A Valente & Sons

Terrible service! Our neighbors love these people even though they are extremely expensive and unreliable.
We used them twice and they got the job done. It was extremely expensive but I heard that’s what you should expect from plumbers.
Then the third time when I called about a leaky pipe they were horrible. I called them on a Wednesday. They never called me back. So I called and left a message with their receptionist on a Thursday. She told me that they would call me back that day. They never did. I called them on Friday, talked to a manager or owner and he told me they would call me back that day to schedule an appointment which would cost a min. of $ 175 for their time to come out plus mileage. He apologized for not getting back to me but they were really busy. He promised they would call me back that day no matter what. I never heard back from them.
Luckily my husband came back from a business trip and was able to repair the pipe for $ 20. We’ve never had a problem with it since. Had they come out to fix the issue I would have cost me at least $ 200.
I’m not a mean person or even a demanding person. I’m actually really laid back and understanding but this was seriously ridiculous.
I’ll never use them again. They over charge and are completely unreliable! Had they told me in the beginning that they were too busy I would have been fine but don’t tell me that you’ll call me back to schedule an appointment and never do.
i really do not know how they are still in business. From what I understand this is their reputation.

I give them three-​stars only because they honestly are very very nice people (especially their receptionist), but I must admit that’s just about where the good service ends. One of their plumbers (I believe he is one of the owners) is also very nice, but everybody else who has come to my apartment from here has been pretty terrible. The worst is that a lot of their work is not very good and I find having to call them back 5 – 6 months down the line.
Like I said, they are very friendly, but not the most reliable.

Agree with BB. Not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for (and they tell you what you need to hear). I’m calling them now to fix a problem someone else created — wish I had used them in the first place.

This is the best plumbing service you could possibly use in the entire bay area. It may not be the cheapest but you have to understand you are paying for a THOROUGH, QUALITY job. They will tell you what needs to be done, not necessarily what you want to hear. But hey, they are definitely the experts.
I have better water pressure and temperature than anyone else I know (who doesn’t use them) although anyone who I’ve referred have been thankful and satisfied. All my plumbing is done by these guys and I will never use anyone else.
This is also a small family business that has been located on Union Street for over 100 years. They use the best most up-​to-​date plumbing skills yet have kind of an old-​school charm and way of running things (which may explain the long wait on hearing back from them). If you are looking for emergency plumbing work to be done and you aren’t a regular customer, I can understand and sympathize with the last 2 reviewers, but it is NOT a reflections of their work. Like I said, it’s a small group in that shop! TOTALLY WORTH THE WAIT!
PS: They are a part of the Local 38 plumbers union. If you can’t get a hold of valente plumbers, try someone else thats a part of 38.
(I’m so sad they got dinged with low reviews and I know they don’t have a website so I just wanna make sure I can give the most detailed, accurate review!)

Don’t bother trying to call these guys. I called and had a discussion with them on the problem. Called twice more to get them to come out and when they finally came out they never gave an estimate. I called three or four times and they never called back. Its too bad because they seemed like nice people and came recommended but cant be bothered to provide any service.

My landlady uses these guys, so unfortunately I have been forced to deal with them.
Good luck trying to schedule with them to get anything done. The guy that takes the calls can NEVER make an appointment with you there and then. He always takes your number and promises to call back, which he NEVER does. You end up calling them back. Again and again. It’s a plumbers, for god’s sake. You would think they’d be glad of your business but no: it’s like they are doing you a HUGE favour to even consider sending a plumber out to you.
I needed a pipe unblocked a couple of months ago and ended up calling Roto Rooter when Valente AGAIN failed to come through for me. Rooter sent a guy out immediately, was friendly, professional and didn’t overcharge. They had a $ 10 coupon that you could print off their website too so I saved my landlady a little dough.
The lastest installment in my dealings with Valente is they sent a guy round the other week to fix my kitchen faucet and replace some parts in my toilet. He was in my apt for maybe 30 mins but charged my landlady for 2 hours work! I should mention that I live a five minute drive from Valente’s office, so even factoring in travel time, 2 hours is ridiculous. I feel bad because my landlady is a good person who looks after me. I guess they thought she wouldn’t check in with me about the bill. Wrong!
Valente, there’s no other way to put it. You suck.