The Best Plumber in Oakland

Here is something I never thought I would ever hear myself say, “I love my plumber.”
At the risk of revealing just as bourgeois as I am, I will say this: after living in Oakland for the past 12 years I must admit how hard it is to find good help these days. I could regale you with stories about gardeners who are completely unable to work without using some ear splitting gas-powered device, general contractors who have a case a beer during the course of the day (not to mention leaving it behind for you to clean up), contractors who “accidentally” drill holes into the side of your house, cablemen who steal stuff out of your basement, etc. The list goes on.
So when I put the [call out to my friends to recommend a plumber](http://byrne.vox.com/library/post/can-anyone-recommend-a-reliable-plumber-in-the-east-bay.html) I expected *at best* to get a bunch of, “this person’s not bad” and “this person has never screwed up.” Or in other words a battery of half-recommendations, and no sincere endorsements.
But my friend [Cynthia](http://cdueltgen.vox.com/) (who has a great blog on [Vox](http://www.vox.com/)), left a response that caught my eye. She referred me to [Michael Your Plumber](http://www.yelp.com/biz/michael-your-plumber-berkeley).
My experience with him was nothing short of awesome. He came to my home, *on time*, and not only worked to solve my problem, but also showed me exactly what he was doing in an honest attempt to show me just how easy this stuff can be. He even left behind spare parts in case I ever wanted to do tune ups again on my own. He was nice, professional, and actually kind of fun to have in my home.
As he was wrapping up however, I braced myself expecting the fairy tale to come to an abrupt end as he told me how much I would owe him. But alas, he rate was beyond reasonable – it was down right generous. I wrote my check, we chatted some more and he was off. Amazing.
But the story does not end there. This week I got a postcard in the mail. Guess who it was from? Michael Your Plumber. *He* was thanking *me*.

I am willing to bet that none of you have ever gotten a postcard from *your* plumber. That is because they are not Michael.
I don’t how to say this any other way, but Michael is flat out awesome and is the best contractor I have ever worked with. So, if you live in the Bay Area — Oakland, Berkeley and the East Bay especially, I cannot recommend him more. He is the best plumber around.
Michael Your Plumber: (510) 472-0123.

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