Lost hot water yesterday, so I called Tom Gruenberg. He came in an hour as promised and checked the old heater and advised a replacement, pointing out the corrosion at the top of the tank. He immediately set to work on replacing the old heater after I approved the quote. No running off to another job. I have used Tom before and my church uses him for non-drain cleanout real plumbing problems in water and gas systems. Tom supplies the straight answer with no "ups" to fatten the bill. read more

I called Tom at 7:30 AM today & left a message that I needed him to fix a pipe that came apart on my garbage disposal. He called back 15 minutes later and said he would be out before 9:00 AM. He arrived before 9:00 AM and had the pipe fixed (along with another pipe behind it that I wasn't aware of) and was done before 9:30 AM. I really appreciated his prompt response and doing what he said he would do. He's been consistent with his excellent service for years. Jim S. read more

Called about a clogged sink. Tom answered the phone. He was obviously busy from the way he sounded but provided me courteous answers to my questions and jotted down my info. I got called this morning as a follow up and made an appointment. Estimated about $120 for the problem I described. Ed came by, I showed him the problem and he said its probably no big deal, got back to his van, got the parts and came and fixed it. After it was all said and done, the investigating, applying the fix, sealing it, checking for leaks, testing it out and everything in total probably 30 minutes. I also asked a few ancillary questions about other sinks and toilets which he provided great answers to. By the time he was all done and gone it was maybe 45 minutes tops. Service = Excellent Friendliness = Excellent Timeliness = Excellent Trustworthiness = Excellent Actual problem solved = Excellent Price = Excellent Charged me $101 at the end. Fast service, cheaper than quoted and friendly. We talked about our daughters and he was so proud of his winning the President's award. That means she got a 3.8 GPA and top test scores to boot. Nice job! I'm very happy with the quality of service. Normally, I would haggle but I was more than happy to give him the money. It was very well worth it and totally earned! read more

As good as it gets...Fast thorough neat clean professional. Same day service even after a heavy rain and gave suggestions/tips how to avoid the same problem in the future. Those tips will save us hundreds in the long run read more

It is nice when a professional knows his job. Tom is one of these. He came out and diagnosed my problem in minutes. He is an old school plumber who knows his stuff. Will use him again. read more

This guy came out and replaced a leaky PVC pipe for my sprinklers and I also wanted him to take a few minutes to figure out why one of the electric sprinkler valves could be turned on manually with a screw driver but it wouldn't work with the electric automatic timer. He played around with the wires and said it was fixed and added $48.00 to my previous total for the leak repair and went on his way. This morning was the first day the sprinklers were programmed to come on and when the sprinkler in question didn't come on as expected I called Tom and he basically punted the ball right back in my lap by saying "You need to get with your gardener and have him fix that". He added "I'm not an expert on sprinklers". I wish I'd known that before I hired him. read more

My 82 year old grandmother had a hot water heater installed by this person about three years ago and recently it started to leak all over the first floor. So we decided to call Tom to see if he would be able to check it and see what is wrong. He answered the phone and was very rude to my grandmother and extremely rude to me, and gave us an outlandish price just to come look at his own work. Ultimately he ended the call with saying he doesnt really want our business anyway and proceeded to hang up on me and my grandmother. One of the most rude service people I have ever spoken to over the phone. I would recommend Mitch Clemens plumbing, those folks are way nicer. I do NOT recommend giving your business to Gruenberg plumbing, they are rude and do not stand by their work. read more

Tom has been our plumber for over 20 years. He's fast, ethical, figures out the problem quickly and is HONEST.

My in-laws recommended Tom to us for plumbing repairs and we are so glad to have hired a true professional who has over 40 yrs. experience in the business (Orange County area) and is so pleasant to work with. We called him at 8:15am on a Monday and he arrived at 10:00am. He quickly assessed our plumbing issues and tackled the work himself... was so prepared with all necessary tools and replacement parts. We're glad to have hired someone so knowledgeable and we'll be sure to do it again when next we need plumbing services. Don't go the cheap route, you'll regret it later; do a little research first and hire an ethical & proven professional like Tom Gruenberg. read more

SCAM!!! This plumber doesn't even have a camera to see what's wrong inside the pipes. Ed came out to our house for a second opinion after The Drain Dudes showed us a problem on the camera. He has no way of looking in pipes yet he spent the whole time trying to convince us the other company was a scam because they have the appropriate equipment to do the job right. I feel I was being manipulated to think the other company was bad rather than having someone who cared about my plumbing working right. read more

