
Pristine Environmental Solutions
About us
Already well known on the Thailand underground ping-pong circuit, Randy McKinnon has brought his skills to the Arizona desert - along with plenty of clean drinking water.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Air Purification, Plumbing Services, Pristene Environmental Solutions also offiers plumbing services, Solar, Water Treatment
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
65% | ||
13% | ||
17% | ||
0% | ||
4% |
Filter reviews by service
The ratings chart above doesn't allow me to breakdown the three areas I wish to comment on so I just gave the company an overall average rating. While this transaction occurred 1.5 years ago some of it sticks with me like a thorn in my finger. The sales and overall installation all went very well. Very professional! The GE Pro Elite Water softener system is excellent even to this date August 20, 2014. I give all of it an "A" rating. Our problem is with the 3M RO water filter system. It worked for about 6 months. The water gradually started smelling like sewer water. We called Pristine and they said it would be (I think) a $79 charge for someone to come out and look at it. I declined! I decided to research it myself. I flushed the system as was recommended but to no avail. I called Pristine again. This time they agreed to send someone out. I was out of town so my neighbor allows access to my house for the technician. I never heard anything from Pristine directly. My neighbor told me that he just flushed the system again and that it would be up to me to do a detailed flushing which I guess includes disassembly and using bleach. I wrote to Pristine stating that I wanted the system removed because it was still under warranty. I found their address online but I guess it was wrong as the letter was returned to me unopened. I had my "Handyman" remove the RO system from my refrigerator ice maker so it just sits taking up space under the sink until I get it removed. I will not give a positive recommendation for the 3M RO water filter system. I have spoken with several friends and neighbors using different brands of RO systems and none have reported the problems we have had with this 3M system. We now use bottled water for our drinking water.
So, after many phone calls to Randy, and a month later... we finally had a date and the unit, and they sent a guy named Steve. He was nice enough, but was in a big hurry. Apparently, they don't make any real money on warranty work versus a new sale, so they don't want to spend the time on it. This should not be how they behave with a current customer, but they only install R/O's and softeners, so they are not interested in return visits. According to our plumber, and in line with Pristine's install four years ago, a normal softener install and first flush takes about 1.5 hours minimum...he was only here for 30 minutes.
In installing the replacement softener, since it was a bit taller than the old one, he had to raise the copper pipes a little. The owner had informed us that we would have to pay for this (the $210 listed above). My husband had asked Randy why we had to pay when the work was warranted by GE, and Randy said that it was "customary." It's not, but that's a side issue.
Well, the guy, Steve, got done, pressed the regeneration button and let the unit run, but only for about 15 minutes. Then he took off, pronouncing our unit "completely installed and ready to go." When my husband asked him why he didn't flush the lines out like they did four years ago, the guy replied that "with this unit, it's not necessary." And off he went.
Well, later that evening, all of a sudden, all the water in our house turned a brownish yellow...??? We called Pristine's emergency number and told them and the guy on the line said that it was "no big deal" and that the installer "had forgotten to flush the lines." We knew he hadn't "forgotten" anything. We had used this water for cooking, and were understandably concerned with our safety. He said "Well, I wouldn't drink it myself" and told us to flush the lines ourselves, and to "have a great night." Right...We had to open every spigot in the house and let it run for 20 minutes. Total waste of a precious resource, and there's nothing like realizing you just made your dinner using tainted water.
I called our great plumbers that night, and they said the guy should have run the softener ALL THE WAY THROUGH a cycle and we would never have had this issue, and were not supposed to flush the lines ourselves. Apparently, the yellow was dust from the resin balls in the softener tank; not something you want to drink, ever. All Steve had done was put enough water in the softener tank to stir up the dust, but not flush it. Lovely.
Since we had no faith in the install or Pristine at this point, we decided to have our plumber out to inspect the install and test the water. Good thing we did because the bypass at the top of the unit, the bypass Steve installed, was leaking all over the top of the tank. Our plumber tightened it up and mopped up the leak. He tested the water which was of course, now clear due to our flushing it. It was at 3 grains hardness, which is good, so the system was working. He said the piped work was fine, but that the guy should have taken the time to run the cycle properly so no yellow water, and also, that we should not have had to pay for the pipe work as it is not our fault that GE's design is taller now. And by the way, our plumber charged us NOTHING to come out and do this work.
Oh, and before the installer even got to our house to put the unit in, Pristine had already registered the unit to themselves, AGAIN. So, to get any warranty work done, we again must use Pristine. The plumber called this "holding your unit hostage" so Pristine can control the unit for as long as the customer owns it. If you buy one from them, make sure to register it to yourself, or you'll be tied to them forever.
Bottom line from OUR experiences: Pristine overcharges for their units, are not plumbers, is not interested in customer service, is not interested in warranty work unless they make some $$ on it, and will not return your calls...unless you are a new customer, of course. We will be calling our plumber for service, even though we will have to pay for it. We'd rather do this and have peace of mind than chance more problems with Pristine. It's wrong to have to do this, but we really feel we have no choice at this point. Unless some major upgrades happen at Pristine, this is where we're at for now. We don't need any more "tainted" service.
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