Plumbing reviews in West Allis, Wisconsin

I made an appt one week out. The morning of was a no show. I waited an hour then called the main office, they said he should be on the way and I hung up. They called me back saying he was at the wrong job and I would be next. I did appreciate the honesty about the situation. 2 hours after the appt the plumber shows, no apology, doesn’t take boots off or cover them and heads to the bathroom. Fixes the leaking toilet but left dirt and wax ring residue all over the tile floor and toilet. The hourly rate is 150$ which is not surprising, but then they charge a gas fee which was 10$ Per mile, they also round up on the hourly charge. After I finished cleaning the floor and toilet, I noticed when he moved the toilet it was scraped across the tile floor leaving scratches that won’t come out. Save yourself a headache and use someone else. If you’re similar to me, I never write a review unless it is worth my time to highly recommend or warn others away.

Got a new countertop installed and needed them to hookup plumbing for my new sink. The plumber was there for a half hour and cut pipes for my new under mount sink but needed to come back after 24 hours after countertop was installed. My schedule conflicted due to work so I ended up hooking up my sink myself. They billed me for the half hour $205 dollars. I called and questioned why and they said it included travel time. Why would a customer pay for travel time?!? This is ridiculous and I was recommended this company by a coworker who said it was reputable. I don’t think so! I wonder how much my bill would’ve been had he completed the entire job. How do they live with themselves. I would NOT recommend them to anyone.

Fair price. Quality work! While helping my daughter with her first home inspection items, I wanted a licensed plumber to install an updated bathroom sink fixture in an existing, very small vanity with tight access on a 1940’s-era house. The workspace was so small, you could barely collect your thoughts. I didn’t know any plumbers. I relied upon internet reviews to select one. To the rescue came Dave from Gene A. Wagner Plumbing. Dave replaced the old hot/cold under sink shut-off valves with new ones and made easy work of connecting the Moen faucet to the iron pipes in the wall. Dave was gracious enough to offer advice on replacement of the ancient concrete laundry tub faucet as well as the replacement of the hose bib inside shut-off valve and drain. While not urgent, it’s great to know Wagner Plumbing can tackle those jobs when she’s ready. I highly recommend Gene A. Wagner Plumbing Co.

Working with Gene Wagner Plumbing is great. I had an water emergency on Friday late afternoon where my pipes filled with rust once the water was turned back on from a different contractor (he felt awful - we didn't know the breaker was off for the Iron System.). Gene Wagner Plumbing was able to schedule me for the first appointment on Monday. They arrived on time and fixed the problem for a reasonable cost. Plumbing is always challenging, but I always rely on their knowledge and am happy with the results.

Not recommended!!! I original called Gene Wagner for the camera for my sewage but they ended up snaking the pipe, I knew it was collapsed and broken but don't know where but he tried to snake it, I was able to pinpoint the location of the broken lateral through snaking so I guess that's fine. But when they got here I got a random call on my phone but I ended the call because the person was there, I received that call at 11:54am. When he was done packing and stuff into the truck, I looked at the time and it was about 1:05pm, I went up to grab my checkbook and quickly came down but I had to wait, he took another 10 minutes sitting in the car issuing the invoice and finally came out at 1:15pm which is when I signed and paid.

The hour "worked" came back two hours starting at 11:15am to 1:15pm which is ridiculous. They said worked hours included travel time too but their address is literally 5 minutes away. So when the time they started heading to the site 11:15am I should be able to meet with them at 11:20am NOT 11:54am. For the time worked they charged me $150 an hour * 2 hours = $300 which is correct but because they were here for only an hour and 20 minutes, which means I'm paying for 40 minutes unaccounted for. For those who say "really? only 40 minutes, you're being ridiculous" just note that those 40 minutes that were unaccounted for cost me $100 for zero work. No honest work or ethical here so I would recommend moving on to another company.

Charged travel time. $88/ for half hour travel time PLUS $20 fuel charge. They are located 12 minutes from me. I get charged the travel time from their last job which is further away. Not only do they charge $160-$250 an hour they charge you $75 to bring the snake machine another $175 for the camera. $800 - nearly 4X what i paid last time I had to get the sewer line snaked.

I had Gene Wagner install a new water heater and take care of some other plumbing work in basement. I deal with a lot of contractors, they were the most professional and polite I have seen. The work was done perfectly. I will definitely use them again for any plumbing needs.

My "emergency" situation was dealt with kindness, consideration, and professionalism. From the woman who answered the phone to the gentleman who came to do what was needed to stop the water from backing up into my basement. I was amazed (and extremely happy) to get a same day appointment. I will recommend Gene Wagner Plumbing to anyone who asks! Thank you!

I’m super impressed with the whole experience. Great service on the phone. The plumber was professional and informative. Pricing is very reasonable and was advised upfront. I called a lot of places and even a place who guaranteed same day service wasn’t able to show up. I think being focused only on plumbing adds to all the other great things about this company. I am truly thankful to have been prioritized for the urgent matter we were facing during a big winter storm. This will be the only place I call from now on.

