under warranty. The only reason I’m not giving GRJ more stars is because I feel outraged at paying $ 139 for a service call (completed in less than 30 minutes) to replace a part which Whirlpool knew was defective. The outrage is more a fault of Whirlpool than GRJ… but $ 139 is steep for 20 minutes onsite.

I was referred to GRJ Enterprises by my regular plumber because I have a Polaris hot water heater that my plumber doesn’t service. To GRJ’s credit, they took my call and was able to send a technician out to North County within a couple of hours. They told me the price of the labor/​visit charge upfront ($ 169), and I was more than a little shocked at the high ticket price. But, because I needed the work done, I agreed to the charge. The technician arrived and almost immediately explained I needed a new igniter. Within 10 mins, he was done. Then he hit me with the bill. The part was nearly $ 170 dollars! When I asked why so expensive, he explained that the price was dictated by the American Water Heater Company and that it was a «fixed» cost for them — an MSRP. When he left, I called the manufacturer who quoted me $ 56.10 plus tax and shipping and said that it was absolutely not their policy to dictate pricing. When I called GRJ back to complain about the misrepresentation, Debra proceeded to explain all about their overhead and why they had to change almost $ 100 over and above the actual cost. NOT what you want to hear when you’ve been charged $ 350 for 10 mins work! The customer service was appalling — you don’t tell the customer to be quiet or ask them if they’ve finished so that you can talk. But Debra must have said that to me at least 5 times! I explained that the technician not only mispresented the pricing but didn’t even give me the option to order it myself. When I asked for a refund of the part up to the cost of the manufacturer’s price, Debra flat out refused. I’m extremely displeased with their service. And, unless you want to experience day light robbery, not to mention unprofessional misrepresentation of other companies’ pricing, I absolutely would not go to GRJ again. I informed both my plumber and American Water Heater company to remove them on their referral list and will not recommend them myself.

Water heater pilot light went out. Called GRJ Monday morning and had the repair done by 11:00 am the same day. Outstanding customer service from Debra who took my call, provided lots of useful information and got me on the schedule as quickly as possible. Doug arrived shortly thereafter, diagnosed the problem, replaced what broke down and was super knowledgable. I highly recommend GRJ Enterprises!