Culligan of Orange County

I bought a Culligan SMART HE system & paid $6975 on 8/24/22, that included 2 years of salt. The installer set the "bypass system" for specified hours so I wouldn't be watering my plants with sodium water. Unfortunately, the SMART HE system has been consistently UNRELIABLE, requiring tech service calls on several occasions....customer cannot reprogram on the Culigan app. Tech service calls take days to a week or more to schedule, and the techs themselves have been great EXCEPT the fixes never stay fixed! I must check the mobile app every watering day because the "system bypass" stops working. I have taken photos with my phone showing the app and the SMART HE screen on the tank showing that what the tech's fixed hasn't stayed fixed. I have had the system reset by techs at least 6 times! I know see very low ratings for Culligan, so I am not alone in feeling disappointed and cheated. For what I paid, the d*** system should work. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SYSTEM OR THIS BUSINESS, and I'm telling everyone I can! I've attached a screenshot of the Culligan app showing how much softened water went into my plants because the "system bypass" function failed.

If I could give them zero stars I would! Culligan of Santa Ana (Hallswater) installed a water softener and drinking water system at my house in Orange County. This was the worst experience of my life.I would not use this company under any circumstances!! The system was installed and did not work for 10 months. I asked repeatedly for someone to fix it and no one came! Finally after almost 11 months of it NEVER working they came out and the service man said it was installed incorrectly and it would never have worked.. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

Quote was 90% higher than competition for equivalent softener. Provided a 2-page brochure listing 3 models w/no data sheets or specs. Not willing to move on price.

Not good at all

unknown

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You will not find a better sales rep than Jim Barber at Culligan Water in Santa Ana, nor better installers than Alex and Antonio from the Bellflower office. 
When our Kenmore Genus water softener began leaking after 20 years of faithfulservice, the decision was a no brainer.  We went to Sears and ordered a new one.  It looked like a simple swap.  Take out the old and hook up the new--no new plumbing or electrical.  Unfortunately, when the installer arrived with the new unit, he tried to make me believe that the installation would be quite involved and would cost $325 more than the $199 which I had already paid.  My gut feeling, right or wrong, told me that he was trying to rip us off.  I was angry and immediately refused delivery and sent the installer on his way.  Actually, he left the scene before I could even contact the salesman to give him a chance to resolve the dispute.
Next, I visited the local Home Depot which sells GE water softeners; and Lowes which sells Whirlpool units. Pricing from both of these big box stores was consistent with Sears, excluding the installation.  For a $40 flat fee, Lowes sent a contract plumber to give me a fixed price no obligation quote on the installation.  They sent a down-to-earth plumber who confirmed that the installation would be simple and inexpensive. 
I probably would have gone with Lowes were it not or the fact that my wife suggested that I "call the Culligan man."  I just knew that company would be too expensive, but I left a request on the Culligan Santa Ana website anyway.  The next morning I received a phone call from Jim Barber.  A few hours later I was talking to him in person across the dining room table.  Now, talking to sales reps is not my idea of an entertaining experience.  But I found Jim to be a honest professional who clearly showed me that he wanted our business.  There was no pressure, no lies, no bait and switch--he just got to the point and we negotiated a deal.  Within an hour I was signing a contract that was not significantly more than the other guys.  And Jim, with 30 yeas of experience, was more knowledgable and did a more detailed evaluation than the others, by far.  Subsequent to the signing, he returned my phone calls, promptly.  He even came by the day of installation.  Jim has completely changed my preconceived notion of Culligan.
Because the Santa Ana office was swamped with work, Alex and Antonio from the Bellflower office installed our Water Softener.  It only took two hours and they did not leave a mess.  Both guys were skilled and experienced professional Culligan employees who took pride in the work.  I admire a job well done and they did an outstanding job.
I am pleased to recommend the Culligan Team.
Mel

,. There were many problems with getting the system.  It started with the salesperson.  I was told that we needed a larger system due to have large water pipes.  This would result in a higher price than I had expected but would have s system that would be garenteed for 20 yrs.  Well when the installer came out he realized that we did not have the large water pipes and he did not have the system that we needed on his truck so that we would have to get another date for installation.  Then the sales person had to come back out get us to sign a new contract due to change in system and resulted in a $900 savings.  The installation went smooth (we thought) but found out that the system was set up backwards.  This caused problems with washing machine and toilets too.  Plus the water smelled.  
We contacted the company and they sent out a "saviour" who does plumbing for the company.  He came out and realized that everything was don backwards and had to change the piping and clean up toilets plus made the washing machine work again.  He left and we soon realized that there were still problems and returned later in the day. After we had the system running we discovered a water leak in the piping originally installed the first time.  This time the plumber came back and redid all of the piping for the system.  
The salesperson said that they would be out to check on the system and make sure our water was soft enough.  Also the salesperson did not explain to me the difference in the two systems that I had seen or that there was a difference in the warranty too.  We have never heard from the salesperson again.

