R J Carroll & Sons is a Santa Barbara plumbing outfit that's been around long enough to have technicians like Gabe and Stuart who actually know what they're doing. The 3.9 Google rating tells a split story: when you get one of their experienced guys, you're in good hands—I saw a recent review praising Gabe for diagnosing a Grohe shower leak in minutes with a 3mm Allen key while other plumbers wanted to demo drywall, and another customer watched Stuart persist through a multi-day commercial drain puzzle that two other plumbers had abandoned. Their project photos show solid bread-and-butter work: rough-ins, fixture upgrades, recirc pumps, backflow devices.
The trouble is consistency. One reviewer documented three no-shows for scheduled backflow testing, which is unacceptable in any trade. Another mentioned they missed a main-line issue that should've been caught during the initial visit. The older positive reviews mention they're "hard to get for same-day service" but praise billing transparency and permit handling—that tracks with an established shop that may be stretched thin.
Bottom line: R J Carroll has skilled plumbers and institutional knowledge, but their scheduling and follow-through need tightening up. If you hire them, confirm appointments twice and make sure you're getting one of their veterans on-site.