L.J. Kruse Company

LJ Kruse service was great. Jordan serviced the furnace within 24 hours of requesting service. He was on time, professional, pleasant, knowledgeable, and efficient. He quickly diagnosed the problem, explained everything to me, and got the furnace running again. The service fee was explained clearly by staff when I made the appointment and I was billed as expected. I strongly recommend LJ Kruse.

Had a great experience with Michael K from LJ Kruse. He took care of a difficult drain clearance and fixed an airlock issue with my radiant heat. Courteous, listened to my ideas, worked fast and clean. I would request to have him back in the future. 5 Stars

I am extremely pleased with the visit by the L.J. Kruse technician, Matt Hopkins, who solved the problem with our in-floor radiant heating system, and patiently explained in detail what caused the system to shut down. He also left us with quotes for more involved cleaning of the system in case the outage is repeated. I will be happy to call upon him in the future if needed.

Our furnace stopped working and we called Kruse (on the recommendation of another vendor!). The technician advised that the furnace was too old to be repaired and the faulty part was no longer manufactured. He advised replacing the furnace. I was charged $184 for this visit/advice. There are two problems with this situation: 1. I called another vendor to get a second opinion and that vendor not only was able to source the part, but was able to fix the furnace and it is now functioning perfectly. The cost to me was $200 total. 2. The quote which Kruse provided to replace the furnace was almost $5000 for the one furnace. When I looked up the materials online, it was less than $1000. This means that Kruse was quoting $4000 for labor. I will not recommend this company due to the poor service, incorrect information, inflated bid, waste of my $184, and general incompetence.

LJ Kruse services our entire building in Emeryville because all units share source plumbing. At the end of last year my heating stopped working after we had the buildings boiler replaced. We contacted LJ Kruse and they sent somebody over quickly. We were told that the fan for our forced air heater needed replacement and the parts would take several weeks to arrive. A couple of months later and we still hadn't heard back... when my husband followed up they said they were still waiting on parts. Fast forward a few more months and the serviceman calls us and says he is in the building for something unrelated and asks to if he can stop by. We were not available. Now when we attempted to follow up shortly afterwards, we get scolded for contacting his personal phone (which he has been using to communicate with us) and told to go through their business number. Now we call LJ Kruse to follow up and we find out they have no record of our service request and never ordered the parts. They ask to send someone new to take a look at our heater. He shows up, spends 5 minutes re-stating the issue and says we will get a call back. It has been a week now. I am afraid we will suffer through this winter without heat because of their negligence.

I have been an LJ Kruse Company customer for almost 8 years. I have stuck with them because they are good, they are dependable, and they stand by their work. They have replaced my furnace, installed a toilet, installed a seismic gas shutoff valve, and diagnosed and fixed various plumbing problems I have had. In all cases, I have been happy with their work. Most recently, I had them come by the house when I had a plumbing backflow issue. I called them at 8:15 am to report my plumbing "emergency" and they dispatched a technician to my house by 10 am. Jeremy immediately diagnosed the issue (tree root balls) and had all the equipment in his truck to get the issue fixed. Also, this past year, my old furnace died just before Thanksgiving. I really needed a new furnace installed in a short time window (before Thanksgiving day). Kruse immediately dispatched an estimator. They gave me a quote that was reasonable and had my furnace installed on the day before Thanksgiving. This was no easy feat since they were out of stock on the furnace that I wanted. They went out of their way to locate one in San Jose and shipped it down immediately. They dispatched their technician Joel who worked all day to get the furnace installed (on Thanksgiving eve when most people don't work past noon). I really appreciated Joel's effort and dedication on this one! I had heat for Thanksgiving dinner! Finally, in addition to having great technicians in the field, their back office is great. I have alway found that their scheduling and dispatcher are friendly and accomodating. I have never had any billing issues with Kruse. The bills are done accurately and timely. I especially appreciated their help with the paperwork for my furnace. they provided all the documentation I needed to get my Federal tax credit, PG&E rebate, and union rebate. I had a similar experience a few years back when they installed a new toilet and they provided all the paperwork I needed to get my EBMUD rebate. The only knock on these guys is that they are not cheap. Their billing rates are standard market rates for union technicians. In my books, however, they're worth it. They get the job done right everytime. I highly recommend them for plumbing and HVAC work.