Larry M Tom diagnosed our problem within minutes and resolved it within 30 minutes. We will definitely call Tom again. Well done! read more

Very quick response, professional and friendly. Would recommend this service to all in need. Well done! read more

We have used Gruenberg Plumbing in the past and are about to hire them again. They are a little expensive. However, the reason we needed them was because we had previously hired someone else who was less costly and we suffered the consequences. Gruenberg Plumbing fixed the mess and, in the process, discovered & fixed a different mess-waiting-to-happen. I think the reviewer from Palmdale who gave that one-star rating must be talking about a different Gruenberg (there is at least one other unrelated plumber with the same name), not just because his review is so negative, but also Palmdale is quite far away from Fullerton where Tom Gruenberg is located. read more

We had excellent service yesterday from Tom Gruenberg & his crew. I called him before 8am, and he was at our house by 9:20. He confirmed we had a leak in the main water line to the house. They had to reroute a new line. This was all done while I was at work. They had everything back, clean and tidy when I arrived home. It was hard to believe they had even touched the place, except that I had photos from the "during". We have used Gruenberg Plumbing three other times over the past 24 years, but this was the first "major" project they have done for us. read more

I just moved into a 35 year old house that needed a lot of deferred maintenance. I had a couple big plumbing companies come out to give me an estimate on various repairs and both made me feel like a big paycheck rather than a valued customer. I told one of my new neighbors about my trouble finding a plumber I was comfortable with, and she recommended Tom Gruenberg. He returned my call within an hour and was able to come out the next day. He did all my miscellaneous plumbing from installing the dishwasher to putting new valves and fixtures on my showers. Tom was prompt, skilled, and charged a fair price. What a relief when in the middle of a big renovation project! I will definitely go directly to Gruenberg Plumbing in the future. read more

I had a ceiling leak from my upstairs into my kitchen. They came out when that said they would, did a great job with as minimal removal of ceiling as possible and did this in a timely manner. Tom came by twice to check on the progress of the job. The price for the job was very reasonable. Wish I had found these plumbers years ago! read more

We were so lucky to be referred to Tom! This morning we found wet carpet and called Gruenberg Plumbing. Tom was here within a half hour, quickly diagnosed the problem as a slab leak and went to work. He discussed and showed us every step of the fix and completed the work today. Very professional, pleasant, and his work area is spotless! Price was more than fair. Excellent service - highly recommended. read more

Seemed good the first time they came out to clean my kitchen drain. 30 days later, it plugged up again. Called thinking they would guarantee their work, NO SUCH LUCK. Charged me again, not happy with their cleanliness either, Never again. read more

My 50 gallon GE water heater died on a Friday. Tom Gruenberg offered to replace next day, but said he would have to charge "weekend rate." I said Monday is fine, and he advised he would replace my GE with a 50 gallon Bradford White, made in America, for $1875 on Monday. I expressed concern about the high price and told him I paid $1,000 for a Home Depot GE installed by a licensed plumber eight years ago, and that included earthquake straps, pan underneath and new connections. He said "you can blame the state of California and new environmental laws for higher prices." Since he was recommended by my sister, I trusted he was being honest and agreed. The 50 gallon water heater Model URG150T6N he installed was significantly smaller than my previous water heater, and he said the Bradford White is much better designed, and has much improved insulation technology from my old GE. It took him less than an hour to install. I did not receive any new fittings, pipes, etc., he said my existing was fine, but he did haul away my old heater. When I discussed the price he charged me with family, friends and neighbors, they said I was ripped off, and a new heater should not cost more than $1200 to $1500. I called Tom a few days later and expressed concern about the price I had paid, he said most licensed plumbers charge $2400, he had given me a "great deal," said he wasn't running a charity, and suggested I call around to other licensed plumbing companies. I took his advice and called three in Orange County, and was quoted $1350, $1475 and $1500 (USA Water Heaters, OC Plumber and MVP Plumbing) for a higher quality, more energy efficient Bradford White Model URG250T6N, including replacing all fittings and pipes. They did not recommend the lower quality heater. I feel Tom charged me $400 to $500 more than I should have paid, just wish I had not been so trusting, and had gotten other quotes. All three plumbing companies agreed I was overcharged and apologized for Tom, saying he made all plumbers look bad, and definitely overcharged me for a lower quality heater. MVP even offered a 10% discount on any plumbing service in the future to make up for Tom's greedy behavior. Lesson Learned: Always get three quotes and don't trust Tom Gruenberg to charge you a reasonable price...he definitely took advantage of my trust!!! read more

