ComplaintsforLawn Sprinklers Sales, Service & Design, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  11/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Called them to schedule winterizing our sprinkler system. They came out on October 11, 2023 and the technician went into our basement and started the process of winterizing our sprinkler system. Unbeknownst to us, the technician left a small bucket on a spigot in the closet where our water turn off is located, and did not completely close the system. The bucket filled up and in the three weeks since he came here it spilled over and allowed water to ruin our carpet and furniture in the area. The technician made NO mention of what he had done whatsoever. In the 9 years we have lived here we have never had the sprinkler system closed with any issues. Lawn Sprinkler Sales, Service and design has turned our system on and off before with no issues. When we called them to make them aware of the problem they were rude and tried to blame us for this obvious error on their part. They even suggested that we file a claim with our insurance company, even though they are clearly at fault for the damages.

  

  Business response

  11/14/2023

  When a call was received from **** **** she was very demanding, telling us what she thinks we did wrong and asking what we were going to do about it.  I advised the ball valve failure was not our fault (all parts fail with age).  This valve is not a part of the irrigation system, it is a part of the water system to the home and the failure of this part would be subject to a claim with your insurance company.  As I explained to **** ****,standard procedure for winterizing a sprinkler system is to shut off the water supply, open the drain in the basement to back drain the water that is between the vacuum breaker (outside) and the shut-off valve (ball valve) inside. Upon completion of this step the ball valve remains in the closed position and the drain is left open in case of ball valve failure (again, all parts fail with age).  If we close the drain and the ball valve fails water would get back into the irrigation system causing major damage to the system and vacuum breaker on the outside of the house which could cost thousands of dollars to repair.  The bucket is left in case of failure and it is standard for our technicians to remind customer to check the bucket and their irrigation system periodically throughout the winter in case of any type of failure.  Our technicians are human, and I would imagine that occasionally they forget to remind the customer to check their system (I cannot confirm or deny that this reminder was given to **** ************
  As for the complaint of rudeness, I do understand that **** **** is dealing with a lot with her husband (********) illness and typically it is he that we communicate with.  We strive to stay calm when a customer calls with an issue but when we are met with someone telling us how they have an "expert" telling them that we did not know how to do our jobs, that the ball valve failure was our fault, demanding that we are responsible and threatening to file a complaint it is a little difficult to maintain calm.  I advise **** **** that I did not have to take her rudeness any longer then hung up the phone.

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