Thank you for contacting us and passing along the details regarding the [redacted] unpleasant experience with our company.I spent a considerable amount of time meeting with, interviewing & questioning our office staff as well as our field Technicians to get details regarding our septic repair we...
were performing for the [redacted]. There appears to be many details left out of the complaint that was filed however it is our team that can and will take the blame realizing we could have been more proactive in communicating and accommodating the needs of the customer in this case.Without getting too detailed, we intentionally did not backfill the area where we exposed the septic tank as we wanted to leave access to allow monitoring of the septic system to help make a determination on if the tank was the only component in need of replacement or if the entire system was in need of replacement. In our industry there is rarely “black & white” answers as to what is causing a particular issue in which I feel the [redacted] were wanting an exact precise diagnosis of their problem. There are many unknowns as well as unforeseens causing us to work blindly in many instances, and in their case we had to perform what we call “exploratory surgery” and leave part of our work exposed.Our focus and intent with every customer we work for is to take “baby steps” and try to find an affordable, simple, inexpensive solution to the problem rather than jump the gun and tell them they need to replace every component to their system. The homeowner as well as our technicians agreed to leave the hole exposed as it would save time and money at the time of tank replacement. It was also communicated to the homeowner that this type of repair required a permit through the Health Department, and that combined with our repair schedule at the time was approximately a month out. Furthermore, we did not feel the permit should be applied for at the time as the treatment we performed to the system at the time of repairs would determine the health and future of the system which would also determine the type of permit that would be required by the Health Department. The bottom line is we certainly did not want to make an intermediate repair if pre-existing conditions to the [redacted] system would continue to give them problems after we were completed. Regarding payment for our services, we typically do not require a down payment prior to the start of work, however our policy is that payment is required at the time of service. The homeowner was told this at the time they scheduled the previous 2 appointments and had failed to pay either of these invoices (one of which was over 30 days). We agreed to do the repairs only if a check could be collected on site for the open invoices as well as the repair. The customer said that they would have a check that day to pay his past invoices as well as the new one, however, once again they did not provide payment at the time of our service and we were instructed to contact the spouse for credit card payment which took several phone calls and several days to coordinate.We did not “remove” a riser from the septic tank … it was non-existent and was one of the reasons we were onsite making a repair so we could install one. The complaint that their “tank is not able to be filled due to RISERS removed” is not an accurate statement as the risers do not affect the way a septic tank functions or performs… it works perfectly fine with or without risers. In summary, our team has met & discussed how we could have better handled this entire project and apologize to the [redacted] for the unpleasant experience. Our office staff attempted to reach out to the homeowner on November 23, 2016 to try to find a resolution to the issues she expressed. The homeowner asked us not contact her by phone again that she did not want to speak to us. She advised of a verbal cease and desist to contact her. We understand that they are disputing about $400 in which they feel should be sufficient to backfill the exposed tank. Due to the fact that the $400 charge is our minimum charge for mobilizing a piece of equipment and for its use up to (1) hour of service, and we did perform the tasks spelled out in the original estimate provided to the homeowners, we are hoping the [redacted] will accept a refund in the amount of $200.
Thank you for contacting us and passing along the details regarding the [redacted] unpleasant experience with our company.I spent a considerable amount of time meeting with, interviewing & questioning our office staff as well as our field Technicians to get details regarding our septic repair we...
were performing for the [redacted]. There appears to be many details left out of the complaint that was filed however it is our team that can and will take the blame realizing we could have been more proactive in communicating and accommodating the needs of the customer in this case.Without getting too detailed, we intentionally did not backfill the area where we exposed the septic tank as we wanted to leave access to allow monitoring of the septic system to help make a determination on if the tank was the only component in need of replacement or if the entire system was in need of replacement. In our industry there is rarely “black & white” answers as to what is causing a particular issue in which I feel the [redacted] were wanting an exact precise diagnosis of their problem. There are many unknowns as well as unforeseens causing us to work blindly in many instances, and in their case we had to perform what we call “exploratory surgery” and leave part of our work exposed.Our focus and intent with every customer we work for is to take “baby steps” and try to find an affordable, simple, inexpensive solution to the problem rather than jump the gun and tell them they need to replace every component to their system. The homeowner as well as our technicians agreed to leave the hole exposed as it would save time and money at the time of tank replacement. It was also communicated to the homeowner that this type of repair required a permit through the Health Department, and that combined with our repair schedule at the time was approximately a month out. Furthermore, we did not feel the permit should be applied for at the time as the treatment we performed to the system at the time of repairs would determine the health and future of the system which would also determine the type of permit that would be required by the Health Department. The bottom line is we certainly did not want to make an intermediate repair if pre-existing conditions to the [redacted] system would continue to give them problems after we were completed. Regarding payment for our services, we typically do not require a down payment prior to the start of work, however our policy is that payment is required at the time of service. The homeowner was told this at the time they scheduled the previous 2 appointments and had failed to pay either of these invoices (one of which was over 30 days). We agreed to do the repairs only if a check could be collected on site for the open invoices as well as the repair. The customer said that they would have a check that day to pay his past invoices as well as the new one, however, once again they did not provide payment at the time of our service and we were instructed to contact the spouse for credit card payment which took several phone calls and several days to coordinate.We did not “remove” a riser from the septic tank … it was non-existent and was one of the reasons we were onsite making a repair so we could install one. The complaint that their “tank is not able to be filled due to RISERS removed” is not an accurate statement as the risers do not affect the way a septic tank functions or performs… it works perfectly fine with or without risers. In summary, our team has met & discussed how we could have better handled this entire project and apologize to the [redacted] for the unpleasant experience. Our office staff attempted to reach out to the homeowner on November 23, 2016 to try to find a resolution to the issues she expressed. The homeowner asked us not contact her by phone again that she did not want to speak to us. She advised of a verbal cease and desist to contact her. We understand that they are disputing about $400 in which they feel should be sufficient to backfill the exposed tank. Due to the fact that the $400 charge is our minimum charge for mobilizing a piece of equipment and for its use up to (1) hour of service, and we did perform the tasks spelled out in the original estimate provided to the homeowners, we are hoping the [redacted] will accept a refund in the amount of $200.