Engaged LJ Kruse plumbing to upgrade our utility sink/washer water supply pipes and hoses at the request of our insurance company. The plumber dispatched to do the work, Greg Stanwood, did an outstanding job. He was creative in finding a solution to the problem that cost us about half the original estimate for a much more complex solution. Greg worked very carefully to preserve the faucet unit we had which saved a considerable chunk of change.The result is that we have a fully adequate and much more secure set up for our washing machine and utility sink. Hard to think of utilitarian plumbing jobs as beautiful but I felt the result was beautiful! On top of the great work, Greg was great to interact with: friendly, courteous and thoroughly dedicated to doing the best job possible. I highly recommend Kruse for plumbing problems. We have used them numerous times and always been pleased with the results. 11 months later: (editing previous review because Google doesn't allow multiple reviews for a company.) Engaged LJ Kruse again, this time to repair leaking galvanized pipe. It was my good fortune to have the same plumber, Greg S., return to do this work. Everything I said about him for the previous work, applies to this job. Repairing galvanized pipe is always risky and he did a great job, adding copper pipe to brass fittings as is necessary and saving more extensive repairs. He arrived early in the window of arrival time, went back to the shop for materials and completed the job cleanly and efficiently. Thanks again LJ Kruse for the great service you provide. [price range was $700-800]

If I can do 0 Star for service, I would. This company was Referred by The Bond, but to my surprise, they have the worst customer service experience I've experienced. After numerous confirmation from my end that week (I called on Monday) that they were going to have a technician out on Friday between 7:30am thru 8:30am, not only did they send out a technician on the wrong date/time for a different problem, but after waiting the day of the actual appointment at 8:30, I had to call to the company and the service rep, Kim, said that the tech is coming in an hour!! This is after waiting an hour from 7:30-8:30am already! Then Kim said that it was Their mistake, but then gets defensive over the phone with me. I've been waiting for an hour and this rep doesn't even see the frustration of their mistake. Then it gets better...I asked to be transferred to the manager, and after talking with Christian, he defends Kim and doesn't see the problem!!! They don't know what listening means.. It's in my experience with my own business, that when you make a mistake, you OWN up to it and do what you can to salvage the relationship. After being very defensive, all Kim can offer was another Monday appointment from 7:30am-8:30am!! Also, when asked if they do Saturday calls, she says they will add an extra fee if that was to happen. Talk about conveniencing the customer for their mistake! Do I risk the chance of waiting again for another hour? I don't think so....there is no trust anymore. Bad business practice!!!

I had a recent occasion to need some serious work done with no notice as I had a main line sewer stoppage to my home. It was a "soft stoppage" which are most difficult to clear and resulted in no sewerage going down from any of my toilets, tubs, sinks, etc and also it allows sewage to back up into the tub, etc. I called Kruse and worked with a most efficient dispatcher (Melinda). It was about 10:00am and they had a man out by noon the same day. The Technician they sent out (Mike Miller) was fantastic!! He was most competent, did superior quality work and left all areas extremely clean even through he had to remove a toilet etc. The stoppage resulted in need to go after it via a larger machine and my house had no exterior clean out. He broke through a concrete sidewalk to access the main line, and cleared the stoppage after much difficulty. It took until 9:00pm to finish the job but I had a clear, running sewer line when he was all done. My many years of working with Kruse has always resulted in honest, Top Quality work done in a most efficient manner as well as leaving the premises in a most clean fashion. This time was no exception!! If you need experts, the highest quality work and parts/materials, call Kruse! They have been in the business for many many years and there is a reason for this: They do an excellent job at a competitive price. Thanks to Mike Miller and Melinda!! Great Job! None better!!

I'm the tenant of another reviewer of this company, and my landlord had a quarrel with the price he paid for the work (which I believe is based on a misunderstanding), so I wanted to say a couple of things about this company: 1. My heater was not working and it was COOOLLLLD out; I know they were working their tails off, but they went out of their way to squeeze us in for our initial site visit as quickly as they could. 2. When Paul came out, it was clear he was a very hard worker, but he took the time to explain the issue to me, was polite and professional, and got the evaluation done quickly. Unfortunately a part was needed, so he couldn't fix it that day. 3. The part came in the day before Christmas, and Paul called my cell phone and said there weren't any appointments available for a week, but he'd be happy to come at the end of his scheduled calls and do it for me. ON CHRISTMAS EVE. Unfortunately, I was on a train and there was no one there to let him in, so we couldn't take advantage of this beyond-the-call-of-duty offer. 4. This company cares about service, and they did their job efficiently and well and, contrary to my landlord's misunderstanding, at the estimated rate and with a low mark-up. I would call them again in a heartbeat.

