Capelli Plumbing
Plumber · San Leandro, CA
Our verdict
Long-running (18 yrs, BBB A+ accredited, 4.9★/386) with professional cited 48 of 100; reviewers note quality dipped when new techs replaced founder James on some jobs.
Scores are our editorial reading of published customer reviews — not a verification, license check, or guarantee.
Ranked #12 of 15 plumbers we've reviewed in Newark, CA · compare all →
Our opinion, based on the 100 reviews we analyzed from Google, Yelp and BBB · Analysis updated Jun 2026 · How we decide ↗
What reviewers praise
Founder James and team get strong marks for honest, reasonable quotes that beat competitors (fair_pricing/professional dominant)
1 cited review
“after getting multiple estimates for several thousand dollars one of my friends referred james, he came out, figured out what was wrong and fixed it all for less than half of what the others were saying it would be.”
Cited in 3 of the 100 reviews we analyzed — 2 cited reviews not excerpted here.
Fast same-week scheduling and repeat-customer loyalty across years
1 cited review
“This is my 2nd time using Capelli in the last year and both times the work was great and done efficently... He communicated clearly what was wrong and estimated time to fix and cost. Price and work were great.”
Cited in 2 of the 100 reviews we analyzed — 1 cited review not excerpted here.
What reviewers report — the concerns
Other directories bury these. We think you should read them before you call. Every concern below comes from the reviews it cites.
Red flag
Reports of a toilet left wobbly by a newer two-man crew plus a rescheduled-without-consent 7am arrival for an elderly customer
“This time two new guys came over and fixed the toilet but left it wobbly, charged a lot for the shoddy work, and were rude, whereas James was a perfect gentlemen.”
Cited in 2 of the 100 reviews we analyzed.
Quality is tech-dependent — some reviewers report newer crews left work wobbly or messy versus James's own work
“This time two new guys came over and fixed the toilet but left it wobbly, charged a lot for the shoddy work, and were rude, whereas James was a perfect gentlemen.”
Cited in 2 of the 100 reviews we analyzed.
Bills can exceed the estimate on multi-issue jobs
Cited in 1 of the 100 reviews we analyzed.
Keep it in proportion: these concerns are cited in 3 of the 100 reviews we analyzed. Most reviewers report positive experiences — see the full rating picture below.
The evidence — in reviewers' own words
Critical
“Your drivers need to be more careful and avoid cutting people off on the road, as it can almost cause accidents.”
“A pipe broke and I needed a plumber fast. i expected to pay a premium and didn't have time to get bids. Help came fast, and far as I can tell the repair was made well. The cost was extortion. I can only feel better thinking perhaps some day James will need a drink out in the desert, and I come by with a bottle of water.”
“Beware another flaky contractor in San Leandro. Had a sewer repair at my inlaws house, James sent out their workers to unclog pipe and do a video inspection 600.00. They said the pipe was broken ok got a estimate 3600.00 it had to get fixed so we agreed to there price they removed approx. 8 ft. of concrete and patched in a piece of abs pipe. They did a crappy job on the cement, all over they splattered the brick …”
Positive
“Had to call James again for a different problem than the one he fixed three weeks ago. This time it was a a distraught toilet in the upstairs hallway bathroom. Within 20 minutes Kyle and Barrett arrived and found that basically almost all of the parts in the tank needed to be replaced. This they did professionally, personably, courteously ,and within an hour. Our dogs even liked them! Have recommended James to …”
“Phenomenal job! They were super honest, informative, professional and quick”
Quotes are reproduced verbatim from public reviews on the platforms shown; we select which to feature, and selection reflects our editorial judgment. Report a quote that doesn't match its source ↗
The rating picture
Our sample skews heavily toward critical reviews — it disagrees with the Google average shown above.
Newest review in our sample: Dec 2016.
Across platforms
Should you hire Capelli Plumbing?
Hire if
- You need fast same-day or after-hours response
- You need a plumber who actually shows up when scheduled
Think twice if
- You need airtight scheduling and guaranteed arrival times
- You need rock-bottom prices with zero flexibility on the quote
Advice derived from the review analysis above — how we decide.
Own Capelli Plumbing?
You can respond to our analysis, correct business facts, or dispute the accuracy of a quoted review. Responses that check out get published on this page, and factual errors get corrected — see our corrections policy. We don't remove accurate quotes, but we'll re-run your assessment as your reviews change.