This jack hat was referred to my parents by my brother. As a personal referral, one would think that he would have taken care of my folks and given them a fair price for his services. WRONG! He charged them an outlandish price ($700) to simply replace a small section of PVC pipe that had cracked and leaked. He didn't even have to do much digging because my 77 y/o mother had done most of the digging herself! And even though he charged my folks extra to automate their sprinklers, it didn't work. So they paid him for services NOT rendered. In my book that's stealing. As if that wasn't bad enough, the guy was a nasty and rude SOB. When they called him back to let him know that the work he did didn't work, he replied "Tough!" So, he treats senior citizens like dirt while ripping them off. Who does this?! A plumber who's about to be reported to the BBB and the state license board, that's who. Shame on Tom! Steer clear of this one. There are WAY better plumbers out there. Check NextDoor.com for referrals from your own neighbors. read more

An associate of Gruenberg Plumbing diagnosed the three plumbing problems I was having and fixed them within 30 minutes. Will use this service in the future. read more

I have always been happy when Tom does the work, but this last time he sent a younger man who stopped clearing out my main drain when his machine wasn't working well, and it did seem that he had taken care of it at the time with toilets flushing. However, only 2 DAYS later, when I ran my washing machine for the 1st time after his work, the drain backed up again, and they won't stand behind their work and will charge me again to come out. I'm a single mom on a very limited income and am very unhappy about this. (I would be even if I had unlimited income - the work should last longer than 2 DAYS!!!) read more

Tom Gruenberg Plumbing, Fullerton California, offers numerous Plumbing services, but the #1 service Tom Gruenberg did not provide was customer service. Tom Gruenberg was not referred; he currently is the approved contractor for a small condo association located in Anaheim Hills Ca. I had never met or spoken with Tom Gruenberg until 9/11/2015 and I was shocked at how I was treated. From the moment Tom walked through my front door his attitude was completely apathetic, uncaring and unwilling to help logically or systematically solve my outside plumbing matters. I say this for the following reasons: #1. TOM DID NOT LISTEN. He ignored the fact the toilets, shower and bathtub backed up 2 times (November 2104 and May 2015) within the past 12 months. At the suggestion of the previous plumber who had snaked the inside of the unit, I requested the outside-main line to the street also be snaked and checked for root blockage. The area surrounding the unit has numerous Ficus trees and Eucalyptus trees. Tom acknowledged in 12 years he had no service records for any main line maintenance. Instead of scoping or simply snaking the line, Tom instructed his employee to do a "Toilet Paper Tissue" test. When the ridiculous toilet paper test flushed the toilet and did not back up I was bluntly told "There are no signs your unit has outside drainage problems" and if I insist on snaking the outside line the charge will not be covered and services performed would be billed directly to me. #2. TOM BEHAVED UNPROFESSIONALLY. I had a scheduled appointment and Tom would not give 100% of his attention. Tom carried a CB radio and continued to interact with others for what was best for himself and his other jobs not necessarily what would be best for the customer standing directly in front of him, me. Toms remarks regarding other plumbers not knowing what they were doing was embarrassing to listen too. When I inquired about the toilet, Tom's sarcastic lecture explaining new versus old toilets was belittling. I already knew if he had no repair advice for our existing toilet, a new toilet would be purchased. Lastly, Toms remarks alluding I was difficult to work with was out of line. #3 TOM PUT PROFIT OVER CUSTOMER NEEDS. Tom's behavior became controlling and bossy to the point I felt he was actually trying to intimidate and bully just so he could either get me to agree to charges or move on to his next job where his day would be more profitable. Tom Gruenberg is happy to take service fees but does not service professionally and my experience dealing with Tom's bad attitude was very unpleasant. Customers should always feel they are appreciated not disliked even if a HOA is responsible for fee payments. Tom not only lost the sale of a new toilet and toilet installation, he also lost the best type of referral - a word of mouth satisfied customer referral. read more