We noticed some seeping along the joint that Mike repaired. Ramon came over right after calling to let me know when he would arrive. He fixed the leak right away and then noticed that the water was emptying out of the sink very slowly. I told him that both the bathroom and kitchen sink were slow and that I had been using Drano. He let me know that you should never use Drano in the old metal pipes, only in clay and plastic pipes. It eats away if it stands!!! Luckily my pipes were intact but now I have a bottle of Drano to get rid of... d'oh! He used his snake and cleared out the kitchen pipe and fixed the bathroom pipe in no time, AND being the pro he is, he showed me how to fix it should it need it again. There is a long plastic tool with teeth at one end and a ring at the other. You poke it down the bathroom sink drain and grab the gunk and unplug your slow drain. I think it will be a while before we have to call the plumber again, but when I do, you can bet it will be LJ Kruse! Yes, they are expensive but worth every single dollar. They stand behind their work, they are fast, clean, consummate professionals and in the case of Ramon, easy on the eyes. Best Friday ever!

Last year they worked on our central AC system. It cost over $1,000 for the labor but I was happy to have it working again. I have a health condition which makes me sensitive to heat so AC is a necessity for me. Early last week we had problems again and they were scheduled to come on Friday. Friday morning they called to cancel; apparently their only employee that could repair our AC had an emergency. He was able to come today (Monday). After 2 hours ($408) he said there was nothing he could do; they discontinued servicing Carrier AC systems. WTF? Last year we had the same system! Why come to our house and not tell us this news beforehand? I regret we paid...so my only recourse now is to share my experience with others. August 28th edit: I appreciate that Kruse management checks Yelp reviews and wants to repair customer relationships. The situation has been handled appropriately now but it's unfortunate that the technician was not able to communicate the variety of options available to us. We were successful in finding another company and they are currently doing the work. Kruse was able to refund me so I am satisfied. As I originally said, they did good work last year.

We have been very happy with L.J. Kruse .... I work for a church in Oakland, and we have had many different issues in which we needed a plumbing company. First we had several gas leaks both below and above ground. They figured out where they were and fixed all of them. Our water bill was extremely high, and L.J. Kruse determined we had over 14 toilets with leaks, they fixed all of them. We have had them fix and replace garbage disposals and faucet leaks. Also, they replaced waste lines under our rectory. In addition to all of that, they also have replaced wall heaters for us and a gas furnace. Every person that they have sent to us has been extremely professional, and just great to work with during all of these different types of issues. At first I was going to name names; however they are all great, so I don't want to leave anyone out! Finally, I have been so happy with their services at my place of work, that I have now just used them at my home .... again the service was excellent! I would completely recommend this company for all plumbing needs.

I called on three different plumbing companies to identify the root cause of a kitchen sink backup. The only company that delivered in a timely, informative, and actionable way was LJ Kruse. I had never used them before and was pleasantly surprised. Gabe explained the issue he identified in a non-condescending and accessible way, then obtained a detailed quote for me which I received by email quickly. I booked the appointment for the two day job, which involved dismantling a deck, removing pavers, breaking up concrete, and connecting the kitchen line to the main line. I then had multiple calendar conflicts and had to reschedule TWICE. Amber helped me both times and was incredibly gracious even though I was making things hard. Excellent customer service. When the timing got sorted, Gabe came out two days in a row to get the work done. He provided regular updates, safety precautions, photos of pre and post work he did underground, then put everything back together to make the area look spotless. Great experience start to finish.

Their tagline is "a century of service". Notice that there is nothing good about that. We had some work done by this company to replace a sump pump. They then charged us almost $200 per hour for work which seems extraordinarily high based on other plumbers we've worked with. And, they charged us $270 for the sump pump. They provided all the product info for the sump pump so we looked it up and it was $144 on Amazon. I called them and asked for a receipt for the sump pump so we could confirm that they were not overcharging us and they said they did not provide receipts and that they charged a "normal" markup. I'm not sure what kept them from charging me $1000 for this (how do they just randomly decide what a "normal" markup is??) and I've not seen this sort of way of managing a business where prices are haphazardly set for goods that are readily available. We will never work with them again and would suggest that you look elsewhere if you want to be reasonably charged.