The salesman didn't care about me. All he cared about was making the sale. He was very aggressive in pushing me to purchase the products up front and negatively portrayed the option of renting for 3 months before you buy. Renting costs a bit more but had I done so, I WOULD'NT HAVE PURCHASED THE PRODUCTS AT ALL

The salesman said the softened water would feel silky but to me and my family, it feels slimy. He said the RO filtered water is delicious but WE ALL HATE THE TASTE OF THE WATER!

Needless to say, they wouldn't do anything for me so I'm stuck with $3000 worth of Culligan products I don't want. I checked and they have no resale value, either.

It went smoothly. The faucet part is weak. It was as expected. Scheduling was very good. It was difficult to get answers for the technical questions and it was frustrating that he didn't have anyone to ask. The salesperson didn't know that the main line was connected to the sprinkler system so my lawn would have been filled with salt water. But the technician took care of that.

unknown

They did what they were supposed to do, for the purpose that we brought them on. I never heard them complain. There are other forms of water treatment that are more appropriate, and so we will probably not use them in the future.

They are good as any and they have been around for years.

.

Jim barber was on time for his appointment and checked my plumbing and the located the best place for the water softener. There was a problem with my sprinklers as they would be on the soft water line which is no good. Jim promised me he would get hard water to the sprinklers or he would not do the job. Daniel worked on our problem for several hours and was able to plumb hard water to my sprinklers, great job and I was very impressed and happy with Daniel for his knowledge and Jim for his honesty and integrity.

Installed softener and replaced the valve that regulates the water pressure to the house. Installation went very smoothly and I would purchase from them again.

The salesman was very professional and knowlegeable. Walked me through all the options and clearly explained both the technology and the purchase/rental options. The installer was schedued to arrive at noon, but called earlier to change the time to 9:00am, then showed up a half hour late. His work was good although cleanup was not.

New, $2000 water softener installed 8 years ago and still under warranty began to leak. Had 2 floods in garage.
Called for repair and got an appointment for a week later (a little long out for this type of repair). I was told over the phone that the house call would cost $145!!! I said the unit was under warranty and I was told that the labor is not under warranty. I asked how did they know it would cost $145 worth of labor. I had a guy come out to fix my refrigerator and the house call was only $60 and they applied the cost to the repair fee. That's just what Culligan charges at a minimum. I was also told that I had to prove I bought the unit and show the paperwork for warranty, that they did not have records of such.
The repairman came. It took him 20 minutes to put two 25 cent gaskets in it and he said he wouldn't charge me for those. I complained about the $145 house charge and he said he'd give me 10% off. Nice of him.
This is the second repair on this unit. My last house call cost $120. Inflation.
I recommend to folks that they check out a companies warranty and repair fees before they make a big purchase.

Everything went fine. They were prompt and they did a good job.

We just moved into this house, which did not have a water softening system, from a house, which had a Culligan system. After a month of hard water and looking at water spots I had to get a water softening system. The master shower doors always had spots, the kitchen stainless steel sink always had spots, the dish washer had a ring of calcium deposits around the door, all the faucets were corroded with calcium deposits. We also just purchased a new washer and dryer, and didn't want to screw up the internals. Once you are used to soft water, it;s hard to go back to hard water. I called several other companies. Home Depot sent a representative from Kinetico. Their system is very pricey, and they say the white house is equiped with Kinetico systems. I had not heard of Kinetico, but appearently the people in congress have. I also called a local plumber, who didn't really know too much about the water softener that he could purchased for me and install. He wasn't a user of soft water, and said that he had not installed very many water softeners. In the end, Culligan won my bid. They've been in business for ever, they must know what they are doing. A pre filter was intalled prior to the water softener to filter out the big stuff coming down the line, which will also help the water softener function better. Also, prior to the pre filter a new regulator, shut off valve, and hose bib were installed at a very nominal price. The plumber I mentioned earlier wanted $580 for a new regulator and shut off valve! Culligan's price was a $100!!! The water filter was installed under the sink, and every effort was made to conserve the small amount of space that was available. Now we have cold soft water, and will have hot soft water shortly!

The appointment was easy to set up. A large time-window was given (8 a.m. to noon) for arrival of the technician, but a phone call on the morning of the appointment reduced the arrival window to between 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The annual service call is $125, but the technician reduced it to $112. The balance of the cost was for replacement of two of the three filters. The technician was professional and fast.

We worked with the person by name Jim and we had an excellent experience. The quality of his work was very good. He finished the work when it was scheduled and I will recommend them to all.

WE HAD A GREAT EXPERIENCE WITH THIS COMPANY. THE WORKERS SHOWED UP ON TIME, DID WORK ALL DAY, COMPLETED THE JOB, AND THEN SOME. WE HAVE HAD NO problems WITH the UNIT.