We had an emergency where the toilet was not working. I called in the morning and within 3 hours someone, Dave, was there to do the repair. Professional and caring office staff. He had all the necessary tools, was very respectful and got the fix done within 2 hours. I highly recommend Gene Wagner Plumbing. Affordable and reliable!

Hands down i would recommend this company to everyone i know. Joe the plummer was absolutely wonderful. They were timely, efficient and clean.

We had a plumbing emergency late at night and this was the only company in all of Milwaukee that I could get to answer my call after midnight! They were at my house first thing the next morning to resolve our issue and did great work at a fair price. We will be keeping Gene Wagner in mind for any future plumbing projects. Great customer service and shocker…. A place that picks up the phone!

I had a damaged sewer line and these guys are the absolute experts!! And at a reasonable price!!

I had a sewer backup during Christmas and another local plumber totally lied and took advantage of me by charging my 3x the going rate. During that evaluation, it was revealed that my sewer line was broken. There was no way I was going to hire those crooks!! A 2nd plumber came out, looked at the break, and sent me a contract to charge me $23,000 to fix the crack!! Are you freakin' kidding me!!!?? How stupid do you think I am!!!

So I searched around and found Gene Wagner Plumbing who has been in business for 60 years. I ended up hiring them. They worked with my city to get permits, called the utility company to flag out the lines, and then showed up promptly at 8:00 AM on the day of work. I told the 3 guys that I was really jittery about this since they were going to rip up my lawn, they had to dig 10' down to get to the sewer line....very stressful!! They reassured me that they do this every day and they would take good care of me. And they did!! They know what they are doing. Very efficient. Their price was very reasonable considering the huge equipment they had to use and the hours they put in.

On Day 2 the city inspector reviewed the hookup and give the OK that the work had been done correctly. The supervisor took photos of the sewer line hookup and sent them to me as documentation. They filled up the hole....and amazingly the hole was only 3.5 ft wide which was very narrow considering what they were doing - it shows they know how to do this type of work. They did a very good job of cleaning up before they left.

Other neighbors gave reviews whining that their fees are excessive which included travel time. No, neighbors, their rates aren't unreasonable - I've been the victim of crooked plumbers who charged huge fees. Plumbers are expensive. Get over it!! Gene Wagner charged me a reasonable fee and they did a great job.

***UPDATE- DRY BASEMENT DURING MKE FLOOD OF AUG 2025***

Went above and beyond REPLACING my entire sewer line last fall from the middle of Cleveland Ave to my house. They also installed a sump pump and replaced my main floor drain. The guys were very respectful and kept me up-to-date on what was going on each day. I’m very thankful they cared about making sure it was done well and done right. Not just done. *MMSD does offer grants which helped pay for a portion of this due to me having a Palmer valve they could seal off; however, this grant was 100% taxable and I owed quite a bit at tax time. Wagner did warn me about this.

Had a significant "plug" somewhere in my condo. Ryan was so diligent and so thorough in resolving the problem; very impressive. Had 2 other upcoming jobs and he took the time to explain all my options. Just a terrific company that's quite obviously very well managed.

We were incredibly impressed by Scott and his team. They responded promptly to our sewer backup, which was caused by a hidden house trap, and Scott was honest and transparent throughout the process. Their quote was $8,000 less than the other two we received, and the quality of their work was excellent —thorough, professional, and reliable. I’ll be a customer for life for any future plumbing needs.

Dave and his crew were fabulous to work with! From our initial call for help all the way to the end the entire team was responsive, timely, respectful and kind. They cleaned up and answered all of our questions! We could not have asked for a better experience for our unfortunate situation.

They came out same day I called, got the job done and cleaned everything up, I was very pleased as always when I have called them for a job. These days you don't know what to expect from a cost perspective, so I was pleased when he handed me the bill. No it wasn't free, but less than I had imagined. The man was friendly and got things done without any problems. This business has ALWAYS come through for me and everyone I have sent their way.

I had a sewer back-up issue in my basement. Of course, the problem was noticed after business hours. They advertise 24 hr phone service. I called and they said they would be at my home the next day. They came and quickly cleared out the blockage under the basement floor. The guys were friendly and informative. I had previously contacted Roto Rooter. MILW Drain Cleaning was 50% cheaper than Roto Rooter (for normal business hours) and less than 1/4 the cost of Roto Rooter’s emergency service.

I will use MILW Drain Cleaning if I ever have another drain problem.

Fantastic. We called and they came out the same day within only a few hours. I was leery because the price was so reasonable but they did such an excellent job. If you have any concerns at all don't. Jeff was incredibly knowledgeable, and extremely professional and was in and out within 20 minutes. He was so kind to our pets and even brought them an entire bag of dog treats. I would highly recommend this to all of my friends and neighbors because they did such an excellent job. Five stars for sure!!!!!

Excellent response time, especially for a weekend!!! Weekend rates are better than Roto-Rooter weekday rate. Great job. No time wasted!!!