READ THE ONE STAR REVIEWS AND THE OWNER’S UNPROFESSIONAL RESPONSES!
After reading this review, if you are considering using Windy City Rooter, please sort the reviews by lowest and see the 1 star reviews, along with the extremely unprofessional owner responses. Then ask yourself how likely it is that the owner and this company are someone you want to work in your home.
I am writing this on behalf of my wife’s parents. The below is a fair and objective recounting of events.
The Positive: Windy City was prompt in coming out the next day to diagnose the issue, and scheduled a team within the week to perform the job. The crew was professional and worked hard.
FIL (Father-In-Law) is a retired firefighter and contractor who is very handy. After surgery for a serious medical issue, he couldn’t lift or do repairs. When their basement began flooding, they urgently needed plumbing help.
The owner, Max, diagnosed a collapsed pipe and said 5 feet of basement pipe needed replacing under the concrete. Max only attempted to snake from a single floor drain, not the plumbing stack. The original quote was $6800 + credit card fees, but Max bartered down to $6000 flat to get a signed contract. Although FIL doubted the diagnosis and even called the next day to cancel, but Max assured him this repair would fix the problem.
The crew (without Max) did the job. The contract said the remaining line would be snaked with a camera, which did not happen as they said the pipe was too small and didn’t do it. FIL, feeling unwell, didn’t go downstairs or supervise/communicate with them that day.
2 weeks later, there was a minor back-up and an employee replaced the drain plug they installed. The next day there was a major flood again and Max was called by FIL and then by FIL’s wife. The only remedy offered was to rod the pipes for $479. Max also insisted on the phone that he had “video evidence” of all the work being performed, and that FIL was brought downstairs while the floor was opened and explained that this repair would not fix the plumbing/drainage issues as there were other pipe’s downstream to blame.
The simple facts are, that during the home repair, (a) FIL did not walk downstairs as he was unwell recovering from surgery, (b) it was not explained during the home repair that this would not fix the issue, (c) They paid $6000 and this did not fix their drainage issues despite Max’s promises.
This is where I called Max myself. He did offer to rod the branch line they just repaired for free, but said it would be $479 for the main sewer line, which we didn’t agree to. On the phone, Max was adamant that this was explained to my FIL during the repair, and that his crew had video evidence of them talking to FIL over the opened concrete floor and explaining the unresolved issues. I was the 3rd person (FIL, his wife, and me) who received this “we told you, and have video evidence to prove it” explanation.
During my phone call with Max, he was adamant that (a) there was no way to have diagnosed this issue before the $6000 repair, (b) no unpaid remedy or partial refund was possible, and (c) there was video evidence of the interaction on site
Max promised to send me the video in a few days, supposedly from his nephew, though the men on site did not appear related. No video was ever sent. Instead, I later got a message: “Sir, I have not been in my office and my nephew was in an excavation accident. I consider this matter closed and good luck with whomever you have fix it.”
Another company properly diagnosed the real issue: a blockage near the septic tank. Once replaced, all problems were resolved—something Max never checked before charging $6000 to a retired firefighter and his wife.
I strongly recommend against using this company. I am sure Max will reply to my post with extremely unprofessional aggression and a bunch of lies, which you can clearly see in his responses to other 1 star reviews.